Features
Rotherham Murders 1900 - 1950
This fascinating book illustrates nineteen cases of serious crimes committed in Rotherham, in the first fifty years of the twentieth century, investigated and told by a modern crime historian.
The crimes themselves range from murder, attempted murder to suicide. They involve the death of a showgirl, a police murder, a wicked stepmother who starved her stepchildren and a crime committed by a man dressed in woman's clothing.
Set in a social backdrop of recovery from two world wars, Margaret Drinkall's Rotherham Murders concentrates on killings that took place in and around the town during the first fifty years of the twentieth century.
Police methods of detection during that period were limited but one of these cases show the first successful wireless appeal which resettled in the apprehension of the murderer. Forensic science was in it's infancy and blood analysis was virtually unknown leading to difficulties in the detection of many crimes.
Not for the feint-hearted, these cases will both shock and astonish in equal measure, true stories set within one of South Yorkshire's most important industrial towns.
Local historian Margaret Drinkall retired in 2009 in order to concentrate on her passion for researching and writing. Her recent books include Rotherham Workhouse and true crime titles relating to Sheffield and Rotherham.