Was Justice Served?

The Camberley Poisoning

“The boy was lying on the bed in convulsions, and the bed was covered in black vomit...”
An accidental poisoning or a bid to wipe out an entire family? You decide.
Late in the evening of 22 September 1887 in Victorian-era Surrey, a doctor is called to a mysterious double-poisoning at the home of a gardener, Henry Bowles. There he finds Bowles’ wife Hannah and son Edward at the point of death, from what he later discerns as strychnine poisoning.
Jen and David examine whether this was a tragic mistake, a double suicide, or a terrible way to dispatch an entire family. They examine a family brought together by economic necessity to reveal what’s hiding beneath their façade of respectability, and delve into the details of the trial, looking at Henry’s possible motivations for murder. They also discuss the Victorian fear of poisoning, at what was the height of ‘Poison Panic’, in a time where common poisons like arsenic and strychnine were easily accessible and difficult to trace.
Discover the details for yourself in the episode's Case Files - a collection of all the key newspaper reports - available to browse for free on Findmypast: www.findmypast.co.uk/wasjusticeserved
Was justice served? Share your judgement with the WJS community:
X - @wasjusticeserved
Instagram - @wasjusticeservedpod
TikTok - @wasjusticeserved
Producer - Madeleine Gilbert
Assistant Producer - Daisy Goddard
AV Editor - Callum Main
Videographer - Angus Webster
Video Lead - Andrew Farrell
Graphics/Design - Kate Benzie, David Bradley and Graham Jacobs
Researcher - Jen Baldwin
Voiceover - Elliot Hardman
AV Lead - Mark Asquith
 

Murder in my family, with David Olusoga

“I have been watching him for 12 years. He has been hiding, but I caught him at last...”
A pre-meditated murder in broad daylight or the tragic result of deteriorating mental health? You decide.
In this special pilot episode of Was Justice Served?, Professor David Olusoga OBE joins co-hosts Jen Baldwin and David Wilson to examine a murder hidden within his family tree. On the 10 September 1896, 64-year-old George Ewart approached 42-year-old Daniel Gray in broad daylight on the corner of Dalton Street in Byker, and shot him at close range with a revolver. Daniel would die that day of his wounds and George - David’s great-great-grandfather - would go on to be tried for his murder. But this case is not as open and shut as it seems, as George’s mental state is at the heart of his defence…
David and the hosts discuss George and Daniel’s lives, families, and the events leading up to that fateful day. They draw on testimonies delivered by family members – people that David’s mother remembers – which were reported in the newspapers at the time as well as medical evidence and witness statements from the trial. They also examine the social and legal context at the time, and the burgeoning understanding of mental health as a factor in major crimes. And, ultimately, David reveals how this terrible tragedy set his family on a trajectory which has lasting impacts to this day.
Discover the details for yourself in the episode's Case Files - a collection of all the key newspaper reports - available to browse for free on Findmypast: www.findmypast.co.uk/wasjusticeserved
Was justice served? Share your judgement with the WJS community:
X - @wasjusticeserved
Instagram - @wasjusticeservedpod
TikTok - @wasjusticeserved
Producer - Madeleine Gilbert
Assistant Producer: Daisy Goddard
AV Editor - Callum Main
Videographer - Angus Webster
Video Lead - Andrew Farrell
Graphics/Design - Kate Benzie, David Bradley and Graham Jacobs
Researcher: Jen Baldwin
Voiceover - Elliot Hardman
AV Lead - Mark Asquith
 

Trailer: Was Justice Served?

Discover historical crimes, one headline at a time. 
 
Join hosts Jen Baldwin and David Wilson as they journey back in time to some of the past’s most cryptic criminal cases, brought to you by Findmypast. In each episode, we’ll take a look at the evidence found in historical newspapers and records and try to unpick what really happened.  
 
Listen as we delve into the gory, the heartbreaking, and the sensational cases that gripped the nation. Get to know the characters involved, their lives and secrets. Follow the twists and turns of the trial – and help us answer the ultimate question: Was Justice Served? 
 
Don’t just take our word for it – analyse the evidence for yourself. For each episode, you can access a complete collection of the historical newspapers we’ve talked about online at www.findmypast.co.uk/wasjusticeserved.