Opening scene

Kill the Queen! The Eight Assassination Attempts on Queen Victoria

Chapter 1 The Pot-Boy 1840

© Barrie Charles and Amberley Publishing

The two guns bulging from his trouser pockets, Edward Oxford left the house with a feeling of purpose and determination.  They might think of him as a thin youth of no consequence, but he would show them.  It was six weeks since he had been sacked from his job at the Hog-in-the-Pound public house because, they said, of his laughter.  “Maniacal”, the customers called it.  They described him as a mere ‘pot-boy’ and accused him of being haughty, but why should he deign to talk to those ignorant drunks?

He crossed the street and made his way towards Westminster Bridge.  This was not the first time that he had been shown the door, and he was tired of being treated as a nobody.  He was a senior member of a secret society called ‘Young England’, and soon people throughout the land would know of him.  His plans were laid; he knew what to do.

He had taken action only three days after losing his job, using £2 from his previous quarter’s wages to buy two pistols from a shop on the Blackfriars Road.  He also bought bags for the pistols and a powder flask for 2s.  For the following month, he assiduously practised using the guns, at shooting galleries in Leicester Square, Westminster Road, and the Strand.  Then, last Wednesday, he visited a shop at 10 Bridge Road, Lambeth, where an old school friend, John Gray, sold him half a hundred copper firing caps.  He was running short of money and could only afford a quarter-pound of gunpowder, but the shop only dealt in half-pound amounts.  They did not stock bullets either, so Gray recommended him to a gunsmith in Borough.

Edward crossed Westminster Bridge, where the tide was out and the foul-smelling Thames was a mere trickle through the slimy brown mud.  Picking his way between the heaps of horse dung, he crossed the roadway by the remains of the Palace of Westminster, destroyed in the disastrous fire of 1834.  The din of the workmen starting on the rebuilding added to the clatter of the iron-shod wheels of the carriages on the cobblestones, the noise of the crowds and livestock, and the clamour of the costermongers.  But Edward ignored them all as he escaped into the relative calm of Birdcage Walk.

His mother was away in Birmingham and, over the last week, he had continued practising, firing from the back window of his lodgings.  But that morning, Wednesday 10 June, he decided the fateful day had come.  He dressed smartly in his gambroon trousers¹, light silk waistcoat, and brown frock coat, which he had saved for best from a funeral two years earlier.  He waited until three o’clock before setting off on his two-mile walk.

The previous Easter, when he was out by Hyde Park Corner with two fellows from the Hog-in-the-Pound, his plan had begun to form.  He had seen the crowds of people waiting to catch a glimpse of the Queen on her daily outings and learnt of her routine.  He knew how to set about his task from reading the adventures in books such as The Black Prince, Jack Shepherd, and The Pilot.

In St James’s Park, the birdcages no longer lined the thoroughfare, but he could still see the Ornithological Society on Duck Island.  Afternoon strollers were about beside the placid waters of the lake.  The licensed milk-sellers were at work with their cows and pails.  For them and the others around, it was just an ordinary day.

Outside Buckingham Palace, the people hoping to catch a glimpse of Her Majesty paid no heed to Edward.  He passed the Marble Arch entrance at the end of The Mall, acting like any other visitor, and continued for another hundred yards along Constitution Hill.  The avenue led from the garden gate of the Palace towards the triumphal arch at Hyde Park Corner, and was lined with trees, which afforded protection.

Edward selected a good spot about a third of the way along the road, his back to the iron railings of Green Park.  Although several people were about, it was less crowded than near to the Palace, and none would suspect his intentions.  He prepared for a long wait, his arms crossed, the two pistols concealed beneath his brown coat.  It was just after 4 p.m.

Two hours later there was the sound of cheering from the palace.  A few more moments elapsed before the Queen and Prince Albert emerged from the garden gate in an open carriage pulled by four horses, with postillions² and two outriders.  The royal couple, with Victoria on the left and Albert on the right, raised their hands to wave to their subjects.

It was a low carriage and the sovereign was clearly in view as the party proceeded down Constitution Hill heading for Hyde Park.  In a short while they had nearly covered the ground to where Edward stood.  He walked forward, nodding his head as if to affirm the rightness of what he was about to do.  As the carriage came alongside, he quickly pulled a pistol from his coat.  At a distance of only six paces, he fired.

Several of the onlookers heard the loud report, and some women screamed.  But the Queen was not hit and she appeared unaware that her life was in danger.  Edward pulled out his other pistol with his left hand and balanced it on his right arm.  Then the Queen at last saw him pointing the gun at her.  She ducked instinctively, while Albert pulled her down.  Edward fired again ...

Bookshop

Below you will find links to the places where you can buy any of my books.

Cholsey in World War II normally costs £8.99 and is available at Wallingford Bookshop and orderable from other high street booksellers and on-line.  It is also available from lulu.com.  For an introductory period those local to Cholsey can also buy the book at the special price of £7 in the Community Library and at Clippers Hairdressing in the centre of the village.

ISBN 978-1-446-71365-5

    

The Bells and Ringers of Cholsey Church costs from £6.99 and can be ordered from both high street booksellers and on-line, including from Amazon and Lulu.com.

ISBN 978-0-244-44393-1
  

    

Crime and Calamity costs from £11.99 and  is available to order from both high street booksellers and on-line.

ISBN 978-1-291-29571-9.

It is available from Amazon as a Kindle edition as well as in print.  For those local to Cholsey, print copies can be obtained for £11.99 by emailing the author.

    



Cholsey's Great War Dead is priced at £4.99 and only available from www.lulu.com where books can be ordered online for home delivery.

The Lucky Queen is published by Amberley, RRP £9.99.  It is available from both high street booksellers and on-line.

ISBN 978-1-4456-4369-4.

     





This book is only available through lulu.com, price £6.99.

Karma and the Helpful Hand is only available to order through lulu.com, price £7.99.

Career History

Dr Barrie Charles

Here is a summary of my career for anyone interested.

Particle Physicist 1968-72

After graduating with a B.Sc. in Physics from Bristol University, I worked on an experiment at the particle accelerator at the Rutherford Laboratory in Oxfordshire.  I received my PhD for this research in 1972.

Software Engineer and Software Project Manager 1972-79

I moved into programming and worked for a systems integrator in Sydney, Australia, back in the UK with Rutherford Laboratory, and finally spent 3 years at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland.

Network Development Manager 1979-84

I was a founding member of the Joint Network Team which was set up by the Department of Education and Science to manage the development of networking within and between UK universities and research institutes. The network established was recognised to have a world lead and is the forerunner of the Internet in the UK.

Marketing Manager 1984-94

I was head-hunted by Digital Equipment Company, the world's second largest computer company at the time.  Initially I looked after the UK Education market for the company, before moving to take charge of marketing for the company's workstations and lastly for systems integration services.

Marketing and Product Manager 1994-99

In 1994 I moved to take charge of the marketing for a medium-sized training company, QA Training.  I grew with the company, finally taking responsibility for the companies product portfolio and managing a group with 30 staff.

Journalist and Marketing Consultant 1999-2007

After QA Training, I worked as a part-time independent marketing consultant for e-learning and young training companies, and as a freelance journalist for IT Training magazine and other publications.

Historical Researcher and Author 2000-

A lot of the rest of my time was spent in historical research, firstly for my own family history, and then researching the ancestors of others and the history of various houses.  I published my first novel in 2006, followed by a biography of my great grandfather in 2007.  My third book, 'Kill the Queen!', came out in May 2012.  Since then I have published four books, all concerning different historical aspects of Cholsey, the village where I live.

About me

Dr Barrie Charles

I was born in Essex in 1947 and have lived in Australia and Switzerland as well as England. After a varied career in physics research, software engineering, project management, marketing and journalism, I have spent the last twenty or so years involved in historical research and writing.  When younger I visited over 50 countries in Europe, Asia and the Americas for pleasure, but now my travels are mainly driven by the needs of my research.

I live in Cholsey, Oxfordshire in England and am married with two grown-up children.  My email address is bc AT bjc.me.uk. (replace AT with the @ symbol).

Cholsey in World War II

 

The six years 1939-45 were a time of hardship, change, excitement and tragedy for the residents of Cholsey, a village in rural Berkshire.  Rationing, the black-out and shortages affected everyone, while many feared for their loved ones away in the forces.  Some of those who could not fight volunteered in the village, becoming members of the Home Guard, Land Army, the Air Raid Protection (ARP) force or the Auxiliary Fire Service.

But for 12 men, as listed on Cholsey war memorials, it would be the end of their lives.  They were career military men, conscripts and those who volunteered following the outbreak of war, and their ranks ranged from Private to Sergeant Major and Flight Lieutenant.  Several died in the retreat of the British Expeditionary Force to Dunkirk, while others were in North Africa, Greece, Italy, France and on the Death Railway in Burma.  This book tells their stories for the first time.

Based on extensive new research, this work is a record for posterity of the sacrifices made at home and abroad of a generation that rose to an almighty challenge.

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Book contents

Author’s note

CHAPTER 1

    Start of the war

    William Charles Boshier 31 July 1918 – 26 May 1940

CHAPTER 2

    Evacuees, the census and fund-raising

    Arthur Dennis Deane 1916 – 27 May 1940

CHAPTER 3

    Rationing

    John Oliver Francis December 1912 – 30 May 1940

CHAPTER 4

    Air Raid Precautions (ARP)

    Ivor Leonard Lillington 14 December 1901 – 1 June 1940

CHAPTER 5

    The threat of invasion

    Edgar Peter Taylor May 1918 – 18 May 1941

CHAPTER 6

    The Home Guard

    Peter Arnold Bitmead 16 Nov 1921 – 16 Nov 1941

    Edward William Bitmead 29 Dec 1911 – 1 May 1943

CHAPTER 7

    The Blitz and the Auxiliary Fire Service

    George Derek Rayner Slade 14 Nov 1913 - 21 Apr 1943

CHAPTER 8

    Clothes rationing, food and harvest

    Frederick Edward Ray 26 January 1914 – 12 September 1944

CHAPTER 9

    Cholsey school, the children and amateur dramatics

    Edgar Thomas Pridham 12 Oct 1912 – 28 Dec 1944

CHAPTER 10

    The Mental Hospital and nearby military camps

    Harold Leonard Strange 10 January 1922 – 8 September 1944

CHAPTER 11

    Local bombing and an air disaster

    Albert William R Shakespeare 24 January 1911 – 7 June 1944

EPILOGUE

    VE Day and VJ Day

APPENDIX Summary of those killed in action. 81

Picture credits and information sources

Cholsey's Great War Dead

Cholsey's Great War Dead provides the information for the village's centenary remembrance of that terrible war.  For each of the fallen in the period 1914-18, a remembrance ceremony is held exactly 100 years later.

The research for Crime and Calamity in Cholsey: Life in a Berkshire Village 1819-1919, provided a lot of information about the Great War dead immortalised in the memorial in St Mary’s church.  Not all of the names made it into the published book, but I thought the information would be of interest to village historians and those involved in the annual Armistice Day remembrance services.

I have identified most of the names with little chance of ambiguity, but there are a few where I have been unable to find a suitable person with a connection to Cholsey.  All 41 names are listed in the book, and I have marked the six who remain to be identified.  Note that there is also a roll of honour in the Free Church, which has 34 of the same names, but five of the unknowns are not listed (Broadbridge, Chapman, Giles, Harwood and Marshall) and the two Hansens are missing.  A third memorial plaque, which now resides in the New Pavilion, has all 41 names, but mistakes have been made over some of their initials and the order is not strictly alphabetical!

In addition to these war dead, I have added a further 20 men who had a connection with Cholsey, but for some reason did not make it onto the church memorial.  They may have been born in the parish and moved away, or have parents or a spouse who ended up living in the village.  Also added are the six service patients from Fair Mile Hospital who are buried in the churchyard.

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Those included in the book

2Lt George Shrubb Abbott

Pte Alfred Abdey

L-Cpl Herbert John Abdey

Cpl Alfred Alder

Pte John Alder

Sapper Ernest Charles Henry Aldworth

F. J. Barrett

Pioneer Frank Beale

Pte Bernard James Edward Belcher

Pte Walter Blake

Pte Robert Charles Brind

A. Broadbridge

Pte Frank Rupert Butler

Pte Rowland John Butler

Pte Frederick Thomas Cato

G. Chapman

Pte Robert Clarke

Pte Albert Cook

Pte Ernest William Cook

Gunner Frederick Cordery

Pte William Deane

Pte Ernest William Dearlove

Pte George Didcock

Pte Stephen Draper

2Lt Francis Andrew Lloyd Edwards

Pte Edward Ernest Ferris

Gunner William Joseph Ferris

L-Cpl Edward Thomas Fruen

Cpl Leonard Franklin Gale

W. Giles

Signal Boy Edward Ferdinand Green

Driver Harry Greenough

Lt Carl Frederick Vilhelm Hansen

2Lt William George Hansen

H. Harwood

Pte Alfred James Hawkins

Pte Reginald Montague Griffiths Hearmon

Pte Alfred Hedges

Driver Frank Hedges

Major Richard Max Henman

Pte Henry House

Pte Walter Roland Howse

L-Cpl Edward James Hutt

Driver Albert Kimber

Pte Fred Kimber

2Lt Dudley Sidney Laurence

Capt William John Hurstwaite Leete

Rifleman Alan Love

W. G. Marshall

Pte Fred Nelson

Pte James Pearce

Pte George Reeves

Rifleman George Rumble

Cpl Vincent Elijah Saunders

Pte Albert Edward Silvester

Pte Albert Smith

L-Cpl Frank Alfred Spratley

Pte David Arthur Stocker

Guardsman Henry Hamilton Sturgess

L-Cpl Ernest James Taylor

Pte Harry Turner

Pte Charles Henry Tyrrell

L-Cpl Frederick William Vaughan

L-Bombadier Stephen Webb

Sgt Alfred Augustus Wilder

Pte Percy Augustus Witherall

Sapper Henry Francis Woodward

The Lucky Queen

The Eight Assassination Attempts on Queen Victoria

Victoria met the threat with
bravery and determination

QUEEN VICTORIA was our longest-reigning monarch, a symbol of Britain's great age of power and imperialism.  But her life could so easily have been cut short.

Most people are amazed to hear that Victoria suffered eight attacks or attempts on her life. Based on original research and new archive material, this book for the first time tells the story of each of those episodes.  As well as the drama of the attack itself, it also uncovers the would-be assassins background and motives, and follows them through the rest of their lives to see what became of them.

John Francis shooting at the Queen in 1842

In the course of the eight chapters, many aspects of Victorian life are revealed.  For example, life as an orphan in an Irish foundling home during a time of famine and escalating violence; the realities of daily existence for both paupers and gentlemen; the ease with which guns could be obtained and the way the law reacted to prosecute the perpetrators.  Retribution for the would-be assassins included consignment to the terrible prison hulks; transportation across the world as one of hundreds of convicts crammed into a sailing ship hold; and hard labour in some of the world's vilest penal camps.

The perpetrators faced the majesty
and at times incompetence of the law

Some of the perpetrators were acquitted as mad and imprisoned in lunatic asylums, a seemingly softer option, but with less chance of release.  Others managed to run rings around the authorities, including one who, according to recently opened secret papers, was paid to emigrate to Australia, not once, but twice!

The ninth story in the book is that of Victoria, the key events in her life such as the unfolding of her love for Prince Albert and her devastation at this death, and the way she reacted to the threats to her life.  One of the attackers actually had two attempts at assassination, the first where his gun failed to go off, and another the next day when Victoria insisted on taking the air in an open carriage despite the danger.

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With 25 contemporary and modern illustrations, this book will provide an enlightening as well as absorbing read.
 Read the first scene.

More on the would-be assassins:

Edward Oxford 1840
John Francis 1842
John Bean 1842
William Hamilton 1849
Robert Pate 1850
Arthur O'Connor 1872
Roderick Maclean 1882
The Fenian Brotherhood 1887

A Pattern of Virtue

The Arduous Life and Mysterious Death of a Corporal Major in Victoria's Life Guards

A Pattern of Every Soldierly Virtue ...

So said Lord Longford, and so it read on his gravestone after his mysterious death. ''It is difficult to speak highly enough of the merits of this man,' echoed Colonel Anstruther Thomson. Yet he was born in poverty in a tiny village in Hertfordshire and, like many in Victorian times, had to struggle to survive. William Silwood, however, was hard working and had the strength of character to rise above his roots to finally gain the highest rank for a non-commissioned officer.

But this book is not just a biography of a soldier in the 2nd Lifeguards. Rather it is a social history of the times from William’s birth in 1863 to his death in 1909, sketching what life was like during that period for an ordinary citizen. It also looks beyond, to consider the background of his parents and describe the environment for his wife and children in late Victorian and early Edwardian times.

Based on extensive research, this biography sets in stark contrast the privations faced by our ancestors with the easy life of today. It is also a personal story, tracing William Silwood’s life from humble beginnings, through his fortunes as a soldier of the Queen in peace and war, to his final days as a keeper in Epping Forest and the repercussions from his sudden and violent death.

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Research

William Silwood was my great grandfather and one of the most interesting of my ancestors. Initially all that I knew of him were a few photographs and some family stories that he had been in Queen Victoria's bodyguard and was later murdered in Epping Forest.

I spent a year researching his life and times to build up a picture of the man using army service records, civil registration certificates, census records, newspaper reports and many original documents from the Boer War and other periods held at the National Archives. By the end I felt I knew the man and how his family probably felt during the 50 years or so that the book spans.

Centenary Walk

Sunday 1st November 2009 marked the centenary of this long forgotten scandal in Epping Forest.  On that date in 1909, William Silwood died while out on his rounds patrolling the forest as a forest keeper.  Many believe he was murdered.  Silwood was an ex-Guardsman, a strongly built man, who had been decorated for bravery in the Boer War.  He left a widow and nine children.

But the circumstances of his death were not clear cut, and the inquest returned an open verdict.  The police did little and nobody was apprehended for his murder, although the event and its aftermath took up numerous column inches in the local papers and was hotly debated amongst the populace.  The funeral in Loughton was a spectacular affair with a large military escort and the procession was watched by thousands of onlookers.

William Silwood is the subject of the biography 'A Pattern of Virtue' and I, as one of his great grandsons, led a walk on the anniversary of that fateful day.  The walk started on the minute of his departure one hundred years earlier from Keeper’s Cottage in Baldwin’s Hill and progressed to the place he died.

Around two dozen people attended the walk, many of them William's descendants, and I am most grateful to the current head forest keeper, Keith French, for his support on the day.

Postscript

An article on this story appeared in Who Do You Think You Are magazine in 2010.  Seven years later I was contacted by a reader who had just discovered the article.  Much to my surprise, she said that it was well known in her husband's family that his great grandfather and brothers had been the ones who had killed William Silwood!

It would appear that his killer was Frederick Thompson or one of his eight brothers.  Frederick was born in 1867 and died in 1922.  After the death of William Silwood they moved quickly from the local area to settle in the East End of London.

My Family History

Like many people, I became interested in historical research whilst researching my own ancestors.  I learnt my trade on the job whilst mapping out the family trees of my father, a Welshman with roots in the foul copper smelters of Swansea, and my mother who came from a long line of agricultural labourers in deepest Essex.

Over a period of three years I reached back to discover all 8 great grandparents (gg), 16 great great grandparents (ggg), 29 gggg, 36 ggggg, and so on back to a few early ancestors in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, such as Edmond Medlin, my great great great great great great great great great great grandfather, who married Jane in 1585 in Constantine, Cornwall.

As well as names and dates, I learnt that more interesting still were the stories behind the people.  James Quirk, a great great grandfather born in Ireland, who was repeatedly fined for being drunk & disorderly, and several generations of John Littles, blacksmiths in the tiny village of Matching Green, pillars of the community and suppliers to Lord Masham, who recorded a payment to them of £1-11-0 'for nails' in 1758.

Raiswell one name study

My wife's maiden name is Raiswell, a very unusual name in this and similar spellings.  Starting with the work done by my brother-in-law, we traced back the roots to a single illiterate individual born in 1720 recorded as Samuel Reason, but whose children were later called Raiswell.  Along the way we researched the lineage of 213 people with the surname to make a complete family tree which we believe includes almost all the Raiswells that ever lived.

The research also threw up a wealth of sad stories of paupers, emigrants, criminals, accidental deaths and murder victims in the lives of soldiers, publicans, shopkeepers, shoemakers and a hundred agricultural labourers.

Brook House

This project uncovered the nineteenth and early twentieth century history of this house situated on Honey Lane in Cholsey, the village where I live.  The original owner of the land was a fervent Baptist, while the house was built and later owned by equally committed brewers and publicans.  The occupants were a very different lot, with the building first used as a shop by a corn dealer before it became a boarding house and then a private school.

The results of the extensive research have been brought together in a 28-page document, illustrated with maps and pictures, which traces the lives of many of these nineteenth century characters.

The Old Vicarage

Not much detective work was needed to ascertain the occupants of this house - they were all ministers of the parish church. But the current building was 138 years old, what was there before?  Details of an earlier house were uncovered; the home of the parish priest at least back to 1630 and probably 1540.  Ancient documents provided glimpses of the lives of the many occupants, from the vicar accused of fornication in 1625 to the antiquarian scholar curate of the late nineteenth century.

The research on the house and details of the 39 vicars of Benson have been documented with maps and photographs in a comprehensive 24-page report.

Karma and the Helpful Hand

Robert Vinner is missing ... 

In this unusual crime novel, the action alternates between England and Vietnam in the 1960s and 70s. Paul, an erstwhile green activist, is going through a rough patch after the loss of his job, his long-term partner and some of his ideals. Following the sudden disappearance of his wealthy brother-in-law, Robert, he reluctantly agrees to help his sister try and discover what's become of him. Gradually Paul becomes caught up in an investigation into Robert's past and a relationship with Susanna, a director at Robert's firm.

Thirty-five years earlier, Bien enjoys an innocent childhood growing up in a village in South Vietnam, while his parents and relations cope with the problems of war. Meanwhile, Mike O' Connell, an American journalist, becomes increasingly disillusioned as he chronicles the horror and futility of the conflict.

We are all prisoners of our past and our actions influence the flow of the future - the Karma of the title. Slowly the connection between the two stories becomes apparent and Bien, O'Connell and modern Vietnam all put in an appearance before the final dramatic resolution.

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Background

Vietnam featured prominently in my youth when, as a naive student, I protested in Grosvenor Square, and then, as a slightly more mature traveller in the early 1970s, visited war-torn Laos and talked to American GIs on R&R in Thailand. Shortly after my wife taught Cambodian and other students in the sanctuary of Australia, whilst, much later in 2001, I finally went to Vietnam itself and saw more of the view from the other side in what they call the American War. This gave me a huge admiration for the Vietnamese people.

I have always preferred plot-driven fiction and a crime novel gave me the opportunity to test my skills whilst writing about things that deeply interested me. Starting with a rough idea of what the crime was and who did it, I started by defining the characters and then letting them drive the narrative. The result was a hugely enjoyable succession of three winters as I lived with my protagonists and followed them through to the final scene.

The Fenian Brotherhood

The so-called 'Jubilee Plot' of 1887 was a plan to commit a dynamite atrocity during the Queen's Jubilee year, with the most likely target being the service of thanksgiving on Jubilee Day on 21 June in Westminster Abbey.  The plotters were the Fenian Brotherhood of America, who had been behind many of the bombings over the previous 5 years designed to further the Irish cause, including the explosions in the Tower of London and the chamber of the House of Commons on 24 January 1885.

Bombing of the Commons chamber

Two groups were dispatched to carry out the task.  However, the Fenians were deeply penetrated by multiple British agents, and one of them was the leader of one of the teams.  Due to the bungling of the bookings for their Atlantic passages, the other group arrived too late to affect Jubilee Day itself, although they did manage to smuggle dynamite and revolvers into the country.  But thanks to some effective detective work, two of the ringleaders were caught before they could cause any harm.  They were tried and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment.



Most of the research for this story was done by Christ Campbell, whose book, Fenian Fire: The British Government Plot to Assassinate Queen Victoria, describes in great detail the plotters and the government's response.  The chapter in my book also describes events from Victoria's point of view.

Sources used in the full account in the book

George Earle Buckle (ed.), The Letters of Queen Victoria: Third Series 1886-1901, J. Murray, London, 1930

Christy Campbell, Fenian Fire: The British Government Plot to Assassinate Queen Victoria, Harper Collins, London, 2002

Fenian Fire, Television Documentary on RTÉ One, 2008

Sources used in this and other chapters

George Earle Buckle (ed.), The Letters of Queen Victoria: Second Series 1862-1885, J. Murray, 1926-28

Christopher Hibbert, Queen Victoria: A Personal History, Harper Collins, London, 2000

James, D.; Kerrigan, T.; Forfar, R.; Farnham, F.; Preston, L., The Fixated Threat Assessment Centre: Norman Lowe, Mastering Modern British History, Third Edition, Palgrave, Basingstoke, 1998

Helen Rappaport, Queen Victoria: A Biographical Companion, ABC-CLIO, Oxford, 2001

Lee Jackson, www.victorianlondon.org

Lytton Strachey, Queen Victoria, Chatto and Windus, 1921

Stanley Weintraub, Victoria: Biography of a Queen, Unwin Hyman, London, 1987

Censuses of England 1841-1911, The National Archives

London and National Newspapers, especially The Era, The Morning Chronicle, The Morning Post, The Observer, The Standard and The Times

The General Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, General Register Office

The International Genealogical Index, www.familysearch.org

The Proceedings of the Old Bailey, www.oldbaileyonline.org

Roderick Maclean

Roderick Maclean was an artist, although he had never had a job other than the work he did for his father, who was the proprietor of 'Fun' magazine, a popular rival to Punch.  After the death of his parents, he was left with no means of support, living off hand-outs from his three brothers and sister, all of whom were well off.  Roderick had never been quite right in the head since an accident as a boy, and he began wandering the roads and towns of England, becoming more and more like a tramp.

Roderick was offended when a lady-in-waiting rejected a poem that he had sent to the Queen, and gradually grew more desperate as his family reduced the weekly amounts that they sent to him by postal order.  He was a republican sympathiser, directing his anger at the monarch, and whilst in Portsmouth sold his scarf and concertina to raise enough money to buy a revolver.  He walked to Windsor.

Roderick Maclean firing at the Queen's carriage at Windsor station

At Windsor railway station he made his attack and managed to get off one round before being grabbed by the police and cheering bystanders, who were welcoming the Queen back from London.  The station forecourt was full of Eton schoolboys, and two of them took the opportunity to hit him over the head with their umbrellas before Roderick was hustled away.

Roderick Maclean at his trial

Roderick Maclean was tried in Reading, and this time the authorities took no chances in ensuring that he was found not guilty on the grounds of insanity, thereby ensuring that he could be locked away for the rest of his life.  He spent 39 years in Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum, where he died of apoplexy in 1921.

The full chapter in the book describes his colourful family, his mad wanderings around the country and the dangerous nature of his attack, which employed a much more accurate weapon than those used hitherto.  The book also reveals what life in the asylum was like for Roderick using material released from his case file, which is otherwise closed to the public.

Sources used in the full account in the book

Ralph Partridge, Broadmoor: A History of Criminal Lunacy and Its Problems, Clatto & Windus, London, 1953

M. H. Spielmann, The History of Punch, Cassell, London, 1895

Alan Sullivan (ed.), British Literary Magazines 1837-1913, Greenwood Press, London, 1984

Stephen White, What Queen Victoria Saw: Roderick Maclean and the Trial of Lunatics Act 1883, Barry Rose Law Publishers, Chichester, 2000

Assize Courts Oxford Circuit: Criminal Depositions and Case Papers, The National Archives ASSI6/18, 1882

Assize Courts Oxford Circuit: Crown Minute Books, The National Archives ASSI2/43, 1882

Assize Courts Oxford Circuit: Indictment Files, The National Archives ASSI5/192/1, 1882

Broadmoor Hospital Case File for Roderick Maclean (Extracts), Berkshire Record Office D/H14/D2/2/1/1095, 1882-1921

Directory of British Picture Framemakers, National Portrait Gallery, www.npg.org.uk

Fun, volume 1, 1861-2

Home Office File on James Burnside, The National Archives HO144/467/V19056, 1892-1900

Home Office File on Roderick Maclean, The National Archives HO 144/95/A14281, 1882-1921

Probate Calendars, Probate Registry, 1881

Reading Mercury, 1882

Surrey Advertiser, 1882

Windsor & Eton Express, 1882

Sources used in this and other chapters

Arthur Christopher Benson and Viscount Esher (eds), The Letters of Queen Victoria, John Murray, London, 1908

George Earle Buckle (ed.), The Letters of Queen Victoria: Second Series 1862-1885, J. Murray, 1926-28

Christopher Hibbert, Queen Victoria: A Personal History, Harper Collins, London, 2000

James, D.; Kerrigan, T.; Forfar, R.; Farnham, F.; Preston, L., The Fixated Threat Assessment Centre: Preventing Harm and Facilitating Care, Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology 21 (4): 1, 2010

Norman Lowe, Mastering Modern British History, Third Edition, Palgrave, Basingstoke, 1998

Helen Rappaport, Queen Victoria: A Biographical Companion, ABC-CLIO, Oxford, 2001

Lee Jackson, www.victorianlondon.org

Dr Kurt Jagow (ed.), Letters of the Prince Consort 1831-1861, J. Murray, London, 1938

Lytton Strachey, Queen Victoria, Chatto and Windus, 1921

Stanley Weintraub, Victoria: Biography of a Queen, Unwin Hyman, London, 1987

Censuses of England 1841-1911, The National Archives

London and National Newspapers, especially The Era, The Morning Chronicle, The Morning Post, The Observer, The Standard and The Times

The General Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, General Register Office

The International Genealogical Index, www.familysearch.org

The Proceedings of the Old Bailey, www.oldbaileyonline.org

The Treasury Solicitor’s Transcript of the Trials of Edward Oxford, John Francis, John William Bean and Roderick Maclean, The National Archives TS36/25, 1840-82

Arthur O'Connor

A gap of 22 years elapsed between Robert Pate's attack and the next outrage, a period of momentous events for Victoria with the staging of the Great Exhibition, her husband's passion, and Prince Albert's sudden death, which left the Queen bereft.  Arthur O'Connor was an 18-year-old Englishman, but with flamboyant Irish ancestors that included minor aristocracy, revolutionaries and highwaymen.  He was outraged by the imprisonment of Fenian freedom fighters and determined to do something about it.

On the day of the thanksgiving service for the Prince of Wales, who had just recovered from a life-threatening illness, he climbed over the railings of Buckingham Palace while the police were distracted by the cheering crowds, and ran up to Victoria's carriage.  He hoped to force the Queen to sign an order for the release of the Fenians whilst threatening her with the gun and knife that he carried, but Prince Arthur and Victoria's loyal servant, John Brown, foiled the attempt, knocking the gun from his hand.

Arthur O'Connor was forced to drop the gun

Arthur pleaded guilty at his trial and the court took a lenient view because of the absurdity of his plan and the fact that the gun was broken and could never fire.  He was sentenced to a year's imprisonment and 20 strokes of the birch.  Victoria was appalled by the shortness of the sentence which would see him back on the streets in less than 12 months, and the Home Secretary began to negotiate with Arthur offering a reduction in the length of imprisonment and removal of the threat of a whipping in return for an agreement to emigrate to the colonies.

But Arthur O'Connor realised his negotiating power and forced the government to agree favourable terms.  According to secret papers now released, the Crown paid for his passage under an assumed name to New South Wales not once, but twice, using 'secret service monies', and paid for his support in the colony.  But in the end the authorities got the upper hand and committed him to an asylum, and he ended his days at Rydalmere Hospital for the Insane in 1925.

The full chapter in the book reveals the twists and turns of these shenanigans, as well as relating the stories of his colourful ancestors, the details of the attack and the aftermath.

Sources used in the full account in the book

Roger Fulford (ed.), Darling Child: Private Correspondence of Queen Victoria and the Crown Princess of Prussia, 1871-1878, Evans Bros, London, 1976

Laurence M. Geary, O'Connorite Bedlam: Feargus and His Grand-Nephew, Arthur, Medical History vol. 34, 1990

Philip Guedalla, The Queen and Mr Gladstone, Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1933

Frederick Norton Manning, Report on Lunatic Asylums, Sydney, 1868

D. M. Potts and W. T. W. Potts, Queen Victoria’s Gene : Haemophilia and the Royal Family, Sutton Publishing, Stroud, 1999

Neil R Storey, Prisons & Prisoners in Victorian Britain, The History Press, Stroud, 2010

A Brief History of the Rozelle Hospital, The Open Day Committee, Mitchell Library, Sydney, 1990

British Medical Journal, pp 672-3, 729, 756-8, 1875

Callan Park Admission File for George Morton, NSW State Records 3/3317 no. 196, 1881

Callan Park Case Book for George Morton, NSW State Records 3/4652A pp 100-103 and 3/4653 p1, 1881-1908

Darlinghurst Reception House Register of Admissions & Discharges, NSW State Records Series 5014 item 5/8, 1881

Hanwell Lunatic Asylum Register of Admissions, London Metropolitan Archives H11/HLL/B/05/009, 1875

Hanwell Lunatic Asylum Register of Male Admissions, London Metropolitan Archives H11/HLL/B/04/004, 1875

Hanwell Lunatic Asylum Case Book, London Metropolitan Archives H11/HLL/B/20/013A, 1875-6

Hanwell Lunatic Asylum Certificates of Discharge, London Metropolitan Archives H11/HLL/B/09/010, 1876

Home Office File on Arthur O’Connor, The National Archives HO144/3/10963, 1872-85

Index to Unassisted Inward Passenger Lists to Victoria, Victoria PRO, 1873

Rydelmere Mental Hospital Medical File for George Morton, NSW State Records 19/11587, 1912-1925

Rydelmere Mental Hospital Legal File for George Morton, NSW State Records 19/113731, 1912-1925

Rydelmere Mental Hospital Admission & Record of Visitors Card for George Morton, NSW State Records 19/15836B, 1912-1925

The Lancet, pp 341-2, 515, 535-6, 546-7, 571-2, 1872

The Melbourne Argus, 1873

Sources used in this and other chapters

Arthur Christopher Benson and Viscount Esher (eds), The Letters of Queen Victoria, John Murray, London, 1908

George Earle Buckle (ed.), The Letters of Queen Victoria: Second Series 1862-1885, J. Murray, 1926-28

Christopher Hibbert, Queen Victoria: A Personal History, Harper Collins, London, 2000

James, D.; Kerrigan, T.; Forfar, R.; Farnham, F.; Preston, L., The Fixated Threat Assessment Centre: Preventing Harm and Facilitating Care, Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology 21 (4): 1, 2010

Norman Lowe, Mastering Modern British History, Third Edition, Palgrave, Basingstoke, 1998

Helen Rappaport, Queen Victoria: A Biographical Companion, ABC-CLIO, Oxford, 2001

Lee Jackson, www.victorianlondon.org

Dr Kurt Jagow (ed.), Letters of the Prince Consort 1831-1861, J. Murray, London, 1938

Lytton Strachey, Queen Victoria, Chatto and Windus, 1921

Stanley Weintraub, Victoria: Biography of a Queen, Unwin Hyman, London, 1987

Censuses of England 1841-1911, The National Archives

London and National Newspapers, especially The Era, The Morning Chronicle, The Morning Post, The Observer, The Standard and The Times

The General Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, General Register Office

The International Genealogical Index, www.familysearch.org

The Proceedings of the Old Bailey, www.oldbaileyonline.org