King Charles has pardoned the last woman to be hanged in Britain, who was executed for the murder of her lover in 1955
A woman who murdered her lover and was then hanged for the crime has been pardoned by the King, but she won’t be called innocent.
Ruth Ellis, a nightclub hostess, was executed on July 13, 1955, after being convicted of murdering her lover David Blakely. Ellis shot Blakely dead outside The Magdala pub in Hampstead, London, in April 1955. After a tumultuous trial, she was found guilty and executed at Holloway Prison, becoming the last woman in Britain to be hanged.
But earlier today, David Lammy, the Deputy Prime Minister, told the Commons that the pardon will replace the death penalty with a sentence of life imprisonment “to recognise a profound injustice in this exceptional case”.
“We hope this brings a measure of peace to Ruth Ellis’s family, who have carried the weight of what happened to her for over 70 years,” he added.
While most Londoners are familiar with the Hampstead killing and Ruth’s role as a nightclub hostess, the overwhelming majority will be entirely unaware of her earlier life in an unassuming dentist’s house in Sanderstead, Croydon.
Ruth moved into the property on the corner of Sanderstead Hill and Purley Downs Road in 1950, after meeting the so-called ‘Mad Dentist’ George Johnson Ellis at the Court Club in Marylebone. The whirlwind romance began with George whisking her off to a succession of upmarket restaurants and showering her with gifts.
Intelligent and remarkably gifted as a musician, George nevertheless battled severe alcoholism throughout this period, leading to his admission to Warlingham Park Hospital in Surrey that same year for treatment. Following his discharge, the couple wed at a registry office and settled in Sanderstead while George secured a position at a practice in Southampton.
His struggle with alcoholism persisted, and the pair’s relationship deteriorated, with rows breaking out both at home and in public. George subjected her to serious physical abuse on several occasions, driven by accusations that she was being unfaithful.
Ruth herself harboured suspicions that George was conducting affairs with fellow patients during his subsequent hospital stays, before the couple ultimately divorced in late 1951, just months after Ruth gave birth to their second child, Georgina.
At just 25, and with two children to provide for — the eldest born from an earlier relationship with a married Canadian soldier when she was just 17 — Ruth returned to her former career as a West End hostess. It was at the Little Club in Knightsbridge where she first encountered David Blakely in 1953.
Dr Graham Aird, 78, and his wife Pat Hamilton, 79, are now the owners of the Sanderstead dental practice that once belonged to George Johnson Ellis in the early 1950s. Speaking to MyLondon, Pat revealed that much has transformed since the so-called ‘Mad Dentist’ occupied the premises back in 1950.
“We converted the old waiting room into a kitchen and moved the practice to the other side of the house,” she said. “We think her bedroom was on the second floor, but that was when the entire downstairs was used as the dentist’s. It’s a lovely place to live, and we’ve really enjoyed moving everything around.”
Despite the notoriety of the Ruth Ellis case, Pat added that the majority of local residents have no idea she resided there for a brief period. She continued: “We didn’t even know when we bought the house, so when we came to view it, the previous owner said, ‘This was Ruth Ellis’ house’.
“I found it really interesting, so I bought a book straight away. I think they should pardon her because she was abused. The dentist was an alcoholic and a horrible man.
“She didn’t mean to kill him [David Blakely], I don’t think. Sure, she wanted him dead, but the man [Desmond Cussen, another man Ruth was involved with] made her do it. Therefore, it wasn’t murder; it was homicide.
“This was the last straw, as people already thought they should stop the death penalty. I can’t believe it even happened, that they’d hang her for it. There’s not a lot of good going on in the world, but it’s nice to think we put a stop to it.”
Ruth was hanged on July 13, 1955, at HMP Holloway. She was originally laid to rest in the prison cemetery. In 1971, her remains were exhumed and reinterred at St. Mary’s Churchyard, Amersham, Buckinghamshire.
