Review as featured in NW1 Magazine the groovy new magazine for Camden.

The Camden Town Murder
By John Barber

‘On the morning of 12 September, 1907, Bert Shaw returned to the lodgings he shared with his 22-year-old partner Emily ('Phyllis’) Dimmock at 29 St Pauls Road (now Agar Grove). Unable to gain entry, he borrowed a key from his neighbour, opened the door and discovered Emily’s lifeless body lying on the bed. Her throat had been cut almost from ear to ear and her windpipe virtually severed. Her killer has never been found. The background to this gruesome murder, and its very public aftermath, is detailed in a new book, The Camden Town Murder.

Emily, a prostitute, was last seen the previous evening drinking with the principal suspect Robert Wood in what was then the Eagle public house and is now Mac’s Bar on the corner of Royal College Street and Camden Road. Wood was tried at the Old Bailey but, thanks to the efforts of Marshall Hall, England’s finest criminal defence barrister, he was acquitted on the grounds that he could not be placed at the scene of the crime and had an alibi. Although the author argues convincingly that Wood is still the most likely suspect, he does entertain other possibilities.

He has obviously carried out extensive research, and he identifies several other men who could have committed the crime, most notably the artist Walter Sickert, who must have known Emily as they both often frequented the Old Bedford Music Hall (demolished in 1969, now Bedford House, 123-133 Camden High Street), where Sickert used to sketch and paint the performers. Sickert is also suspected by many conspiracy theorists, in particular the crime novelist Patricia Cornwell, as having been Jack the Ripper and also having killed Emily, although there appears to be little direct evidence that this was the case. In any event, the modus operandi of Emily’s murder differed significantly from that employed by the Ripper. However, Sickert was apparently deeply upset by her death and embarked on a series of sketches and paintings called the Camden Town Murders, the best known of which – ‘what shall we do for the rent?’ – shows a young woman lying on her bed, in exactly the position in which Emily was found by the police. This painting is on the cover of the book.

Reading about true crime can be an unhealthy pastime, as writers and publishers tend to stress the lurid and sensationalist aspects, motivated no doubt by the public’s morbid interest in such matters, and thereby increase sales. This book, however, is forensic rather than febrile in tone, and dispassionately assesses the evidence for and against the various suspects. It will be of interest to students of crime and also to those seeking an understanding of the morality and underworld of Camden life in the early 20th century.’

- Rab MacWilliam in NW1 Magazine

Article feature in the Camden Gazette

‘Writer believes he has solved century old murder mystery’
nlnews@archant.co.uk
14 March 2007

‘Author John Barber spent years researching the book after growing up opposite the scene of the murder in what is now Agar Grove. Picture: Rob Bourne.

A murdered prostitute, a blood-stained bowl and an artist who cheated the hangman's noose make up a 100-year-old Camden Town riddle a writer may have finally solved.

The 1907 murder of Emily Dimmock shocked the nation - especially as the murderer was never caught, although some believe that Jack the Ripper was responsible.

BERT Shaw – the partner of victim Emily Dimmock at the time of her death in 1907

Now writer John Barber - who grew up opposite the murder house in modern day Agar Grove and spent years writing The Camden Town Murder - thinks he has got to the bottom of the mystery.

He says a modern day jury would probably have convicted local artist Robert Wood - despite the fact that he was cleared of the crime by a court a century ago.

Mr Barber said: “One hundred years later it is very difficult to be sure, but with all the evidence available I have been able to point the finger at someone. Robert Wood was brilliantly defended at his trial but I think his alibi would have been shown to be false by a modern investigation.”

Mr Barber also hopes the book may bring some peace to the family of the murdered woman's partner Bert Shaw. He said: “Bert Shaw's family always talked about the murder in a hushed whisper. It was a dark secret but I think he had nothing to do with it. I hope the book gives a bit of peace to the family.”

Bert Shaw's distant relation Alan Stanley - now 58 - remembers meeting his great uncle in the 1960s. He said: “In my childhood I vaguely knew there had been some sort of murder in the family. People referred to it without ever explaining what it was all about. I remember the fact that the murderer had washed his hands in a bowl and left blood-stains behind. Uncle Bert was old fashioned and always wore his suit even in the home. He was the first to come across her naked body lying with her throat cut - it must have been horrific. I don't think anyone in the family ever thought he was the murderer.”’