Queens Park - Part One - 1920

Acquired in 1857 Glasgow’s Queen’s Park with its large stretches of manicured lawns, wide avenues lined with trees and spectacular views over the city from its highest point, is the perfect place for a relaxing stroll, some nature loving or just some quiet reflection. Yet, despite its calm aura, the park is no stranger to bloodshed. The park is located on the site of the 16^th century Battle of Langside, one of the most important battles in Glasgow’s history and the site of more than 100 deaths, even its namesake, Mary Queen of Scots (not Queen Victoria, a common misconception) carries a particularly bloody association. But the parks dark history does not end in the distant past, this entry will detail four major murder cases to take place in Queens Park, stretching from 1920 to 2008. So, join me, won’t you, for a dark tour of Glasgow’s Queen’s Park.  

Wednesday the 4^th of February 1920 was a typically cold Glasgow day as two nine year old boys, students of the nearby Deaf and Dumb Institute, made their way into Queens Park Recreation Grounds to play a game of football. Shortly after beginning their game, one of the boys, giving the ball a particularly hard kick causing it to fly past his friend before coming to rest in a clump of bushes. As the young boy bent down to retrieve the ball, he recoiled in horror as he came to realise that the football had come to rest against the dead body of a man. Running as fast as they could, the two boys returned to the Deaf and Dumb Institute with the news of their gruesome find. Soon the park was swarming with police, charged first with identifying the corpse. This would be no easy task, there were no personal papers or identification located on the body, and the face of the victim was so badly beaten that it was completely beyond identification. A note was made that the man’s shoes had been removed and both trouser pockets had been torn away with a knife rather than just turned out, suggesting robbery as a motive.

 The corpse was soon removed to the mortuary attached to the nearby Queens Park police station, still unnamed, and thereafter a search of the surrounding parkland commenced. It was not until the following day that a positive identification was made in the case, the victim’s mother having read reports of the grisly find in the newspaper. The body was that of Henry Senior, 35, a bachelor, and stonecutter who lived in the Govanhill district with his widowed mother. She had gone to police to report him missing after he failed to return having gone out on Tuesday night and not having returned by Wednesday afternoon. Due to the severity of the injuries to Senior’s body and face, it was agreed that the victim’s brother would formally identify the body to spare his mother the trauma, but even then, due to disfigurement, identification could only be made based on the clothing worn by the corpse. 

Police ascertained from Mrs Senior that her son had left home around 7.30pm on Tuesday with the intention, he explained, of ‘meeting a girl from Fife’. He originally went to take £10 from a box on the mantelpiece, but his mother warned him about carrying large amounts of a cash, so he replaced most of it leaving the house with only two or three pounds. Although Mrs Senior was anxious when her son did not return that evening, she only made enquiries when she read about the discovery of the murder in the local paper the following morning. From her descriptions of what her son had with him when he left the house that Tuesday, the police were able to publicise that the deceased was missing several items, including a pair of brown boots, an overcoat, a pig skin pocketbook, and some money and army discharge papers. 

A tram conductor came forward claiming that two men had boarded his tramcar around 9.45pm on the night of the murder on Cathcart Road, only yards from the scene of the crime. One of the men, the conductor remembered had a pair of boots sticking out from the pockets of his overcoat, whilst the other man’s hands were stained with blood. The conductor was able to provide descriptions of both men and state that they both departed the tram in the City Centre, on Gordon Street. The police were quick to match the tram conductors descriptions with two men suspected of committing a string of recent violent assaults in the park.

Acting on information, detectives visited numerous addresses in the Govanhill area, no arrests were made but certain leads took the case in an unexpected direction. Early on Saturday morning detective chief inspector Keith and his colleague Detective Inspector Noble caught a boat heading for Belfast, the journey came after a tip suggested that two men fitting the description of the wanted men were spotted at Glasgow’s central Station boarding a boat-train bound for Ireland. Once in Ireland, the Glasgow detectives sought the assistance of the local police who pointed the detectives in the direction of Lord Street, with the information that the men they sought were staying in a boarding house in that area, although they were unable to provide the exact number. Thus, the whole street was placed under observation. That evening two men matching the description of those wanted for murder in Glasgow appeared from a house in Lord Street and were swiftly detained by detectives. 

At the police station, the men gave their names as Albert James Fraser and James Rollins. The two men were stripped of their clothing, which was then taken way for further forensic identification. Nothing was discovered until one sharp-eyed detective noticed that one sleeve of the jacket taken from Fraser appeared to be far cleaner than the rest of the grubby garment. Slashing open the lining, detectives uncovered traces of blood on the lining. An even better clue was a piece of paper detailing the exact address the two men were staying on Lord Street, officers were despatched to search the premises thoroughly. While they were doing so, two young women arrived stating not only that they both resided there, but that they were the girlfriends of Fraser and Rollins. They too were quickly arrested, giving their names to police as Gladys Renton and Elizabeth Stewart. It was soon decided that the four persons detained, Albert James Fraser, James Rollins, Gladys Renton and Elizabeth Stewart should be transported to Glasgow as soon as possible.

 The four arrived at 5.30am on the Sunday morning boat-train from Belfast accompanied by Keith, Noble and two Belfast detectives and two female prison wardens. Despite the early hour of their arrival, crowds had already begun to assemble at Central Station ready to hoot and boo the Belfast four as they entered the Paddy Wagon.

The full circumstances of the case were not revealed until the start of trial which began on the 3^rd began on 3^rd May 1920 at the High Court in Glasgow. The first shock of the case was that only two of the four, the two men, Fraser and Rollins, faced a murder charge and three assault and robbery charges. The two women arrested in Belfast had given statements to the police regarding their involvement and had subsequently turned King’s Evidence. There was the usual scramble for seats that any murder trial brings, such was the interest that when the case was heard there were more would-be spectators locked out than could squeeze into the court. It was during this time that the jury and the public learnt more about the two men accused:

Albert James Fraser was a 24 year old deserter from the Australian army and James Rollins a 22yrd old Irishman from County Tyrone, also a deserter from the army but from the Irish Guards. In court they sat together in the docks appearing to take great delight in the proceedings, often laughing and joking with each other, seemingly enjoying the fact that the centre of everyone’s attention.  

The court first learned about the victim: 35 year old Henry Senior was a bachelor who resided with his mother at 50 Robson Street, Govanhill. A veteran of the Great War, serving from 1914 with the 11^th Hussars until he was badly injured in April 1918. By the time he had recovered from his wounds, the war had ended. He went back to his old employment as a stonecutter. On the fateful evening o Tuesday 3^rd February 1920, Senior had got himself dressed up in his best clothes and, having told his mother he was going ‘meet a girl from fife’. Following advice from his mother, Senior took only £2/3 pounds with him when he left the house. The story of what happened next is taken up by Helen Kennan or White, the 22 year old woman who, when she was arrested in Belfast along with the two male accused, gave her name as Gladys Renton. She explained that she was an Aberdonian who had come to Glasgow three years beforehand. She had met and married a Canadian soldier who was on leave, when he had to go back to his unit, she soon took up with the accused Albert Fraser and stayed in lodgings with him in the Maryhill area. On the night in question, both she and Fraser went into the city centre where they met with James Rollins. She was told by both Fraser and Rollins to ‘get a man and they would follow up’. 

Around 9pm, White met Henry Senior in Hope Street. Without much prompting, the couple caught a tramcar heading to the south of the city. The couple alighted the tram near the Queens Park Recreation Ground and walked into the park. They sat down together on the grass next to a wooden fence, whereupon Senior produced a small pocketbook and took out a ten shilling (50p) note, which he handed to White, the agreed fee for the sexual liaison. But before much could take place Fraser and Rollins appeared, confronting Senior, who protested loudly at the unwelcome intrusion. Not expecting Senior’s resistance, Fraser produced a revolver from inside his coat and threatened the older man while Rollins approached the victim from behind, put an arm around his neck and attempted to force him to the ground. Senior continued to struggle, so Fraser proceeded to strike him several times in the face with the butt of the pistol while Rollins continued to compress his neck. At this point the girl, White, was instructed to leave the scene and returned to the city centre. The two men continued to beat Senior until he was unconscious before removing his trouser pockets with a knife, disappointed with only a meagre hail of six shillings (30p), Fraser removed Senior’s boots, hoping to find more money inside, they were empty, so Fraser decided the take the boots themselves, which he put in the pockets of his overcoat. Rollins stole Senior’s tweed overcoat for himself. 

Leaving Senior for dead, the two men left the park and caught a tramcar on nearby Cathcart road where they were observed by the conductor who would later provide their descriptions to the police. They would later meet up again with Helen White, who was given Senior’s blood soaked overcoat and instructed to wash it, which she did before pawning it the following morning for 17 shillings (85p) while Rollins pawned Senior’s boots for eight shilling and sixpence (42.5p). The grand total of money accrued was a measly 41 shillings, or £2.07 in today’s money.

 Later that day, the three met with the Elizabeth Stewart, Rollins’ girlfriend after which the two women went to the cinema on Argyle Street. However, their film was interrupted not long afterward by the two men, frantically trying to get their girlfriends attention by waving a newspaper. The newspaper contained the news that Senior was dead, and the four decided to immediately flee to Ireland where they were later apprehended by police.

The trial lasted only two days and after only 20 minutes of deliberation the jury returned with a unanimous verdict of guilty. The judge informed Fraser and Rollins that they ‘had been convicted of an atrocious murder and, consequently, there was only one duty devolving upon him, donning his black cap he sentenced the pair to death. On hearing this, the two men were reported to have turned to each other, smiled, and shook hands. Some reports even suggested that the prisoners even fooled around, with Fraser spotted wiping away pretend tears from his cheeks in an exaggerated manner while Rollins drew a finger across his throat, as if slashing it, for the benefit of the spectators in the public gallery.

 An appeal was launched for the death sentence to be commuted to life imprisonment, the defendant’s lawyers arguing that the two men had entered Queens Park with no intention of committing murder, only assault and robbery, but the appeal was denied.   

On Wednesday 26^th May 1920 Albert Fraser and James Rollins were awakened at 6am sharp, served a hearty breakfast, and for the first time since their trial were permitted to associate in a cell together. A short religious ceremony was conducted by the prison chaplain and just before 8am the famed executioner John Ellis entered the cell and pinioned the arms of both men, throughout the men were compliant and in seemingly good spirits. Fraser and Rollins then were walked the short distance from the cell, across the landing to the scaffold. After confirming their identity, they both stepped on the trapdoor without complaint. Ellis placed a white cap over each man’s head, and a noose around each of their necks, as his assistant went to pull the lever to release the trapdoor, Fraser was heard to say ‘Cheer up, Jimmy’ to his companion. The lever was pulled and the two men died instantly. This would be the last double-hanging to ever take place in Scotland. But it was not the last time that Queens Park would take feature prominently in a murder case.

To be continued.