depoix Posted September 10, 2005 Share Posted September 10, 2005 Originally posted by Fareast Depoix :--What got me thinking about it all , originally , strangely enough , was the weather , of all things ! I've been here in China all Summer and , believe me , it's been very hot at times and very humid with it .However 90 % of the time , it's been bearable or pleasant ; I happen to like hot weather too ! A few years ago I was back in Sheffield and for a year lived up near Crookes. When I used to go shopping , sometimes , in Winter , it was really cruel . The wind seemed to cut through your bones. Then I thought how grim a lot of Sheffield must have looked in those days------dark , forbidding mills ! I bet China in those days was probably pollution -free , before their industrialisation. This , finally led me to thinking how the change must have shocked the Chinese , arriving in Sheffield at that time . Also , I'm not sentimental about most things but I think it's rather sad to think of them both dying , in their different ways , so far from home. Even if I just feel a bit ,'under the weather ' here , I start to get a bit morbid about that angle ! it must have been some expieriance for them coming from a reletively quiet country,from crookes it must have looked like the east end of sheffield was on fire with the steel works in full swing and the hamers pounding away all day and night, i can remember in the fifties my mum using a scrubbing brush to whiten the shirts, and the white going out shirts , she dried in the house to stop them turning yellow with the air pollution. at times we couldnt see across sheffield due to the smog,its remarkable nowadays when you can just about see doncaster on the horizon, how times have changed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fareast Posted September 10, 2005 Author Share Posted September 10, 2005 Depoix , At the risk of boring you , there was another off-beat Sheffield murder in Crookes-Walkley and when you said you live near Springvale Road , I think you might be interested in this one . It's more recent than the Chinese one , so I'll not say any names , for obvious reasons of maybe embarrasing anyone. This one was about 1960-1961 and involved a fairly high-ranking policeman , who , I think , lived on Fir Street . Apparently his wife was a bit of a shrew -----or at least he said she was. Anyway , one day he killed her and later was transporting the body in his car towards somewhere in East Yorkshire , to dump it , probably in the Humber or Derwent , I should think. Well , by one of those odd quirks of fate , he was stopped by the police but he kept a remarkably cool head and showed them his I.D. , made up a story and carried on . However , later when the news got round about , "the missing policeman's wife " , the police who'd stopped him remembered the incident and , 'the game was up ' . I think , although capital punishment was still in force , he was given Life imprisonment as was usual with domestic murders. I'm sure those were the basic facts but I may have got a few details wrong. I've no way of checking ------no books out here and I'm useless with a computer. I remember the Sheffield you describe , too. I was born 1941 and it just seemed accepted that Sheffield was a polluted city . I 'm sure we almost took a perverted sort of pride in it ! After all we had Derbyshire to fall back on and the Muck did make our Money ! However , yes , it must have been a shock to someone from such a different background. ; rather like moving from Cornwall to Vladivostok ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
depoix Posted September 12, 2005 Share Posted September 12, 2005 far east,you are never going to believe the coincedance you have just raised. as a young lad i worked as a van boy for south yorkshire laundry, the incident you described with the police officer came rushing back to me. my self and my driver were both interviewed regarding this case,we delivered to his house and the police wanted to know if we could remember who answered the door the last time we called with the laundry. what a very small world we live in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucasdigital Posted September 12, 2005 Share Posted September 12, 2005 Originally posted by depoix what a very small world we live in [/b] Not half! As a kid I lived for some years in the Punch Bowl pub, just across the road from the crime scene. I used to work with a girl called Tracy who lived at at the Punch Bowl for a few years after I left for Stannington. Small? The world can sometimes look very tiny - and sometimes freaky. Credit to Fareast for raising this facinating story! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppins Posted September 12, 2005 Share Posted September 12, 2005 Great story, enjoyed reading it, good going ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fareast Posted September 13, 2005 Author Share Posted September 13, 2005 A bit late in replying as I've been busy. Thanks for your comments . It is really surprising how many co-incidences have been connected to the later case. I can't recall , at the moment , any other murder cases in the Crookes-Walkley area but perhaps someone will know of some.others . I once read a book called , 'Murderer 's London' , which , "took you " round London , systematically and geographically and described some of the most famous murders that had happened and how the scene looked when the book was written . I had an idea of doing something like that for Sheffield , some years ago , but failed to get round to it .........idleness , no other excuse ! But , I retire in just over a year , so I might try again then. There was a book published called , 'Crime in Sheffield ' , a few years ago but that obviously included all the well-known ones , not just murders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extaxman Posted September 15, 2005 Share Posted September 15, 2005 You're right about it being a small world! I used to work with the policeman who did the murder. He was released after doing part of his life sentence and you couldn't have wished to meet a nicer bloke. Everyone got on well with him and he came to my wedding with a very expensive present. I am not going to quote any names as he may still be alive, if he is - good luck to him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldrowley Posted September 16, 2005 Share Posted September 16, 2005 Very interesting thread chaps. There's an entertaining site on the subject of hangings and hangmen at http://www.richard.clark32.btinternet.co.uk/hanged1.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheffco Posted October 16, 2005 Share Posted October 16, 2005 There we go again far east - - I remeber you once sayingg that it was strange our paths had never crossed, as much of our lives - well early - seemed parallel in a way. Well I now find myself working for a Chinese company BGP. An oil exploration outfit, as thats my thing. I wonder if you were involved in teaching them english, as they speak it so well - - like airlines, english is the standard language in the oil business in the middle east. Must admit - I don't like rice, so they are very accomodating in that respect - - the cook does potato's and bread rolls just for me. As you say, very pleasant people. It made me think of your stories about china when I was invited to be an advisor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppins Posted October 16, 2005 Share Posted October 16, 2005 Just thought i would sneek this in....are you able to speak Chinese ? is it hard to learn ? any basic book that u used ? errrr....yes Sheff has a lot of History ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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