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| WILLIAM COLLIER'S MURDER OF GAMEKEEPER THOMAS SMITH in 1866 |
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STAFFORDSHIRE FIGURE COMMEMORATING THE POACHER WILLIAM COLLIER'S MURDER OF GAMEKEEPER THOMAS SMITH in 1866, molded in relief with the violent struggle between Collier and Smith, This incident led to the last, and somewhat botched, public hanging in Stafford on the 7th August 1866 was one of poaching and murder. To support his wife and seven children, William Collier of Kingsley in the Staffordshire moorlands was, by repute, a poacher. An encounter with the gamekeeper, Thomas Smith, at nearby Whiston Eaves, resulted in a fierce struggle and Smith being bludgeoned to death. Collier was found guilty and sentenced to be hanged. George Smith, a Black Country hangman with a reputation for blundering, undertook the execution. Using old rope, his first attempt failed and, with the assembled crowd's anger mounting, his second attempt was successful. |
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