Winston Churchill resigned from
Stanley Baldwin's shadow cabinet after disagreeing with the policy of
conciliation with Indian nationalism.
Oswald Mosley formed the New Party which was to become the National Union of Fascists having resigned from the Labour Party.
The Socialist Government resigned and a National Administration was formed, with Ramsey MacDonald as Prime Minister, as well as including Stanley Baldwin and Neville Chamberlain.
English writer Arnold Bennett died of typhoid in London shortly after returning from a visit to Paris, where he drank local water to prove it was safe.
The Highway Code - with motor traffic becoming more and more common the first edition of the Highway Code was issued priced at 1d.
Les Dawson, Lonnie Donegan, Diana Dors and Lionel Blair entered the world.
In America, Al Capone, gang leader and
public enemy number one, was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment, and a fine of
£20,000 for evasion of the income tax laws.
Nearer home, in Camberley, the population was 13,676, (in 3,406 houses) and a four bed roomed detached house would cost you £1,000.
In Farnborough, Ellen Yeomans left the
Fox Inn, where she had been landlady for 20 years.
As Mrs. Yeomans called last orders for the final time she could never have imagined that she would soon be appearing as a principal witness to one of the most intriguing unsolved murders of the 20th century.
The Cast of Characters
As Mrs. Yeomans called last orders for the final time she could never have imagined that she would soon be appearing as a principal witness to one of the most intriguing unsolved murders of the 20th century.
The Cast of Characters
Major George Thompson Trevelyan “Trev” Jackson
Major Jackson
qualified as a veterinary surgeon in 1898 and the following year volunteered to
serve as a civilian vet for the British Army in South Africa. In 1901 he
accepted the post of Lieutenant in HM Armed forces where he remained for twenty
years until he left the army, as a Major, in 1921 and set up a civilian
veterinary practice in Eastbourne.
Major Jackson had
married Mabel Palmer in 1909 but by now, with the long periods away from each
other, their relationship had broken down and at the beginning of 1922, with
Jackson already involved in a relationship with a young heiress, they separated and started divorce proceedings.
Frances Howard Chevis (nee Rollason)
Frances Rollason
was born on March 10th 1902, the daughter of two extremely wealthy
parents whose families were extremely successful industrialists. Her father
died on April 16th 1902 and left his fortune to Frances, held in
trust until she reached 25 or was married.
The six week old
Frances had become heiress to a fortune worth today at least £16 million.
In 1918 Frances,
now a lively, beautiful young lady, moved to Eastbourne with her mother.
Frances entered into a
relationship with Major Jackson, a local
married veterinary who was old enough to be her father. Very soon Frances, not yet 21, was with child.
Frances moved to
a nursing home in Bournemouth where she gave birth to a daughter, Elizabeth
Boden “Libby” Rollason on June 4th 1922. There was no fathers name
stated on the Birth Certificate.
18 months after
the birth of Libby, on November 19th 1923, immediately after Jackson’s divorce
finally came through, Frances, married Major Jackson.
Following a
honeymoon in Monte Carlo, her husband gave up his veterinary practice in
Eastbourne to concentrate on his sporting activities – he was a regular polo
player, huntsman and golfer. The couple settled in Bournemouth wasting no time
in having another daughter, Pauline Frances, the following year. In 1927 a son,
Peter Hubert Howard, was born by which time Frances had already caught the eye
of a dashing, handsome army lieutenant.
With the Major frequently away from home engaged in series of romantic adventures, Frances and the army lieutenant embarked on an affair.
Frances filed for
divorce on June 11th 1928 alleging that Jackson had committed
adultery with four women, two of whom were respectable married women, one the
wife of a prominent local doctor.
To avoid the
obvious scandal, the couple immediately left town - Frances to her London flat
and Jackson moving back to Eastbourne.
The divorce, as
was common at that time, was a costly, long drawn out affair with Jackson
repeatedly denying the claims of adultery.
With the evidence against him mounting and his money running out, Jackson finally withdrew his defence and the decree nisi was issued. Frances was granted custody of the three children and costs of £1666 6s 6d were awarded against Major Jackson.
With the evidence against him mounting and his money running out, Jackson finally withdrew his defence and the decree nisi was issued. Frances was granted custody of the three children and costs of £1666 6s 6d were awarded against Major Jackson.
Hubert
George "Hugh" Chevis
Hubert George
"Hugh" Chevis was born at Rawalpindi which was then part of British
India but now is in Punjab Province, Pakistan. His father was a Divisional
Judge who went on to become a Punjab High Court Judge and receive a knighthood.
Hugh and his older brother William were sent to England to receive their
education attending school in Boscombe then Stirling House Prep School,
Bournemouth before going on to Charterhouse.
In 1922 Hugh
Chevis graduated from the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich and took up a
position as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Artillery.
He was a
handsome, popular young officer of great physical strength – it was said that
he could pick up a full grown man with his right hand and another with his
left. He was an exceptional sportsman having played hockey at club and county
level as well as rugby for Woolwich Garrison.
He was also an
accomplished horseman and it was horse riding which first brought him into
contact with Major George Jackson and his wife Frances (nee Rollason).
The couple planned to marry as soon as Frances got her divorce but by the time the decree absolute was granted, in June 1929, Hugh Chevis had been posted to India.
On 20th
December 1930, on his return from India, Hugh and Frances were finally married at
Chelsea Register Office.
Ivy Thorne
Ivy Blanch Thorne was engaged as a nurse/midwife to Frances just prior to the birth of Peter Jackson in 1927. She remained with Frances after her marriage to Hugh Chevis becoming more of a companion/secretary as well as a live in nanny to Frances's three children residing in Frances's London flat.
Ellen Yeomans (nee Youmans)
In 1908 Ellen Youmans married Albert Yeomans of Cove who had served in the 50th (Hampshire) Company, Imperial Yeomanry during the Anglo-Boer War in South Africa, between 1900 and 1901.
Following the marriage Albert took up the position of licensee of The Fox Inn (Beer House) in what was then called Fox Lane, Farnborough. Assisted by his wife Ellen he ran the pub until he died suddenly on May 10th 1913 from a brain haemorrhage, aged 33.
Ellen Yeomans remained at the Fox, with her two young sons, taking over the licence and running the pub with help from Mrs. Vera Hayes, who also resided at the Fox.
In 1931, with her two sons grown up, Ellen Yeomans left the Fox and moved to Mychett, She took up a position of lady's maid and cook in the household of Lieutenant Hubert Chevis at Blackdown Camp, Deepcut.
Nicolas Bolger
Irish born Nicolas Bolger joined the British army prior to Irish independence.
Gunner Bolger married a local girl, Amy Parker, The couple lived in Lightwater and in March 1931, with his wife expecting their first child, Bolger took up the position of batman for Lieutenant Hubert Chevis at Blackdown Camp, Deepcut. His duties involved serving at table, cleaning silver and acting as the officers's valet.
The Scene of the Crime - Blackdown Camp
Blackdown Camp much later to become
Blackdown Barracks then the Princes Anne Barracks was established in the late
1903 initially to accommodate artillery and infantry.
In 1931, 28-year-old Lieutenant
Herbert "Hugh" Chevis, now an instructor in the Royal Artillery, and his wife Frances were living at “D” hut, Aisne Road, Blackdown Camp, Deepcut.
Frances still had her London flat, where the three children from her previous marriage and her nanny/companion, Ivy Thorne, lived. Frances owned a motor car and employed a chauffeur to drive her between the flat and the military quarters in Deepcut.
The Fateful Day - June 20th 1931
Frances still had her London flat, where the three children from her previous marriage and her nanny/companion, Ivy Thorne, lived. Frances owned a motor car and employed a chauffeur to drive her between the flat and the military quarters in Deepcut.
The Fateful Day - June 20th 1931
On the morning of June 20th 1931, Hugh Chevis awoke in his bungalow a contented man.
Not only was Hugh happily married, in
good health, prosperous and well-liked by everyone who knew him but he had no
known enemies or any notable personal difficulties.
His life was as good as it gets.
The Chevis’s were looking forward to
attending the Aldershot Tattoo later that evening, but by the next morning the
following events would make headlines in the daily papers.
In less than 24 hours, just six months
since marrying the wealthy and glamorous Frances, Lieutenant Chevis lay dead in
Frimley Cottage Hospital.
To Be Continued.
But in the meantime, here is Cab Calloway with his Cotton Club Orchestra performing the top selling song of 1931:
But in the meantime, here is Cab Calloway with his Cotton Club Orchestra performing the top selling song of 1931:
Hey Ho, Hey Ho, Hey Ho!
