My name is Steve Lawson ,between 1966 and 1974 I served with the West Yorkshire Police
where I spent six years in the CID . During that period I dealt with offences ranging from the theft of bottles of Milk to the ultimate crime , Murder.
I wish to share with you the details of one particular murder.It occurred not whilst whilst I was a serving police officer but happened in the early hours of Sunday 15th July 1951 at Kirkheaton , a small village on the outskirts of the town of Huddersfield , in what was then the West Riding of Yorkshire ( now West Yorkshire). At the time of this murder I was living about three miles from the scene and as a young boy I was fascinated by stories which emanated from local people about the crime , never once in my imagination did I think that one day I would become involved in the story of Alfred Moore.
Alfred Moore (pictured right) was 36yrs years old , a poultry farmer who had a smallholding in the village of Kirkheaton where he lived with his wife and four small daughters who ranged in age between 2yrs and 10yrs of age. Alfred Moore was convicted of this particular crime and on the 6th February 1952 was hanged at Armley Prison , in Leeds. Did the Jury get it right , was justice done , or was Alfred Moore innocent ?.
Through this Blog , I will share with you , the case for the prosecution and that of the defence. I will highlight flaws in the prosecution evidence , I will introduce information gleaned from my own investigation , at the end of which it will be come clear that , in my opinion , an innocent man was sent to the gallows.
Alfred Moore had long been suspected of carrying out burglaries within the Huddersfield Division of the West Riding Constabulary , and although never convicted of any such offence , he did admit at his trial that he was responsible for a number of such offences. He was a burglar who attacked premises by stealth , entry to Mill offices , Co-ops and Post offices was often gained by the use of duplicate or skeleton keys where once inside , he would usually open the safe and steal cash , postal orders and postage stamps. It is believed that on one occasion he stole a quantity of American Dollar bills.
These offences had not been committed whilst he was living at Whinney Close Farm , Kirkheaton a property he had purchased at Public auction in April 1951 , they had been committed whilst he was living at Gyn Lane , Honley and Manchester Road , Milnsbridge two addresses on the outskirts of Huddersfield . The police had no evidence against Moore and could only watch as he appeared to prosper , going from from the humble terrace house in Manchester Road to the detached bungalow in Gyn Lane and finally the farm at Kirkheaton. According to a police report soon after Moore had taken up residence at Whinney Close farm (April 1951) an offence of office breaking had occurred in the area , once again Moore was the chief suspect and a plan of action was drawn up. The plan was simple , a number of Police officers would keep the farmhouse and surrounding fields and tracks under observation with a view to arresting Moore on return from one of his burgling activities , hopefully he would be in possession of stolen goods at that time and the mission would have been accomplished.
On the night of Saturday 14th July 1951 , ten police officers under the overall command of Detective Chief Inspector Arthur Leslie Jenkins gathered at the Divisional Headquarters of the West Riding Constabulary in Princess Street , Huddersfield . They arrived at the Police station at about 10pm , all were in civilian clothing and none were armed , among the party of ten were Detective Inspector Duncan Alexander Fraser , head of the Huddersfield Divisional CID and Police Constable Arthur Gordon Jagger. The story began in that Police station and the following is the case for the prosecution
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