Leeds Assizes -December 1951

The trial of Alfred Moore opened at Leeds Assizes on 10th December 1951.

Leading for the prosecution was Mr. Raymond Hinchcliffe KC he being assisted by Mr. G.Norman Black , the recorder of Huddersfield. Mr. Harry Hylton - Foster KC led for the defence , assisted by his junior , Mr. C.R.Dean . ( Later to become a Judge).

The trial Judge was Mr. Justice Pearson , he was presiding at his first murder trial since being appointed to the bench of the High court.

I do not intend to bore people with the full ins and outs of the trial , and will therefore stick to the main body of evidence and discuss the salient points. The two main planks of the prosecution case were these , The timing of the setting up of the Police cordon around Moor's farm and the evidence by Police Constable Jagger , who at the time of the trial was deceased. His evidence had been written in a deposition recorded by a magistrate who sat at his Hospital bedside in the afternoon of the 15th July 1951. Part of that evidence was , that at an identification parade held at the Huddersfield Infirmary shortly before making his deposition that afternoon , Jagger , had picked out Moore from a nine man parade , as being the person who had shot himself and Inspector Fraser.

The prosecution would also offer evidence to the effect that the bullets (3 in all) recovered from the two Police officers were of 9mm calibre and were , in the normal course of events , for use with automatic hand guns . The Sten gun , used frequently by the military at that time also used 9mm ammunition. Three used 9mm cartridge cases were to be found in the farmhouse . A few days later a live 9mm round was found , under a pile of bricks near to the house !!
Of the bullets recovered from the two bodies , the ballistics expert of the time , said that markings on the bullets suggested that they were fired from a weapon , the barrel of which was larger than that of an automatic . In his opinion , they had been fired from a revolver . It was suggested that this weapon my have been in a state if disrepair.

A removal man by the name of Joe Baxter , who had helped Moore when he moved from an address in Huddersfield some three months earlier to Whinney close farm , would later say that when the wagon was being loaded at Moore's old address , he saw an old black tool box. This box was being put into the wagon when it dropped and the lid came off. As a result Baxter alleged that among the contents he saw a dilapidated revolver. On oath he said that it was a Luger revolver , he had had military training during the war , and knew what he was talking about , what he had seen was a Luger revolver.

In essence , that was the case against Alfred Moore and no doubt to those reading this latest information it will probably seem like the classic 'open and shut case' . Please do remember however , that a coin had two sides . Watch this space for further developments.