Listen to the witnesses in the recording or read their statements below.
arly policemen. Two are wearing the summer uniform of white trousers, and one carries a rattle (Glamorgan Record Office)
Reward poster for Parsons and Hickton (LBBD Archives at Valence House)
The Cross Keys pub (LBBD Archives at Valence House)
Voice acknowledgments: Bill Bailey, Geoff Canton, Gillian Whitlock, Jack Stillwell, John Blake, Kathryn Abnett, Lee Shelden, Linda Rhodes, Mark Watson, Rick Sweetman, Simon Vernon-Penrose
Elizabeth Page
Elizabeth Page again. I’ve heard that just after nine o’clock on the evening of the murder, Maria Parsons was walking back from shopping in Romford when she met the sergeant and George Clark near the Four Wantz.
She told them she was very tired, so Clark put his arms around her waist and went as if to pick her up and put her on the horse behind her husband. Was he being too familiar? Some people think so. We can’t ask Maria herself now. The poor young woman died of typhus just three months later. She was only 24.
And there’s more. A few days after Clark’s murder, Parsons was in the Lion pub in Romford reading a newspaper, when he was heard to murmur, “Dear me, poor fellow. I wish I hadn’t done it”. And back at the police station, someone overheard his sister Julia shout at him “You know you are guilty of it!”
Thomas Lewis Fanshawe, Vicar of Dagenham
I am Thomas Lewis Fanshawe, Vicar of Dagenham. The murder of poor unfortunate George Clark is almost the only thing people talk about here, even when they’re sitting in my church. I’m hearing people say “His mates did him in, you know!” meaning the police themselves.
I must admit the Dagenham police have a very poor reputation. Don’t forget that Clark was one of three constables sent here to replace men dismissed for that drunken rampage. It was so shocking to see them storming through the village, beating up a stable lad at the Cross Keys and brandishing their cutlasses at bystanders.
George Clark being a staunch Methodist, would have disapproved of the heavy drinking culture of the Dagenham police. Also, he came from the divisional headquarters, where everything is done by the book. Did the other officers believe he was sent to spy on them, and report any corruption or bribery he found? Some villagers would you believe, go as far as singling out Sergeant Parsons as the killer.
Clark and Mrs Maria Parsons were certainly on friendly terms. They went to chapel together. There are strong rumours that their relationship caused Parsons to become wildly jealous, even to the point of murder.
Elizabeth Page
Elizabeth Page again. I’ve heard that just after nine o’clock on the evening of the murder, Maria Parsons was walking back from shopping in Romford when she met the Sergeant and George Clark near the Four Wants.
She told them she was very tired, so Clark put his arms around her waist and went as if to pick her up and put her on the horse behind her husband. Was he being too familiar? Some people think so. We can’t ask Maria herself now. The poor young woman died of typhus just three months later. She was only 24 and there’s more.
A few days after Clark’s murder, Parsons was in the Lion Pub in Romford, reading a newspaper, when he was heard to murmur, “Dear me, poor fellow. I wish I hadn’t done it” and back at the police station, someone overheard his sister Julia shout at him “You know you are guilty of it.”
PC Abia Butfoy
I’m PC Abia Butfoy. I admit that we, the police, didn’t tell the truth about what happened on the 29th of June. That morning I went with Parsons to Romford Magistrates Court. Afterwards we had a few drinks at the Lamb in the marketplace, then moved on to the Star Tap in the High Street. We got back to Dagenham about a quarter to one.
I stopped at my house for five minutes before heading to the Rose and Crown. When I staggered out, I met Parsons in the street. He told me to go home and sleep it off and not bother turning up for duty, so that’s what I did. They tell me Parsons himself was drinking in the Cross Keys later that evening. By midnight, he couldn’t keep awake any longer and went home.
After the murder, he ordered us to pretend he’d been on duty all night as normal. He said “We were all in a mess and must stick to the tale”.
Where am I now? Oh yes, I remember. I’ve been brought to Colney Hatch Lunatic Asylum. I’m haunted night and day by the terrible sight of Clark’s mangled body. Murder! Murder! I’m going to die in here, I know I will. Oh no, he’s appeared again! Is he accusing me? Murder! Murder!
Inspector Jonathan Whicher
It’s Inspector Whicher again. After Butfoy made his bombshell confession, things became frantic. The Dagenham officers were put under house arrest but Parsons, Kimpton and Hickton escaped and it was months before they were recaptured.
The three were charged with perjury (lying under oath at the inquest) and conspiracy. Kimpton and Hickton claimed Parsons had forced them to back him up by saying he was on duty the night of the murder, and they feared the loss of their jobs. The jury found them guilty and they were sentenced to seven years’ transportation. They were never actually sent to Australia, and were set free after two years.
Parsons himself continued to deny everything. He was also put on trial, but the judge threw out the case and he walked free. He emigrated to Canada with the Hudson’s Bay Company and never returned to Britain.
To sum up: In my opinion, the evidence doesn’t support the theory that George Clark was killed by his fellow police officers, but their lies about the night of the murder, such as Clark being seen at one o’clock in the morning when he was probably already dead, inadvertently misled the investigation and could have allowed the real killers to escape justice.