Albert Edward Burrows was executed at Bagthorpe Prison in Nottingham on August 8, 1923. He had been convicted a month earlier at Derby Assizes of the murders of Hannah Calladine, a woman with whom he had a relationship, and her younger child, Albert Edward, who died in January 1920. Two other deaths were tied to his name: that of Hannah Calladine's daughter Elsie, dated to the day after, and that of a four-year-old boy, Thomas Wood, in 1923. Neither was tried.
Burrows was born in 1871 in Cheadle Hulme, then in Cheshire. By 1914 he was living in Glossop, a mill and market town on the edge of the Peak District in Derbyshire, with his wife and their daughter. He worked as a laborer and, during the First World War, in a munitions factory.
During the war years Burrows formed a relationship with Hannah Calladine. She had a daughter, Elsie, who was five at the time of the events of 1920. Burrows was supporting both his legal wife and Hannah Calladine, and when work became scarce after the war he could not keep up the payments. Hannah Calladine came to suspect that she was not legally married to him, and the bigamy came to light. In 1919 he served six months in Walton Prison, Liverpool, for bigamy. His wife left him during that time. When he was released, Hannah Calladine moved in with him, and the couple had a son, Albert Edward, who was 14 months old in January 1920.
Hannah Calladine and her younger child died on Sunday, January 11, 1920, and Elsie on the following day. Burrows told those who asked that Hannah Calladine and the children had left him, and his wife returned to the household. No inquiry followed, and three years passed before the deaths came to light.
Only the first two deaths were later the subject of a trial. The prosecution at Derby did not proceed on Elsie's death, and no charge in her case is on record.
In March 1923 a four-year-old boy, Thomas Wood, died in Glossop. The Borough Police questioned Burrows, who gave a written statement. He was arrested in Glossop in March 1923 and was brought several times before Glossop Magistrates for remand. He was held on remand on a charge of murder in the case of Thomas Wood. The inquiries that followed turned to Hannah Calladine and her two children. The date of the boy's death is not on record beyond the year.
The inquest at Glossop on June 12, 1923, was held under tight security because of strong public feeling against Burrows. The jury returned a verdict of wilful murder, and Burrows was committed for trial.
The trial took place at Derby Assizes before Mr Justice Shearman on July 3 and 4, 1923. The prosecution decided to proceed against him for the murders of Hannah Calladine and her baby, Albert Edward, only. No trial was held on the charge relating to Thomas Wood, and whether it was withdrawn or left on the file is not on record.
Burrows did not give evidence, and the defense called no witnesses. He maintained that he was innocent. The jury was out for 12 or 13 minutes and found him guilty. The exact legal wording of the sentence is not on record; the outcome was a sentence of death, carried out on August 8, 1923.
After the verdict Burrows was moved to Pentonville Prison in London while an application for leave to appeal was made. The application was refused without a hearing in July 1923. The appeal rested on the argument that Hannah Calladine had died by suicide and had taken her baby with her. It was dismissed. The name of the appeal court and the exact date of the refusal are not on record.
Burrows was executed at Bagthorpe Prison, Nottingham, on Wednesday, August 8, 1923. He had continued to say that he was innocent.
Three points remain unsettled. The first is the exact date and wording of the sentence, and of the appeal decision. The second is the position of the Thomas Wood charge, which was brought and not tried; the date of the boy's death is not on record. The third is the death of Elsie, dated to January 12, 1920, for which no charge is on record. Burrows's conviction therefore rests on one trial, concerning one event in January 1920. The later death and Elsie's are not convictions.
1871: Albert Edward Burrows is born in Cheadle Hulme.
1914: He is living in Glossop with his wife and their daughter.
February to July 1919: Serves six months in Walton Prison, Liverpool, for bigamy.
January 11, 1920: Hannah Calladine and her younger child, Albert Edward, die.
January 12, 1920: Hannah Calladine's daughter Elsie dies (not tried).
March 1923: A four-year-old boy, Thomas Wood, dies; Burrows is arrested at Glossop, appears before Glossop Magistrates and is held on remand charged with murder in that case.
June 12, 1923: Inquest at Glossop returns a verdict of wilful murder; Burrows is committed for trial.
July 3 and 4, 1923: Trial at Derby Assizes before Mr Justice Shearman; guilty verdict on July 4 on the murders of Hannah Calladine and Albert Edward.
July 1923: Application for leave to appeal refused.
August 8, 1923: Burrows is executed at Bagthorpe Prison, Nottingham.