SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

HiI am about to publish Unsolved Murders Of The North, at the end of November. As far as I could find there was never even an arrest for Mrs Sharp's murder. One lad actually saw the man running away but a recovering broken ankle prevented him giving chase (and possibly obtaining a bullet in his body to add to the pain). It was one of thos, I felt, where getting away with the crime was as big a consideration as the amount of loot take.How and ever, what I don't say in the book is that Mr Sharp remarried a few years later and I hope he had a long and happy marriage. He moved from the adress he shared with his late wife.Another unsolved Leeds murder of Henry Warner is also presented.Would appreciate any feedback through the site.JM

I recall a murder in a basement shop on Wellington Street. It occurred in the lae1940s/early 1950s. The shop was under or near to no 64 - which contained the District Offices of the railway department that I later worked for - and I am reasonably certain that that murder remained unsolved. It may have been a cobblers or newsagents, but I am unable to remember with any certainty. I would be interested if anyone knows more about that event

jim wrote: I recall a murder in a basement shop on Wellington Street. It occurred in the lae1940s/early 1950s. The shop was under or near to no 64 - which contained the District Offices of the railway department that I later worked for - and I am reasonably certain that that murder remained unsolved. It may have been a cobblers or newsagents, but I am unable to remember with any certainty. I would be interested if anyone knows more about that event Its Henry Warner referred to above.Try thishttp://www.truecrimelibrary.com/crime_series_s ... 11&id=1277

Thanks for that Dogduke, I'm afraid that the name hadn't rung a bell, so the forgettory strikes again!

Wasn't 64 Wellington Street the office ofthe 'Railway Doctor' ?You were sent there after such and such a time off work and ifyou had been off sick for a long time or had certain problems and were 'thrown off sick' by your own doctor you had to see the RD to see if you could take up normal duties or not.

It certainly was Dogduke. As I recall the Railway Doctor's rooms were to the left of the door as you entered from Wellington Street. He also examined all new employees and carried out the mandatory eyesight tests for all staff whose duties took them on running lines.The rest of the building was occupied by the District Outdoor Machinery Engineer ( variously referred to as D.O.M.E., O.D.M., or "Oh no, not you lot! ) and his technical and clerical staff. They were in charge of a score or more workshops in the Yorkshire region, but not including the Sheffield area. Our Leeds depot was in Ellis Court, off Aire Street, and to the west of the parcels area immediately north of the river.    

jim wrote: I recall a murder in a basement shop on Wellington Street. It occurred in the lae1940s/early 1950s. The shop was under or near to no 64 - which contained the District Offices of the railway department that I later worked for - and I am reasonably certain that that murder remained unsolved. It may have been a cobblers or newsagents, but I am unable to remember with any certainty. I would be interested if anyone knows more about that event That murder was of Stephen Henry Warner- he was my great-great-grandfather.    

Hi littleruins,In the late 1960's and early 1970's. I was a young detective in the Leeds Crime Squad and I had to interview a man in connection with the undetected Warner Murder. From memory, I think that the Police response was due to some anonymous letters being sent to 'The Head of the C.I.D., Leeds' (who at the time was Det. Ch. Supt. Dennis Hoban). I can't remember the details but I worked with Det. Con. John Stockwell (who I have mentioned in another thread on Post Office Murders) and we traced the man and interviewed him. There was no evidence whatsoever to connect him to the murder.The funny thing for me was that I was about twenty four years old at the time and I was interviewing a man for a murder which had occurred when I was only one year old.Ian

drapesy wrote: Do you know exactly where this post office on Bridge end was?     When I worked at Tetleys in 1972 onwards there was IIRC a post office on the right as you walked to cross Leeds Bridge set in the waterways building. There was a post box outside, and i can picture it clearly.This is the opposite side of the road to Tasa's map - I wonder if at some point it was moved across the road?

The Bridge End Post Office has been on at least three sites since 1900. Godfreys map of 1906 shows it some four shops further west than its position on the map posted by Tasa on 22/04/2009 on this thread. That map appears to date from before 1959. At some later date the Post office was moved across to the eastern side of Bridge End. As one who regularly frequented the Bridge End Cafe in the 1960s, my memory is that the attack took place at this east side site, but I could be mistaken.