The BackTracker History Show

Season:  3 Episode: 32 There were only seven hangings in 1936, and Dr Buck Ruxton was one of them as he was involved in one of the United Kingdom's most publicised murder cases of the 1930s, which gripped the nation at the time. The case is remembered now, not only for it's brutality, but also for the innovative forensic techniques employed in solving it.  THIS PODCAST This podcast...

Season:  3 Episode: 31 In August 1896 Temple Crozier was playing his part in the melodrama play 'Sins of the Night', but when it came to the dramatic ending, things went horribly wrong, but what exactly happened that fateful night? THIS PODCAST This podcast has been specially edited from a Bradley Stoke Radio show in Bristol, England.  If you liked it please leave a rating and maybe a co...

Season:  3 Episode: 30 Sarah Siddons was one of the greatest English tragic actresses. Among her greatest roles were Isabella, Belvidera in  Venice Preserv’d,   Jane Shore  in  The Tragedy of Jane Shore,  Katharine in  Henry VIII,  but it was as Lady Macbeth that she shone. Her success was due to her complete concentration upon the character whom she played:...

Season:  3 Episode: 29 The great age of highwaymen was the period from the Restoration in 1660 to the death of Queen Anne in 1714. Some of them are known to have been disbanded soldiers and even officers of the English Civil War and French wars. In this episode , you'll hear about a few of these robbers of the roads and their stories. THIS PODCAST This podcast ha...

Season:  3 Episode: 28 When he was spotted, Patrick Cotter was working as a bricklayer in the small Medieval town of Kinsale on the west Cork coast of Ireland where he had been born. He was 18 years old and ideally equipped for bricklaying. He was up to 8ft 8in tall and could reach a cottage roof without a ladder, and he had hands so large that they rendered a hod obsolete. Patrick was one of...

Season:  3 Episode: 27 Imagine waking up on an operating table and not knowing what happened. Then you start remembering bits and pieces of events when you realise you’re not supposed to be where you are. Here’s the peculiar story of Ewen MacDonald.  THIS PODCAST This podcast has been specially edited from a Bradley Stoke Radio show in Bristol, England.  If you liked it please leave...

Season:  3 Episode: 26 Rolls Royce has always been one of the prestigious cars to own and part of it's image in tied up in it's iconic emblem seem on the bonnet of it's cars; The Spirit of Ecstasy, the sculpture of a woman leaning forwards with her arms outstretched behind and above her. Billowing cloth runs from her arms to her back, resembling wings. The story behind that sculpture contains...

Season:  3 Episode: 25 One of the most sensational murder cases in the history of Bristol, Tennessee was the Killing Of Lillie Davis in East Hill Cemetery in 1907. Ack Hale of Bristol was convicted of murdering Miss Davis and was sentenced to life in the state penitentiary. Hale claimed the Davis girl shot herself with his revolver after having repeatedly threatened the end her life but the s...

Season:  3 Episode: 24 In 1948, Mrs Nan Evans sat in her little study, with it's picture lined walls. She was holding a big brown family book on her lap. "I don't really know how valuable the papers are. Some of the letters are probably too personal to be of any historical value to the state, but some are generally interesting. " She was talking about a bundle of around 300 letters written by...

Season:  3 Episode: 23 What most people don't know is that one of the most enduring legends of the Wild West was born in Frampton Cotterell just north of Bristol? The famous ten gallon hat was invented in the old cow town in Gloucestershire and has become an icon of a genre. Find out more about this history as well as a bit more about one of it's most famous wearer's, Tom Mix, the original Co...

Season:  3 Episode: 22 It was the summer of 1979 and with the Yorkshire Ripper hunting the red light districts, prostitutes across the country were living in fear. Then came the news that Bristol had been dreading. Workmen had found the mutilated body buried under a pile of sand on a St Paul’s building site just off Backfield. It turned out to be that of 32-year-old Wendy Jenkins. It didn’t t...

Season:  3 Episode: 21 More than 70 years ago the manager of a Bristol cinema was gunned down while those at the picture house continued, unaware, watching a movie. The killer of Robert Parrington Jackson has never been brought to justice in what is the city's oldest cold case still being investigated. THIS PODCAST This podcast has been specially edited from a Bradley Stoke Radio show in Bris...

Season:  3 Episode: 20 The Queen's first jubilee year, in 1977, was celebrated with street parties across the country. The Platinum Jubilee celebrations  marking the Queen's 70 years on the throne  are the first of their kind - aside from Victoria, no other Queen or King of Great Britain has even reigned for 60 years. This episode tells you more about the coronation of the Queen, wh...

Season:  3 Episode: 19 It started just like any other on Cherry tree House Farm in Lower Mynde, St Briavel's but it would end with several wounded and one dead. What exactly happened to turn 21 year old Joe Webb into a man intent on killing as many as he could? Listen to the eyewitness account by Richard Kear aged 13 to find out more. THIS PODCAST This podcast has been specially edited from a...

Season:  3 Episode: 18 On the afternoon of Tuesday March 12, 1872, a labourer was rowing home to Hunters Hill along the Parramatta River when he smelled something disgusting as he approached Kissing Point. As he drew closer, he saw a man’s decomposing body bobbing in the water. This was John Bridger, who had been a Wardroom steward on H.M.S Rosario but had wanted to start a new life in Austra...

Season:  3 Episode: 17 Stourhead Estate has a breathtaking 18th century landscape garden with lakeside walks, grottoes and classical temples. It also has a tragic history. The previous manor house that stood on these grounds was the backdrop to a heinous crime powered by vengeance and greed when Charles, the 8th Baron Stourton demands what he feels is his. THIS PODCAST This podcast has been s...

Season:  3 Episode: 16 While at anchor at Sandy Point, Punta Arenas, Chile on Apr. 26, 1881 waiting to take on coal, an explosion occurred on the new screw sloop HMS Doterel, half a minute later a second more powerful explosion destroyed the ship and sent her to the bottom. The entire episode took about three minutes, but it would take over a year to discover what had caused the loss. Here's...

Season:  3 Episode: 15 When you think of famous song writing duos, Lennon and McCartney are usually right up there at the top of the list, but when it comes to writing Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway's songs are almost as well known as the iconic Beatles duo. About Fifty years ago the Bristol-born pair created a song for a Coca Cola advert that not only topped the charts but found its way into...

Season:  3 Episode: 14 1909 was a very active year for suffragettes in Bristol and five women were sent to Horfield Prison for actions ranging from vandalism to attacking a politician. Hear about their incredible story and the horrors they suffered whilst in prison. THIS PODCAST This podcast has been specially edited from a Bradley Stoke Radio show in Bristol, England.  If you liked it p...

Season:  3 Episode: 13 Desmond Watkins wrote a letter to his friend, Ken, after surviving the daylight attack, 27 February 1941, on Parnell aircraft factory in Yate, Gloucestershire. Parnall was a British aircraft manufacturer that evolved from a wood-working company before the First World War to a significant designer of military and civil aircraft into the 1940s, making it a prime target fo...

Season:  3 Episode: 12 In the year 1574, Bristol was buzzing with the preparations for a major event: Queen Elizabeth was visiting the city and so a grand pageant was organised. The great and the good of Bristol were all anxious to see and be seen by her majesty but what else happened during that visit? THIS PODCAST This podcast has been specially edited from a Bradley Stoke Radio show in Bri...

Season:  3 Episode: 11 William Lidderdale had everything to live for. he was the Bank Manager in the Ilminster branch, he was going to get married in a few days, and his future looked rosy. So what happened to him in London and who was Miss Viney? THIS PODCAST This particular episode is a PODCAST EXCLUSIVE  If you liked it please leave a rating and maybe a comment and if you’d like to su...

Season:  3 Episode: 10 John Gray (1819-1872) was a Scottish merchant seaman and master mariner who served as Captain of the SS Great Britain for eighteen years and was extremely popular with crew and passengers alike, but his story ends in tragedy. THIS PODCAST This podcast has been specially edited from a Bradley Stoke Radio show in Bristol, England.  If you liked it please leave a rati...

Season:  3 Episode: 9 On May 22, it will be the  250th birth anniversary of Raja Ram Mohan Roy,  the "Father of Bengal Renaissance," the founder of the "Brahmo Samaj," and a stalwart warrior against the social evils that plagued Indian society. He was not only a great social reformer and educator, but he also had an impact on religion, politics, and public administration. Find...

Season:  3 Episode: 8 John Maskell was considered a man of very good character, having been in the Royal East Kent Regiment, or Buffs, for many years. So what pushed him over the edge in April 1868 and made a man such high standards go on a rampage around his barracks? You won't believe the answer. THIS PODCAST This podcast has been specially edited from a Bradley Stoke Radio show in Bristol,...