Alfred Rouse
Encyclopedia
Alfred Arthur Rouse was a British
murder
er. It was theorised, though never proved, that Rouse, seeking to fabricate his own death, picked up a hitch-hiker
, knocked him out, and then burnt his car with the man inside. His case is unusual in legal history because the identity of the victim was never known and therefore Rouse was convicted of the murder of an unknown man.
, Rouse was born in London
. His mother was Irish
and reported to be an actress. In 1900, his parents' marriage broke up, apparently because his mother deserted, and Rouse and two other children of the marriage were taken to be brought up by his aunt on his father's side. He went to a council school where he was bright (but not exceptionally so) and athletic.
On leaving school Rouse learned carpentry
and also went to evening classes where he learned to sing and to play musical instrument
s (the piano
, mandolin
, and violin
). He had quite considerable musical ability and his voice developed into a good baritone
. He worked first as an office boy for an estate agent
, and then in 1909 used his carpentry experience to join a West End
furniture
manufacturer. A member of the Church of England
, Rouse was a sacristan
at St Saviour's Church in Stoke Newington
. In March 1909 the Criminal Law Reports listed an "Alfred Rouse".
, Rouse enlisted (8 August, 1914), being assigned to the 24th Queen's Territorial Regiment as a Private
and assigned the number 2011. The Regiment kept him for training in England before his departure for France
, and in the meantime Rouse married Lily May Watkins at St Saviour's Church, St Albans
on 29 November.
Rouse arrived in France on 15 March 1915, and was stationed in Paris
for some weeks before his unit was sent into battle. During this time, Rouse is known to have fathered a child. His unit was then committed to the Battle of Festubert
, near Bethune, which began on 15 May. In a bayonet
attack, Rouse came face to face with a German
soldier
and lunged at him but missed; the memory of waiting just for an instant for the enemy reply stayed with him. Also at this battle was Herbert John Hodgson
, who was later to print the first subscriber's edition of the Seven Pillars of Wisdom
by T. E. Lawrence
. Rouse and Hodgson are in a group of soldiers captured on a photograph that must have been taken in the weeks before the battle.
On the last day of the battle, a high explosive shell exploded close to Rouse's head, severely injuring him (he also had injuries to his thigh).
; he could walk, but only with difficulty. He was repatriated and sent to recuperate at a series of Army
hospital
s. An Invaliding Medical Board hearing on 9 December, 1915 found that his capacity had been "reduced 3/4".
Rouse was formally discharged from the Army on 11 February, 1916, and awarded a pension of twenty shillings
per week. His medical records show he was still severely disabled. In July 1916 the doctor noted that Rouse's memory was defective and he was unable to wear a hat of any kind because his scar was irritable, although his speech and writing were unaffected and he "sleeps well unless excited in any way". His pension was raised to twenty-five shillings per week the next month.
At the end of January 1917, the doctor found progress, and believed that the injury to his leg could "by degrees be overcome by the man's own endeavour". A year later, Rouse reported some dizziness but the doctor noted how he was talkative and "laughs immoderately at times". In September 1918 Rouse complained of defective memory and bad sleeping.
. His pension, which since September 1918 had been twenty-seven shillings and sixpence per week, was decreased to twelve shillings per week on 17 September 1919.
In August 1920 a final examination found his head injury healed, and his knee injury only slightly affecting movement. Rouse's pension stopped on 14 September 1920 with payment of a lump sum of £
41 5s. in final settlement of all claims.
In fact Rouse had already found work. He became a salesman, and would prove to be an amazingly good one up until the last few months before his crime. In a period of vast unemployment, Rouse managed to make enough money for a house with his legal wife, as well as owning a car, a Morris Minor (1928)
. The critical problem was his sexual urges. Because he was on the road so much Rouse had plenty of time to go out and meet and entertain various women, at least two of whom would get pregnant from the experience of knowing him. Rouse had already had a child support order imposed on him. He also knew of a second coming up. Also there was another woman expecting him to marry her (they were "engaged"). He really was aware that he had to disappear in order to avoid the coming catastrophe.
In the early hours of 6 November 1930, two young men returning from the town of Northampton
to their home in the nearby village of Hardingstone saw a fire in the distance. A man approaching them from the direction of the fire observed that 'somebody must be lighting a bonfire'. The two men went to investigate and discovered the fire was coming from a vehicle that was ablaze, containing a body charred beyond recognition. The licence plate identified the car as belonging to an Alfred Arthur Rouse, a north-London
er. Rouse had gone to Wales
to one of his girlfriends, but returned to London a day later. He was arrested and confessed, saying that he had picked up the victim during a ride to Leicester
. While Rouse went to defecate, the man lit a cigarette in the car. According to Rouse, there was a flash of light, and subsequently the car burst in flame. Alfred Rouse stood trial in Northampton
in January 1931, and was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death.
Rouse's personality was the cause of his failure to win support for the counter-theory that the man in the car was responsible for the explosion that killed him. Rouse, after initially trying to run off, decided to hand himself over to the police. But while giving his statement of what he claimed happened (an accident – but the other fellow was to blame) he let slip a comment that got into the newspapers, referring to his career as a salesman and the women he knew. He referred to these ladies as his "harem". That did not sit well with the public. His failure to explain why he picked up the unknown person (supposedly just to give him a lift) was dented when he made the callous comment that the unknown person was just somebody who nobody would miss. The final blow to the accident theory was delivered not by Sir Bernard Spilsbury (who did give forensic evidence of the remains of the unknown person), but by an expert on automobiles who studied the remains of the Morris Minor, and found somebody had forcefully turned a nut and screw to allow petrol to flow into the motor (making a fire all the easier to set). The chief prosecuting counsel at Rouse's trial was William Norman Birkett, 1st Baron Birkett
.
On Tuesday, 10 March 1931, he was hanged in Bedford Gaol
. He confessed to the crime shortly before the execution.
In Alan Moore
's novel Voice of the Fire
, set in Northampton at various times throughout history, one chapter tells Rouse's story in first-person narrative
, an evasive and self-serving musing to himself as he sits in the dock during his murder trial. The chapter ends with Rouse seemingly convinced of his ability to charm his jury into acquitting him, with his judgment in this matter proving as poor as it had been throughout the entire story.
The case was dramatized on a 1951 episode of Orson Welles
' radio drama The Black Museum
entitled "The Mallet"
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
er. It was theorised, though never proved, that Rouse, seeking to fabricate his own death, picked up a hitch-hiker
Hitchhiking
Hitchhiking is a means of transportation that is gained by asking people, usually strangers, for a ride in their automobile or other road vehicle to travel a distance that may either be short or long...
, knocked him out, and then burnt his car with the man inside. His case is unusual in legal history because the identity of the victim was never known and therefore Rouse was convicted of the murder of an unknown man.
Early life
The son of W.E. Rouse, a hosier from Milkwood Road in Herne HillHerne Hill
Herne Hill is located in the London Borough of Lambeth and the London Borough of Southwark in Greater London. There is a road of the same name which continues the A215 north of Norwood Road and was called Herne Hill Road.-History:...
, Rouse was born in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. His mother was Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
and reported to be an actress. In 1900, his parents' marriage broke up, apparently because his mother deserted, and Rouse and two other children of the marriage were taken to be brought up by his aunt on his father's side. He went to a council school where he was bright (but not exceptionally so) and athletic.
On leaving school Rouse learned carpentry
Carpentry
A carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....
and also went to evening classes where he learned to sing and to play musical instrument
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
s (the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
, and violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
). He had quite considerable musical ability and his voice developed into a good baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
. He worked first as an office boy for an estate agent
Estate agent
An estate agent is a person or business that arranges the selling, renting or management of properties, and other buildings, in the United Kingdom and Ireland. An agent that specialises in renting is often called a letting or management agent...
, and then in 1909 used his carpentry experience to join a West End
West End of London
The West End of London is an area of central London, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings, and entertainment . Use of the term began in the early 19th century to describe fashionable areas to the west of Charing Cross...
furniture
Furniture
Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...
manufacturer. A member of the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
, Rouse was a sacristan
Sacristy
A sacristy is a room for keeping vestments and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records.The sacristy is usually located inside the church, but in some cases it is an annex or separate building...
at St Saviour's Church in Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington is a district in the London Borough of Hackney. It is north-east of Charing Cross.-Boundaries:In modern terms, Stoke Newington can be roughly defined by the N16 postcode area . Its southern boundary with Dalston is quite ill-defined too...
. In March 1909 the Criminal Law Reports listed an "Alfred Rouse".
Wartime service
When war broke out in EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Rouse enlisted (8 August, 1914), being assigned to the 24th Queen's Territorial Regiment as a Private
Private (rank)
A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...
and assigned the number 2011. The Regiment kept him for training in England before his departure for France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and in the meantime Rouse married Lily May Watkins at St Saviour's Church, St Albans
St Albans
St Albans is a city in southern Hertfordshire, England, around north of central London, which forms the main urban area of the City and District of St Albans. It is a historic market town, and is now a sought-after dormitory town within the London commuter belt...
on 29 November.
Rouse arrived in France on 15 March 1915, and was stationed in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
for some weeks before his unit was sent into battle. During this time, Rouse is known to have fathered a child. His unit was then committed to the Battle of Festubert
Battle of Festubert
The Battle of Festubert was an attack by the British army in the Artois region of France on the western front during World War I. It began on May 15, 1915 and continued until May 25.-Context:...
, near Bethune, which began on 15 May. In a bayonet
Bayonet
A bayonet is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit in, on, over or underneath the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar weapon, effectively turning the gun into a spear...
attack, Rouse came face to face with a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
and lunged at him but missed; the memory of waiting just for an instant for the enemy reply stayed with him. Also at this battle was Herbert John Hodgson
Herbert John Hodgson
Herbert John Hodgson is regarded as one of the most skilled printers of the twentieth century. After serving in the First World War, with Roy Manning Pike he printed the rare 1926 subscribers' edition of The Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T. E. Lawrence...
, who was later to print the first subscriber's edition of the Seven Pillars of Wisdom
Seven Pillars of Wisdom
Seven Pillars of Wisdom is the autobiographical account of the experiences of British soldier T. E. Lawrence , while serving as a liaison officer with rebel forces during the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Turks of 1916 to 1918....
by T. E. Lawrence
T. E. Lawrence
Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence, CB, DSO , known professionally as T. E. Lawrence, was a British Army officer renowned especially for his liaison role during the Arab Revolt against Ottoman Turkish rule of 1916–18...
. Rouse and Hodgson are in a group of soldiers captured on a photograph that must have been taken in the weeks before the battle.
On the last day of the battle, a high explosive shell exploded close to Rouse's head, severely injuring him (he also had injuries to his thigh).
Recuperation
An operation had to be performed on Rouse's left temporal region to remove shrapnel, and his leg injuries left him unable to bend his knee, and his leg suffered from an œdemaEdema
Edema or oedema ; both words from the Greek , oídēma "swelling"), formerly known as dropsy or hydropsy, is an abnormal accumulation of fluid beneath the skin or in one or more cavities of the body that produces swelling...
; he could walk, but only with difficulty. He was repatriated and sent to recuperate at a series of Army
Army
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
s. An Invaliding Medical Board hearing on 9 December, 1915 found that his capacity had been "reduced 3/4".
Rouse was formally discharged from the Army on 11 February, 1916, and awarded a pension of twenty shillings
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
per week. His medical records show he was still severely disabled. In July 1916 the doctor noted that Rouse's memory was defective and he was unable to wear a hat of any kind because his scar was irritable, although his speech and writing were unaffected and he "sleeps well unless excited in any way". His pension was raised to twenty-five shillings per week the next month.
At the end of January 1917, the doctor found progress, and believed that the injury to his leg could "by degrees be overcome by the man's own endeavour". A year later, Rouse reported some dizziness but the doctor noted how he was talkative and "laughs immoderately at times". In September 1918 Rouse complained of defective memory and bad sleeping.
Return to work
On 30 July 1919, Rouse was examined again by an unsympathetic doctor who observed that he was now in no disability from his head wound, and that while Rouse wouldn't allow his knee to be flexed by more than 30%, there was no physical reason for the limitation and the doctor ascribed it to neurosisNeurosis
Neurosis is a class of functional mental disorders involving distress but neither delusions nor hallucinations, whereby behavior is not outside socially acceptable norms. It is also known as psychoneurosis or neurotic disorder, and thus those suffering from it are said to be neurotic...
. His pension, which since September 1918 had been twenty-seven shillings and sixpence per week, was decreased to twelve shillings per week on 17 September 1919.
In August 1920 a final examination found his head injury healed, and his knee injury only slightly affecting movement. Rouse's pension stopped on 14 September 1920 with payment of a lump sum of £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
41 5s. in final settlement of all claims.
In fact Rouse had already found work. He became a salesman, and would prove to be an amazingly good one up until the last few months before his crime. In a period of vast unemployment, Rouse managed to make enough money for a house with his legal wife, as well as owning a car, a Morris Minor (1928)
Morris Minor (1928)
This article refers to the motor car manufactured by the Morris Motor Company and its successors from 1928–1933. For the Morris Minor manufactured by the Morris Motor Company from 1948–1971, see Morris Minor....
. The critical problem was his sexual urges. Because he was on the road so much Rouse had plenty of time to go out and meet and entertain various women, at least two of whom would get pregnant from the experience of knowing him. Rouse had already had a child support order imposed on him. He also knew of a second coming up. Also there was another woman expecting him to marry her (they were "engaged"). He really was aware that he had to disappear in order to avoid the coming catastrophe.
Murder
At just what point Rouse decided on his scheme is not settled, nor how he arrived at it. He may have read a plot about substituting a corpse in a burning car from a spy novel of that time, The "W" Plan. Also there had been some recent burning car murders in Germany. However, he did seem to have a fixed play, setting the timing of the fire in the car to be on Guy Fawkes' Night (5–6 November 1930), the anniversary of the failure of The Gunpowder Plot. On that night, traditionally, many bonfires are set throughout England on which fake figures (like scarecrows) representing Guy Fawkes are burned. Rouse may have thought that one more pyre would not be noticed that night.In the early hours of 6 November 1930, two young men returning from the town of Northampton
Northampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...
to their home in the nearby village of Hardingstone saw a fire in the distance. A man approaching them from the direction of the fire observed that 'somebody must be lighting a bonfire'. The two men went to investigate and discovered the fire was coming from a vehicle that was ablaze, containing a body charred beyond recognition. The licence plate identified the car as belonging to an Alfred Arthur Rouse, a north-London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
er. Rouse had gone to Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
to one of his girlfriends, but returned to London a day later. He was arrested and confessed, saying that he had picked up the victim during a ride to Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
. While Rouse went to defecate, the man lit a cigarette in the car. According to Rouse, there was a flash of light, and subsequently the car burst in flame. Alfred Rouse stood trial in Northampton
Northampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...
in January 1931, and was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death.
Rouse's personality was the cause of his failure to win support for the counter-theory that the man in the car was responsible for the explosion that killed him. Rouse, after initially trying to run off, decided to hand himself over to the police. But while giving his statement of what he claimed happened (an accident – but the other fellow was to blame) he let slip a comment that got into the newspapers, referring to his career as a salesman and the women he knew. He referred to these ladies as his "harem". That did not sit well with the public. His failure to explain why he picked up the unknown person (supposedly just to give him a lift) was dented when he made the callous comment that the unknown person was just somebody who nobody would miss. The final blow to the accident theory was delivered not by Sir Bernard Spilsbury (who did give forensic evidence of the remains of the unknown person), but by an expert on automobiles who studied the remains of the Morris Minor, and found somebody had forcefully turned a nut and screw to allow petrol to flow into the motor (making a fire all the easier to set). The chief prosecuting counsel at Rouse's trial was William Norman Birkett, 1st Baron Birkett
William Norman Birkett, 1st Baron Birkett
William Norman Birkett, 1st Baron Birkett, QC PC was a British barrister, judge, politician and preacher who served as the alternate British judge during the Nuremberg Trials. Educated at Barrow-in-Furness Grammar School...
.
On Tuesday, 10 March 1931, he was hanged in Bedford Gaol
Bedford (HM Prison)
HMP Bedford is a Category B men's prison, located in the Harpur area of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.-History:...
. He confessed to the crime shortly before the execution.
In Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
's novel Voice of the Fire
Voice of the Fire
Voice of the Fire is the first novel from Alan Moore, acclaimed comic book writer. The twelve-chapter book was initially published in the United Kingdom c. 1996. The narratives take place around Moore's hometown of Northampton, England during the month of November, and span several millennia — from...
, set in Northampton at various times throughout history, one chapter tells Rouse's story in first-person narrative
First-person narrative
First-person point of view is a narrative mode where a story is narrated by one character at a time, speaking for and about themselves. First-person narrative may be singular, plural or multiple as well as being an authoritative, reliable or deceptive "voice" and represents point of view in the...
, an evasive and self-serving musing to himself as he sits in the dock during his murder trial. The chapter ends with Rouse seemingly convinced of his ability to charm his jury into acquitting him, with his judgment in this matter proving as poor as it had been throughout the entire story.
The case was dramatized on a 1951 episode of Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
' radio drama The Black Museum
The Black Museum
The Black Museum was a 1951 radio crime drama program independently produced by Harry Alan Towers and based on real-life cases from the files of Scotland Yard's Black Museum. Ira Marion was the scriptwriter, and music for the series was composed and conducted by Sidney Torch...
entitled "The Mallet"