No morbid curiosity took me to the execution of Manning on Thursday morning but a stern sense of duty. Outsiders have but a poor idea of the impressiveness of an execution and for the benefit of those who have never seen the actual carrying out of the 'extreme penalty of the law' I may as well say that I have not the least doubt, but that of the dozen odd spectators of the gruesome affair at early morn on Thursday, not one wishes to see another execution.
As I wended my way to the County Gaol shortly before eight, I could not help repeating to myself the sentence 'It is a pleasant day to live, but a gloomy one to die'. Once arrived at the gaol it was an easy matter, thanks to the permit courteously granted me by Mr J.W. Coran the county under-sheriff; not before, however, clearly stating my business to the sturdy yet civil janitor stationed at the entry lodge. Inside the gaol lodge were the Deputy Chief Constable Mr Phillpots, Inspector Elliott and a posse of police as well as a Warder of the prison and there we were kept waiting until close on the stroke of eight.
We observed a Warder on the roof of one of the prison buildings preparing to hoist a black flag. We are informed that the black flag is some four yards by eight and whilst contemplating it we were startled by a loud cry evidently proceeding from the poor man whose terrible crime we were about to see expiated.
The crime is commonplace, detailing as it does the horrible vengeance of a man against a woman of whom he was jealous. The old-old story again although in Manning’s case it is a sad one, the past character of the man proving he had a sincere affection for the woman for whose murder he has now paid the extreme penalty. Nearly twenty years ago Manning was a hard working and honest young fellow just commencing the battle of life, and having to leave home he took lodgings with Mr and Mrs Flew at Kingswood, near Bristol.
For the first three or four years everything went on very smoothly, one who knew him intimately at that time said he was of good in fact rather soldier like appearance, and likely to do well in his station in life. His attentions to Mrs Flew became very distasteful to her husband and disagreements became very frequent, so frequent indeed that the latter left home, went abroad and has not since been heard of. Manning continued to live with the woman with the exception of about six weeks some ten years ago when he went to South Wales to be married, but speedily left his wife until a few weeks before he committed the murder, although from 1890 the unfortunate man appeared to be very jealous of the attentions a man named Bryant paid to Mrs Flew.
As Manning all these years had assisted Mrs Flew to bring up her family in respectability and had also purchased a small green-grocery shop for her, it was natural he should be jealous of another man. His conduct became almost unbearable and he often threatened Mrs Flew on one occasion going so far as to try and throw her over the bannisters.
At last the woman’s relations intervened and after several ineffectual attempts, he was induced to leave the house and take all his belongings with him. He, however, continued to visit the woman, but there was invariably a row.
On the 28th September he was at work as usual with a man named Eady, who noticed that throughout the day he had a small bag which he kept moving from place to place, and which it was afterwards suggested contained a revolver. About four o’clock in the afternoon he left work and went down the road in the direction of Mrs Flew’s shop. Not long afterwards a man happened to be passing when he heard a shot, and looking into the shop was surprised to see the curtain dividing the back room from the shop in flames.
He saw Manning — who ran out and at the same time Mrs Flew came out of the back room — gave a scream and fell at the man’s feet. He noticed she was wounded and at once went for the police. On their return they found she had died and been taken into the back room. On searching the premises a hole, as if caused by the shot of a revolver’ was found in the back window of the small room.
Whilst upstairs the prisoner was found crouching behind a perambulator, several undischarged cartridges in his possession and up the chimney was discovered a small revolver. He was charged and taken into custody and removed to Her Majesty’s Prison at Gloucester, prior to being brought up at the November Assize. His conduct became very strange and for five months he refused to speak, at his trial he refused even to plead, but was found guilty and sentenced to death.
We are now gathered around the gallows, surely not one of the group will ever forget those few moments. Billington, the executioner, and his assistant Scott both of whom wear black silk skull caps — together with Mr Coran and his clerk, withdraw, and then we hear the solemn and impressive tones of the funeral service of the Church of England being pronounced 'I am the resurrection and the Life said the Lord' was the first sentence we heard previous to the procession appearing.
The Chaplain (the Rev J. Hart Johnson) in full clerical attire first appeared after which came the County Under Sheriff and his Clerk, each bearing a white wand, then followed the unfortunate man, a Warder being on each side, the executioner and his assistant bringing up the rear. His face was of an ashen hue but he walked with a firm step to the gallows and as Billington with an accustomed hand quickly fixed the noose around his neck he was heard by those standing very close to say 'Its too tight'. Quick as lightning Billington and his assistant strapped the unhappy mans legs, his lips at the time quivering as if in prayer and quite as quickly the white cap was adjusted.
Then stepping back Billington drew the bolt and in the fraction of the time it takes me to write this Albert Manning was no more. The silence was most impressive and after the body had been suspended for about a minute Mr Coran, calling the three Press representatives asked them to look into the pit.
Then it was seen that the body was quite stiff, the hands being clenched behind as if at the last moment the unfortunate man had struggled. Those who had seen previous executions remarked that Billington had done his work remarkably well, the affair being managed most expeditiously. The black flag was of course immediately hoisted and the aforementioned Press representatives, together with Dr Oscar Clark, the Deputy Chief Constable, Inspector Elliott and Mr G.H. Romans were called aside by the County Under Sheriff and asked to sign a declaration that the execution had been duly carried out.
The inquest which was held in the Board Room afterwards requires no attention at my hands but an act of courtesy on the part of Major Knox, Governor of the Prison, certainly deserves recognition. At the conclusion of the inquest Mr J. Waghorne, the Coroner, said that Major Knox would be pleased to show any gentlemen around the gaol. With the exception of one member of the Jury, everyone accepted the invitation and for nearly an hour Major Knox succeeded in interesting those present.
Every department of the vast building was visited, a batch of prisoners were seen at work on the treadmill, the kitchen was visited and the soup tasted, the condemned cell was peeped into, the system of oakum-picking explained; in fact the whole of the daily routine of an inmate of one, and surely one of the best managed, of Her Majesty’s Prisons was described. Thus ended a day memorable to more than one of Gloucester’s Citizens.
Excerpts from the Gloucester Chronicle 1893
