Hangman’s signature sparks bidding frenzy
Date published: 07 February 2011
THE signature of famous Oldham hangman Albert Pierrepoint caused a bidding war on eBay.
There were 26 bids for the scrap of paper bearing the former Hollinwood landlord’s autograph, with the winner paying £217.66. The signature was labelled “rare” by the seller, from Urmston.
Arguably the 20th century’s best-known public executioner, he hanged 450 people in 24 years, including Nazi war criminals, the traitor William Joyce (Lord Haw Haw) who once lived in Glodwick, Acid Bath murderer John Haigh, and the last woman to be hanged, Ruth Ellis.
He resigned from the post in 1956 after a dispute over fees and died in 1992 at the age of 87.
Mr Pierrepoint ran the Help the Poor Struggler pub in Hollinwood for many years and became a vocal critic of capital punishment, believing it achieved nothing but revenge. It was outlawed in the UK in 1965.
He followed in the footsteps of his father Thomas Pierrepoint who hanged around 300 villains in a colourful career spanning more than 40 years.
