Chapter 8: “John Holmes”: Identity Unknown

We have noted that both Radclive and Ellis had rival hangmen at various times in their careers. The two main hangmen in this category were “John Holmes” in the later years of Radclive and the earlier years of Arthur Ellis; and “Sam Edwards” in the last decade of Arthur Ellis’s career. In this chapter, we will deal briefly with John E. F. Holmes, who bungled most of his cases. John Holmes might have been the real name of the hangman. There were several men with that name living in Canada at the relevant time, but we do not have the proof to drag them into this narrative. However, it is also probable that “Holmes” was not the real name of the hangman.