She would pay Mrs. Ada Wynniatt, the landlady, 30 shillings in advance for the weekly cost of the room. The landlady would state that she soon warmed up to the young woman. on 18 August 1920 Irene would send her a second letter detailing her previous day. Even though Irene seemed to have been happy initially she confided in Ada that she wished she went to Scotland with her family.
On the 19th she would encounter 19-year-old Jack Alfred Field and 29-year-old William "Billy" Thomas Gray. The two offered friendship and to show Irene some local landmarks and go to a local pub afterward. Irene would return to her hotel for lunch and then agreed to meet the two afterward at the bus stop across from Archery Tavern, close to the village of Pevensey. She would leave shortly before 3 p.m. and told the landlady of her intentions of going to Hampden Park.
At the same time, Jack and Billy as the Albermarle Hotel saloon bar knew him as they spent some time at the bar before meeting Irene. Jack would become flirtatious with one of the barmaids and after she refused to give them a free drink Jack would respond with "Very well if you wait, until the evening, we shall have more money by then." They left the bar around 2:30 p.m. and headed to the bus stop.
Irene would arrive at the bus stop first. The men would arrive and a witness stated she was talking amicably towards them as they walked towards the Crumbles (a beach). Jack would be seen walking arm in arm with each other. This friendly encounter would not last long.
Once the three came to a secluded spot of the Crumbles around 300 yds from the closest inhabited property and within sight of the Pevensey Castle. Irene stated to the duo that she was tired and was going to reach into her silk handbag for a handkerchief to dab her face. As she was doing this the duo nodded to each other and began their plan.
Jack held his walking stick to shoulder height and Billy grabbed for Irene's purse. She fought hard for her purse and began shouting "Hey, what do you think..?" Before Jack hit her in the mouth with a walking stick. This would result in two teeth dislodging and loosening others. She also fell backward from the hard hit.
Irene would scream in pain. Billy would grab a section of ironstone brick weighing 32 lbs and began hitting her among her face. She would have likely died from shock during the attack, but it was possible that she died 30 minutes later from her injuries though deeply unconscious.
Her murderers would then quickly rob her of her items. They would take her 9 ct ring and purse. They would quickly bury the teen. Her grave was only 4 ft deep and covered her body with her coat and her hat over her face. One of her feet would be above the ground.
On that same day, Jack and Billy went to the Albermarle Hotel saloon bar and seemed to be "flushed" with money even though in the weeks leading up they spent almost nothing at the bar. The two came to the bar that night also wearing nice suits. Thomas was wearing a herringbone suit and Jack was wearing a dark suit with a cloth cap.
The next day a little boy named Walter Weller was also visiting Eastbourne with his family was playing around on the beach. He was running down a steep area on the beach when he tripped over something. He would turn to see what he tripped over it was a single foot sticking out of the ground. The little boy would tell his mother and would return with their landlord and his father.
The two men were soon suspects and on the 24th they were interviewed by the police. The two men would tell police that they spent the evening with each other and ate dinner that Billy's wife made. Witnesses couldn't pinpoint the two suspects. This allowed the two to be released from custody on the 26th.
A bus driver, George Blackmer, who saw the three at the bus stop identified the two men though. He knew them both well and stated that they met a dark-haired teenage girl who greeted the two when she saw them. When shown a photo of Irene he stated that it was her he saw. A sailor would come forward after recognizing Irene from a newspaper. He came forward stating he saw two men with her. He would also positively identify the two men also. This would lead to their arrest.
It was found that the motive was robbery. After the two men were discharged from the armed forces. Neither one wanted to work and turned to crime in order to get money.
On 13 December 1920, the trial will begin. Jack and Billy would both pleaded not guilty. The trial would last only 5 days ending on 17 December. They were found guilty and given the death sentence.
Both men were executed on 4 Feb. 1921 at Wandsworth Prison.
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| Photo of Billy Gray and Jack Field at the trial. |
SOURCES:
Wikipedia
The Guardian August 23, 1920
The Express and Telegraph October 25, 1920
Truth November 34, 1920
The Times December 15, 1920
The Time December 16, 1920
The Daily News January 19, 1921
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