Today in the Pace case: 18 January 1928

Wednesday, 18 January 1928: Inspector Bent resumes his investigations, visiting a chemist in Coleford, who -- among many other things -- sold 'sheep dip'. He finds that, in the previous summer, a 'B. Pace' bought two packets of the highly poisonous substance.

Today in the Pace case: 17 January 1928

Tuesday, 17 January: Harry Pace is buried in the nearby village of Clearwell.

Today in the Pace case: 16 January 1928

Monday, 16 January 1928: The inquest into Harry's death, led by the coroner, Maurice Carter, opens at the nearby 'George Inn'. A few necessary formalities are taken care of. Carter then adjourns the inquiry for a month, pending the results of the forensic analysis.

Today in the Pace case: 15 January 1928

Sunday, 15 January: Several mourners, who were not informed about the delayed funeral, arrive in Fetter Hill, resulting in 'considerable consternation'.

Today in the Pace case: 14 January 1928

Saturday, 14 January 1928: A post mortem examination is carried out on Harry Pace (at his home) by Dr. Charles Carson. Blood samples are taken and several organs are removed and sent to Professor Isaac Walker Hall at the University of Bristol for analysis.

Mrs Pace: on the front page again

As I've noted here before (actually, almost exactly a year ago), one of the very rewarding parts of my research on the book was meeting some of Beatrice Pace's descendants.

Aside from providing some very good photos (including the fabulous portrait now used for the book's cover), they were very helpful in letting me fill in one question that came increasingly to plague me while in a later stage of writing up my research: what happened to Beatrice after her name disappeared from the headlines and she returned to the obscurity from which she had emerged in the first place?

It was also very encouraging to see their enthusiasm for the book, and, for me, it was a striking experience to hear the woman that I had been researching via all kinds of press coverage and official records referred to as 'Gran'. This was something that brought home to me the fact that history is about real people and not just archives. 

Hence, it is particularly nice to see that the text for the feature article by Sue Bradley that was published in the latest 'Weekend' magazine in the Gloucester Citizen and Cheltenham Echo has now appeared online.

An announcement for the story was actually on the front-page, with a quite interesting teaser:

Hence: 85 years after the case, Beatrice Pace once again made it to the front page.

Today in the Pace case: 13 January 1928

Friday, 13 January: Sgt. Hamblin tells Beatrice that Harry's funeral (planned for Sunday, 15 January) will have to be postponed.

Today in the Pace case: 12 January 1928

Thursday, 12 January 1928: Inspector Bent and Sergeant Charlie Hamblin visit Beatrice at Rose Cottage and inform her of their inquiries.

Feature article on the most remarkable woman in England

According to today's announcement on the 'This is Gloucestershire' website, there will be a feature article on my book in tomorrow's issue of WEEKEND, available in the Cheltenham Echo and Gloucester Citizen.

I will also soon be announcing a couple of book-related events in early March in Gloucester and the Forest of Dean, so keep watching this space...

Today in the Pace case: 11 January 1928

Wednesday, 11 January: several of Harry's suspicious family (i.e., his side of the family) meet and decide to take their doubts about the naturalness of Harry's death to the police. The local police, stationed in the nearby market town of Coleford and led by Inspector Alan Bent, begin their investigations.

Today in the Pace case: 10 January 1928

Tuesday, 10 January 1928: Harry Pace -- quarryman and sheep farmer -- dies at his home ('Rose Cottage') in Fetter Hill, a small hamlet in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, after a long and mysterious illness that began the previous summer.

His physician, Dr. Du Pré, confirms a death from natural causes.