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Gertrude Smith

Age: 27

Sex: female

Date: 20 Nov 1924

Place: New Street, Birmingham

Gertrude Smith died after she was run over by robbers fleeing from a robbery at a jewellers shop in New Street, Birmingham, on 20 November 1924.

The robbers had driven up in a car and stopped outside the jewellers shop of Messrs. Brights, Limited in Chamberlain Square, Birmingham, just before 5pm. They got out and roughly pushed a woman who was looking in the window to one side and smashed the window with a mallet. They then snatched a diamond star broach worth £800 and some other diamond rings from a tray totalling over £1,000 worth of jewellery and then dashed back to their car.

The woman that had been shoved out of the way said that she had been admiring a diamond broach in the shop window when she felt a bump and heard a crash and caught a glimpse of a man's face over her shoulder and saw a hand grabbing at some jewellery. She said that the man then scrambled into a slowly moving motor-car that was then driven off rapidly. She said that she thought that there had been three or four men in the car.

The robbery took place in just a few seconds leaving pedestrians so astonished that no attempt was made to prevent them from getting away.

They then drove off in their car at a reckless speed and headed up towards Bennett's Hill where they ran Gertrude Smith over just as she stepped off of the pavement in New Street. She died from head and chest injuries. Several other people were also injured in the escape.

The car was found abandoned in Bridge Street two hours later and had a London registration. Inside the police found a collar which bore laundry marks and the letter H.

When the motor bandits abandoned the car they left it on the brow of a bridge, blocking the way and then made their getaway on foot.

The car had been stolen from Lord Arthur Francis Hill.

The man who broke the window of the jewellery shop was described as being about 23 years old, wearing a grey suit and cap with a dark overcoat, about 5ft. 10in. in height and clean shaven.

The driver was described as being about 26 years old and wearing a blue suit and cap. There was also a third robber who also wore a blue suit and cap.

A £300 reward was offered for information leading to the arrest of the robbers, in particular for the arrest of the man that had been driving the car that ran Gertrude Smith over.

The inquest returned a verdict of, 'murder against the robbers, all persons unknown'.

The police later released the names of three men and their aliases, ages and descriptions and offered a £300 reward and on 6 December 1924 notices were placed outside police stations in Dublin, stating that the men had broken into the jewellery establishment of Messrs Brights Ltd in New Street, Birmingham and stolen a quantity of jewellery, which was described in the notice, and then jumped into a waiting motor car and driven off at high speed, knocking Gertrude Smith over and killing her.

It was however heard that in official circles in Dublin that Irish police authorities were of the opinion that the wanted men may had not fled there because they would have been likely to arouse more suspicion than in England on account of their English accents.

However, a lighterman from Rotherhithe was soon after arrested in connection with the robbery and Gertrude Smith's death and remanded, but when he appeared at the Birmingham Police Court on Friday 12 December 1924, charged with running Gertrude Smith over, the prosecution offered no evidence and he was discharged. The defence stated that the man had from first to last protested his innocence of any complicity in the affair. The man was said to have left the dock smiling.


*map pointers are rough estimates based on known location details as per Place field above.

see www.truecrimelibrary.com

see Gloucester Citizen - Friday 21 November 1924

see Aberdeen Press and Journal - Friday 19 December 1924

see Dundee Evening Telegraph - Friday 12 December 1924

see Freeman's Journal - Saturday 06 December 1924

see Belfast Telegraph - Friday 12 December 1924

see National Library of Scotland