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Tommy George Hole

Age: 57

Sex: male

Date: 5 Dec 1999

Place: Beckton Arms, Canning Town

Joseph Nathaniel Evans and Tommy George Hole were shot in the Beckton Arms in Canning Town by two masked gunmen.

They had been watching football at the time on the Sunday afternoon.

It was said that Joseph Evans was shot first in the back of the head and that Tommy Hole had then tried to run away but was shot in the back.

The murderers had fired a total of six shots.

After, it was said that they walked off and escaped through a subway.

The police said that they were surprised by the lack of witnesses.

It was thought that they might have been murdered in relation to a long-running feud. Although other theories included a drug deal going wrong, issues over money and that they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Tommy George Hole was described as a notorious criminal with a history of violent crime, who had criminal convictions and prison sentences going back for over 30 years and that the murders were a professional hit due to his past and a feud from 18-years earlier.

Tommy Hole had previously been tried for the murder of Nicholas Gerard who was shot by two masked gunmen in 1982 at the Old Bailey in London but was acquitted. The murder of Nicholas Gerard also remains currently unsolved. It was heard that when an uncle of Nicholas Gerard had died, Tommy Hole had been at the funeral in Plaistow, November 1999, where he was said to have boasted about killing Nicholas Gerard and getting away with it. It was noted that six days later he and Joseph Evans were both shot and that it was a hit to settle the score. However, Tommy Hole's wife denied the story saying that Tommy Hole wasn't even at the funeral, saying that he had been at home with her putting up blinds.

At the time of his murder, Tommy Hole had been out of prison for five years and was said to have led a quiet life.

It was said that Tommy Hole had served seven years for driving over a man's head and a thirteen-year sentence for running a drugs factory as well as other acquittals for violence and robberies.

It was also heard that Joseph Evans had previously run in with a bad crowd but that in his old age he was a nice, quiet chap.

In their investigation the police also said that they thought that a third man had also been shot in the pub but that he had run off and they wanted to identify him.

Joseph Evans and Tommy Hole were childhood friends.


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