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This article recounts the last execution in British history – the deaths of Gwynne Evans and Peter Allen on August 13, 1964 – along with the legal context, the crime that led to their death sentences, and the long-term consequences for the abolitionist movement in the United Kingdom. The content is based on The Guardian’s 2014 article and historical sources. For educational and documentary purposes only, not to glorify violence.
Britain’s Last Executions: The Low-Key Hanging of Two Jobless Criminals
Composite of Gwynne Evans and Peter Allen
At 8:00 a.m. on August 13, 1964, two men were led to the gallows at two different prisons in northern England. Gwynne Evans, 24, died at Strangeways Prison in Manchester. Peter Allen, 21, died at Walton Prison in Liverpool. There was no angry crowd, no public outcry, no sensational headlines. Only a few lines in the national press. Evans and Allen were two unemployed men from Preston who had beaten a 53-year-old man to death to steal £10. At the time, no one knew that their deaths would become a historic milestone: Evans and Allen were the last two people executed on English soil. Fifty years later, their names are remembered as a significant footnote in the history of the abolitionist movement. This article analyzes the context, events, and lasting significance of the last execution in the United Kingdom.
First, the legal context and the crime committed by Evans and Allen reflect a crucial transitional period in British capital punishment history, when the death penalty was no longer automatic for all murders.
Before 1957, almost every murder could result in execution. The Homicide Act of 1957 changed that: the death penalty was no longer automatic but reserved for certain especially serious categories, including murder committed during theft. It was precisely this provision that sent Evans and Allen to the gallows. On April 7, 1964, the two unemployed men from Preston drove a stolen car to Cumbria, accompanied by Allen’s wife and two children. Their target was John “Jack” West, a 53-year-old bachelor and laundry van driver known to Evans. The plan was robbery, but they ended up beating West to death. A neighbor in the village of Seaton, awakened by a suspicious noise, saw the car speeding away. West’s semi-naked body was later found in a pool of blood. Within 48 hours, both men were arrested and charged. Police were greatly aided by a foolish piece of evidence: Evans had left his raincoat at the scene.
Second, the trial and appeals moved quickly, and just weeks before the execution, both men still hoped to live. But fate was not on their side.
Evans and Allen were convicted in June 1964. Their appeals against the death sentences were rejected on July 21. The execution date was set for August 13. Criminologist Steve Fielding, author of more than 20 books on British hangings, believes the lack of media attention was due to the “low-key” nature of the crime. Fielding said: “Certainly, two guys from Preston who had committed a murder up in Cumbria, it isn’t going to get the London media buzzing, is it?” Compared to notorious criminals or politically charged cases, Evans and Allen were petty, ordinary offenders. And it was precisely that ordinariness – two unemployed men killing for £10 – that made their story tragic in its own way.
Third, the final moments of Peter Allen before death left a haunting image, but overall, the execution was described as “run-of-the-mill” – because at the time, no one knew it would be the last.
At Walton Prison, executioner Robert “Jock” Stewart carried out Allen’s death sentence. Fielding recounted that Stewart mentioned a painful detail: the day before the execution, Allen’s wife visited him for the last time. They were separated by a piece of supposedly bulletproof glass. As the visit ended, Allen hurled himself at the glass. He cracked it and broke his thumb. So on the morning of the execution, when Stewart came to pin his hands behind his back, Allen’s thumb was heavily bandaged. As he was led from the condemned cell to the gallows, he shouted one word: “Jesus.” Some 20 years later, Fielding traveled to Liverpool to meet the assistant hangman, who has since died. The assistant said it was a run-of-the-mill execution, just like all the others he had carried out. Nothing sensational. Of course, they did not know at the time that it would be the last execution.
Fourth, two months after Evans and Allen were hanged, the Labour government came to power, and soon after, a Commons vote suspended capital punishment for five years through the 1965 Murder Act. By 1969, the suspension became permanent.
This political shift made Evans and Allen the last. Abolitionists believe the UK should be proud of the stand it took. Audrey Gaughran, director of global issues at Amnesty International, said: “In reflecting on [these] 50 years I think what we would hope people would take from it is, first of all, a sense of pride that the UK is an abolitionist country and has been for such a long time.” She also emphasized one of the biggest arguments against the death penalty in the UK at the time of abolition: “the issue of the irreversibility of the death penalty” and the fact that “convictions are not always safe” – meaning that innocent people could be, and have been, wrongfully executed.
Globally, the number of executions has shown a continuous downward trend. Gaughran noted that those calling for the reinstatement of capital punishment often see it as “a quick fix, particularly around election times,” rather than addressing perceptions of crime. However, as of The Guardian’s 2014 article, there were still voices calling for a return to capital punishment in the UK following terrorist attacks or particularly heinous crimes. But to this day, Britain has remained committed to its 1965 decision.
Gwynne Evans and Peter Allen were not the most notorious criminals in British history. They were two unemployed, ordinary men who committed an ordinary crime (murder for £10), were caught because of a forgotten raincoat, and were executed in public indifference. Yet it was precisely that ordinariness that carried special historical significance: they were the last. Their quiet execution closed a centuries-long chapter and opened the era of abolition in the United Kingdom. Today, looking back, the story of Evans and Allen is not merely the story of two criminals. It is the story of a society that decided that no matter how severe the crime, the state should not have the power to take a human life – because justice, however perfect, can make mistakes, and that mistake is irreversible. The deaths of Evans and Allen, therefore, are not just deaths. They are a full stop.