‘It came to my knowledge that Mr Smith was not a man but a woman. Of course I was greatly astonished, and could not permit things to go on in that way...’
On 17 July 1865, a former employee of shoemaker James Giles entered his workshop, pointing a pistol in his face and pulling the trigger with no hesitation. A gun malfunction spared James his life, but the crime unravelled an extraordinary story of love, abuse and gender transgression. Who was the perpetrator? What was their motivation for shooting Giles point-blank?
In the final episode of this series, Jen and David trace a crime tied up in secrets and scandal. They delve into what life was like for working-class Londoners in the 1860s. With headlines and court testimonies, they reveal a startling LGBTQ story which deserves to be told.
Discover the details for yourself in the episode's Case Files - a collection of all the key newspaper reports - available to browse for free on Findmypast: www.findmypast.co.uk/wasjusticeserved
Was justice served? Share your judgement with the WJS community:
@wasjusticeservedpod #wasjusticeserved
Producer - Madeleine Gilbert
Assistant Producer - Daisy Goddard
AV Editor - Callum Main
Video Lead - Andrew Farrell
Researcher - Jen Baldwin
Voiceover - Tanya O’Sullivan
AV Lead - Mark Asquith
Executive Producer - Helen Kaye
