Solicitor executed for murder – but did he do it?

One hundred years ago, Herbert Armstrong, a country solicitor who practised in Hay-on-Wye, was tried, convicted and hanged for the poisoning of his wife. He was the only solicitor to be executed for murder. Several books have been written about the trial, which caused a sensation at the time. This new book reinvestigates the case and questions whether the conviction was safe. 

Whodunnits have always been popular, and there was a golden age of both true and fictional crime writing between the wars. The Armstrong case probably inspired, if that is the right word, a number of detective stories. Modern crime does not have the same fascination, perhaps because it is often more vicious. Poisoning is virtually unheard of now but in the 1920s and 1930s seemed to be almost a national occupation. Arsenic was available as a weed killer. 

True crime has an added fascination and gives the public a chance to look into other people’s personal lives. There is almost always the hint of infidelity, greed and passion in these tales. What makes ordinary citizens go wrong, especially people like Armstrong who was the epitome of an upstanding community figure? He was a solicitor, former army officer, a member of the Territorials, a churchwarden and a freemason. This story also features professional rivalry from an upstart solicitor who opened up in practice opposite Armstrong. 

The trial enlisted counsel and experts in forensic science who were national celebrities. Counsel and judges were also famous, and the trial attracted crowds and media interest from around the world. 

Whether Armstrong was wrongly convicted is debatable. Certainly, the trial was weighted against him, possibly as a result of a previous trial going very wrong for the prosecution. The judge was named as the third member of the prosecution team. 

Armstrong’s office is now home to Williams Beales & Co solicitors which preserved his brass nameplate, desk and swivel chair. 

In some ways Armstrong’s defence solicitor, Tom Matthews, is the hero of this story. His firm is still in business in Hereford as T A Matthews and has a section about the case on its website. His costs were about £200,000 in today’s values, including counsel fees. He had to sue the executors to recover part of them.

David Pickup is a partner at Pickup & Scott Solicitors, Aylesbury