The Kidsgrove Tragedy: Murder, Madness & the Vanished Mind | Staffordshire, 1911
News of the Times | Episode 582 |1911

In October 1911, the quiet mining town of Kidsgrove was shaken to its core.
Inside a secluded villa, three people — a widow, her four-year-old daughter, and their 16-year-old servant — were found brutally murdered. No forced entry. No screams. Just silence… until an eight-year-old child came running for help.

The prime suspect? Karl Kramer — a German labourer with a forged identity, a borrowed bicycle, and a suspicious amount of stolen silver jingling in his pockets.
But when the police finally caught him, a disturbing question emerged:

Was Kramer a calculated killer… or a man whose mind had simply vanished?

This episode follows the manhunt across counties, the extraordinary behaviour of the accused in custody, and the courtroom spectacle that left a jury trying not what the man had done — but whether he knew anything at all.

A chilling story of murder, madness, and a fugue state that baffled doctors, magistrates, and the Edwardian press.

🔎 Featuring:
• The shocking crime at Avenue Villa
• Witness sightings and the frantic police chase
• Kramer’s shifting identity and sudden “collapse”
• Courtroom confusion over sanity vs. shamming
• The extraordinary decision that sent him to Broadmoor

If you enjoy intelligent historical true crime, forensic missteps, and strange Edwardian tragedies, this episode will be right up your cobblestone street.

Stay to the end for today’s Further Particulars:
A nine-year-old boy, a bit of pocket money, and one extremely deceased mother —
proving that some Edwardian “playdates” should really come with a parental advisory.

It’s grim… but in a way the Victorians would have confidently labelled “character-building."

👤 Narrated by Robin Coles

📅 New episodes: Monday, Wednesday & Friday
🎞️ Long-form historical crime compilations: Final Sunday of every month

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We’re an independent team of his

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Yarmouth’s Darkest Day Since the Plague | The 1845 Bridge Disaster
News of the Times | Episode 581 | 1845

What began as a light-hearted Victorian spectacle — a clown in a tub drawn by four geese — became one of the worst civilian disasters in British history.

In 1845, hundreds gathered on Great Yarmouth’s suspension bridge to witness a novelty act. Within minutes, the bridge collapsed, sending a crowd — mostly women and children — plunging into the River Bure. Nearly 100 people lost their lives in a tragedy the press would call “a judgment too dreadful to be forgotten.”

In this episode, we uncover:
The bizarre origins of the event
Eyewitness horror and miraculous escapes
The haunting aftermath: legal confusion, public grief, and buried truths
How one young survivor described stabbing his way to safety beneath the water

And in this week’s Further Particulars, we leave tragedy behind to share the most curious Victorian headlines of 1845 — from exploding cotton bales to a pheasant illegally entering a workhouse.
Frankly, it's the best Victorian Twitter feed we’ve ever read.

📜 Join us as we walk the fog-bound quays of Yarmouth on its darkest day. A story of broken chains, a grieving town, and a spectacle gone terribly, fatally wrong.

👤 Hosted by Robin Coles

📅 New episodes: Monday, Wednesday & Friday
🎞️ Long-form historical crime compilations: Final Sunday of every month

📚 Related cases from the archive:
1845: The Shapwick Poisoner - Sarah Freeman | Ep175
https://youtu.be/NfR4QR2uqGE
1845 - 1895: Fatal Attractions | Ep177
https://youtu.be/CHRQZJ486mo
1842: Bad Daniel Good | Ep188
https://youtu.be/B4YxkMmmpDU

❤️ Support Independent History
If you enjoy our ad-free, archive-based storytelling, help us keep the lantern lit:

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🕯 About the Channel
We’re an independent team of historical researchers and narrators specialising in 18th to early 20th century British true crime. Each episode is based entirely on archival material — from

Hear about our ad-free archive on Patreon – 650+ episodes and counting! 🎩 https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime

Fancy a chuckle between corpses? Discover our first lovingly illustrated volume of wildly unreliable memoirs.

Grab it here: https://ko-fi.com/s/b406f6f11e

Support us on Patreon for ad-free early access and exclusive bonus episodes.

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Thanks for listening! You can also connect with us on
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If you would like to donate, we love coffee! Warmly appreciated :-) | https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd

Murder in Uniform: The Death of William Glass and the Hanging of Inspector Montgomery
News of the Times | Episode 580 | [1871 - 1873
🔍 A Victorian bank clerk found butchered. £1,600 in notes vanished. And standing at the centre of the storm? A decorated police inspector with debts, secrets... and a very damp coat.

In 1871, the quiet Irish town of Newtownstewart was shattered by a murder so brutal — and so unexpected — it dominated headlines across the Empire. But when the evidence began to point not to a stranger… but to the very man charged with protecting the town, the story turned from tragedy to national scandal.

👮‍♂️ Three trials. A buried cache of bloodstained notes. A murder weapon pulled from the undergrowth. And one of the most extraordinary prosecutions in British legal history.

In today’s News of the Times, we dive deep into the case of Inspector Thomas Hartley Montgomery, the only serving Irish police officer ever executed for murder.

And in today's end of episode further particulars story...
At the end of this harrowing tale of betrayal and bloody justice, we bring you a story of crime on a very different scale:

A Halloween prank. A Glasgow cinema display. And a gang of 13-year-old fashion bandits who left poor Harold Lloyd trouserless in a shop window.

Because nothing says “festive mischief” quite like grand theft flannel.

☕ Settle in with a strong brew and join us for this atmospheric journey into betrayal, justice, and the terrifying question: What happens when the murderer wears the uniform of trust?

👤 Narrated by Robin Coles

📅 New episodes: Monday, Wednesday & Friday
🎞️ Long-form historical crime compilations: Final Sunday of every month

📚 Related cases from the archive:
1874: Family Killings in Ripon | Ep210
https://youtu.be/pl8viuZayD4
1872: The Bermondsey Tragedy | Ep212
https://youtu.be/R5Xo4gsu4Ig
1872: The Murder at Great Coram Stree | Ep224
https://youtu.be/lXJWjOTjNM8

❤️ Support Independent History
If you enjoy our ad-free, archive-based storytelling, help us keep the lantern lit:

👉 **Patreon** – Full archive, early access, bonus compilations (and it keeps us independent):
https://www.patreon.com/NewsOfTheTimesHistoricalCrime

☕ Prefer a one-off thank-you? We LOVE a posh coffee ind

Hear about our ad-free archive on Patreon – 650+ episodes and counting! 🎩 https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime

Fancy a chuckle between corpses? Discover our first lovingly illustrated volume of wildly unreliable memoirs.

Grab it here: https://ko-fi.com/s/b406f6f11e

Support us on Patreon for ad-free early access and exclusive bonus episodes.

https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime

Support the show

Thanks for listening! You can also connect with us on
Our YouTube Channel: | https://www.youtube.com/@newsofthetimes
Our Facebook Page: | https://www.facebook.com/News-of-the-Times-101108282697405
Have a question or comment? Get in touch with us at newsofthetimespodcast@gmail.com
If you would like to donate, we love coffee! Warmly appreciated :-) | https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd