In 1930 a Derrick Cheshire had a running feud with his neighbours, the Giddings family. One day, Cheshire, on returning from The Malt Shovel, Fred Giddings and his brother Ted were waiting for Derrick and his common law wife Miss Gladys Davies and they were holding cudgels.
A fight broke out, and Cheshire drew a knife, stabbing Ted in the arm and fatally wounding Fred. Basically, Cheshire acted in self defence and was proven not guilty at the court hearing.
Six years later in 1936, at the house where Cheshire had lived, a Thomas Townsend lived with his wife Elizabeth. He was 68 and somewhat of a simple mind. On her return from shopping in Newbury, something snapped in Townsend’s mind and he chased Elizabeth into the neighbour’s house next door, where the Giddings had previously lived. He was carrying a shot gun and promptly shot Elizabeth in the shoulder, from which injuries she shortly died. To cut a long story short, Townsend was eventually proved insane and escaped execution and ended his days in Broadmoor. The full story of these murders is recorded in an excellent little book entitled Berkshire Murders by Ian McLaughlin. Below are two photos of the cottages at Walkers Lane, if you don’t know where they are, and a readable photo of John Carter’s gravestone in the churchyard, which is difficult to read these days.
Mick Dowdeswell
