FEATURE: THE MURDEROUS BIGAMIST
BRADLEY VAUGHN from ‘Tales of Strange Southend’ pens his latest feature for Longpier.com – a century-old tale of bigamy and murder.
On the surface, a town like Southend seems rather straightforward. We have the world’s longest pier, pristine beaches and a thriving music scene. Whether you’re taking a stroll along the seaside or looking for a night of excitement and fun, Southend is the place to be.
But have you ever wondered what happened in the past? Have you ever thought about all the strange characters and odd stories that may have been played out in your own street?
This is one such story and it all ended where Thorpe Hall Golf Club now stands. Amongst the green fields and respectable clubhouse, a madman met a grisly demise.
George Augustus Facer, upon first impressions, was a decent man. He had served in the army for some twenty three years, a sergeant in the Fifteenth Hussars, and was awarded a full pension. But underneath the practiced stoicism of a professional soldier lurked a troubled mind.
Whilst serving in the army, Facer fell for a Glaswegian woman named Jeannie Tait and they soon married. The only problem was that George was already married.
And it only got worse from there, Jeannie realised that she had not only married a bigamist, but a brute as well. After one particularly violent incident, George was put in jail for a month and his second wife took their children and moved away, wanting nothing more to do with him.
Jeannie, now living in Honiton Road, had placed her children in a home on Jersey and was staying with friends. No doubt glad to be free from Facer’s cruel and paranoid mood swings. But like a bad penny, George rolled right back, and seemed strangely perturbed that his second family had disappeared. The possessive husband began to pester his wife for a reconciliation, despite a court order meant to keep him away. He bombarded her with letters and ambushed her whilst she was taking a walk. But no matter what he tried, the answer remained the same.
And that’s when George Facer decided that if he couldn’t have her, no one could.
On Tuesday 25th June 1901, a man was loitering down Honiton Road and seemed to be keeping a close eye on one house in particular. He was rather short but dressed well enough, in a blue suit and a peaked cap. Jeannie Tait was returning home after buying some shrimps and took a brief look at the man who was watching her. Her eyes were immediately drawn away from the familiar face of her husband and rested on the revolver in his hand. Her screams of terror were silenced by the sound of gunfire.
Facer seemed momentarily shocked by what he had done and looked as though he would take his own life. But a mob was quickly gathering to hang the killer from the nearest lamppost and Facer took to his heels.
The Southend Standard described the chase:
“He turned, fled along the unmade road at the bottom of Honiton Road, at a pace which showed he was an athlete, quickly followed by the crowd of eager men, anxious for his capture. Hedges and ditches were no obstacle to the fleeing killer.”
Eventually he must have realised that the game was over. And after hiding in a ditch for a few moments, put the gun behind his ear and blew his brains out.
Letters found in his room indicate that he had merely planned to kill himself in front of Jeannie, as a final act of spite. But, as if often the case with madmen, decided that mere suicide was not sufficient. He had to take her with him, orphaning his own children in the process.
The golf course was founded on that site six years later, the murder just a faded memory. But on one of the trees remains a macabre reminder of that day; a simple cross, carved by one of Facer’s pursuers.
Few would imagine that such a peaceful place hides such a bloody past.
Have any strange stories about Southend? Bizarre sights that have to be seen to be believed?
Then contact Brad at: www.talesofstrangesouthend@hotmail.co.uk
