It was not a high-profile murder. A poor man was killed in a poor part of London during the War, so it did not receive much press coverage. This detailed blog story takes us into the seedy underworld of London gangs and tells how a petty criminal fought to prove his innocence and became a television playwright. The Crime It was wartime in Kilburn and like the rest of London, people were suffering from the continued bombing in the Blitz. In 1941 on 12 April, 56-year-old George Ambridge was murdered at his home, 2 Hampton Road, Kilburn. This was a short street linking Kilburn Park and Cambridge Roads, which has been swept away by the large-scale redevelopment of South Kilburn. George worked as a rag and bone man and delivered coal. But he was also a ‘fence’ for stolen goods. At the time of the murder he was a widower, living alone with his dog in the small flat over a disused stable in Hampton Road. No.2 Hampton Road The police made little progress, until nine months later i...
Stories about the history of Kilburn, Willesden, West Hampstead and other parts of London by Dick Weindling and Marianne Colloms. You can contact us using the drop down button on the right side of the page next to search. If you want to be alerted about new stories please send your email. Our companion blog has stories about Hampstead, Camden Town, Holborn and Swiss Cottage: https://historyofcamden.blogspot.com/