Harry Allen (executioner)
Harry Bernard Allen (5 November 1911 – 14 August 1992) was one of the United Kingdom's last official executioners, officiating between 1941 and 1964. He was chief executioner at 29 executions and acted as assistant executioner at 53 others at prisons in London, Manchester and Leeds. He was for 14 years an assistant executioner, mostly to Albert Pierrepoint from 1941 to 1955. In October 1955 he was appointed a Chief Executioner alongside Pierrepoint, although did not execute anyone as a 'Number One' until July 1957. Pierrepoint had resigned in February 1956. Allen's most controversial hanging came in April 1962, when James Hanratty was hanged for murder, despite efforts to clear his name. Allen also assisted in the execution of Derek Bentley in 1953, and he performed one of the last two executions in the UK, in 1964.
Read more about Harry Allen (executioner): Background, Career As An Executioner, Executions Performed By Allen As Head Executioner, Personal Life and Diaries, Later Life
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