Herbert Rowse Armstrong
| Major Herbert Rowse Armstrong | |
|---|---|
Herbert Armstrong, circa 1915
|
|
| Born |
13 May 1869 Plymouth, Devon. |
| Died | 31 May 1922 (aged 53) Gloucester Prison, Gloucester |
| Alma mater | St Catharine's College, Cambridge |
| Occupation | Solicitor |
| Criminal charge | Murder |
| Criminal penalty | Death |
| Criminal status | Executed |
| Spouse(s) | Katharine Mary Friend |
| Children | Three |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom
|
| Service/branch |
 British Army
|
| Rank | Major |
| Unit | Royal Engineers |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
Herbert Rowse Armstrong TD. MA. (13 May 1869 – 31 May 1922) was an English solicitor and convicted murderer, the only solicitor in the history of the United Kingdom to have been hanged for murder. He was living in Cusop Dingle, Herefordshire, England and practising in Hay-on-Wye, on the border of England and Wales, from 1906 until his arrest on 31 December 1921 for the attempted murder of a professional rival by arsenic poisoning. He was later also charged and tried for the murder of his wife.
Armstrong was born at 23 Princes Square, Plymouth, Devon, on 13 May 1869 to a family of modest means. The family later moved to Edge Hill, Liverpool. He studied at St Catharine's College, Cambridge, gaining a degree in law, and qualified as a solicitor in February 1895. He later gained an MA from St Catharine´s in 1901. Initially practising in Liverpool, later Newton Abbot, he successfully applied for a vacancy in Hay-on-Wye, Breconshire, in 1906. He married Katharine Mary Friend of West Teignmouth, Devon, the following year; the couple would have two girls and a boy.
The Armstrongs moved into an imposing family home called Mayfield in the village of Cusop Dingle not far from Hay where Armstrong ran his law firm of Cheese & Armstrong. Armstrong was a hard working man and rose in the social community of the town. He was a leading member of the Freemasons and was appointed clerk to the justices. He joined the Volunteer Force and rose to the rank of Captain. In 1914 he was called up in the First World War, where he eventually gained the rank of Major in the Royal Engineers Territorial Force, and served in France, May to October 1918. The award of the Territorial Decoration for long service was published in the London Gazette, 4 November 1919. After the War, he was usually referred to as "Major Armstrong".
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