Phony aristocrat’s luck ran out at noose-end
IT HAPPENED IN ONTARIO
A miscreant posing as a British lord came to Canada expecting to live the high life on a rural estate. He ended up as the accused in a murder trial that was an international sensation.
Reg Birchall was born in Lancashire, England, to a reverend in 1866.
He went to Oxford in 1885, at the age of 19. He had inherited 4,000 pounds in 1878, but couldn’t actually set his hands on it until he was 25.
No matter — he lived like a young prince and founded Oxford’s Black and Tan Club, a notorious hedonistic society.
At the age of 21 was forced to quit school before earning a degree and had to sell his inheritance for 3,000 pounds to pay off his debts.
He took the 500 pounds he had left and bought a farm near Woodstock, Ont., eloped with the daughter of the master of transportation for the London and Northwestern Railway and left for Canada.
He eventually had to flee Canada, where he and his wife Florence posed as Lord and Lady Somerset, just ahead of debt collectors.
While in England during the winter of 1889-90, Birchall got a hot tip for the 1890 English Derby which runs in June.
To raise money to make his bet, he placed an ad in London papers, posing as the owner of a successful Canadian horse farm and sales yard looking for a partner; all it would take was 500 pounds.
One man, Douglas Pelly, invested 170 pounds. Colonel F. Benwell and his son, Fred Benwell, also agreed to put up 500 pounds but only after Fred checked out the property and the books.
So, Birchall and his wife struck out with Pelly and young Benwell for North America.
After arriving, Birchall and young Benwell left Florence and Pelly to enjoy the delights of Buffalo, and arrived at Eastwood, near Woodstock, Feb. 17, 1890.
But there was no farm visit. Birchall took Benwell to the Blenheim Swamp and shot him twice in the head, then returned to Buffalo, telling Pelly that Benwell was not pleased with the farm or the books and decided to head home.
The three of them crossed the border to Niagara Falls, Ont. On Feb. 20, Birchall wrote Benwell’s father, telling him his son approved of the land and the books and that the money should be sent on to close the deal.
Meanwhile, back in the swamp, locals had stumbled over the body of young Benwell only four days after the murder.
When Birchall heard the news of the discovery, he made his way
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Suspicion immediately fell on him, thanks partly to information offered by Pelly.
Birchall was jailed in Woodstock. His trial attracted international attention because the victim was from a wealthy family and because of Birchall’s earlier claims to being a lord.
Papers from England, Germany, France and Italy covered the trial, which started Sept. 22, 1890.
Birchall was found guilty and on Nov. 14, 1890, was hanged in the yard of the Woodstock jail.