soc.history.war.world-war-ii

Dave Wilma wrote:
> On Feb 18, 1:41 pm, brandon wrote:
>
>>
>> It appears that the hangman in the clip is not Pierrepoint.
>> Pierrepoint is usually clean shaven (no moustache) and his features
>> are somewhat different.
>
> The taller man with the bow tie who fixes the noose and drops the trap
> compares favorably with other photos of Pierrepont. I have no other
> evidence of this man's identity. Pierrepoint did perform hangings for
> the Army in England.
>
> Dave Wilma
> Seattle

I find this interest in the identity of our hangman in Germany rather
ghoulish. Anybody who can stand on a platform, affix a noose around a human
being's neck, hear the spinal cord snap as or after the trap is sprung and
then go home and sleep at night after what to him was little more than
another day at the office has to be somewhat abnormal. IMO, he's no more
entitled to a page in the history books than the man who swept out the
stable during the days when the cavalry rode horses.