On Saturday January 8th 1927 the bodies of Toplis accomplice Harry Fallows and his sweetheart Marjorie Stewart were found dead in a cave in Castleton. Within weeks the leading detective in the Toplis investigation was also dead and the first eye witness account of the Etaples Mutiny would be published in the British Press. Was…
Category: Percy Toplis
Captain Francis Percy Toplis, DCM – Really?
If this is a picture of Percy masquerading as ‘Captain Toplis, DCM’, then why isn’t he wearing a Captain’s uniform? And why is there no DCM? Read on.
Toplis Detective Edwin Woodhall
A look at Toplis detective and intelligence officer, Edwin T. Woodhall and claims that he encountered Toplis at Etaples.
Percy’s REAL Aunt Annie – Links to Newport, South Wales
If you remember the BBC serial drama, The Monocled Mutineer you’ll doubtless remember Percy’s beleaguered guardians, the Websters. Annie was always being pestered for money, and Frank was always being pestered for his bike. But this is a look at the real Webster family. And it’s not what you’d expect. The tale might even provide…
Supt. James Lock Cox – Orontes or Salonika?
James Lock Cox was the Superintendent of Andover Police who led the investigation into the murder of taxi-driver, Sidney George Spicer at the end of April 1920. Toplis was his only suspect. In 1923, after 32 years of dedicated service, Detective Superintendent Cox retired. Over his career he’d served at Andover, Tidworth Garrison and Boscombe….
The Enchanting Secret Behind the Monocled Mutineer
Unhappy is the land that needs a hero. What makes the legend of the Monocled Mutineer such a compelling mystery?
Florence Nightingale Shore and the Truth of Her Murder
Toplis may be the most famous suspect in the case, but an unseen interview with Ernest C. Brown reveals another possibility.
Secret Terrorist Societies Unearthed – Lloyd’s News May 9th 1920
As Toplis made his getaway north, Lloyd’s Sunday News reported that Scotland Yard were making progress with their investigation into a number of alleged anarchist groups infiltrating the higher echelons of British civil society. Police believed a ‘special order’ had been given by the new Bolshevik leaders in Moscow to ‘foment unrest’ on British Soil…
Percy Toplis Hunt – Tomintoul Outrage
Aberdeen Daily Journal Saturday June 5th 1920 WILLIAMSON OR TOPLIS? PASSES THROUGH ABERDEEN The police are confident that the net is closing round the fugitive “Williamson”, “Toplis” or whatever his name may be. Public interest in the chase is keen, judging from the number and promptitude of the reports coming into the authorities. It has…
Widespread Search for the Tomintoul Fugitive
Aberdeen Journal Aberdeenshire, Scotland, June 4th 1920 Growing Belief He is Toplis. Aberdeenshire Minister’s Strange Story of a Lift No arrest has yet been made in connection with the Tomintoul shooting outrage, but the hue and cry has widely been circulated and the Police of Banffshire and Aberdeenshire are keeping a close watch on all…