Bio

Harold Hill was born in 1915 in the United Kingdom. As an adult, Hill enlisted in the British Army during the Second World War. At the time of the murders, he served as a Gunner with the 341 Battery, 86th Field Regiment of the Royal Artillery. His military unit was stationed at Yoxford in Suffolk, England. Available historical records do not indicate that he had previously been convicted of serious criminal offences before the events of November 1941.

While serving in the Army, Hill drove military transport vehicles, including a Fordson fifteen-hundredweight truck. His duties required him to travel between locations, placing him on roads throughout southern England during wartime. These responsibilities later became significant during the police investigation because witnesses reported seeing two missing children speaking with the driver of an Army vehicle shortly before they disappeared.

Murder Story

On November 19, 1941, six-year-old Kathleen Trendle and eight-year-old Doreen Joyce Hearne disappeared after being seen together in Buckinghamshire, England. Witnesses later reported that the two girls had approached the driver of an Army truck and asked for a lift. One particularly important witness, a twelve-year-old boy, was able to provide police with the military identification markings displayed on the vehicle.

Three days later, on November 22, 1941, searchers discovered the bodies of both children in Rough Wood, near Penn in Buckinghamshire. A post-mortem examination established that each girl had first been partially strangled into unconsciousness before being repeatedly stabbed. Doreen Hearne suffered multiple stab wounds to both her body and neck, while Kathleen Trendle sustained numerous stab wounds concentrated around her neck. Medical evidence concluded that both children died from blood loss resulting from their injuries.

Investigators carefully examined the woodland surrounding the crime scene. Detectives discovered tyre tracks left by a military vehicle, a large oil stain, Doreen Hearne's gas-mask holder, and a khaki handkerchief bearing the laundry identification mark "RA1019." These items became key pieces of physical evidence during the investigation.

Using the vehicle identification details supplied by the young witness, police traced the Army truck to the 341 Battery, 86th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, stationed at Yoxford, Suffolk. Officers located the specific Fordson military truck and observed that it had a leaking rear axle, consistent with the oil patch found at the woodland scene. Investigators compared casts of the tyre impressions recovered from Rough Wood with the truck's tyres and found they matched.

Attention quickly focused on the vehicle's driver, twenty-six-year-old Gunner Harold Hill. Further forensic examination strengthened the case against him. The laundry mark on Hill's handkerchief matched the marking found on the item recovered near the victims, and fingerprint experts determined that Hill's fingerprints matched those found on Doreen Hearne's discarded gas-mask container. During a search of his military kit, investigators also found a spare uniform that had recently been washed but still contained bloodstains.

Hill was arrested and charged with the murders. His trial took place in March 1942. During the proceedings, the defence argued that he was legally insane, but the court rejected that claim after considering the available medical and legal evidence. The jury found him guilty of murdering Kathleen Trendle and Doreen Joyce Hearne.

Following his conviction, Harold Hill was sentenced to death. He remained in custody until his execution. On May 1, 1942, he was hanged at Oxford Castle Prison in Oxford, England.