Bio

Margaret Allen was born in 1906 into a very large working-class family. She was the twentieth of twenty-two children. From a young age she preferred activities usually done by boys. She liked rough work and tried to join the company of men in her town.

She cut her hair short and often wore men's clothing. She preferred to be called "Bill." She said she was a lesbian and lived much of her life presenting as male. She did heavy jobs like loading coal and repairing houses.

Allen worked as a local bus conductor for a time. Reports say she used her strength in jobs that were usually given to men. The bus company later sacked her after complaints about how she treated passengers.

In 1935 she claimed to have checked into hospital for a "delicate" operation and said it was to change her from a woman to a man. People later disputed that such an operation was likely to have been done then. Still, she continued to live and dress in a male role.

She had one close female friend, Mrs. Annie Cook. Allen offered Mrs. Cook a romantic relationship, but Mrs. Cook refused. After her mother died in 1943, Allen became more withdrawn. She smoked heavily, ate poorly, and went through periods of depression.

Allen bought a run-down building that had once been the town police headquarters on Bacup Road. She used her savings to buy and live in that property. According to Mrs. Cook, Allen tried to take her own life on at least one occasion by gas.

Murder Story

Margaret Allen was born in 1906. She was described as a cross-dresser who considered herself to be a man. She is classified as a murderer. She had one victim.

On 28 August 1948 Nancy Ellen Chadwick, age 68, died in Rawtenstall, Lancashire. The recorded method of murder was beating with a hammer.

Evidence linked the death to Allen's house. The victim's bag was later found in the River Irwell. Police arrested Allen three days after the killing, on 1 September 1948. She confessed and said, "I was in a funny mood."

Allen was charged and tried. The trial was held on 8 December 1948. It lasted about five hours and the jury took about fifteen minutes to find her guilty. She appeared in men's clothing at the trial.

A petition for clemency gathered 162 signatures. Margaret Allen was sentenced to death. She was executed by hanging at Strangeways Prison on 12 January 1949. The executioner was Albert Pierrepoint.