Hertfordshire constabulary’s report also describes how Graham – using the name ‘Fred’ – had become friendly with another resident at the hostel named George Brown. A thorough medical check had been carried out on Brown just prior to his recent release from the Royal Navy; he was fit and well. Yet, after sharing a bottle of wine with Graham, he became violently ill, vomiting repeatedly and experiencing an ache so severe that it felt ‘like partial paralysis’.375 He had no reason to suspect Graham at the time and, even after learning the truth about his friend, refused to believe he had been poisoned. Hostel resident Henry Tennant was more suspicious. Training to be a motor mechanic at the centre in Slough, he too suffered sickness and diarrhoea after spending an evening in Graham’s company and pondered: ‘If I’d known about Broadmoor, it might have explained all the tummy upsets I suffered at Slough. Quite a few of us went down with a mystery bug. Knowing what we all know now, it makes you wonder.’376
The only potential female victim was accounts clerk Mrs Diana Sheehy. On her regular visits to the stores, she became friendly with Trevor Sparkes and Graham Young. The three of them would take tea breaks together, and afterwards Sheehy often suffered severe stomach pains, leg cramp and mobility difficulties in her left arm. She consulted her doctor, who prescribed antibiotics, but the illness continued, and she lost so much weight in such a short period that she was referred to hospital for an X-ray and tests, but nothing could be found. Labourer Charles Watts also worked at the Slough stores, where he fell ill with symptoms that mirrored those of Sheehy. He had the same tests and an X-ray, but a suspected stomach ulcer failed to show. Terence Lines attended the Slough centre regularly, where he got to know Graham and suffered repeated stomach pains, vomiting and leg pains. His doctor gave him antibiotics to clear the symptoms but was unable to make a diagnosis.
Hertfordshire constabulary concluded their study of the gathered witness statements with a single line demonstrating their view, namely ‘that within a very short time of his release from Broadmoor, Young would seem to have been active in poisoning people.’377 The question remains as to when and where he obtained the poison, if that was indeed the case.
Graham’s first-known attempt to purchase poison after his release from Broadmoor is recorded as being on Saturday, 17 April 1971. He described the events leading up to this several years later to Parkhurst prison’s then medical director, Dr John Hamilton. He claimed to have felt like a completely different person upon leaving Broadmoor, with no desire to buy toxic substances or to inflict them on others. That changed, he told Dr Hamilton, when he was sitting with a pint in the sun-drenched beer garden of the Spotted Dog in Leavesden; a No.8 bus trundled by on its way to Kilburn and he knew it would pass his old haunt, Edgar’s chemist shop. That same Saturday, he called at John Bell & Croyden chemists on London’s Wigmore Street, where he attempted to buy antimony potassium tartrate. But pharmacist Albert Kearne refused to allow the purchase without written authority and Graham left empty-handed. This much is certain: somehow Graham already had within his possession a substantial amount of poison, which he had lost no time in using to nefarious effect. But his plan was to do something far more wide-ranging, something that would set him firmly on the road to becoming a prolific poisoner.
His first step in achieving this malevolent ambition was to find a job.
1971–1972
HADLANDS
‘A lot of workers in a factory died one after the other. Their deaths were put down to astonishingly varied causes . . . The symptoms vary a good deal, I understand. They may start with diarrhoea and vomiting, or there may be a stage of intoxication, again it may begin with pain in the limbs, and be put down as polyneuritis or rheumatic fever or polio – one patient was put in an iron lung. Sometimes there’s pigmentation of the skin.’
‘You talk like a medical dictionary!’
‘Naturally, I’ve been looking it up. But one thing always happens sooner or later. The hair falls out.’
AGATHA CHRISTIE, THE PALE HORSE
(COLLINS, THE CRIME CLUB, 1961)
Chapter Eleven
TO SERVE THE PURPOSES OF DARK AMBITION
A
MONG THE NEW posts advertised at Hemel Hempstead labour exchange in mid-April 1971 was one for assistant storekeeper at the company of John Hadland (Photographic Instrumentation) Ltd at Newhouse Laboratories in Bovingdon, Hertfordshire. It caught the attention of J R Ayles at the government training centre in Slough; he had a suitable candidate in mind and called the firm, suggesting to Hadlands’ managing director Geoffrey Foster that he should consider Graham Young for the position.
Graham was delighted to hear that he had been put forward for his first post-Broadmoor job. Ayles arranged an interview with Geoffrey Foster and Graham set to work completing one of Hadlands’ standard applications for employment. In a matter of months, this would become ‘Exhibit 1’ at his trial, pored over by government officials seeking to piece together events that had led to the worst crisis in mental-health care and after-care that century. The innocuous sheet of paper outlining Graham’s suitability for the position comprised:
Present Employer: Undergoing training at Slough GTC . . .
Position held: Trainee Storekeeper on training allowance . . .
Previous Employers: No previous employment due to hospitalisation and subsequent convalescence. Now, however, fully recovered . . .
Education: John Kelly Boys High School, Cricklewood,
External Student of Wolsey Hall, Oxford (subjects studied: Anatomy, Physiology, Hygiene, German O Level incomplete . . .
Qualifications held: O level English.
Graham added a final note in his neat and stylish handwriting: ‘I have privately studied chemistry (organic and inorganic), pharmacology and toxicology over the past ten years and have, therefore, some knowledge of photographic chemicals and usage.’378
With this extraordinary and obfuscating application in his possession, Ayles contacted Geoffrey Foster on 22 April in writing: ‘Further to our conversation of 20th April, I am forwarding herewith the placing report concerning Mr Young, who will be coming to see you on Friday next at 2.30pm. I am also enclosing some literature that will explain more fully the functions of the government training centres and their services to industry.’379 The enclosed placing report was drafted by Ted James, with whom Graham had become friendly during his time on the course. He described Graham as of ‘above average intelligence, he is very conscientious in his work, able to work to instructions given to him as well as on his own initiative. The ability he has shown in understanding the various aspects of storekeeping will prove him an asset to any future employer. His time-keeping and general behaviour has been excellent.’380
Graham arrived at Hadlands promptly for his interview on the afternoon of Friday, 23 April. He was greeted by Geoffrey Foster, then in his mid-30s, a genial and intelligent man who had almost 15 years’ experience at Hadlands. Foster conducted the interview with George Janouch, who worked in the company’s stores. He recounts: ‘I started the interview on general terms, then asked Mr Young what had caused his hospitalisation. He replied, “My mother died in very tragic circumstances whilst I was in my late teens. This caused me to have a mental breakdown and I have been in hospital ever since.” He did not say what kind of hospital he had been in and I did not ask him. I knew that his hospitalisation had been due to his mental condition and not anything physical. He appeared to be very intelligent and that he would make an excellent assistant storeman. I asked him where he lived and he said, “With my sister in Hemel Hempstead.” I asked if he had his own car and he replied, “I won’t have any difficulty getting here in the mornings.” I was satisfied with Young, having previously had him highly recommended to me by the government training centre at Slough.’381
At the conclusion of the interview, Foster suggested that Janouch should show Graham the store where he would be spending most of his time. Janouch gave him a short tour of the premises and introduced him to t
he staff there, all of whom were friendly, if curious about the slim young man with the intense gaze. The two men then returned to Foster’s office where Graham was told the wages and conditions of payment. Foster smiled at him as they said goodbye and confirmed that he would be in touch.
The following Monday, Ayles received a request from Foster for further information about Graham’s hospitalisation. After some thought, he decided to send Foster a copy of Dr Udwin’s report, which made no reference to Graham’s crimes, but stated that he had suffered ‘a deep-going personality disorder which necessitated his hospitalisation throughout his adolescence’ and that he had made ‘an extremely full recovery and is now entirely fit for discharge’.382 Ayles added his own, extremely brief covering letter: ‘In response to your request I am forwarding a copy of Dr Udwin’s report on Mr Young. I am sure you will find this satisfactory.’383
Foster later confirmed: ‘Satisfactory assurances were given in writing on his abilities and the completeness of his recovery. It was never suggested that he might need extra supervision or in any way be treated differently to other staff members.’384 He confirmed that there had been no mention of Broadmoor: ‘I had no idea he had been an inmate there, much less the reason why.’385
When the Home Office began examining the procedure that had led to Graham’s placement at Hadlands, the application form he had completed raised two immediate concerns: first, the plain glossing over of the six years he had spent in Broadmoor and second, the audacity of his acknowledging an abiding interest in poison. Officials contacted the training centre in Slough, where Ayles could only tell them his basic recollections of the process he had gone through with Graham, citing the length of time that had passed since as the reason for any confusion. He started by acknowledging that it had indeed been necessary to explain Graham’s ‘lost’ years, but this had been done primarily in regard to his absence of previous employment rather than clarifying where he had been and why. Thus, Ayles had, with Graham’s agreement, referred obliquely to this period as one in which he had been hospitalised. This in turn had caused Geoffrey Foster at Hadlands to ask for more detail. Ayles felt that Dr Udwin’s report should suffice, particularly since this demonstrated that Graham had made a ‘total recovery according to expert opinion’.386 He admitted that this also informed the decision not to refer specifically to Broadmoor, which was taken deliberately: ‘There was no reason possibly to imperil his chance of resettlement by indicating the institution from which he came.’
Officials then queried the copy of Udwin’s report which Ayles had sent to Hadlands, noting that it differed from the original report in their files, missing the heading ‘Broadmoor’ and being ‘slightly different’ in layout with a name misspelt. Ayles was unable to shed any light on these disparities, insisting that he had either received the reference from Broadmoor or copied the report in the government training office, although there was no photocopier on the premises. One thing was certain, however: ‘The firm could not be told that Graham Young was a poisoner by Mr Ayles as he did not know. The nearest he got to the actual offence was the report by the social worker which refers to “causing harm to his parents”.’387 The Home Office decision was that Ayles had acted in good faith, being ‘a mature and experienced man who has in the past worked as an assistant disablement resettlement officer and before this had 20 years’ service in the Royal Army Medical Corps’.388
The Home Office also consulted Dr Udwin on the matter. He told them ‘that in this situation the employer would invariably be informed that the person he was being asked to employ was a Broadmoor patient. He would not, however, be given any details of the offence, except possibly in the broadest terms, e.g. “an offence of violence”.’389 Udwin recalled that Graham had telephoned him to discuss the job interview; he had told Graham that it was up to him whether or not he told his prospective employer that he was a former Broadmoor patient. Udwin also checked his files for any record of having written directly to Hadlands but could find nothing. He added that it was not an impossibility, however, and stressed that any such letter would be in the nature of a reference, intended to encourage the employer to give the patient the opportunity of a job, and ‘was not designed to warn the employer against the patient’.390
As a result, Foster decided to offer Graham the job at Hadlands. Graham was ecstatic when he was given the news. But what no one else knew was that during the weekend – between his interview and Foster’s request for more information from Ayles – he had, in fact, already purchased the poison he would use to such cruel and deadly effect on his unsuspecting new colleagues.
Graham had returned to John Bell & Croyden chemists on Saturday, 24 April 1971. He took with him a handwritten note on Bedford College, London University notepaper, requesting 25 grams of antimony potassium tartrate. On a previous visit, pharmacist Albert Kearne had refused to sell him the poison without written authorisation; Kearne later described Graham as ‘a man aged about 22 to 23 years, 5’8” tall, respectably dressed, well-spoken, dark hair, dark eyes with sallow complexion. He was very plausible.’391 Graham handed the pharmacist a printed letter which stated that ‘M E Evans’, a student, was authorised to purchase 25 grams of antimony potassium tartrate.392 Evans was the name Graham had used to illegally obtain poison prior to his 1962 arrest. He gave a false address – 23 Denzil Road, Willesden, NW10 – then left with his precious poison.
Graham wrote to Geoffrey Foster four days later to accept the job offer. Legitimately using the training centre as his address, he announced:
Dear Mr Foster,
Thank you for your letter of the 26th inst., in which you offer me the post of assist. Storekeeper.
I am pleased to accept your offer, and the conditions attached thereto, and shall, therefore, report for work on Monday, May 10th, at 8.30am.
May I take the opportunity to express my gratitude to you for offering me this position, notwithstanding my previous infirmity as communicated to you by the Placing Officer. I shall endeavour to justify your faith in me by performing my duties in an efficient and competent manner.
Until Monday week, I am,
Yours faithfully,
Graham Young.393
Dr Udwin heard that Graham had successfully applied for the position and spoke to him by telephone a few days before his work commenced. ‘He was excited and happy at the prospects of taking up this job,’ Udwin recalled. ‘He seemed to me in an entirely fit state. The probation service in Hemel Hempstead took him over and he has without fail kept [in] touch with them weekly.’394 Graham’s last face-to-face meeting with Mynett occurred on 6 May 1971, the day before he completed his course in Slough and therefore had to find alternative accommodation. Trevor Sparkes had finished the course one week earlier and returned to Welwyn Garden City, where his ailments continued; he was twice admitted to hospital for groin pains and muscle strain, but no formal diagnosis could be made. Sparkes began a slow recovery from autumn onwards. He never saw Graham again, which may account for his survival.
On Friday, 7 May, Graham left the training centre in Slough, having passed each element of the storekeeping course with ‘flying colours’.395 He collected his few belongings from the hostel and headed first to his sister’s home. In a newsagent’s window in the Marlowes in Hemel Hempstead town centre, he spotted an advert for a room at 29 Maynard Road, a quiet residential street that ran parallel to the Marlowes. He called round, keen to secure accommodation as soon as possible. The houses were uniform, semi-detached dwellings; No.29 stood out from the rest with its bright purple front door. The owners were Mr and Mrs Mohammed Saddiq, who lived there with their children and rented out one other room to a married couple: 22-year-old Kenneth Ritch and his wife Kathleen, two years younger. Despite his former membership of the National Front and long adoration of the Nazi movement, Graham immediately liked the Saddiqs, who spoke little English, but were friendly and keen to make their lodgers feel comfortable. He paid a small rent for his room and made his own arrangements for
meals, which soon developed into a routine: lunch at work during the week, evening meals in the local Wimpy and a cooked meal at his sister’s home every Thursday night and Saturday afternoon, unless he was visiting his family in Sheerness, which is where he headed for the rest of that first weekend.
Shortly before leaving for Sheerness, however, Graham paid a visit to his old haunts in Neasden. Winifred was taken aback when he told her about it afterwards, feeling he had made the journey out of a peculiar combination of bravado, sentiment, curiosity and a ghoulish desire to relive the parts of his life that had caused so much injury to others. To the surprise of other teachers who remembered him, he arrived at the John Kelly school asking to see his old headmaster but found he had retired. He then called on his Uncle Frank before walking round to his old home on the North Circular Road. He stood outside for a few minutes, remembering life there, and afterwards knocked on a neighbour’s door. The couple were old friends of Fred and Molly; at first they were horrified, thinking he was on the run from Broadmoor, but he explained that he had served a shorter sentence on account of the psychiatric opinion that he was ‘cured’ and no longer a danger to others. He ended his day with a trip to Edgar’s, the pharmacy where he had bought so much of the poison that obsessed him. On this occasion, he purchased only a tube of toothpaste.
A Passion for Poison Page 16
