Alex Churchill’s HistoryStack

Alex Churchill’s HistoryStack

Share this post

Alex Churchill’s HistoryStack
Alex Churchill’s HistoryStack
ARTICLE: Notable Trials: Another Reason Not to Eat Dundee Cake, 1881

ARTICLE: Notable Trials: Another Reason Not to Eat Dundee Cake, 1881

Alex Churchill's avatar
Alex Churchill
Jun 03, 2025
∙ Paid
20

Share this post

Alex Churchill’s HistoryStack
Alex Churchill’s HistoryStack
ARTICLE: Notable Trials: Another Reason Not to Eat Dundee Cake, 1881
6
2
Share

Today, it’s another tale from the “notable trial” series of books published over a number of years prior to the First World War by Hodge & Company. Buckle up, because the perpetrator this time is a special kind of dirt bag…

Because this you would have to be if the victim is a disabled schoolboy. Percy Malcolm John was 18 in 1881 and a pupil at Blenheim House School in Wimbledon. He suffered from a curvature of the spine which left him unable to use his legs. Despite his physical condition, Percy lived a full and active life at school. He had a wheelchair upstairs, and another on the ground floor, and his schoolmates carried him in between when needed. He was a cheerful kid for the most part, if not frustrated at his limitations. Oh, and he was an orphan, the youngest of four surviving siblings.

The parents had accumulated reasonable wealth, and it was held in trust to pass to their children. In 1878, one of Percy’s two sisters married one George Henry Lamson and her share was claimed. By all accounts, she was besotted. ‘Mrs. Lamson, be it here inscribed, bore towards her husband a love and devotion which far surpassed anything of the kind ever conceived by novelist, and, in the light of subsequent events, was, in the minds of many people, regarded as a degree of wifely faithfulness and self-sacrifice not altogether explicable.’ Lamson was definitely on the better end of this deal, because by tedious Victorian law the 25% share of the dead in-laws’ wealth became legally his with the marriage. In 1879, Percy’s brother Herbert died and his share was dished out between his siblings and another £479 in India Stock and £269 in Consols also found its way under Lamson’s control. 25% went to a second sister on her marriage, and that left the last quarter of the estate, sitting in a trust, waiting for Percy to come of age.

If, however he died before this happened at the end of 1881, his £3,000 fortune (half a million pounds in today’s money) would be divided between the two sisters, and Lamson would get his hands on half of it. You can see where this is going…

Alex Churchill’s HistoryStack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to Alex Churchill’s HistoryStack to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Alex Churchill
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share