Listen Now

We explain what happened to the Fairyland amusement arcade and shooting gallery after the trial of Donald Lesbini, and the formal closing of Stanton Morley and Co Ltd. in 1923.  Contact: email: ellis@cherryleaf.com (c) Ellis Pratt 2019

In this episode, we look at the events on the 12th August, 1914, at the Fairyland amusement arcade, 92 Tottenham Court Road, London.  It was a murder that changed British, Australian and Canadian criminal case law.  Contact: email: ellis@cherryleaf.com (c) Ellis Pratt 2019 ...

At 5.30pm on the 1st July 1909, Madan Lal Dhingra visited the Fairyland shooting gallery to practise his shooting. At around 10.30pm, when he was at the Imperial Institute in South Kensington, he assassinated Sir William Hutt Curzon Wyllie, the head of the secret police in India.  The assassination is cited as one of the first acts of revolution in the Indian independence movement in the 20th century. The event was to be of pivotal importance in the writing of Mahatma Ghandi's book "Hind Swaraj", and his political ideas for independence through peaceful protest.  In this episode, we report on the statements given by the witnesses at the inquest and Dhingra's trial. Wikipedia page on Madan Lal Dhingra Vande Mataram song : From Wikimedia Commons, under Creative Commons. See also: Halls of Empire: inside the Imperial Institute 1893  Contact: email: ellis@cherryleaf.com (c) Ellis Pratt 2019

In September 1909, the Metropolitan Police's Special Branch reported to the Home Secretary that two Suffragettes were going to Fairyland in Tottenham Court Road to practice with their pistols. The reason - they planned to assassinate  Herbert Asquith, Prime Minister of Great Britain and Ireland.  We investigate the police reports to the Home Secretary, and his secret letter to Sir Edward Grey about his concerns.  Books on the Suffragettes: The Suffragette Bombers by Simon Webb Rise Up Women! by Andrew Rosen Media: The Things We Forgot To Remember. Michael Portillo on the Suffragettes BBC Radio 4. December 2007 Suffragettes with Lucy Worsley. BBC One.  Contact: email: ellis@cherryleaf.com (c) Ellis Pratt 2019 ...

Fairyland has a minor place in history, because it was connected to an assassination, an aborted assassination of the Prime Minister, and a murder.   This episode begins the story of Fairyland,  an amusement arcade and shooting gallery that was located at 92 Tottenham Court Road in London, between 1909-1921. It describes the street at that time, what Fairyland was like inside, and the people who worked there. Links: Wikipedia page on Fairyland Photograph of Fairyland on Wikipedia Contact: email: ellis@cherryleaf.com Sound Effects (Creative Commons): Mutoscope Mechanical Maniacs: Wikimedia Commons Gunshot: Sound Effect  Music: "Mister Exposition" and "Work is Work" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Billiards: Manor Games (c) Ellis Pratt 2019