It was Granny who told me that someone in the Family had been murdered. This was a matter of great interest when I was a boy, and more recently, I have been able to investigate it, and found that the victim was my own great grandfather, John Kingham of Bledlow.

John Kingham was born in 1828 at Ilmer, the son of Joshua and Hannah Kingham. His brother James remained at Ilmer, while others of the Family scattered. I have a photograph of brother George who went to Australia, but no photo of my own ancestor.

John married Susannah Gregory at Dinton in November 1862 - she had already given birth to his son George that March, and there was another child, Sarah Ann, probably the mother of the boy, Herbert Kingham, who figures in the story. By 1896, the marriage of John and Susannah had long foundered and she had been living elsewhere. George, his son, married Sarah Elizabeth Pigott and went to Ashby do la Zouche to work on a Farm for a while. Family sources say that John had a nasty temper, though after his death the local police constable described him as "a civil quiet, harmless man" - a steady, industrious man, formerly a labourer in the employ of a farmer at Ilmer.

The Kinghams had been farmers at Ilmer For some generations. Joshua and his son were both labourers, during the time of agricultural recession, but John had, by the time of his death, worked his way up to having a small farm at Bledlow Ridge, called Studmore Farm, but often known as Newells, from the previous inhabitants. His small farmhouse was on the Ridge road, with its fields stretching out behind it, down the south slope of the ridge, towards Radnage village. Between Studmore and Radnage was Yewsden wood, which ended in a curious near-circle, looking rather like an old Fashioned pair of bag bellows. Between the two "bellows" lay one of John's fields, known as Bellows Hill Field.

Yewsden wood belonged to Lord Carrington, but he did not preserve it for game, so the local farmers were allowed to shoot in it, with tacit permission, and the local labourers also shot in it, without leave, as poachers. John Kingham seems to have constituted himself as unnofficial. keeper of the wood, on behalf of the farmers, and had been responsible for getting several local lads charged with poaching. This didn't stop them, and two families in particular, the Averys and the Brookses, regularly shot over Yewsden Wood.

John Kingham did most of the farm work himself, with the help of one labourer, George Martin. Mrs Martin did some of the housework, but John did the cooking for himself and for his grandson Herbert, the only other resident of the farm. On Thursday, September 28, George Martin Went home just before 5.30pm and young Herbert went down to Feasey's Farm to play, leaving John chopping firewood in the yard. That was the last either of them saw of him alive. As Herbert skipped down the road he heard a shot or two in the wood, and thought nothing of it.

But John Kingham evidently went to investigate those shots. From her house at Town End, Radnage, Elizabeth wife of William Styles, saw his tall Figure emerge from the top wood, cross the field and vanish linto the lower Wood. She too heard severai shots, but this was commonplace enough at this time of year.

Some of the men took more notice of the shots. Uriah Dell and John Newell attributed them to poachers out rather early in the evening. They said as much to John Avery, standing by Cross Lane Pond with his gun, as usual. John said he then walked up to Radnage church - he was sexton - to collect some tools left thera after working on the ground, taking a keen interest in more shots in the wood at about 6pm. He heard voices there.

When Herbert arrived homc at 7.45pm, he found the wood still in the yard, the cows unmilked and no grandfather. Soon he went to get help from the Martins. George dealt with the stock, then went to search for his master, helped by Jonah Britnell. They failed and in the morning went to constable Henry Ware for help.

Ware Found John Kingham's body in the lower wood, with his skull fearfully battered in from behind and his throat cut deeply. Much of the blood had been washed away by heavy rain, which had muddied the ground around. Soon locals poured into the wood and completed the obliteration of the traces. However, the first on hand, when Britnell went to get help to carry the body home, was John Avery.
Two days later, Avery was arrested. Blood was found on his clothing and a knife - clean - in his pocket. There was plenty of evidence of poaching on him and in his house and many people had seen him in the vicinity at the time of the murder. He claimed to have recognised the voices in the wood as those of the Brooks clan, especially Patsy (alias Jim junior].This he told several people before his arrest.

Four days later, his twin, Richard, his unmarried brother, was arrested. The evidence was that his clothing was stained with blood - which he accounted for by saying a sheep he had skinned on the Tuesday had "bursted" over him - and that he was very upset by the crime. He was an epileptic and had had a fit. The bloodstained clothing was still around the house the brothers shared with their mother and John's wife, and no attempt was made to conceal it. Richard had worn the shirt openly until the weekend, then changed to go to Wycombe. His mother washed his coat. Richard had been the first to take the news to John Kingham's family at Ilmer, and had then hinted that he knew who had done it. "Young" men were mentioned - the Avery brothers were 49. Both brothers accused the Brookses, but not to the police until after they were arrested - which was too late.

A lot of people had seen the two Averys walking around that evening, John with a gun, Richard without. Both were elsewhere and in the presence of several witnesses when someone was firing shots in Yewsden Wood, but Richard walked through the wood - in a different part - shortly after, and John could produce no evidence that he was in Radnage churchyard when he claimed he was. Both had an interest in the wood, as regular poachers, and seemed to know a lot about the manner of the death. But then, everyone had been to see and gossip, and John had helped carry the body back to the farm (which could account for some of the blond on his clothes). The Brooks Family were questioned, but not in court.

It became evident that there was a great deal of friction between the Avery and Brooks Families - and that meant between a qood deal of the population of Bledlow and Radnage since there were such a lot of them and their relations. The qeneral evidence was that there had been a number of shots fired in Yewsden wood, mostly when John and Richard Avery were at some distance, and in company of other persons. The traqedy seems to have occurred when many men were on their way home from work and a lot of them and their wives were conscious of the time for that reason.

The Avery brothers had an excellent defending lawyer, Mr. R. S. Wood, who did not miss a trick and made the most of the evidence about the animal blood. It was quite obvious that they were poachers, which may have prejudiced the Bench, but there was insufficient evidence to convict, so the charges were dismissed. The brothers were warned that they would be re-arrested if further evidence came to light (in direct conflict with th principle that no person may suffer double jeopardy for the same crime).

Both Averys said that they heard "Patsy" Brooks voice in the wood after the second lot of shots. They accused Patsy and his Family before the arrest of John Avery, as wa deposed by several people. It was revealed that John Kingham and Richard Avery both had some responsibilty for keeping en eye on Yewsden Wood and that they were witnesses in an earlier case against Patsy Brooks. Both had been threatened. Did Brooks carry out the threats, and were were wrong men arrested?

It was said that, many years later, an old man had confessed on his death bed - but who was he? Who Dun It?

• Re-enactment of the trial in 1987
• Back to Robert Avery's family
• Back to John Avery's family