The diary of hangman Albert Pierrepoint goes under the hammer

A rather gruesome diary of Britain's last hangman is up for auction. It's the notebook of Albert Pierrepoint, who executed more than 600 people during his 25-year career - including Nazi war criminals and infamous murderers. Sharuna Sagar reports.

[@josephdugan4797]

How did I get here? I was looking at ABBA videos.

[@tvrehab]

😂

[@alanketley2921]

They were lucky to have Pierrepoint, his executions were carried out perfectly, nothing ever went wrong.

[@barrylyons787]

How the hell did he get the practice for the job, the early ones must have been painful.

[@davidhastie7700]

@@barrylyons787 His father and uncle were public executioners and he assisted them.

[@Steven_Rowe]

@@barrylyons787 very simple, when people applied for the job they were assistants to an experienced person. It's in his book

[@Steven_Rowe]

@Auggie He used to go to Shepton Mallet prison which the US army used He liked going there as they had great food He mentions it in his book

[@tabsntoot]

Only one occasion. It was a double hanging and he along with another head executioner and two assistants had to in synchronisation go into two cells to pinion and bring the two men to the scaffold both landing on the trapdoor more or less together on time .The one Albert went for struggled and refused to go and the other man for forty seconds had to stand and wait while starting to faint almost. They eventually came in and got him on and down they went. But Albert was definitely not happy afterwards called him a bugger . Read that in his assistants book

[@andremarais2706]

Well done Pierrepoint. RIP

[@berniefynn6623]

A human is HANGED, NOT hung.

[@waynegourlay6461]

What a great man

[@jonherbert6184]

hi wayne australia here how many nazi pigs did he hang

[@bevanbuckwheatshea5520]

He certainly did a good service for his country

[@dangerman8625]

Albert Pierrepont, had a cunning, resemblance, to Stan the man, a notorious gangster, in the 60s, 70s, 80s, in Australia, he was a informative person, and the people he had to expunge, within that time period.!

[@tomchevalier5491]

One thing to remember is don't ever cheat the hang man

[@melgrant7404]

Who would want this

[@dross2172]

Unfortunately a lot of people. It does serve the purpose of history but it is a macabre history and there's no telling how many innocent men and women went to the gallows but they are there in those books.

[@bettyscoggins7769]

HE'S MY HERO !!!! BRING THAT MAN BACK !!!!!! ERIC, CHATTANOOGA, TN !!!

[@bettyscoggins7769]

He should've been PRESIDENT !!!!

[@charlesciminera5881]

@@bettyscoggins7769 you need to get out of the house more often or a least get a hobby

[@garethcollocott6310]

Me, I would love that book. I love history and with names like Kramer etc.......wow that is a collection piece of note.

[@larryrobinson6914]

Haunted by Ruth Ellis

[@scottandrewhorne4655]

When Courts and Jurys get it wrong how could anyone ever do this job and put thereself maybe in trouble on their D day for taking a innocent Good Human Beings Earthly life from them because some who were hanged were innocent and had done nothing wrong nor did they receive a fair trial

[@shondasmith5470]

He needs to be REHIRED!

[@lukasschliepkorte3019]

Wouldn't do much of a good job nowadays, would he?

[@tabsntoot]

We could clone a batch of alberts all working round the clock !

[@tabsntoot]

love to have popped into the old strugglers for a pint with Albert I wouldn’t hang about too long

[@bevanbuckwheatshea5520]

I think he was a grocer too as well as doing executions?

[@annewren8845]

Yes, that was his ‘day job’ when he was required to perform an execution, he’d receive a brown envelope with the details of when, and where. He would travel up the night before, in order to set up the rope to ensure the correct drop for the prisoner, the the execution was performed the next morning.

[@tabsntoot]

he could get snappy and bad tempered at times,just turn suddenly his assistant stated, lost his temper had a nasty streak apparently especially if the food was not to his liking that the screws served. The hangmen had an allowance for meals and he was served cress and ham one occasion he flipped and demanded ‘somethin proper’ they had to get the cook in to make him a fry up.