The full title of the book is ‘Brutish Necessity, a Black life forgotten.’ The author, Jon Berry, sets out to tell the story of Oswald Augustus Grey, an immigrant of Jamaica. When he was 19 years old, Grey committed a crime for which he was hanged at the age of twenty.
Grey was accused of killing newsagent Thomas Arthur Bates (47) in his shop on June 2, 1962, in Birmingham, UK.
Within days, Grey was arrested. He was charged with murder on June 7 and convicted on October 13. The jury deliberated for less than an hour. Grey received the death penalty, appealed the verdict, and lost. He was hanged on Nov 20, 1962, at Winson Green Prison.
The shop, the crime scene, was part of the house where the Bates family lived. His elderly mother Louisa, heard a shot and went to check on her son. She found the shop robbed and Bates on the floor. Due to medical issues, she first thought he had had a heart attack. Only later did they learn that a bullet had gone straight through his heart and exited his body. It was found lodged in the wall behind him.
The main reason for Berry to write this book is that Grey hardly has a digital footprint. The most that we can find about him is by looking up his victim Thomas Bates and the history of Grey’s executioner, the famous hangman Harry Allen. Allen was the assistant of the even more famous executioner Albert Pierrepoint. That is not being ironic or mean, this is the truth. If people are not famous, less people care. If breaking news occurs at the same time as someone’s trial, they tend to get overshadowed. We have seen this in many cases.
A lot is said about Grey changing his story but remember that he was between 19 and 20 years old, without a lawyer present during police interrogations, and he was an immigrant facing discrimination and racism.
Berry wants to enhance Grey’s footprint with this book. In his enthusiasm though, he overshadows Grey with everything that was going on at the time in Birmingham including his own family stories. The book shows us a lot about Birmingham’s history, cricket, the music of the time, immigration politics, the still present issue of housing the poor, integrating immigrants, and it even ventures towards the trial of Adolf Eichmann. By giving us that rich background and detailed history, Grey’s story gets snowed under, again.
The author gives a first-person perspective about Birmingham as he lived there during that time. That makes the book feel partly like an autobiography. This part he does brilliantly, beautifully, and in this respect, it is highly recommended. But I found myself whispering: what about Grey? I need to learn more about Grey.
There were no eyewitnesses. Did Grey rob Bates’ store? Maybe, but nobody mentioned that Grey suddenly had more money, paid off debts, etc. Did Grey intend to kill Bates? We need to know more about the forensic evidence such as gunpowder residue on Grey’s hands, his criminal history, etc. Was the trial rushed, prejudiced? From the descriptions in the book, yes. Was the press objective in reporting and accurate about all the details? No.
And that is the tragedy of Oswald Augustus Grey and his case. It can be summed up in a short, incomplete paragraph that feels utterly disrespectful the lives lost, from both Bates and Grey.
Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. My other book reviews are here.