“Have We Progressed?”
| Author | Jack Goodsall |
| Date | 01 April 1976 |
| Published date | 01 April 1976 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X7604900206 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
JACK
GOODSALL
Chief Superintendent
Kent County Constabulary
"HAVE
WE PROGRESSEDP"
"Do
you find the prisoner guilty or not guilty?" -"Guilty" -
all eyes turned to the young man standing with soldierly erectness
in the dock. Without flinching he stared at a spot above the head
of the red robed Judge; a spot where the symbolical sword of
justice hung. There was a small convulsive movement of his throat,
otherwise it
was
as though he had heard nothing.
"Have you anything to say why sentence of death should not
be passed upon
you?"
asked the clerk . . .
This then was the finale to the three day trial at the Old Bailey
of Arthur James Farraday Salvage, a 23-year-old poultry farmer
of "Sunningdale", Ruckinge, Nr. Ashford, Kent, who had been
charged with the wilful murder of "little" Ivy Godden the ll-year-
old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Godden of "Killarney",
Ruckinge.
The date? -September 16, 1931 - nearly 44 years ago com-
paring the sophistication of police
investigation today where com-
munications -transport - central
scientific laboratories and forensic
pathologists are an accepted part of
the system and taken for granted,
one can only marvel at the success
and ingenuity of the investigators in
those days.
It was an inquiry and trial which
attracted wide-spread attention, for
there were many unique features in
the case. The youth and apparent
calmness of the accused alone
roused interest, for it was difficult
to believe that the good-looking
young man whose features occasion-
ally brightened into a smile at the
evidence could be connected with such a callous and horrible
crime.
The offender, Arthur James Farraday Salvage would, no doubt,
have been an interesting subject for the forensic psychiatrist. Born
114
April
1976
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