Episode 635: Gordon Cummins: The Blackout Ripper (Part 1)

Morbid

Morbid Network | Wondery

True Crime, Comedy, Exhibit C

4.5 • 93.7K Ratings

🗓️ 9 January 2025

⏱️ 49 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In response to the onset of German bombing raids during World War II, many of England’s most vulnerable citizens evacuated or were temporarily evacuated out of urban areas to safer, more rural parts of the country. Those who remained in the cities would ultimately spend years enduring wartime blackouts, periods where the city was plunged into complete darkness in order to prevent German bombers from easily identifying their targets. The blackouts were a significant inconvenience and safety risk for everyone, but for at least one Londoner, they offered a perfect opportunity to enact his darkest fantasies.

Thank you to the Incredible Dave White of Bring Me the Axe Podcast for research and Writing support!

References

Bolton News. 1942. "Is 'killer' at large?" Bolton News, February 14: 1.

Campbell, Duncan. 2010. "London in the blitz: how crime flourished under cover of the blackout." The Guardian, August 28.

Driscoll, Margarette. 2022. "Ranmpage of the Blackout Ripper." Daily Mail, November 24.

Evening Standard. 1942. "Accused of murder of 4 women." Evening Standard (London, England), March 26: 8.

Evening Telegraph. 1942. "'Killer' theory in wave of London murders." Evening Telegraph (Derby, England), February 14: 8.

Herald Express. 1942. "Cadet's defense in murder trial." Herald Express (Devon, England), April 28: 1.

Hull Daily Mail. 1942. "London murders." Hull Daily Mail, February 11: 1.

Imperial War Museum. n.d. Imperial War Museum. https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/the-nation-at-a-standstill-shutdown-in-the-second-world-war.

Liverpool Daily Post. 1942. "Another London murder." Liverpool Daily Post, February 14: 1.

Storey, Neil. 2023. The Blackout Murders: Homicide in WW2. South Yorkshire, England: Pen and Sword.

The Citizen. 1942. "Cadet sent for trial." The Citizen (Gloucester, England), March 27: 1.

—. 1942. "'Evidence was overwhelming'." The Citizen (Gloucester, England), June 9: 8.

—. 1942. "Fresh Jury to be sworn in." The Citizen (Gloucester, England), April 24: 1.

The Times. 1942. "Airman charged with three murders." The Times (London, England), March 13: 2.

Venning, Annabel. 2017. "The Blackout Ripper; under cover of the Blitz." Mail on Sunday, January 29.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, weirdos, before we unleashed today's macab mystery, we were wondering, have you ever heard of Wondery Plus?
0:05.9	It's like a secret passage to an ad-free layer with early access to episodes.
0:09.9	You can join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or an Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
0:14.7	You're listening to a Morbid Network podcast.
0:22.6	Hey, weirdos. I'm Elena.
0:23.5	I'm Ash.
0:24.4	And this is morbid.
0:41.6	It's morbid.
0:47.7	And it's 2025. It's 2025.
0:50.7	Yeah, it's been 2025 for like a half of it, I think.
0:51.0	Yeah.
0:53.0	Like the last couple episodes maybe.
0:55.0	Like you know, we don't know. I was going to say, it's a trend. I have. Yeah. Like our last couple episodes maybe, like you know, we don't know.
0:56.5	I was going to say, it's a trend.
1:00.1	I have no idea where we are.
1:00.9	You know what?
1:03.1	You know where I'm at?
1:03.8	Where are you at?
1:04.3	Yeah.
1:07.0	Do you know where I'm at?
1:08.1	I'm in a bad place.
1:08.8	Oh, no.
	...

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