George Brain and the Wimbledon Lovers’ Lane Murder

A Body Discovery In Wimbledon

On Thursday 14 July 1938, less than two weeks after the Wimbledon Championships had concluded, a murder was discovered on Somerset Road in Wimbledon, directly opposite a side entrance to the All England Lawn Tennis Club.

Reigning champion American Don Budge won the men’s singles again in style, using his rolled backhand to good effect against Britain’s Bunny Austin. In the women’s game, Helen Wills Moody lifted the trophy, in what would be her final Wimbledon appearance. There would be just one more summer of tennis before the outbreak of the Second World War suspended play for the next six years. But for now, death and disaster were far from the minds of most ordinary people, and a motorist driving along the quiet, secluded road at midnight was startled to see a woman’s body lying in his headlights, less than 80 yards from Centre Court.

When police arrived at the scene, the woman’s injuries initially suggested a hit-and-run accident. A tyre mark on her right stocking, close to the ankle, appeared consistent with a vehicle such as an Austin Seven or Morris Eight. She was found lying on her back in the road, her head resting on the verge in a pool of blood. She was dressed in black and wore black lace gloves, but no handbag was found at the scene. Closer examination revealed that her face was badly lacerated and that she had sustained multiple head injuries. Most significantly, she had been stabbed in the neck. The theory of a road traffic accident was therefore abandoned, and the investigation was treated as a murder.

Early police investigation and witnesses

Local residents and members of the Wimbledon grounds staff informed police that Somerset Road was known locally as a lover’s lane, where couples often parked at night for privacy. One witness reported seeing a woman enter a green van on Somerset Road at around 11.30 p.m., approximately half an hour before the body was discovered. The woman matched the description of the victim, who was about 5 ft 4 in tall with dark brown hair.

The post-mortem examination was carried out by Home Office pathologist Dr Eric Gardner, who was standing in for the absent Sir Bernard Spilsbury. Gardner concluded that the victim had been struck repeatedly on the head with a blunt object before being stabbed in the neck. Divisional Detective Inspector Henry and Detective Inspector Philpott of Scotland Yard were assigned to lead the investigation, beginning with enquiries into all registered owners of green vans in the area.

George Brain becomes the prime suspect

Around the same time, police received a complaint concerning George Brain, a 27-year-old van driver from Richmond who worked for a West End firm of boot and shoe repairers. His employer reported that Brain had misappropriated £37 from the company and had subsequently disappeared. Crucially, he was known to drive a green Austin van.

The following day, police located a green Austin van parked in a garage off Tottenham Court Road, approximately eight miles from where the body had been discovered. Bloodstains were found inside the vehicle and were analysed at the police laboratory, where they were confirmed to match the victim’s blood type. In a washroom adjoining the garage, officers discovered a handbag concealed behind wooden boards. A bloodstained cobbler’s knife was also found nearby and was later identified as the murder weapon. The shoe company confirmed that the van belonged to them and had been assigned to their employee, George Brain, for his daily duties.

Identifying the victim: Rose Muriel Atkins

The murdered woman was formally identified on Saturday 16 July 1938 as Rose Muriel Atkins, a 30-year-old laundry worker from Lambeth.

Police appeals published in the newspapers were read by her estranged husband, George Robert Atkins, aged 33, who was horrified to realise that the description matched his wife. The couple had married ten years earlier but had been separated for the previous four years. Although George had not seen Rose for at least two of those years, she continued to visit their two children regularly.

George Atkins visited the mortuary on Saturday 16 July and confirmed that the murdered woman was his estranged wife. ‘As soon as I saw her, I knew it was Rose,’ he said. ‘She left me four years ago. There was another man. Our two children, Cecil, aged nine, and Rose Lavinia, aged six, and I then went to live at my parents’ home. I saw my wife about two years ago in Clapham Common, but she would tell me nothing about herself. She loved our children. She often came to South Lambeth and saw them as they came out of school, but she never came to the house. Only a few days ago my parents told me she met the children and made them little gifts.’

Rose had two brothers, who also learned of her death through reading the newspaper. One of them said, ‘We’re grateful our father was not alive to know what happened to her.’ It soon transpired that Rose Atkins had been working as a prostitute, nicknamed ‘Irish Rose’ by her clients.

The manhunt and arrest at Minster Cliffs

The police launched a manhunt for George Brain, the owner of the green van, and widely circulated his description. After speaking to people who knew him, detectives began to build a picture of the man they were seeking. Described as 5’7”, weighing 13 stones, with a plump red face and a double chin. He was clean-shaven, had a long prominent nose, dark brown hair, and blue eyes, and was dressed in a grey shabby tweed jacket and trousers. He lived with his parents, Richard and Alice Brain, at St James Cottages in Richmond, and was due to marry 24-year-old fiancée Cissie Gadd in a week’s time, a ceremony that had been hastily arranged due to her unexpectedly falling pregnant. It emerged that Brain had a habit of playing billiards and losing money at the greyhound races, so he had started stealing from his employer to fund his addiction. He had also been paying for the services of prostitutes – one of whom was Rose Atkins. Given the vicious nature of the attack, it was imperative that the police traced their only suspect as soon as possible.

Detectives visited cafes and lodging houses, monitored ports in case he tried to flee the country, and received multiple dead-end tips and false sightings from the public which kept them busy as far south as Eastbourne and as far north as Leeds. But one lead finally proved to be genuine. On the afternoon of Monday 25 July 1938, nearly two weeks after the murder, Sergeant Beaker and Constable Boot, both stationed in Sheerness, received a tip-off that a man was hiding out in a cave beneath Minster Cliffs. Acting on the information, they made their way along the rocky shoreline and entered the cave. There, they found George Brain, reading a newspaper. He was arrested and taken to Wimbledon Police Station, where crowds gathered in the heavy rain, hoping to catch a glimpse of him in the back of the police car.

George Brain’s statement to police

When he was charged with murder, Brain replied, ‘Yes, I understand. I’ll speak the truth. It’s the best way.’ In his statement, he explained what had happened. According to Brain, he had met Rose Atkins about four months ago and had seen her several times since. On the night of Wednesday 13 July 1938, he was driving along Somerset Road near the tennis club when he spotted her walking along the road. He pulled up and called out to her, suggesting they have sex. She climbed into his van and they drove on a short distance before stopping in a quiet spot. At this point, she apparently told him she was struggling financially and tried to blackmail him, threatening to report him to his employer for using his work van out of hours if he didn’t pay up. Fearful of the consequences and angry, George Brain slapped Rose in the face, then hit her with the car’s starting handle which was beside the seat. He made no mention of stabbing her with the cobbler’s knife, which was either a stupid Omission as the police had already found the weapon, or a clever move, in the hope that the inconsistency of his statement would ultimately lead to reasonable doubt.

Brain claimed that everything had gone blank and he awoke later to find Rose dead, so he pushed her out of the car and drove off, which was likely the point at which the tyre mark had been transferred to her stocking. He then returned home to his parents’ house, explaining to the police, ‘I told mummy and dad I was late because I had trouble with the van.’

He admitted that he had tried cleaning the van in the morning and had found his victim’s handbag inside. He took four shillings from the handbag then hid it in the washroom next to the garage, where it was found by the police. He also admitted to hiding the bloody knife there, though he maintained he could not remember using it. Police successfully matched Brain’s fingerprints to the ones on the handbag.

Trial, verdict, and execution

 

George Brain’s trial opened in September 1938. His defence was funded by his father and brother, and his barrister, Frederick Hallis, argued that Brain had been provoked into attacking Rose Atkins and that the killing should therefore be reduced to manslaughter. The prosecution, led by McClure, asked the jury to consider whether the extreme level of violence used could be justified by the provocation claimed by the defence. When Brain stated that he had blacked out during the attack, the trial judge, Mr Justice Wrottesley, dismissed the argument, remarking, ‘It is no excuse to say, I did not remember doing it.’ The jury retired for just 15 minutes before returning a verdict of guilty.

Despite his criminal behaviour, Brain was regarded by many acquaintances as a likeable man, and a petition signed by around 16,000 people was submitted in support of his reprieve. The appeal was rejected, and Brain was executed at Wandsworth Prison on 1 November 1938 — his mother’s birthday — by Thomas Pierrepoint. Two weeks later, his fiancée Cissie Gadd gave birth to a son and subsequently went to live with her sister.

Aftermath, rumours, and unanswered questions

In the year following George Brain’s execution, further claims emerged that cast doubt on his stated motive. One such claim came from a prostitute known locally as Vera the Vixen, who wrote to Scotland Yard stating that she had known both Rose Atkins and George Brain. Although Brain had claimed he attacked Rose in fear of being exposed for using the company van out of hours, Vera suggested there was another reason. She revealed that he had secretly enjoyed wearing women’s clothes – something that was taboo in society at the time – and she suspected that this was what Rose had threatened to tell people unless he paid her. After all, Brain was already in trouble for stealing from his employer. Would he really have been so worried about them finding out about the van that he’d kill to keep it secret?

Brain’s cave hideout became a popular tourist destination but over the years, the sea has eroded the cliff. Much of it has now crumbled into the sea, swept away on the tide like the echoes of this tragic story – a story which many tennis fans visiting Wimbledon have no idea played out on the doorstep of the hallowed courts at SW19 more than 85 years ago.

Researched and written by Prash Ganendran. Published 22 December 2025.
© 2025 Prash Ganendran. All Rights Reserved.

Video Documentary Version of this Case

Watch on YouTube

Sources

Ancestry
National Archives
Guy Logan’s Casefile
Evening Mail, 14 July 1938
Evening Sentinel, 14 July 1938
Yorkshire Evening Post, 15 July 1938
Daily Herald, 18 July 1938
Daily Mirror, 18 July 1938
Daily News (London), 18 July 1938
Daily Express, 19 July 1938
Daily Herald, 21 July 1938
Sunday Despatch, 24 July 1938
Daily Express, 26 July 1938
Daily Mirror, 27 July 1938
Daily Herald, 20 September 1938