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Edith Swan (left) and Rose Gooding (right)

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Background

Littlehampton

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Littlehampton, on the south cost of England

Western Road, showing the positions of 45, 47 and 49

Littlehampton, Sussex (now West Sussex) was a town of 11,000 people in the 1920s. It is based on England south coast at the mouth of the River Arun; the town includes a small port which received shipping from northern Europe, as well as being the home port for a fishing fleet. The town was also a thriving seaside resort. Rose and Bill Gooding lived in a rented cottage at 45 Western Road, Littlehampton. Bill was from Kent and had met Rose when he worked on barges on Sussex's River Ouse between Newhaven harbour and Lewes. She had a child, Dorothy, from a previous relationship. The couple married in Lewes in 1913 when she was twenty-two and he was thirty-four; they moved to Littlehampton in 1916. By 1920 the couple had a son, William. They lived in Western Road with Rose's sister, Ruth Russell and her children, Gertrude, William and Albert. Although Ruth's children had been born out of wedlock, she called herself "Mrs Russell", and she and Rose told people that her husband had died in the war. The historian Christopher Hilliard observes that at the time, unmarried mothers often referred to themselves as widows.

Rose and Bill were known to argue, and several people who knew her in Littlehampton described her as being hot-tempered. She was also known to swear frequently and was thought to be an odd character by several neighbours; she was described by a Littlehampton police constable as "rather an eccentric woman". Bill was described by one landlady as "a sober, hardworking man, who was, on one occasion only seen the worse for drink". Bill accused Rose of having an affair with another man while he was away at sea, and she had to stay at a neighbour's house for several days, after he had hit her and thrown her out of the family home; she showed the neighbour the bruises he caused. The couple argued occasionally and there was, according to Hilliard, "a persistent hum of conflict" between the two.

The Swan family were natives of Littlehampton and had lived at number 45 Western Road for several years. Edith Swan was one of nine children of Edward and Mary Ann Swan; the two parents and three of their offspring—Edith and two of her brothers—lived in the family home. The two brothers, aged 39 and 40, shared one of the bedrooms; Edith, aged 30, shared a room with her parents, both of whom were in their seventies. In 1921 Swan worked as a laundress; she had previously been a domestic servant, although had been dismissed after she was accused of stealing some children's clothes. The matter was not referred to the police. According to the legal historian James Morton, Edith was highly regarded in the neighbourhood. Edith was engaged to Bert Boxall, a man from nearby Horsham; he had been a bricklayer before joining the army, and in 1921 he was serving in Mesopotamia.

Relations between Swan and Gooding were cordial when the Goodings first moved in. The historian Emily Cockayne describes Swan as ingratiating towards Gooding at first; Swan wrote out a recipe for marrow chutney and a knitting pattern for socks for her neighbour. She and Gooding would visit each other's houses and lent household items between each other, including a bath, clothes and cooking equipment. Relations between Gooding and Swan were cordial until Easter Sunday, 1920.

Events

(l to r) Rose Gooding, her husband and sister, Ruth Russell, 1921

In May 1920 Swan wrote to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), falsely accusing Gooding of maltreating one of Russell's children on Easter Sunday. Swan later recalled the incident to Littlehampton police, who recorded:

[Bill Gooding] took the baby away from her because she had been beating her sister’s baby with the cane. He said he would not allow her to hit it with the cane. She accused Mr. Gooding of being the father of her sister's last baby.

An NSPCC inspector visited Littlehampton and interviewed the Goodings, Swan and other neighbours. He thought the report was suspicious because of the level of detail if contained; none of the other neighbours corroborated Swan's claims. Rejecting the accusation, the investigator reported that he "found the home to be spotlessly clean and the children in a perfect state in every way".

Shortly after Easter letters began arriving at the Swans—where they accused Swan of being a prostitute and said her family were drunkards—and to people the Swans knew and dealt with. These included Swan's laundry clients, the butcher, fishmonger, general store manager and dairy. Many of the letters were signed "R—" and "R. G.", and one was signed off "with Mrs. Gooding’s compliments".

A letter was also sent to Boxall in Iraq, stating that Constable Russell—who lived at 49 Western Road—had "gone away with Miss Swan who was expecting a baby by him".

Gooding was given either £200 or £250 in compensation.

Aftermath and legacy

Gooding and her children, 1923

• Wicked Little Letters (2023), with Olivia Colman as Swan and Jessie Buckley as Gooding

• In August 1975 numbers 41, 43 and 47–51 Western Road were all designated Grade II listed buildings, providing the properties with protection from unauthorised demolition or unsympathetic modification.

Timeline

May 1920	Swan laid a complaint about Gooding with the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.
	After the inspector’s visit a ‘flood of filthy postcards’ started. The early letters were signed ‘R—’ and ‘R. G.’; one ended ‘with Mrs. Gooding’s compliments’.
	Swan went to the police – no help so started a private prosecution for libel
22 September 1920	Gooding was remanded in custody for two and a half months before trial
13 December 1920	Found guilty – two weeks in prison and bound her over to keep the peace for two years after her release
23 December 1920	Gooding released from prison
1 January 1921	Swan says she received a dirty message which contained the words, “I hope you get all the bad luck you deserve in the New Year for getting me sent to prison.”’
March 1921	Swan launched a new prosecution. Gooding was arrested and committed for another trial. Again a jury found her guilty, and this time Mr Justice Avory sentenced her to twelve months in prison
April 1921	Gooding appealed – rejected
	Documents found in the street in same handwriting
c. June 1921	Inspector George Nicholls of Scot Yard on the case
25 July 1921	Gooding’s conviction quashed
July 1923	Swan’s second trial
“Soon after”	Swan appealed – rejected
December 1923	Swan petitioned the Home Office, pleading innocence

Images

• 
  Edith Swan (r) and her mother - Daily Mirror - 28 October 1921 - Page 1.jpg
• 
  Littlehampton police - Daily Mirror - 28 October 1921 - Page 1.jpg
• 
  Policewoman Gladys Moss - Daily Mirror - 28 October 1921 - Page 1.jpg
• 
  Rose Gooding - Daily Mirror - 12 July 1923 - Page 1.jpg
• 
  Edith Swan leaving court - Daily Mirror - 20 July 1923 - Page 1.jpg

Notes and references

Sources

Books

• Cockayne, Emily (2023a). Penning Poison: A History of Anonymous Letters. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-1987-9505-6.
• Evans, Mary; Moore, Sarah; Johnstone, Hazel (2019). Detecting the Social: Order and Disorder in Post-1970s Detective Fiction. Cham, Zug: Palgrave Macmillan. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-94520-0. ISBN 978-3-3199-4520-0.
• Hilliard, Christopher (2017). The Littlehampton Libels: A Miscarriage of Justice and a Mystery about Words in 1920s England. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-1987-9965-8.
• Humphreys, Travers (1946). Criminal Days. Recollections and Reflections. London: Hodder & Stoughton. OCLC 2617004.
• Jackson, Robert (1962). Case for the Prosecution: A Biography of Sir Archibald Bodkin, Director of Public Prosecutions, 1920–1930. London: Arthur Baker. OCLC 6841285.
• Morton, James (2015). Justice Denied: Extraordinary Miscarriages of Justice. London: Robinson. ISBN 978-1-4721-1131-9.

Journals and magazines

News

• "Alleged Criminal Libels". The Worthing Gazette. 20 July 1923. p. 7.
• "Anonymous Letter Mystery". The Littlehampton Gazette. 20 July 1923. p. 3.
• "Anonymous Letter Mystery". The Worthing Gazette. 25 July 1923. p. 3.
• "Anonymous Letters Case Recalled". The Times. 10 October 1922. p. 9.
• "Court of Criminal Appeal". The Times. 14 August 1923. p. 4.
• Jones, Ellen E. (24 February 2024). "Wicked Little Letters Review – a Deliciously Sweary Poison-Pen Mystery". The Observer.
• "Libellous Card Mystery". The Leeds Mercury. 10 December 1921. p. 7.
• "Littlehampton Letters". Sussex Express. 17 August 1923. p. 5.
• "Littlehampton Letters Mystery". The Times. 12 July 1923. p. 9.
• "Littlehampton Libel Charge". The Times. 19 July 1923. p. 9.
• "Mrs Gooding's Accuser Freed". Nottingham Evening Post. 10 December 1921. p. 1.
• "The Littlehampton Mystery". John Bull. 21 January 1922. p. 10.

Internet

• "41, Western Road, Littlehampton". Historic England. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
• "43, Western Road, Littlehampton". Historic England. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
• "47–51, Western Road, Littlehampton". Historic England. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
• Clark, Gregory (2023). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Archived from the original on 1 April 2023. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
• Cockayne, Emily (19 September 2023b). "Poison Pen Letters: 6 Cases of Anonymous Hate Mail in British History". History Extra. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
• Cockayne, Emily (12 March 2024). "Wicked Little Letters: True Story of Edith Swan, Rose Gooding and the Littlehampton Libels". History Extra. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
• "Nigel (1123028)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
• "What are Listed Buildings?". Historic England. 10 July 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
• "Wicked Little Letters: The Littlehampton Libel Case". The National Archives. Retrieved 13 August 2024.