Russian Edna's Last Customer - High Hazels Park Tinsley Sheffield March 1954
Melanie Firth was known by her nickname "Russian Edna." Born Melanie Silling in Russia in 1901, she married a soldier Sgt Birch of the Yorks and Lancs Regiment who was on the 1920 Archangel expedition. The term marriage must be used loosely in this context but after a few years of living together, she was alone. One source states that Sgt Birch died but another states that he abandoned her.
A section of his service record shows the exact dates Bernard was stationed in Russia. He would have met and "married" Melanie between July 1919 and March 1920.
Hawthorne Road Hillsborough Sheffield
The next record that has been located is the 1921 UK Census which states that Bernard and Melanie were living at Hawthorne Road in the Hillsborough district of Sheffield - the one point that needs noting is that Bernard Birch was 53 years old and his bride Melanie was just 19 years old. The census details give her place of birth as "Pernau" in the "Baltic States". This is now Pärnu in Estonia, Pernau being the German name of the town. In Russian it was Pernov "Перновъ".
There is court case that appears in the Sheffield Daily Telegraph dated 3rd January 1924 that features Melanie
On the 3rd June 1927 Melanie was again in court but her address was given at the Croft Buildings in Campo :Lane Sheffield
I am confident that Bernard died in the December quarter of 1929 in Sheffield at the age of 63.
Deaths Dec 1929 Birch Bernard 63 Sheffield Volume 9c Page 582
The 1924 case still describes Melanie as still being married to Bernard who was in a "good job" but Melanie was earning money as a prostitute.
The next record is from the 1939 National Register - I can categorically state that Melanie had not at all "retired" as subsequent events will show. Living in the Darnall district of Sheffield at the time of her death, she worked as a prostitute, and it was whilst pursuing her trade, she met her death in High Hazels Park in the Tinsley district of Sheffield.
Yorkshire Post and Leeds Mercury dated Wednesday 24th March 1954
Yorkshire Post and Leeds Mercury dated Thursday 25th March 1954
Yorkshire Post and Leeds Mercury dated Friday 26th March 1954
Evening Express dated Friday 26th March 1954
Yorkshire Post and Leeds Mercury dated Saturday 27th March 1954
Yorkshire Post and Leeds Mercury dated Wednesday 14th April 1954
The Sportsman Pub in Cambridge Street Sheffield where George Pullan met Russian Edna - Photo taken 20th October 2014
George Pullan, a 24-year-old lorry driver had left the Sportsman pub, on Cambridge Street, with her the night she died.
In a statement to police Pullan said Edna approached him and he offered to pay a pound for her services.
They went to Darnall in a taxi - she said she knew a place at the back of the park where nobody could see us.
They walked down past the Halfway House and up between the allotments. Pullan claimed when they lay down on a bench in a hut Edna upped her price.Pullan said: "I put my coat on the floor. We started our antics and then she said, 'Make it two pounds now', and I said, 'I can't'.
"She said, 'I'll scream and shout,' or words to that effect, and I heard footsteps coming and men's voices.
I moved my hands from under her and put one hand over her mouth to stop her shouting.
"She started struggling as the voices got near us. I put more pressure on her mouth, and when they'd gone away I said, 'Come on now, I'm off'.
"She didn't answer me, and I thought she was shamming. "I left her where she was on the ground and I walked into Darnall."
The next day he realised what he had done. When I came out I bought the evening paper. I saw it on the front page that she'd been found
dead.
Yorkshire Post and Leeds Mercury dated Thursday 8th July 1954
He was committed for trial at Leeds Assizes, where on July 6 Pullan denied murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter, a plea rejected by the prosecution.
Pathologist Dr Gilbert Forbes told the court Edna's neck would have had to be squeezed for at least four minutes to cause death.
The prosecutor said Edna's earrings had broken and one of her bra straps to be ripped in two in the struggle.
But the two-day trial ended with Pullan convicted only of manslaughter and he was sentenced to serve
twelve months in prison. George Pullan can consider himself fortunate. The
prosecution refused a manslaughter plea and pressed ahead with a murder charge.
And there was evidence to suggest that there was more to her death than Pullan
alleged. The Pathologist Dr Gilbert Forbes said that her "neck would have had to be squeezed for at least four minutes to cause death."
And her clothes were in disarray with broken earrings and bra-strap. And although
DCI Butler ruled out robbery as a motive, Edna only had one bent penny on her
person when found. George must have taken his money back (and some more?)
The jury and the judge however believed George's assertion that the death was accidental. There were a number of instances in post-war Britain were lesser charges to murder were returned. At the time the death penalty was in force, and was mandatory for verdicts of murder. I am sure that this would have been a factor in the deliberations of all concerned and the fact that Edna was a prostitute re-enforced a reluctance to return a verdict of murder, and sentence of death. As the judge quite rightly remarked it was an illegal killing.
George then served his sentence and on release he must have returned to the Sheffield area for there is a record in the BMD registers for a marriage
Name: George W W Pullan
Date of Registration: Jul-Aug-Sep 1956
Registration district: Sheffield Inferred County: Yorkshire West Riding
Spouse: Sylvia O Taylor
Volume Number: 2d Page Number: 510
George died in Scarborough in 1992 (see notes).
Russian Edna is buried as Melanie Birch in Sheffield's Burngreave Cemetery. She was given a public funeral and is buried in an unmarked public grave. Buried in the same section of the Cemetery, is another Sheffield "character", a certain Billy Foulke.
BIRCH, Melanie (~, age 52).
Died at High Hazels Park; Buried on April 9, 1954 in General ground; Grave Number 3, Section KK of Burngreave Cemetery, Sheffield.
Parent or Next of Kin if Available: . Remarks: Otherwise SILING: Removed from Sheffield Parish.
As a footnote an amazing coincidence happened twenty years later. In the same pub, a young prostitute was accosted and murdered by a lorry driver! She was called Theresa Smith, only young and quite attractive but she was always very scruffy-looking and was usually
accompanied by her husband/pimp, Gypsy Smith, a very unsavory character indeed.
This information came from a book about the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation that was published several years ago and written by a local author, Julian Graeme.
Notes
1. A writer on the Sheffield Forum gave this information
My mother was brought up near to George Pullan and knew him and the family well.
She says that George met up with Edna and agreed to pay her 10 shillings for sex
they went to High Hazels Park. After he had had sex George was not happy and
asked for his 10 bob back she refused and they started fighting. George said
that she was wearing a long cardigan and she had put the money up her sleeve, he
went after the cash and in doing so strangled her. I think he was done for
manslaughter not murder. Years later I met George when he worked as a Chef in
the Fiesta. He seemed a simple soul but not at all dangerous.
2. An account of the case appears in the 2010 Summer Special of True Detective. It is the only photograph I could find of George Pullan
3. George was born in North Leeds - Births Mar 1930 Pullan George W W Thompson Leeds North Volume9b Page406. He was the eldest son of Frank Wood Pullan and Kathleen Pullan nee Thompson
Surname First name(s) Spouse District Vol Page
Marriages Jun 1929
Pullan Frank W Thompson Leeds North 9b 706
Thompson Kathleen Pullan Leeds North 9b 706
In the 1939 National Register they were living in Birmingham - they were transcribed as being called Pullar. George was the eldest son of a church minister. His father died the year after the Register was taken
Pullar Household (4 People)
32 Sutton Street , Birmingham C.B., Warwickshire, England
FIRST NAME(S) LAST NAME(S) DOB
SEX OCCUPATION
MARITAL STATUS SCHEDULE SCHEDULE SUB NUMBER
Kathleen
Pullar
17 Mar 1903 Female Unpaid Domestic Duties Married
256
2
Frank W
Pullar
25 Feb 1902 Male Incorporated Seamers Boat Man Missionary Friends
Married 256 1
Ruby Battersby (Pullar)
27 May1931 Female At School
Single
256
4
Charles E
Pullar
07 Mar 1939 Male Under School Age
Single
256
5
4. In March 2007 this post was made to the Sheffield Forum. This is just heresay but it does fit in with the facts that were reported in the press.
"My mother was brought up near to George Pullen and knew him and the family well. She says that George met up with Edna and agreed to pay her 10 shillings for sex they went to High Hazels park. After he had had sex George was not happy and asked for his 10 bob back she refused and they started fighting. George said that she was wearing a long cardigan and she had put the money up her sleeve, he went after the cash and in doing so strangled her. I think he was done for manslaughter not murder. Years later I met George when he worked as a chef in the Fiesta. He seemed a simple soul and not at all dangerous."
Sources
BMD
Sheffield Indexers
Find My Past
Yorkshire Post and Leeds Mercury 24th - 27th March 1954, 14th April 1954 and 8th July 1954
The Times
Evening Express dated 26th March 1954
The Sheffield Star dated 24th May 2010
Sheffield Daily Telegraph dated 03 June 1927
UK Census
Notes
This page was last updated on 17/08/24 15:08