There are many secrets that haunt the streets of Bradford, and the case of the Bradford Sweet Poisoning is one of the most unknown.
The city of Bradford is rich in history. Back in the 7th century, like many, it was an agricultural settlement that eventually progressed into a market town with the main streets being Ivegate, Kirkgate, and Westgate. The city truly developed in the 19th century when it deemed itself as the beating heart of the Industrial Revolution, and this brings us to the story that shook many Bradfordians.
Who was Humbug Billy?
William Hardaker, affectionately and 'professionally' known as Humbug Billy had a sweet stall in Rawson Market. Little is known about William Hardaker, other than the fact that he is buried with many of the others who were involved in this case. The location is the renowned Victorian, Undercliffe Cemetery.
A Sweet Tragedy
On the days leading up to the 30th October 1858, William had noted that he was running low on peppermint humbugs. It was on that fateful day that he decided to place his order.
He made his way over to Stone Street, where he sourced his goods from. Joseph Neal, the owner sent his young lodger, James Archer to collect the ingredients from Baildon Bridge, Shipley. The druggist, Charles Hodgson, was ill on this occasion, so left his new starter in charge.
William Goddard had been working for Hodgson for 2 weeks, and was hoping he would be able to do an apprenticeship. Little did he know that this order would... change his life, let's just say. James Archer requested 'Daft', an adulterated food ingredient that was often substituted for sugar for a mix of sugar, diluted with powdered gypsum.
A Gentle Warning
Goddard was strongly advised not to serve Neal - whether it was because he was inexperienced with adulterated produce, or whether there was some animosity with this customer is unknown. However, Goddard reluctantly convinced Hodgson to give him instructions.
Tragically, due to poor labelling, the wrong product was picked. Daft looked exactly like Arsenic... so how was he to know?!
Some time later the sweets were produced by James Appleton. William collected the sweets and instantly noticed a discolouration. However, despite refusing the order, he simply complained at the green tint, and received a partial refund.
The Humbug Hours of Horror
Humbug Billy returned to his stall and continued his sales. Later in the day, what is now West Yorkshire Police (possibly Bradford Police back then) responded to reports of illnesses and deaths amongst children and adults in the district. Initially, they thought it was Cholera, but upon further inspection of Dr John Henry Bell, it was noted that all of the victims had recently consumed Peppermint Humbugs.
The investigation didn't take long to conclude where they came from, and renowned pharmacist, Felix Rimmington was able to confirm the ingredients.
Was this planned, or simply an accident?
Many people over the years have called Humbug Billy a killer. I personally think this is a tricky one - I do believe that it was an accident, but then on the other hand it seems quite bad timing, since it was Halloween...
At the end of the day, 21 lives were lost, and over 200 people were left ill - some with life threatening illnesses, including William Hardaker himself.
Unfortunately records of the victims were never kept. I usually like to commemorate them by researching their lives, but sadly was unable to at this time.
Do you think Humbug Billy deliberately killed those people, or was it just a tragic accident? Let me know in the comments.
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