27 - Archibald Hall: Thief & Serial Killer (Part 1)

Mens Rea: A true crime podcast

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True Crime, Society & Culture

4.7 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 11 November 2018

⏱️ 53 minutes

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Summary

In the first of a two part series, we take a look back on the life and crimes of Archibald Thompson Hall, aka Roy Hall, aka Roy Fontaine, the monster butler. Roy was born to a working class family in Glasgow, and from an early age wanted to live an extravagant lifestyle. One that he could not (or would not) achieve through hard work and graft. Roy preferred to take what he could. He became a thief and spent many years in and out of prison. In between these stints, he worked as a butler, to be close to the status he desired, and the belongs that went this, that he could steal. How did this supposed high flying and often hapless thief turn murderer? Our podcast Promo this week is from our friends over at The Unseen Podcast! This is a wonderful UK podcast has covered some very interesting crimes and mysteries. Go check it out today! Find us on Facebook or Twitter! With thanks to our supporters on Patreon! If you would like to support the podcast, head on over to Patreon.com. Theme Music: Quinn’s Song: The Dance Begins by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Sources: Roy Archibald Hall, The Wicked Mr Hall: The memoirs of the butler who loved to kill (London: John Blake Press, 2011) Purchase Here James Copeland, The Butler (London: Granada Publishing, 1981) Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 “New Rules on Reporting Restrictions” from Scottish Civil Justice Council http://www.scottishciviljusticecouncil.gov.uk/new-rules/2015/03/17/new-rules-on-reporting-restrictions (17 March 2015) “Contempt and reporting restrictions” from BBC Academy https://www.bbc.co.uk/academy/en/articles/art20130702112133630 (19 September 2017) PA Media Lawyer, “Scottish Daily Record fined £80,000 for contempt over two stories including one showing 'dramatic' arrest pic with 'GOT HIM' caption” in Press Gazette https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/scottish-daily-record-fined-for-contempt-over-two-stories-including-one-showing-dramatic-arrest-pic-with-got-him-caption/ (6 June 2018) Stirling v Associated Newspapers 1990 JC 5 HM Advocate v Caledonian Newspapers Ltd ([1995] SLT 926) Douglass Waddell, “Hold the presses: contempt of court” from brodies.com https://brodies.com/blog/public-law/hold-the-presses-contempt-of-court/ (18 June 2018) “Archibald Hall & Michael Kitto” from murderuk.com http://www.murderuk.com/serial_archibald_hall.html (undated) “The Murderous Butler” in The Watford Observer https://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/news/nostalgia/crimelibrary/archibaldthomsonhall/themurderousbutler/ (undated)

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to be here.
0:13.0	Oh, you know.
0:15.0	Oh, you know.
0:17.0	Oh.
0:18.0	Oh.
0:19.0	Oh.
0:21.0	Oh. I'm going to be here. Archibald Thompson Hall, aka Roy Hall, aka Roy Fontaine, aka who knows what else, was born on the 17th of July, 1924, the first son of Marion and Archibald
0:57.8	Thompson Hall, Sr. He had two younger siblings, Violet, who was adopted when Roy was ten.
1:05.0	That was about the same age he decided he no longer wanted to be called We Archie,
1:10.0	and so opted for Roy instead. His younger brother Donald was born in
1:16.1	1938 or so while their father was enlisted in the army. It's likely however that
1:22.1	Donald was actually the result of an affair that Roy's mother had with Archibald's senior officer.
1:28.0	Either way, by the time Senior was discharged, Marion was pregnant, and soon Roy had a brother, younger than him by 17 years.
1:37.0	Roy would take to referring to him as his half-brother, as he believed that they did not have the same father.
1:44.4	Archibald Sr. was a steady, steadfast, and hard-working man.
1:49.4	He had a good job in the post office and as such the family was reasonably comfortable by the standards of the day.
1:56.7	His mother however often had mood swings and could be quite ill-tempered and domineering.
2:08.0	Roy was apparently of a similar disposition and suffered from severe dissatisfaction with his lot in life. He, unlike his father, was not fond of the idea of an honest day's work.
2:16.0	His first money-making scam was going to the posh parts of Glasgow, with a collection box for the Red Cross. He'd knock on the doors and ask for donations, which by the end of the day ended up right in his pocket.
2:30.0	He began to be a familiar face to the police and at thirteen he made his first court appearance for malicious mischief.
2:37.0	The telling off he got there fell on deaf ears and he was back a mere seven months later on a charge of theft.
2:44.9	His first stint in prison was 60 days in Barlini, followed by committal to a mental
	...

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