The Crimes of Walter Virgo and the “Blakeney Gang”

In the Forest of Dean towards the end of the nineteenth century the ‘Blakeney Outrages’ of the 1890s led to Walter Virgo and the “Blakeney Gang” being accused of acts of poisoning, maiming, stealing, poaching, midnight raids, dynamiting, arson and murder. However, their story cannot be understood without placing their actions in the historical context of the struggle for the customary right to common which in the past involved the use of direct action and political violence.

A consideration of some of the court records for the period 1870 -1900 in the Blakeney area reveal a regular pattern of young men being hauled before the courts for poaching offences and other ‘petty crimes’. Most of the men in the table below were employed in the mines or quarries and some are repeat offenders and would become associated with the ‘Blakeney Gang’. These include the Virgos, Henry Davies (Taffy) and his sons  Edmund, Evan and Harvey, James James (Sheepskin), Joseph James, Walter Willetts, Sydney Willetts, Henry Stephens, James Davies, George Vaughan, William Norris, John Charles, F Griffin,  Daniel Davies, Sydney Edmunds, Edward Roberts, Samuel Turley, William Hewlett, William Windows, George Davies, Stephen Beard, David Beach and Frank Charles.

Most were committing minor offences and hardly reveal the existence of an organised criminal network. An analysis of the table reveals that the majority of these ‘petty crimes’ reflect attempts to assert customary rights such as poaching, stealing wood, breaking down fences, etc. When conflict occurred it was mainly with those in authority who were attempting to challenge the assertion of rights such as the police, gamekeepers and bailiffs.

To find out more about Walter Virgo and the “Blakeney Gang” read Ian Wright’s pamphlet:

Please note that in a number of cases there are incomplete records.