On the night of his wife's murder,  William Herbert Wallace attended the Liverpool Central Chess Club at The City Cafe on North John Street.

He was a member at the city centre club, but not a particularly reliable one. This trip to the club in January was his first in months.

The club's schedule had him down for a game that night, but this didn't mean very much. Wallace had missed games in the past and the schedule offered no guarantee he would actually turn up.

Shortly before Wallace arrived at the club, the captain, Samuel Beattie took a call from a man calling himself R. M. Qualtrough.

The caller told Beattie he wanted to meet Wallace to discuss insurance business and told him to meet at 25 Menlove Gardens East the following night at 7.30pm.

The caller seemed convinced Wallace would be there that night and would get his message.

Curiosity got the better of Wallace, who decided to set out in search of the mysterious Mr Qualtrough, as instructed.

The following night, on January 20, 1931, he caught the five tram at 7.06pm from Anfield to Menlove Gardens.

Wallace's strange behaviour that night would make sure his movements were remembered by no fewer than a dozen witnesses who saw him on his wild goose chase around South Liverpool.

The Johnstons and William made the way down the hallway and towards the lounge when they made a horrifying discovery. On the lounge floor lay the body of his bloody and bludgeoned wife Julia Wallace. Mr Johnston told his wife and William not to touch anything as he went to fetch the doctor and notify the police.

Cause of death

The postmortem examination revealed that Julia Wallace had received 11 brutal strikes to the head with a blunt object. The blows were strong enough to crush Julia’s skull. A fireplace poker stick was missing, as well as a small amount of money. 

The final reason mainly used to suspect Parry is plain and simple revenge. Parry had covered for Wallace’s round at work the previous week as William Wallace had been ill. Upon his return, Wallace noticed the payments were short and saw fit to report his colleague to management.

These theories of why Parry may have committed the murder are possible. However, would he really go through all the effort with the phone call so he could get William out of the way? Surely too much could easily have gone wrong. What if William didn’t get the message, just ignored it, or returned as soon as he found the address didn’t exist?

According to this story, Jack Johnston made a deathbed confession to the murder of Julia Wallace. Jack said that he and his wife Florence had first taken the Wallaces’ pet cat. Next, they had planned to get William out of the way (the Qualtrough phone call) and then Florence would lure Julia around to her house to retrieve the cat whilst Jack snuck into the Wallaces’ and burgled them.

The plan apparently deviated when the pair believed that they had witnessed Julia accompany her husband on his trip to Menlove Gardens. The pair apparently decided to rob the premises at this point (using the key to the door they already had). To the Johnstons surprise, however, Julia was still sat in the lounge. It was then in a moment of panic that Jack battered Julia Wallace to death.

A known fact is that the Johnstons actually moved out of there home the very next day after the murder of Julia Wallace took place, to move in with their daughter. A mere coincidence? or a way of removing themselves from the investigation? The author Tom Slemen believes the latter in his theory. I, on the other hand, have to disagree.

Surely such suspicious behaviour would have actually put them much higher on the suspect list of investigators. The Johnstons and their family members have always stated the move was already planned and that is where the Johnstons were headed when they saw William Wallace on the evening of the murder.

Another problem I find with this theory is the act of the murder itself. Would Jack really have had to murder Julia just because she was in the house and saw them? Surely they could have come up with an excuse for being in the home. At the time there was a known burglar operating in the area, wouldn’t it be likely they would say they thought they saw a burglar.

In any case, the family claim that the deathbed confession simply never happened. They state categorically that there was always a family member with Jack whilst on his deathbed and they would have heard it themselves. Are members of the family covering for a murderer or was the deathbed confession story just that, a story

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Investigators wasted no time at all in making William Herbert Wallace their number one suspect. Police quickly built a case and just two weeks after the brutal murder of Julia Wallace police charged her husband William with the murder.

The police discovered that the phone call made to the chess club the night prior to the murder was made from a phone box just 400 yards from the Wallace home. The theory was that William Wallace left himself the message to help provide him with an alibi for the following evening on which he would murder his wife. Investigators believed he committed the murder and then he rushed to catch his tram and use the Qualtrough search as an alibi.

William Wallace was sent before a jury for the murder of Julia Wallace. William denied being the man responsible for the crime but the jury didn’t believe him. After just an hour of deliberating the jurors announced a guilty verdict. 

The Lawyers also said that Wallace would have been covered in blood after the murder and that the police’s own timetable of events left William no time to wash, change or dispose of his clothing. 

Finally, there was also a witness. A Milk Delivery boy had spoken to Julia Wallace. This was just moments before the time William Wallace boarded the tram to go to his meeting .

Successful Appeal 

For the first time in British legal history, a conviction for murder was overturned by the courts. The court’s ascertained that there was not enough evidence against William Wallace. He was to be released.

After his release, William Wallace returned to his previous employment. Wallace didn’t stay for long though as his health was starting to deteriorate. After resigning from his post and moving to the Wirell from Anfield, William Wallace passed away. He died just 2 years after the murder of his wife Julia Wallace. Police never formally identified another suspect for the murder of Julia Wallace.

One former friend described their marriage as 'loveless and strained'.

What we do know of Julia is that she had faked her age and background. Her father became veterinary surgeon William George Dennis, and her mother Aimée Dennis of French origin… But Julia was in fact the daughter of a farming family, her mother’s true name was Anne, and she was 17 years older than she had led many to believe.

Tragically she was orphaned at just 14 years of age, and at the time of her marriage to William she had just three surviving siblings: Rhoda, Amy, and William George Dennis – her other three siblings having died.

Becoming a governess 

Having been raised to be a governess, much of her employed life revolved around this career path. The role of a governess is much like a nanny, except instead of caring physically for the children, they are expected to cater to their educational needs.

 With Julia’s wide array of talents she was certainly well suited for this role… Indeed, her talents were many, especially in the arts: The parlour of her home was adorned with watercolour paintings she had created, she was a singer and talented pianist, and could speak French fluently. 

She enjoyed the countryside, and many of her paintings were made in the countryside of Harrogate among friends who shared her passion for art.

In contrast to her husband William (who was more of an agnostic), Julia was religious, being active in the local churches including at the local parish near 29 Wolverton Street, and taking part in parochial affairs.

In terms of personality there are a range of differing first hand accounts. Many say that she was a kind but rather shy and timid woman. Others – including a couple of ex-Prudential workers – claim that she was a prideful and peculiar woman, dirty in her habits, who felt she had lowered herself by marrying an insurance agent… Although some of these people seem to have a strong dislike for Julia , in general it appears that she had no enemies and was well liked by those who knew her.

One report from a Prudential worker claimed that at one particular work function Julia had attended with William, the pair had been very much reserved and shy, keeping mostly to themselves.

After marrying William and moving to Wolverton Street, it appears her social life had dried up somewhat. Stories from those who knew her claim that after church service was over she would stay and have a chat for a little while, before hurrying back home. Another acquaintance said that Julia was kept under lock and key by William… While sharing a cup of tea with friends she was visiting, she would sometimes rush home to be there before William got back.