CLARE Andrea “Andy” Neilson was the son of Ruth Ellis – the last woman to be hanged in England.
His mother’s crime and shocking execution are dramatised in the ITV series A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis story.
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Andy’s early life
Andy was born on September 15, 1944, in Cumberland.
He was the son of Ellis and a Canadian soldier, Clare Andrea McCallum, who was married to another woman.
Andy often lived with his grandmother as a child, while Ruth worked various jobs to support him.
His father had stopped sending money just a year after he was born.
Ellis’ shocking crime
Ellis eventually began working as a nightclub manager in Knightsbridge, London, while also working as an escort.
She had a daughter with a divorced dentist named George Johnston Ellis, with whom she gave birth to Georgina in 1951.
Their relationship was extremely turbulent, as George was a violent and possessive man.
Ellis began dating David Blakely, a racecar driver who was also violent towards her.
In one horrifying incident, David’s abuse caused Ruth to have a miscarriage in 1955.
On Easter Sunday that same year, she used a gun, allegedly given to her by her lover Desmond Cussen, to shoot David dead in the street.
After handing herself into the police, Ellis pleaded guilty to her crime despite the efforts of her lawyer John Bickford.
The judge Cecil Havers appealed to the home secretary to show Ruth mercy, but his request was denied.
Ellis was sentenced to death after the jury took just twenty minutes to convict her.
She became the last woman in England to be hanged, after her death sparked a wave of protests which resulted in the abolition of the death penalty in 1969.
Life after Ruth’s execution
Andy was just 10 years old when his mother was executed on July 13, 1955.
After Ellis’ death, Andy was enrolled as a boarder at St Michael’s College in Hitchin.
He was enrolled under the name Andrew Hornby, using his grandfather’s surname to keep his identity secret.
One friend, Brian Jacobs, recalled meeting Andy at school.
He said: an absolute bundle of nerves. He had two nicknames.
“Double-oh” because of his surname – Horny, the trains.
“That was what we usually called him.”
“But because of his peculiarity and his love of stamp collecting, which he had an absolute passion for, he was also sometimes referred to, though never to his face, as ‘the philatelist with the perforated brain’.”
Andy’s tragic death
Tragically, Andy took his own life in 1982.
He was found in a bedsit, shortly after desecrating his mother’s grave.
Andy was supported financially by judge Cecil Havers and the prosecution counsel, Christmas Humphreys, paid for Andy’s funeral.
A Cruel Love
In the ITV series A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story, Andy is played by Sidney Jackson.
The series follows Ruth’s life story and takes viewers through the journey that led to her crime and execution.
Viewers can watch the show on ITVX, where the full series is available to stream.
