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The Blackout Ripper: A Serial Killer in London, 1942
Stephen Wynn's The Blackout Ripper is the true story of a serial killer who stalked London during World War II.
Two days before the outbreak of the Second World War, the British government imposed blackout regulations across the nation as it was believed that in the event of war, Germany would very quickly begin conducting air raids on British towns and cities. The measures included covering windows in a dark, thick material at night to ensure no light could be seen from the outside. The use of vehicle headlamps was also prohibited, which resulted in a number of accidents and pedestrians being killed.
These restrictions, enforced by Air Raid Precaution wardens and the police, were for the benefit and safety of the British public, but it also unintentionally made life a lot less dangerous for members of the criminal fraternity, allowing them to go about their regular night time activities with less chance of being caught by the police. As a result, during one week in February 1942, Gordon Cummins, RAF, was able to move around freely to carry out his attacks and make it back to his billet without being caught, or even stopped, by the police. The very restrictions put in place to protect the British public from German bombers actually placed women in danger from men such as three of his victims were known prostitutes, as was at least one of the two women he is known to have attacked, but who survived. All of Cummins victims were attacked during the hours of darkness while the blackout was in place, leading to him becoming known as the Blackout Ripper.
Two days before the outbreak of the Second World War, the British government imposed blackout regulations across the nation as it was believed that in the event of war, Germany would very quickly begin conducting air raids on British towns and cities. The measures included covering windows in a dark, thick material at night to ensure no light could be seen from the outside. The use of vehicle headlamps was also prohibited, which resulted in a number of accidents and pedestrians being killed.
These restrictions, enforced by Air Raid Precaution wardens and the police, were for the benefit and safety of the British public, but it also unintentionally made life a lot less dangerous for members of the criminal fraternity, allowing them to go about their regular night time activities with less chance of being caught by the police. As a result, during one week in February 1942, Gordon Cummins, RAF, was able to move around freely to carry out his attacks and make it back to his billet without being caught, or even stopped, by the police. The very restrictions put in place to protect the British public from German bombers actually placed women in danger from men such as three of his victims were known prostitutes, as was at least one of the two women he is known to have attacked, but who survived. All of Cummins victims were attacked during the hours of darkness while the blackout was in place, leading to him becoming known as the Blackout Ripper.
218 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 21, 2022
About the author
Stephen Wynn
81 books4 followersStephen Wynn is a retired police officer having served with Essex Police as a constable for thirty years between 1983 and 2013. He is married to Tanya and has two sons, Luke and Ross, and a daughter, Aimee. Both Stephen’s grandfathers served in and survived the First World War, one with the Royal Irish Rifles, the other in the Mercantile Marine, whilst his father was a member of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps during the Second World War.
When not writing Stephen can be found walking his dogs with his wife, Tanya, at some unearthly time of the morning when most normal people are still fast asleep.
When not writing Stephen can be found walking his dogs with his wife, Tanya, at some unearthly time of the morning when most normal people are still fast asleep.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 13, 2026
The subject is fascinating and a lot could be done by a diligent researcher. Current psychiatric/psychological opinions could be gathered. Current legal comments could be solicited.
What became of this man’s long-suffering wife?
Was this case in any way instrumental in the later abolishment of the death penalty in England?
The author seemed sincere and intelligent, but his ideas were not fleshed out. I often felt that he simply dropped his train of thought with no closing comment. I sometimes felt he was presenting arguments against his own point, but then just dropped them without refuting or supporting them and simply changed direction or dropped the thread.
The book is also in serious need of a good editor. Some of the glaring errors I found were of the most elementary sort and should have been removed with a simple proofreading.
Again, the subject is fascinating. Would it be possible to glean some insights as to the identity - or psychological profile - of Jack the Ripper from a study of Gordon Cummins’ life? As a reader I was left terribly dissatisfied.
I should point out however, that I do appreciate the author’s restraint from adding details that are unknown. I would rather read a book like this one than one that is full of thoughts, actions and words that could not possibly be known.
What became of this man’s long-suffering wife?
Was this case in any way instrumental in the later abolishment of the death penalty in England?
The author seemed sincere and intelligent, but his ideas were not fleshed out. I often felt that he simply dropped his train of thought with no closing comment. I sometimes felt he was presenting arguments against his own point, but then just dropped them without refuting or supporting them and simply changed direction or dropped the thread.
The book is also in serious need of a good editor. Some of the glaring errors I found were of the most elementary sort and should have been removed with a simple proofreading.
Again, the subject is fascinating. Would it be possible to glean some insights as to the identity - or psychological profile - of Jack the Ripper from a study of Gordon Cummins’ life? As a reader I was left terribly dissatisfied.
I should point out however, that I do appreciate the author’s restraint from adding details that are unknown. I would rather read a book like this one than one that is full of thoughts, actions and words that could not possibly be known.
November 8, 2022
this a a well written book about an often forgotten killer.
November 23, 2023
Intresting but not enough in it
June 22, 2024
Was reading this for research on a thing I would like to write about. Was well written and covered the case from various angles which was good to see.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews