Screwed

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Juanita Mott, 18, a former lodger at Cromwell Street. She was last seen in April 1975. Her body was found buried at Cromwell Street. Yet despite this obvious market for books describing prison conditions there has been a surprising absence of any account of prison life by Prison Officers, as opposed to Prison Governors – and even these are relatively rare, with the best remaining Andrew Coyle’s (1994) The Prisons We Deserve. Then, for no apparent reason – just like buses – along comes Jim Dawkins (2005) The Loose Screw, Robert Douglas (2007) At Her Majesty’s Pleasure and “Ronnie Thompson” (2008), Screwed: The Truth About life as Prison Officer. What do these three autobiographies (the latter of which was written under a pseudonym) and which cumulatively cover the period 1962-2007 tell us about the skills and qualities that it takes to be a good Prison Officer, about life in jail more broadly and the relationship between prison staff and prisoners more specifically? Ronnie Thompson was just an ordinary guy. That is, until he became a prison officer. By the time he started work at HMP Romwell, he realised he was actually a nurse, a copper, a probation officer, a carer, a counsellor, a social worker and, of course, an incarcerator all in one. Oh, and a punch bag for the cons and bosses.

We’ve seen a trailer and poster for Screwed– the British prison drama that stars Mr Noel Clarke and James D’Arcy ( Master And Commander), which is an adaptation of a novel called Screwed: The Truth About Life as a Prison Officer, a bestselling work, both acclaimed and controversial, by British ex-prison officer-turned-author Ronnie Thompson (not his real name by the way).Ronnie Thompson was just an ordinary guy. That is, until hebecame a prison officer. By the time he started work at HMP Romwell, he realised he was actually a nurse, a copper, a probation officer, a carer, a councillor, a social worker and, of course, an incarcerator all in one. Oh, and a punch bag for the cons and bosses. These books were and remain popular and appeared on a number of “best-selling” lists at the time of their publication, and unsurprisingly there are new books in the offing from Noel Smith (about, most immediately, his time at HMP Grendon) and so too Erwin James continues to write in the Guardian. includes the alleged offences of named individuals unless it is considered to be already common public knowledge Anna McFall, 18, killed by Fred in July 1967. Discovered June 1994 at Fingerpost Field near Much Marcle. She was eight months pregnant at the time of her death.

Charmaine West, 8, Fred's stepdaughter. Believed to have been killed by Rose in 1971 while Fred was serving a sentence at HMP Leyhill. Buried in the cellar at 25 Midland Road. Therese Siegenthaler, 21, abducted in 1974 while hitchhiking. Buried under an extension built by Fred at 25 Cromwell Street.So too we should note that these autobiographies all describe local prisons – specifically HMPs Winson Green, Durham, Wandsworth, Belmarsh and Wormwood Scrubs, and “Thompson” calls the prison that he served in as “HMP Romwell”. Again, from the descriptions that he provides, this would appear to be a busy London local, and in all likelihood HMP Pentonville. Thus we have a partial view of the Prison Service contained within these accounts given that they do not describe training prisons, Cat Ds, Young Offender Institutions, the female prison estate, or the therapeutic regime at HMP Grendon.

Lucy Partington, 21, killed December 1973. Last seen at a bus stop in Cheltenham, her body was discovered in the cellar in Cromwell Street in 1994. Excavation work at Cromwell Street started in February 1994 as part of a missing person enquiry into the disappearance of Heather, then 16. Inside Time reserve the right to republish comments in its newspaper or in any of its other publications, however, in these cases, comments will be anonymised.Rena Costello, 27, Fred's first wife, also killed in 1971, buried at Letterbox Field in Much Marcle. Alison Chambers, 16, living in care in Gloucester. She was last seen in the summer of 1979, her body was buried in the Cromwell Street garden. Heather West, 16, the eldest daughter of Fred and Rose. A pupil at Oxstalls School at the time of her death in June 1987. Her dismembered body was found buried in the garden at Cromwell Street. Her brother Stephen claims their father asked him to help dig the hole she was buried in.