The Halifax Slasher
Old Bank Lane, Ripponden
Wednesday 16 November 1938
The incident of 16 November at Old Bank, between Ripponden and Barkisland - some six miles west of Halifax - is not strictly part of the Slasher phenomenon, if only because the two girls - Gertie Watts and Mary Gledhill - were the victims of an all too real attack.
At around 6.45pm, the two girls - both 21-year-old mill workers from Barkisland - were walking as usual down Old Bank Lane to an evening class in Ripponden in the valley below. Halfway down the unlit path, they heard some slight noise behind them and were immediately hit by something like a mallet or hatchet.
The girls struggled with their unknown assailant before escaping back up the hill, blood streaming from wounds to their heads. They reached a cottage owned by Mr and Mrs Helliwell and lapsed into shock. Mr Helliwell briefly searched for their attacker but failed to locate him.
The girls remembered that they had seen a man of around 30-40 years of age, dressed in an overcoat, muffler and cap, when leaving Barkisland and believed that he was the attacker. No one was arrested. Gertie Watts required eight stiches, Mary Gledhill three.
Reports of the attack sparked a minor panic across the region. Even though there is no evidence that the girls' attacker ever struck again, that panic crystallised five days later in Halifax.