AS A TEENAGER in England in the 1930s I had no idea

that the Rattenbury murder had any connection with the
B.C, legislature. As a matter of fact, I didn’t even know
where B.C. was, and thought it was somewhere in South
America, next door to British Guyana.

You don't know about the Rat-
tenbury or his murder? Francis
Mawson Rattenbury was the ar-
chitect who designed the
legislature. He was only 25 years
of age, but they grew up fast in
those days.

His creation is a wonderful
hodge-podge of turn-of-the-cen-
tury affectations reminiscent of
empire. You can See its like in
Pretoria, Canberra and Well-
ington,

when they saw one and most of
them had lots of sympathy for the
chauffeur but none for Alma. She
had him in her evil clutches, it was
said.

Those were the days when a
murder was sensational news, and
for me there was an additional in-
terest. The house in which the
murder took place stood on the
East Cliff, facing the sea, and on
Saturdays I delivered grocerics
there.

G oing down the rhododendron - lined
driveway after the murder was creepy, even

though the house had been taken over by
someone else. I would run, not walk, on

my way out.’”’

In 1935, when he was knocked
off, his death was the talk of
Bournemouth, a then-superior
English watering place that has
now gone somewhat to seed, just
like the rest of the world.

Poor old Rattenbury was
knocked off with the help of a
19-year-old chauffeur named
George Percy Stoner. How the
deed was done I don't recall, but
done it was, Batty’s wife, you see,
was only 31, and preferred a young
chauffeur to an old architect of 70
and more.

Everyone in town was certain
they knew who did it even before
Stoner and his winsome inarmorata
— Alma Victoria Rattenbury —-
stood trial. They knew a knock-off

Going down the rhododendron-
lined driveway after the murder
was creepy, even though the house
had been taken over by someone
else. I would run, not walk, on my
way out. You never knew when
Ratty's ghost was going to pop out
of those bushes.

[ have been in the legislature
hundreds of times, and didn’t have
the slightest idea there was a
home-town connection until
recently. So while on holiday in
Victoria | did a bit of poking
around.

One thing I noticed was that
there is a Rattenbury Restaurant
not far from the legislature. It was
opened in 1979, with the eponym’s
sister in attendance.

cis eee

The manager knew all about oid
Ratty.

“Rattenbury's name used to be
synonymous with Victoria,’? Mr.
Christopher Causton told me,
“and we thought it was time to
give credit to him. He designed the
Empress Hotel and the Bank of
Montreal on Government Street as
well as the legislature, but until
this restaurant was opened not
much had been heard of him for
many years. He was seen as a
scoundrel, having had an affair
with someone quite openly and
flagrantly in the Empress.”

The restaurant bas an inn-style
picture of the old guy outside in
the breeze. If it is a true likeness,
Raity looked a bit like Rudyard
Kipling.

He was good at spending other
people’s money. The legislature
was to have cost $500,000, but
there were so many embellishments
that the end-price was $923,882.

The result was that Ratty wasn’t
popular with the government and
wasn't invited to the dedication
ceremony, So if any of those fogies
were still around when he was
done in, they probably raised a
cheer. We, however, have cause to
be thankful that he knew now to
spend a dollar. If he hadn’t, the
place would probably have been
built of paper and plaster,

Now, when I visit the legislature,
| almost feel that | designed it
myself.

Alma Rattenbury was acquitted,
she being a lady and all that. The
court went easy on Stoner, too. He
was found guilty, but they didn’t
string him up. He got out after
about eight years.

Alma didn’t live, however. Soon
after the trial she cominitted
suicide, and | gave up delivering
groceries to that house. I couldn’t
handle one ghost, let alone two @

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