Walton Heights

Walton Heights is a block of 1960s brutalist style flats in Liverpool.

Gerry Smith, ex-member of The Liverpool Firm lived in number 42 on the eighth floor, and was the location where Freddie Edwards murdered Smith and two other men Raymond Taylor and Steve Goodman. He was arrested shortly afterwards and was later sentenced to forty years imprisonment.

History
Built in 1959, this thirty-storey modern tower block overlooking Queens Square, had become the home of Gerry Smith by 1960. The edifice of concrete and steel, utterly in keeping with the architectural style of 1960s urban development. Today, such soulless architecture is considered in a poor light, but back then, many of the new occupants felt lucky to have homes free of damp and mice, and with proper bathrooms. The Smith family had been relocated gradually to their new accommodation, all of which would have been palatial compared to Hollis Road, despite lacking the much-missed character and, perhaps more significantly, all those memories.

Gerry Smith joined The Liverpool Firm in 1953, initially he was trusted by Harold Hart, the leader of the gang, but Smith later stole £50,000 from Hart and then disappeared. About a year later in 1958, he had joined a three man gang with two other members Raymond Taylor and Steve Goodman. The three were then the rivals to The Liverpool Firm and wanted to start a war with Harold Hart. In 1960, Freddie Edwards, who always hated Smith, was ordered by Hart to kill Gerry and the other two. On April 14th, Edwards was driven to Walton Heights by Jimmy Frankson, who was a driver for the gang. He and Joseph Fielding then adjoined Edwards to number 42, where Edwards kicked the door open to witness Smith discussing his plans to take on Hart with Taylor and Goodman. Edwards walked into the flat along with Frankson and Fielding, who locked the door and guarded it, so no escape could be possible. Edwards then pointed a sword at Smith, whilst Frankson held his arms behind his back, Edwards then stabbed and murdered Smith followed by the Taylor and Goodman. Edwards then walked outside and was arrested later that day. Frankson and Fielding hid the bodies, but were later arrested and sentenced to ten years each for the disappearance of the bodies.