Herbert Rowse Armstrong - Death of Mrs Armstrong

Death of Mrs Armstrong

In May 1919, Kitty Armstrong's health first began to weaken, with certain symptoms which the local physician, Dr Thomas Hincks, diagnosed as a case of brachial neuritis. From this she appeared to recover, and did not need to consult Dr Hincks for over a year. But in August 1920, Mrs Armstrong's health, both physical and mental, deteriorated again. Armstrong kept in close contact with Dr Hincks, and showed great concern for his wife, consulting relatives and friends as well. Hincks found that Mrs Armstrong was showing signs of mental collapse and came to the conclusion that it was connected to her illness. At the end of August, Mrs Armstrong was admitted to Barnwood, a private mental asylum near Gloucester. On admission she had pyrexia, vomiting, heart murmurs, and albumen in the urine. There was also partial paralysis in the hands and feet and loss of muscle tone. Mrs Armstrong was also delusional.

Mrs Armstrong's condition began to improve at Barnwood, and she was discharged home on 22 January 1921. Shortly after her return home her condition mysteriously deteriorated again and she died exactly a month after her return on 22 February 1921. Dr Hincks was puzzled by Mrs Armstrong's symptoms, but nevertheless stated on the death certificate that she had died of gastritis, aggravated by heart disease and nephritis. Outwardly, Armstrong had shown nothing but forbearing concern for his wife, sitting at her bedside reading to her in the evenings, and leaving the office early whenever possible to be with her. If Armstrong did kill his wife, but for a later act of folly he might well have escaped detection.

It would seem that there had been at least problems in the marriage. Though authors who have studied the case have assumed that the Armstrong's marriage was a failure due to the domineering attitude of Mrs Armstrong to her husband, the precise nature of the Armstrongs' relationship is far from clear. It was generally held that Mrs Armstrong was a singularly unpleasant woman who regularly abused and humiliated her husband in public, and it was not unnoticed that, though the local newspaper described Mrs Armstrong as a 'popular Hay lady,' few people attended her funeral. On the other hand, Mrs Armstrong, whenever separated from her husband due either to her stays in hospitals or to his service in the War, is reported to have expressed her desire for the family to be reunited at the earliest opportunity.

Whatever the truth, service in the First World War had opened up new experiences for the Major and he had had several affairs. He also went to dances in Hay and made passes at local girls. On the day of Mrs Armstrong's death, the servants closed all the curtains as a mark of respect. The first thing that Armstrong did on returning home from the office was to open them again.