The name Pierrepoint is remembered partly, no doubt, because of its rarity. But Albert Pierrepoint, although he was not (as is sometimes said) Britain's last hangman, carried out several controversial executions in the 1950s that undoubtedly hastened the abolition of the death sentence in the following decade: Derek Bentley, Timothy Evans (and John Christie, the actual perpetrator of the murders for which Evans was hanged) and Ruth Ellis.
Albert Pierrepoint resigned his position in 1956 (the year after the execution of Ruth Ellis), for reasons that he didn't make clear. Wikipedia lists two executioners and four assistants who remained on the Home Office list until 1964, when Britain's last judicial executions took place.
© Haydn Thompson 2023