Most commonly known to have originated from the Navy the sayings ‘Sweet Nothing’, ‘Sweet Fanny Adams’, ‘Sweet F.A.’, and ‘Sweet Fuck All’ mean ‘very little’ and/or ‘nothing’. The sailors used these terms when being presented with their rather unpleasant meat rations often referring them to Fanny Adam’s remains. They are all now common terms that are used in the English language.
Although around the time of the tragedy and the short time following everyone had knowledge of what happened during the summer of 1867. It seems that now however very few understand that when they use the term ‘Sweet Fuck All’ they are in fact referring to a victim of one of the most infamous child murder cases in Great Britain.
Fanny Adams was an eight year old girl who lived in Tanhouse Lane, Alton, with her Mother, Father and siblings. The date in questions takes us back to Saturday 24th August, 1867. It has been said that if it had not been such a gloriously ‘fine and hot’ day the following unfortunate events would not have taken place. Along with her sister Lizzie and dear friend Minnie Warner they set off to play in Flood Meadow, no further than a few yards from their house.
It was here that they met Frederick Baker, however it was not the first time that they had seen and spoken to the 29 year old solicitors clerk from Alton. It was a regular occurrence for Baker to innocently play with the three girls, often awarding them money for racing each other up and down the Hollow. The Hollow was a hollowed out road which was previously used to connect Alton to Shaldon before the Old Odhiam Road was built. The three girls, accompanied by Frederick Baker, walked towards the Hollow to race and play with each other again.
Before long both Lizzie and Minnie had had enough and decided that it was time to go home. It was at this point that Frederick Baker picked up Fanny Adams and took her into a nearby hop gardens. What followed was the gruesome murder of a young girl. It is understood that the initial blow to the head with a substantially sized rock is what killed her. Frederick Baker proceeded to decapitate her and remove her eyes.
It would take him two more visits to the hop garden that day to further mutilate her body and scatter the parts around, in hope to conceal his actions.
After being found guilty of his actions he was sentenced to death, to be hanged.
He was the last person to be publicly hung in Winchester.
Sweet F.A.
Sweet Nothing
It will be remembered that on the summer’s afternoon in question a group of young children, known locally as Fanny, Lizzie and Minnie, were at play in a place known as the Hollow. Frederick Baker, a solicitors clerk from Alton, watched the girls run up and down the Hollow playing and racing each other while he was leaning on the gate between the Hollow and the garden smoking his pipe.
Two of the girls, Lizzie and Minnie, decided to go home and that was when Frederick Baker picked up Fanny bodily, threw her over his shoulder and strode off into the nearby hop garden. However he must have done something to make her struggle to get out of his arms, and threaten to tell her mother. Then it was, according to the statements made by the man himself, that in an unguarded hour and not with malice afterthought, but being enraged by her crying, he killed her. Bewildered, but not insane, he decapitated her, without considering why he did so. He took the eyes out and partially dismembered the body. He then carried the eyes away in his hand.
He went to the bridge in Flood Meadows and there dropped the eyes and washed his hands. It was later on during the evening that Joseph Waters, Police Constable, deposed to finding one of the eyes near the bridge, over Brood Flood, on the Alton side. Police Constable Masterman found the second eye in the same river. It took two days to find all parts of her decapitated body.
Fanny’s funeral took place in the Parish Church the day after the inquest.
Frederick Baker was sentenced to be hung by the neck until he be dead. May the Lord have mercy upon him.
Amy Talbot Photography 