2 / 16
Who was Reginald Birchall?
J. Reginald Birchall was born in England in the year 1866.
He was the son of a wealthy vicar and he attended
Oxford University while attempting to establish a career
in acting. Birchall was also a notorious gambler. Instead
of investing the wealth left to him by his father, he
gambled the money away. During his time in university
Birchall met his future wife Florence Stevenson.
Having accumulated several debts over the years,
Reginald and Florence decided to elope to Canada and
arrived in Woodstock, Ontario under the guises of “Lord
and Lady Somerset” in 1888. This marked the beginning
of the couple’s career as conmen. They manipulated
their way into the upper class social circles in Woodstock
and spent lavishly under their false names, eventually
fleeing with many bills unpaid.