Lizzie Stark (born 1895) was a British prostitute who lived in the Small Heath neighborhood of Birmingham, England during the early 20th century.
Biography[]
Lizzie Stark was born in Small Heath, Birmingham, England in 1895, and she found work as a prostitute. Tommy Shelby had been her regular client since he got back from France after World War I. After the war, she decided to change her ways and marry John Shelby, but occasionally took clients to make money. Tommy Shelby, who wanted to ensure that Stark had moved on, offered her eight pounds for her to service him one last time. She agreed, so Tommy concluded that she hadn't changed but let her keep the money anyway; he then told John, who decided to break off his engagement with her. However, she remained friends with John, and Tommy continued to see her as a client. In 1922, Tommy hired her as his secretary on the condition that she left prostitution forever. Shelby then later had her seduce a British Army officer guarding Field Marshal Henry Russell so he could kill him before he does anything to Lizzie. Shelby’s way was blocked and was unable to rescue Stark in time, Shelby eventually found them and killed the officer, however, Stark was almost raped. Stark concealed her injuries and was initially angry at Shelby, but they would later return to being lovers, years later she gave birth to his daughter Ruby in 1924.