Albert Pierrepoint is the most famous member of the family which provided three of the United Kingdom's official hangmen in the first half of the 20th century. He was born in Clayton

Clayton, West Yorkshire

Clayton is a civil parish in the City of Bradford metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England, situated 3 miles to the west of the city centre. It is listed in the Domesday Book, meaning it dates back to at least the 11th century and was privately owned from 1160 to 1866. It was noted for its...

, in the West Riding of Yorkshire

West Riding of Yorkshire

The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county, County of York, West Riding , was based closely on the historic boundaries...

, and lived in Bradford

Bradford

Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...

, Lincoln

Lincoln, Lincolnshire

Lincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England.The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of 85,595; the 2001 census gave the entire area of Lincoln a population of 120,779....

, Oldham

Oldham

Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amid the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester...

 and the seaside resort of Southport

Southport

Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. During the 2001 census Southport was recorded as having a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England...

.
Albert Pierrepoint was the middle child and eldest son of Henry

Henry Pierrepoint

Henry Albert Pierrepoint was one of the United Kingdom's executioners from 1901 until 1910. He was the father of Albert and brother of Thomas....

 and Mary Pierrepoint. He was influenced by the side-occupation of his father and uncle: as an 11-year-old he wrote, in response to a school "When I grow up ..." exercise, "When I leave school I should like to be the Official Executioner".