Alan Baird

Interesting facts :- Here we can identify 3 City of London Police Constables who all joined the City of London Police Constabulary in 1871 and were still using their originally issued collar numbers in 1888. [During the Jack the Ripper period] Police Constable 881 Edward Watkins. Police Constable 882 Joseph Phipps. Police Constable 883 James Ferguson. Police Constable 883 James Ferguson's full history is located on page 8 within this particular thread but here is a summary of the important points. On the 26th of July in 1887, James Ferguson joins the City of London Police and is residing at 21 Cottage Lane, City Road. James is lodging with the Brider family. This address would have been well known locally because James Kelly murdered his wife of only three weeks, ''Sarah Ann Kelly'' [nee Brider], in the family home in 1883. James grabbed Sarah around the neck, pushing her head down on the floor, stabbed her with his penknife in the neck, digging away with the blade into the wound and she died soon afterwards in hospital. Mrs Brider attempted to stop the attack on her daughter but was thrown across the room knocking her unconscious. James Kelly was found ''guilty of murder'' and ''sentenced to death'' but later this was commuted to ''murder whilst insane'' and he was sentenced to be held at Broadmoor Lunatic Asylum indefinitely. James Kelly was a cunning, volatile, devious and a manipulative individual. James was employed as an upholsterer and used various knives and sharp tools and knew the Whitechapel/East End district very well. James was a loner and had problems relating to women and so used prostitutes to relieve his sexual needs. He suffered from mental instability throughout his life an was also infected with a sexually transmitted disease. There are several published books which consider James Kelly as a possible Jack the Ripper suspect. On the 23rd of January in 1888, the insane James Kelly, after several years of careful planning escaped from Broadmoor Lunatic Asylum and headed back to London. The Metropolitan Police obviously considered James Kelly as a possible suspect for Jack the Ripper because they officially questioned Mr and Mrs Brider about their daughter's murderer. They also at one point raided 21 Cottage Lane to ensure he was not hiding at the premises. After James Kelly was sentenced to death, Mr and Mrs Brider added their names to a petition to request clemency in an attempt to prevent the death sentence from being carried out and one should also remember that James Kelly had resided at 21 Cottage Lane for some considerable time prior to the marriage and murder. Now back to Police Constable 883 James Ferguson who on the 24th of October in 1889 married Ellen Mary Brider. She was the sister of the murdered Sarah Ann Kelly [nee Brider] and the marriage certificate states that James Ferguson was still residing with the Brider family at 21 Cottage Lane, City Road. Therefore Police Constable 883 James Ferguson was residing at the famous 21 Cottage Lane before and during the investigation and hunt for Jack the Ripper and after the investigation had ended. James Kelly evaded capture for decades and never explained his whereabouts for the late 1888. In fact it was not until the 11th of February in 1927 when he handed himself into the ''Broadmoor Lunatic Asylum authorities'' that he was recaptured. By this time he was an old man in poor health and almost totally deaf. James Kelly soon realised he did not care for being back within the walls of Broadmoor but he was too old and carefully watched which prevented him from escaping again. On Tuesday the 17th of September in 1929, James Kelly dies in Broadmoor Lunatic Asylum and took his secrets of what he actually did and where he was in 1888/1889 to his grave. It is known he left London and travelled to France and travelled extensively in America and Canada over the decades. Prior to Covid, I had attempted to find out if Police Constable 883 James Ferguson had a personal file at the London Metropolitan Archives but the museum had closed down. In the last week, I sent another 'e' mail to them requesting information on this subject and they have replied and confirmed his personal file had survived but only consisted of 9 sides of A4 paper and also gave me some details from the City of London Warrant Book relating to him. I filled in the form attachment and sent it away with a cheque for £20 so that they can delve into the file and give m an exact itemised list of the pages and the cost of duplicating those pages. It will probably work out at approximately £5 per A4 single side page to photocopy but their reply will inform me of the charges. They are usually very helpful and tell you when a page has little information on it so that your can make an informed judgement on whether to copy that individual page or not. I will post the results of the information I receive on Police Constable 883 James Ferguson probably in a couple of weeks time.

Article dated 28/11/1911.....The Wandering Lunatic who was also armed and disarmed by Detective Constable Amos and his partner. Apologies the photographs have come out in the wrong order.... 2nd photo first. then 1st photo. finally 3rd photo. I think I will leave Detective Constable Amos's exploits at that...............

Some incidents are obviously more difficult to deal with than others and doing the right thing may be hard. Detective Constable James Frederick Amos had only been stationed at Bishopsgate Police Station for approximately 7 months and promoted to the rank of Detective Constable. The article dates from August in 1904. Here we have the '''hidden detective'' and the article is from 17th of May in 1904.

The article relating to the previous assault on Detective Constable James Frederick Amos was dated 20/3/1900. The article following is another assault on Detective Constable James Frederick Amos and is dated 25/9/1900. Please note Detective Constable regains his sight and goes after and recaptures the suspect. '''''''''A good detective should keep his eyes wide open at all times.''''''''''

Detective Constable James Frederick Amos was promoted to ''plain clothes patrol duties'' on the 15th of July in 1899 and remained on these duties until he was promoted to Detective Constable at Bishopsgate Police Station on the 4th of January in 1904 ''''''''''A good detective keeps his ears to the ground.''''''''''

'''A reasonable theory why Police Constable 881 Edward Watkins applies for a transfer.''' We know that Police Constable 881 Edward Watkins served at Bishopsgate Police Station from the day he joined the City of London Police and up until at least October of 1889 and he may well have continued to serve at Bishopsgate for a few years longer than that. At approximately 1.44am on the 30th of September in 1888, finding the body of Catherine Eddowes in Mitre Square changed his life forever. When you think, even today, people know his story, then imagine what it was like for Police Constable 881 Edward Watkins in late 1888 and the years afterwards. Sketches of Police Constable Watkins appeared in many newspapers and publications and overnight he became a Victorian celebrity and this was not just within the Bishopsgate station/division or within the City of London Police or within the London area but throughout the country. The name Police Constable 881 Edward Watkins was flashed around the world. When he discovered Catherine Eddowes body in Mite Square, he had already competed approximately 18 years service at Bishopsgate Police Station and with the City of London Police. He would have been well known within his beat area and within the station's establishment and his personal record was clean of any misdemeanours for over 12 years. So.............why would Police Constable 881 Edward Watkins, sometime in the future, want to change his life so drastically and request a transfer to another station/division? I believe this change of attitude and station could revolve around what happened to him on the 14th of October in 1889. It is officially recorded that Police Constable 881 Edward Watkins was placed on report for, ''drinking malt liquor whilst on duty,'' and was reprimanded and pointedly cautioned by the Act of Commissioner. Police Constable 881 Edward Watkins had previously been placed on a similar charge back in 1876 but the penalty that time was a reduction in pay for 3 months. Therefore to be simply reprimanded seems a much lessor penalty but the interesting point is that he was ''pointedly cautioned'' which means he was warned, in no uncertain terms, that if he did a similar offence, he would be given a much greater sentence. This must have given Police Constable 881 Edward Watkins a real fright especially as he was getting closer to completing his pensionable service and he actually retired on the 28th of May in 1896. The City of London Police, I am sure, would prefer that they did not have to deal with such a well known and respected City of London Police Constable in a more severe or public manner. The temptations within the Bishopsgate Police Station area must have been great, everybody wanting to speak to you or everybody wanting to buy you a drink etc. Suddenly becoming even more popular with the local community and everybody wanting to hear your story, straight from the horse's mouth as they would say. Now after approximately 19 years of service with the Bishopsgate Police Station and as they would say, he had served there so long that he was, ''in with the bricks.'' It would have taken a very important reason for him to transfer to another station. That reason was self-preservation and the fame and temptations within the Bishopsgate Police Station area were too many to remain there. This is just a theory and a reasonable one but cannot be verified but it is an interest story. I still like the unidentified photographs attached as being of Police Constable 881 Edward Watkins. I forgot to say ...... Police Constable Edward Watkins new collar number is now ...... 944. I can't remember what City of London station/division that collar number refers to. [944] Maybe somebody else will know that.

This story refers to PC Choat and Chief Inspector Hayes who both attended 11 Exchange Buildings on that terrible night. Just to recap Police Constable Choat was a physically big and strong individual and he was the one that caught and held on to George Gardstein, one of the robbery gang. To force the Police Constable to let go of Gardstein, other members of the gang repeatedly shot the constable until he could take no more. '''''Choat's condition suggested that he had offered resistance to the assailants. No less than 6 bullets had struck him, three in the trunk and three in the left thigh, calf and foot, two of the latter had passed right through. Police Constable Piper came to Choat's aid and he was placed in a hand-litter. Chief Inspector Hayes arrived at this point and spoke to him. The constable's lips moved in reply but in the hubbub it was impossible to make out what he said.''''' [Battle of Stepney by Colin Rogers.] Now here we have Chief Inspector D G Hayes, City of London Police medals being sold at DNW Auction on the 13th of October 2021, obviously they wont go for £300 to £400......... but for much more.

HI, There are lots of photographs of Winston Churchill at Sidney Street to check. But another source is the old British Pathe newsreels on youtube. Sometimes you can get a clearer picture and if I remember correctly, you can even order copies of stills if necessary. Good luck with your search................

Here is another officer that attended the ''Houndsditch Murders'' - Sergeant Bryant - wounded and promoted. [Kings Police Medal]

Actually, if I remember right, there were a total of 7 uniformed officers and 2 plain-clothes patrolmen, that originally attended the Exchange Buildings. Obviously Detective Constable James Frederick Amos would probably have known them all. I am not sure if '''plain-clothes Patrolmen''' is the same as being officially attached to the C.I.D. in Bishopsgate Police Station. The 2 plain-clothes officers were Constable Martin and Constable Strongman. I think I read somewhere that some of the medals issued to those involved in the '''Houndsditch Murders''' case are to be found in the City of London Police Museum. Sometimes you can find at the best Auction Houses like ''DNW'' - medals being sold and have been sold to named individuals who were recorded as having been involving in the original incident. Like this example :-

If at the height of the 'Sidney Street Siege' they had approximately 750 Police Officers in attendance from the Metropolitan and City of London Constabularies, then they must have pulled in every man available and probably some that were even off duty in the Section Houses etc. The reinforcements must have come originally from the nearest divisions to Whitechapel and worked there way outwards. It would be interesting to know the official establishments levels for Whitechapel or 'H' division and the City of London Police were in 1911.

Police Constable 882 Joseph Phipps joins the City of London Police in 1871. Police Constable 881 Edward Watkins joins the City of London Police on the 15th of May in 1871. Their collar numbers also confirm they joined at the same period. Police Constable 881 Edward Watkins on completing his 25 years service, retires on pension, on the 28th of May in 1896. Therefore it is reasonable to suspect that Police Constable 882 Joseph Phipps also retired at the same period, maybe just slightly later, at the very most. The criteria for temporarily employing more Policemen for the Jubilee and Coronation Parades through London, appears to be that the City of London and Metropolitan Police would re-hire their pensioned colleagues first for these events. All in all, these two Police Constables must have known each other quite well.

After the Siege of Sidney Street was over, people had to be compensated for their losses ie all the residents of 100 Sidney Street which was now just a burn-out-shell of a building. Here is a small paragraph on how this incident impacted on Detective Sergeant Benjamin Leeson's life. '''''Detective Sergeant Leeson's experiences made him a ten-day celebrity. Sympathizers sent him and the hearthstone's victims a profusion of flowers, messages arrived from the King. Both the sergeant's lungs had been severely damaged and for some days pneumonia or bronchitis was feared. As with Sergeant Woodhams, his recovery was to be slow and difficult, not until 8th February was he considered fit enough to leave the London Hospital's Gloucester Ward for a convalescent home at Felixstowe. The Metropolitan Police upgraded him to first-class sergeant on the 10th of January and on 23rd February the newspapers announced a King's Police Medal for him, unhappily, the promotion only preceded his invaliding out and the story about his decoration proved false.''''' I think the ''hearthstone's victims'' would have been firemen. A heavy hearthstone coming down of them, would have brought a lot of other debris with it. I almost forgot to say that after it was all over, the City of London Police announced its gratitude to the Metropolitan Police for all their assistance in helping to deal with such a difficult crime/major incident and awarded gratuities to :- Chief Superintendent Stark £50. Detective Superintendent Ottaway £40. Detective Inspector Wensley £25. Detective Chief Inspector Willis £12.10s. Detective Inspector Thompson and Newell £10 each. Detective Sergeant Leeson £10. And 5 others £5 each.

Stirring stuff......... The moment Detective Sergeant Leeson was shot, City of London Detective Inspector Hine opened fire to give cover to his colleagues caught out in the open street. Leeson stumbled towards Inspector Wensley [H divn.] and the archway, calling out, ''I am shot.'' Detective Sergeant Richardson [H] supported him to the rear of the yard. Leeson and Wensley had started out together as constables in Whitechapel in the late 1880's and were brother Freemason. Inspector Wensley came to him at once, ''I am dying,'' the heavily built sergeant gasped. ''They have shot me through the heart. Give my love to the children. Bury me at Putney.'' ''The two men embraced, ''I am with you to the last,'' said Wensley. ''I know that Fred'' Leeson answered. After the shooting started and by 9am about 750 policemen, some of them mounted, were at the scene. The crowds already numbered several thousands.

I will need to get more up-to-date with things. I have always preferred a book to a kindle but 0.99 pence to read 'Detective Sergeant Benjamin Leeson's story'......is such a great offer. I enjoyed reading the Jack the Ripper chapter, many thanks for that. It is a couple of years since I read the book 'The Battle of Stepney, and so I forgot all about 'Detective Sergeant Benjamin Leeson.' When the Latvian anarchists repeatedly shot Police Constable Choat at the Exchange Buildings.....it was because he would not let go of one of their gang - 'George Gardstein.' The gang then accidently shot George Gardstein whilst trying to kill Police Constable Choat. Later information came to the Police's attention, that his body could be found in certain rooms within the district and 40 Metropolitan and City Policemen descended on the house in question. Detective Sergeant Benjamin Leeson was in the vanguard of this group. Later and at the beginning of the 'Sidney Street Siege' Police attempted to make contact with the anarchists at 100 Sidney Street and even threw pebbles at the first floor window panes to gain their attention. This was answered by a volley of fire from those inside and Detective Sergeant Benjamin Leeson was shot in the chest and in the foot. Detective Inspector Hine returned fire and the fight was on. They had a difficult time trying to evacuation Detective Sergeant Leeson from the scene and to the hospital but they did it in the end.

Found a couple of examples of his book ''Lost London by an East End Detective.' [£145 and £125, depends on condition] and Sidney Street is one of the sections mentioned. I would still like to read the story but it is still a bit too expensive for me.

Very interesting point......... I remember Detective Sergeant Benjamin Leeson for 2 reasons ;- Benjamin Leeson's photographs, in my opinion, makes him look a very interesting character. and existing copies of his book 'Lost London by an East End Detective,' which was published in the 1930's are always extremely expensive to buy. I just checked and there appears to be a copy on Amazon for over £300. The big story within the book, always appeared to be that he has assisted PC Ernest Thompson at Francis Cole's murder in 1891. Although there was never any original evidence/record of him actually being at the site of the murder. Since he was still a Detective Sergeant in Whitechapel or 'H' division in January of 1910 [Houndsditch Murders] and January of 1911 [Sidney Street Siege], he must have recorded these events. It would be interesting to know what he said about these incidents but not at that price for a copy of his book.

This is the final presentation of '''''Detective Constable James Frederick Amos's medals''''' as it they now go into my collection. Their write-up is completed and all the information is placed into a folder and the medals are housed as shown in the photographs. The presentation boxes and the padded insert can be found on ebay or by going directly to the company and they are made in China and of good quality and most importantly quite cheap to buy.

Here we have another Whitechapel or 'H' division Police Constable who may have witnessed the Sidney Street Siege, first hand. PC John William Cole who was awarded the Metropolitan Police Coronation medals for 1902 and 1911 and served his entire pensionable engagement with the Police in Whitechapel. John William Cole joined the Metropolitan Police on the 14/10/1901 and was assigned to Whitechapel or 'H' division and he was given the warrant number of 87893. In 1902 he was awarded the Metropolitan Police Coronation medal for 1902 whilst serving in Whitechapel. In 1909, PC John William Cole married Rose Georgiana Darnell who was the widow of Police Sergeant William Darnell who had retired from the Metropolitan Police and Whitechapel or 'H' division on the 29th of July in 1907. Retired Police Sergeant William Darnell died shortly after retiring from the Police and this occurred in Bethnal Green in 1908. John William Cole was approximately 10 years younger than Rose Darnell and it would appear police widows regularly remarried other members of the police service. There definitely appears to be a real family bond within the Metropolitan and City of London Police during these times and you can regularly see cases where police widows are then employed as cleaners/house keepers in various police establishment etc The criteria for bringing back officers to assist with the Jubilee or Coronation Parades also appeared to favour their retired [pension] colleagues first and there are lots of examples of daughters marrying their partners who are already serving within the Police establishment etc. In 1911 he was awarded the Metropolitan Police Coronation medal for 1911 whilst serving in Whitechapel. On the 16/101927, PC John William Cole retired on pension from the Metropolitan Police and from Whitechapel division.

Here is another example of a Whitechapel Policemen who might have been in attendance at the Sidney Street Siege. PC Edgar Greenacre was awarding the Metropolitan Police Queen Victoria Jubilee medal for 1897, Metropolitan Police Coronation medals for 1902 and 1911. Police Constable Edgar E Greenacre who joined the Metropolitan Police on the 10/3/1890 and was assigned to Southwark or 'M' division, warrant number 75404. Awarded the Jubilee medal for 1897 whilst serving with Southwark or 'M' division. Sometime between the last half of 1897 and the first half of 1902, PC Edgar E Greenacre transferred to Whitechapel or 'H' division. Awarded the Coronation medal for 1902 whilst serving with Whitechapel or 'H' division. Awarded the Coronation medal for 1911 whilst serving with Whitechapel or 'H' division. 1911......Sidney Street Siege.......was he there? 20/12/1920 Police Constable Edgar E Greenacre retires on pension from Whitechapel or 'H' division and the Metropolitan Police and in his pension records we find the following information :- When PC Edgar Greenacre retired from the Metropolitan Police on the 20/12/1920, he was on 'Special Duties' attached to the 'Tower of London' and it was paid for by the 'Office of Works.' This is confirmed in his pension records. Special Duties are only recorded on the Metropolitan Police pension records when the individual was still employed on them at the time of leaving the police. This special duty fell within Whitechapel or 'H' division's responsibility since it was within the divisional area. Because special duties are only recorded on the pension records when the individual is still activity on them at the time of his retirement......this means they are harder to fine and evidence.

I have only read one book on the subject of the 'Houndsditch Murders and the Sidney Street Siege' and that was 'The Battle of Stepney by Colin Rogers' and I read that several years ago. But there is a short paragraph which I think helps imagine what it was like for Detectives, like Detective Constable James Amos'.......remembering the original murders were committed on the 16th of December in 1910. '''''All City Police Christmas Festivities had been abandoned and all leave for the force's hundred-odd detectives cancelled. Not one was at home for his Christmas Dinner. Marathon spells of duty remained commonplace; food was snatched or gone without. With the holiday freedom of London's other citizens and the substantial reward on offer, hundreds of hours were spent investigating alleged suspicious characters. The uniformed branch also had its troubles; the two Bank Holidays which followed Christmas Day brought thousands of sightseers into the Exchange Buildings neighbourhood.'''''

Thanks for the information dpk and I had a quick look on the ''OMRS'' site and it is extremely interesting. Hi Gordon - Since you are evidencing the photographs together with his detailed service with Whitechapel or 'H' division, during this period, I think the chances of this being the same person are reasonable/good but the chances of him having attended Sidney Street Siege are even better. I would suspect of the 200 City and Metropolitan Police that initially attended Sidney Street, the greatest percentage of that number would have come from Whitechapel or 'H' division. I don't know what Whitechapel or 'H' divisions uniformed establishment was in 1911 but it could easily mean a quarter of the entire division's men attended the siege. I believe further reinforcements were requested later as the siege progressed but I am sure these would have been supplied by the other divisions nearby. I believe I read somewhere that initially shotguns were given to Policemen that had served in the military but I am also sure they would have been issued to Policemen who had fired and had experience with shotguns ie those from estates and from the countryside. Anyway it is an interesting question - what was the total percentage of manpower supplied by Whitechapel or 'H' division. I remember reading the City of London Police had to commit 100 police officers to secure the ''Exchange Buildings,'' location after the Latvians anarchists/revolutionaries killed the 3 City Policemen.

Here are some items that relate to the 'Sidney Street Siege.' The first 2 photographs show 2 original newspaper publications covering the siege. The next 2 photographs are 'film stills' advertising the film 'The Sidney Street Siege.' I can't remember but I think the film might have produced in 1960. Some people might even recognise the actors and actresses. The last photograph is a standard article that would have been used in various magazines.

The first photograph - is portraits of Sergeant Tucker, Sergeant Bentley and Police Constable Choat. One of the sergeants, I suspect it was Sergeant Tucker, should have retired on pension but decided to sign up for another year so that he could assist in the Coronation of 1911. A decision that cost him his life. The next 3 photographs are of the funeral parade through London for Sergeant Tucker and Sergeant Bentley. The last photograph is of the book, 'The Punjab Mail Murder,' by Roger Perkins. A collector and researcher of medals and stories. In 1977 whilst in a bric-a-brac shop he found an ''''Indian General Service medal [1908-1935] with the single clasp for North West Frontier 1930-31 and which was awarded to 2/Lt G R Hext 2/8 Punjab Reg.'''' From researching this medal he was able to piece together the whole story of the murder of 2/LT G R Hext.

'The Investigation.' At the end of 1910, City Detective Constable James Frederick Amos was a very experienced Detective Constable stationed at Bishopsgate Police Station. Detective Constable Amos had approximately 7 years service in the Bishopsgate C.I.D. and had been on 'Plain Clothes Duties,' with the City of London Police since July of 1899. Detective Constable James Amos had official commendations and there was also a number of Old Bailey trial records which also evidence his successfulness as a City of London Detective. Therefore, especially with Detective Constable James Amos being attached to the home station of the dead policemen and having known them and worked with them and his knowledge and experience with the local population and area - these qualities would have been invaluable in the investigation into the murders etc. It is recorded that the City Detective were not taking any leave over this period and they were working very long shifts to ensure their colleagues killers were caught. It appears that the two London Police Forces worked well together and this can be evidenced by the use of very large numbers of City of London Detectives scouring and flooding into Whitechapel in the search for the murderer.