Abberline and Special Branch

[lynn cates]

"Lloyd's Weekly" December 11, 1881

Cheers.
LC

[lynn cates]

"Lloyd's Weekly" February 25, 1878

Cheers.
LC

[lynn cates]

"The Centaur" October 25, 1884.

Cheers.
LC

[lynn cates]

"The Week's News" September 14, 1878

Hello Mike. Here are my promised jpg's--henceforth without comment.

Cheers.
LC

[mklhawley]

Hi Mike,

I cannot say for sure, but Abberline may well have investigated the Jubilee Plot.

In 1885 Abberline must have been wearing two hats. H Division's Local Inspector since 1878, it seems he was also occasionally drafted for "special service", as Superintendent Arnold termed it.

The line between CID and Special Branch was blurred. It makes me wonder which hat Abberline was wearing during the Whitechapel murders.

Regards,

Simon

I sent you an email Lynn.

My thoughts exactly Simon.

Sincerely,

Mike

[Simon Wood]

Hi Mike,

I cannot say for sure, but Abberline may well have investigated the Jubilee Plot.

In 1885 Abberline must have been wearing two hats. H Division's Local Inspector since 1878, it seems he was also occasionally drafted for "special service", as Superintendent Arnold termed it.

The line between CID and Special Branch was blurred. It makes me wonder which hat Abberline was wearing during the Whitechapel murders.

Regards,

Simon

[lynn cates]

OK

Hello Mike. I can get to it in a few hours.

If you wish the PDF's, just email me.

Cheers.
LC

[mklhawley]

Hi Lynn,

If possible, I would love the jpeg and the post.

Thanks!

Mike

[lynn cates]

Fga

Hello Mike, Simon. I have the press cuttings on this and several other stories (about 20) involving Abberline (some of which go back to the 1870's).

I can:

1. Send you the PDF's

2. Convert them to jpg's and post to this thread.

Your choice.

Cheers.
LC

[mklhawley]

Hi Simon,

So, in 1885 Abberline was assigned to the Whitechapel District and involved with the bombing of the Tower of London. Do you think he still could have been involved in the 1887 Jubilee plot while being assigned to headquarters, or do you still think the reporter just mixed the two stories?

Mike

[Simon Wood]

Hi Mike,

On his retirement in 1893 Superintendent Arnold mentioned Abberline.

"The first exciting event I remember, while acting in that capacity [H Division], was the explosion at the Tower, resulting in the capture of Burton and Cunningham. Detective Abberline was on special service at the time, and it was entirely owing to his prompt action in closing the gates of the Tower that Cunningham was caught - a capture which ultimately resulted in the taking of his colleague, Burton."

Regards,

Simon

[Simon Wood]

Hi Mike,

I have never read of Abberline being involved in thwarting the Jubilee Plot, but that doesn't mean that he wasn't.

However, the Auckland Star may have confused the 1887 Jubilee Plot with the 1885 bombing of the Tower of London, on which Monro and Abberline did work together.

Regards,

Simon

[mklhawley]

Greetings all,

Lately, I’ve been intrigued by how little discussion there is about the man who was directly responsible for the Whitechapel investigation at the Whitechapel District, Inspector Abberline. In Don Rumbelow’s book, The Complete Jack the Ripper, Rumbelow comments on page 71, “In charge of the investigation was Inspector Frederick George Abberline. As so little is known of him it is worth putting down the few details we do have.” From 1878 to 19 November 1887, he was the local Inspector for the Whitechapel District, or H Division, but was then moved to headquarters at Scotland Yard (A Division and then to CO Division). In the fall of 1888, he was temporarily assigned back to Whitechapel to investigate the murders. Before this temporary assignment, it seems Abberline played a major role in the Jubilee Day dynamiters plot. Note what the following article states:

Auckland Star, November 9, 1888
THE WHITECHAPEL HORROR.
LONDON, September 21.
Another week has passed, and the Whitechapel murders are mysterious still. All hopes of finding the assassin have, indeed, been long ago abandoned, save by the indomitable Sir Charles Warren and the indefatigable Detective Superintendent Abberline. The last-named officer, you may remember, was the one who defeated the Jubilee Day dynamiters plot and brought the last of the famous gang to justice. He does not pretend to be a Lecocq, but, given a clue, he can follow it up as well as any man…


The ‘defeat’ of the Jubilee Day dynamiters plot falls at the time when Abberline was at headquarters in 1887, but wasn’t the Jubilee Day plot spearheaded by Special Branch? If so, why was Abberline involved? I guess it could be a logical assumption that he was a reinforcement to Special Branch just as he was with Whitechapel the following year, but the article seems to insinuate that he was the central figure in defeating the plot. To further stress Abberline’s significant involvement in Scotland Yard, in July 1889 –not even a year after the Whitechapel investigation- he was put in charge of the embarrassing Cleveland Street Scandal.

Some have suggested that Monro and Abberline never worked together until this scandal. Are you sure?

Any thoughts?

Sincerely,
Mike