1891 census BETHNAL GREEN POLICE STATION

[The Station Cat]

Either Census will list police actually at the station.

Does not matter if they reside there or not.

Being out on patrol is another matter and depends on the rules of the particular Census.

So by that rational, there will have been considerable more bobbies stationed at Bethnal Green Station than the ones documented on the census and the only real way of ascertaining the exact amount, would be via a nominal roll, which I imagine no longer exist?

[The Station Cat]

Either Census will list police actually at the station.

Does not matter if they reside there or not.

Being out on patrol is another matter and depends on the rules of the particular Census.

Have been mulling this over, what are the odds of it being the same officers in the station on duty, in 1881 and then again in 1891, without them being residents. I can't help but think that this list in fact reflects those who were resident and not those who just happened to be on duty.

[Joshua Rogan]

It also seems strange that they didn't get any new officers in ten years, to replace the two who left...

[The Station Cat]

Interestingly out of all the officers in the 1881 & 1891 census I could only find results for two of them, that means that all the rest must have joined before 1879. But what is curious is that there are several officers with the same name in the same division but didn't join till after 1881 so couldn't be the same officer on the census and that accounts for most of them?

74715 PC George MEREDITH Joined 05.08.1891 posted to J whole service with J retired 14

74117 PC Tom ANDREWS Joined 31.12.88 posted to J by 97 was in X retired 15 in L

76309 PC John ALLEN Joined 27.10.90 posted to J left 98 from A

76432 PC David DANIELS Joined 15.12.90 j posted to J retired 19 from V

66410 PC Joseph THOMPSON Joined 17.04.82 posted to N 87 J 97 J 02 J retired 07 J

67021 PC Charles PLUMLEY Joined 07.08.1882 K 87 J 95 V

[The Station Cat]

It also seems strange that they didn't get any new officers in ten years, to replace the two who left...

There are a couple of names that appear on the 1881 that are not on the 1891 census

PC Richard HAYTON

PC Gerald AINMAN

...and the 1891 that don't appear on the 1881

PC Richard HAIGTER



I know that PC CHAPPELL joined J Division in 1888 and in 1889 gave his address as the Station on his marriage certificate, he remained in J Division in Bethnal Green until 1911. So there's one name that didn't appear on either census, but lived in the station, in the time between.

[DJA]

Have been mulling this over, what are the odds of it being the same officers in the station on duty, in 1881 and then again in 1891, without them being residents. I can't help but think that this list in fact reflects those who were resident and not those who just happened to be on duty.

Worked on the 1981 Australian Census.
Fav niece was a Police Academy instructor.
You are prolly correct.
70% of police are not very good at their job.
If they can't fill out a Census form,how they gonna catch Jack the Ripper.
All makes sense now.

[The Station Cat]

It appears I've been looking at two copies of the same document (1891 census), one a typed transcript and the other the original scan. Whom ever typed it out clearly has encounted the same problems that I did on the 1881 census, that of reading the handwriting, hence to three differences in the names.

I've tried my best to decode the handwriting on the 1881 census and to the best of my ability.......

Insp William LANGLEY??? & wife
PC John BULL & wife
PC Walter G***ard (unreadable)
PC Peter FLANAGAN
PC Samuel ALLEN
PC James STEPHENS
PC Patrick McGOWAN
PC Alexander HOVE??
PC George MEIDREN??
PC Bryan O'ROURKE
PC Alfed WILLIAMSON
PC Martin MCDONALD
PC Micheal HANLEY
PC Joseph GRANT??
PC James SHESHAM??

So it seems that only PC Martin MCDONALD in fact appears on both censuses. The other officers had either retired, been posted or moved into different accommodation? Either way it demonstrates the turn over of officers within the sub division. Interestingly none of them appear to have any links with the ripper case.

[Sam Flynn]

OK Gareth, what were you in for?

Oh, Robert! If only I'd known then what was in for me later...

[The Station Cat]

Working from the 1891 census that there were only 13 bobbies living in the station, perhaps the same amount again living locally/section house(s).
26+ constables or their abouts attached to the station.
Working 3 8 hour shifts - days,lates & nights (more on duty on lates and nights, but shorter beats than during the day) roles being on the beat, fixed point in the station (on reserve). Roughly 20 bobbies on duty at any one time, with perhaps 12-15 on the beat. Beats ranging from right outside the station to perhaps 20 or so minuted walk from the station. All would parade at the station then be escorted to their beats by the shift sergeant.

Echo
London, U.K.
21 September 1888

EAST END MURDERS
THE POLICEMEN'S NIGHT BEATS
THE PRESENT PRECAUTIONS
A Correspondent has obtained exact details of those police beats covering the area within which the Buck's row murder was committed. From this it will be seen that the murderer had no doubt a considerable time in which he was quite sure of being undisturbed by a police constable, assuming he knew the beats. It seems that, notwithstanding the frequent repetition of murders round Whitechapel, under circumstances leading to the conclusion that they were the work of one man, not one single extra police officer was put upon the ground until after the commission of the fourth and last murder. Then the streets were filled night and by by police in and out of uniform.

During the month of August, and up to the 8th instant, when Annie Chapman was killed, the following beats were covered by the men of the J Division quartered at Bethnal Green, these forming what is known as the "Second Section night duty." The first police constable would commence his two beats at Wilmot street, three Colt land, Cheshire street, Mape street, Bethnal Green road, to Wilmot street, and the interior, this consisting of a few streets, courts, passages, &c. The second constable would cover Three Colt lane, Collingwood street, Darling row, Dog row, Whitechapel road, Brady street, to Three Colt lane, and the interior, this consisting of about twenty streets, courts, passages, &c; the third constable would commence at Brady street, cover Whitechapel road, Baker's row, Thomas street, Queen Anne street, and Buck's row, to Brady street, and all the interior, this consisting of about ten streets, courts, passage, &c. The fourth constable would commence at Baker's row, go through Nottingham street, White street, Bethnal Green road, Mape street, London street, to Baker's row, and all the interior, consisting of about thirty streets, courts, passages, &c. The fifth and last man of the section would cover Whitechapel road alone, this making a total of nine beats for the five constables. The third beat was the one within the limit of which Mrs. Nicholl (sic) was murdered. The exterior of the beats are at least a mile in extent, and to this distance must be added the interiors.

[The Station Cat]

I have been able to identify another Constable who worked from Bethnal Green Police Station by 1891. PC252J Arthur FROST, now although didn't join until 6th January 1890 he was married when he joined and the 1891 census has him living in Bonner Street, Bethnal Green. It would be interesting to know whether any other bobbies were living in Bonner Street in 1891 or indeed 1891. If they did then this would certainly increase the amount of bobbies working from Bethnal Green Station. Constable FROST also lived in Russia Lane Bandon Road again if more bobbies could be located on these two streets then manning level for Bethnal Green Station increases again.

[The Station Cat]

Using the known address, for Officers confirmed as being attached to Bethnal Green Station and plotting them off using Google Maps, if can be seen that they are not all bunched up together and are quite spread out. I'm in no doubt that there will be others that turn up over time. But as it stands now it can be seen that manning levels at Bethnal Green Station might in fact be larger than initially thought?

When we consider that these officers covered 5 beats, there must have been at least 10 Bobbies on a rota, on a 3 shift pattern (06:00-14:00, 14:00- 22:00, 22:00 -6:00). 5 covering the beats, 5+ on reserve, 2+ Sgts and an Insp.

[The Station Cat]

Bethnal Green Road (unknown date), Bethnal Green Police Station can just be seen on the right.

&

Bethnal Green Police Station taken 3rd May 2018.