Henry Cox

[Chris]

The City C.I.D. officer Henry (or Harry) Cox is well known for his account of the surveillance of an unidentified Ripper suspect, published in Thomson's Weekly News on his retirement in 1906, and originally discovered by Nick Connell.

I'm copying below another interesting account of his career - unfortunately containing no Ripper revelations - published in the Police Review on 7 December 1906. This was found through Derek Wilcox's Police Index (http://www.blacksheepindex.co.uk/POLNOTES.htm).

[Chris]

And here is Cox's "portrait":

[robhouse]

Very nice discovery chris. It is nice to see a photo of this guy finally...

[Paddy]

Henry Cox

Wow it certainly was a good find.

He was my great grandfathers brother and I have never seen a picture of him.
I am afraid I dont know an awful lot about him other that he was born in Camberwell and that his grandfather was an Excise officer. Henry retired to Kent and had lots of children.

I read his article (attached) about following a suspect that he wrote for Thompsons Weekly News and wondered about his comment...
It was not easy to forget that already one of them had taken place at the very moment when one of our smartest colleagues was passing the top of the dimly lit street.

Could George Hutchinson have been an undercover policeman? I have often wondered why he gave such a detailed description. Henry doesnt actually say what murder he meant.

I would also like to add that the comment about Aaron Kosminki at the end the attached article was my own personal view not part of the article....

[Chris]

Wow it certainly was a good find.

He was my great grandfathers brother and I have never seen a picture of him.
I am afraid I dont know an awful lot about him other that he was born in Camberwell and that his grandfather was an Excise officer. Henry retired to Kent and had lots of children.

I'm pleased you found it interesting. It's always fascinating to hear from relations of people involved in the case. (I have sent you a PM with a little more information.)

I read his article (attached) about following a suspect that he wrote for Thompsons Weekly News and wondered about his comment...
It was not easy to forget that already one of them had taken place at the very moment when one of our smartest colleagues was passing the top of the dimly lit street.

This is something I have also wondered about. One possibility might be that it refers to an incident involving Sgt Stephen White of the Met CID. Some press extracts relating to White were posted by Robert Clack here:

http://www.casebook.org/forum/messages/4924/22219.html

There is an article which appeared in the People's Journal after White's death which claimed he saw a suspect close to one of the murder sites - that should be taken with a pinch of salt. But there is also a more credible (or less incredible) story in an obituary in the East London Advertiser about a murder having occurred during his brief absence from surveillance in "an East End street", which says "He saw no man anywhere".

[Paddy]

Thanks for the link Chris, That was an interesing article where Stephen White said he actually saw the man. I did think his hands would not look very white if he had just disemboweled someone in a short space of time?
I suppose at the time the police could have surpressed that bit.
It did sound a bit like Henrys One of our best officers.
Maybe not the chap who identified him at the home , as he was said to be Jewish?
Please excuse if I sent multiple replys to your message I am new to this, and getting a bit dotty in my old age.

[Paddy]

Hi Chris Regarding the article that Henry Cox wrote for the Thomsons weekly news.... You said above...
The City C.I.D. officer Henry (or Harry) Cox is well known for his account of the surveillance of an unidentified Ripper suspect, published in Thomson's Weekly News on his retirement in 1906, and originally discovered by Nick Connell.
In his opening paragraph he says this....
It is only upon certain conditions that I have agreed to deal with the great Whitechapel crimes of fifteen years ago.

That would take his involvement with the Ripper suspect back to 1891
Was a date given when he followed the suspect?

[Chris]

Hi Chris Regarding the article that Henry Cox wrote for the Thomsons weekly news.... You said above...
The City C.I.D. officer Henry (or Harry) Cox is well known for his account of the surveillance of an unidentified Ripper suspect, published in Thomson's Weekly News on his retirement in 1906, and originally discovered by Nick Connell.
In his opening paragraph he says this....
It is only upon certain conditions that I have agreed to deal with the great Whitechapel crimes of fifteen years ago.

That would take his involvement with the Ripper suspect back to 1891
Was a date given when he followed the suspect?

Yes, that is an odd feature of Cox's account. But he does say further on "We had many people under observation while the murders were being perpetrated, but it was not until the discovery of the body of Mary Kelly had been made that we seemed To Get Upon the Trail." And he then recounts the fact that he was on duty in the street where the suspect had his place of business for nearly three months "after the last murder".

I'm not sure how to explain these statements. Did Cox got the year of Kelly's murder wrong? Or did he get the name of the 1891 victim [Coles] wrong? Or was he simply being inconsistent about which murders he included in the series? Or had the account perhaps been written three years before his retirement, and not updated?

[Chris]

Here is a transcript of the article in the Evening News (26 July 1906, p. 2) about Henry Cox, which is referred to in the Police Review article I posted above. Again there's nothing relating to the Ripper case, but there are some additional details that weren't either quoted or summarised in the Police Review.
__________________________________________________ _______

25 YEARS AS A DETECTIVE.

RETIREMENT OF A CLEVER CITY INSPECTOR.

The City police force today loses one of its most experienced detectives in Inspector Harry Cox, who retires on pension after twenty-five years spent in tracking some of the most noted criminals of the day.

The inspector arrested Dougal, the Moat Farm murderer, and Davenport, of "forged-fivers" fame; but it was as a "shadower" that he did some of his best work.

The cleverest individual in the art of covering up his tracks Inspector Cox remembers was George Johnson, the guiding spirit in the great forgeries of 1890 on Messrs. Drexel, Morgan, and Co., of Old Broad-street.

The history of this great international plot to secure £50,000 would in itself provide matter for a novel. Letters of credit in the name of the bankers were forged, and notes were to be presented simultaneously at Madrid, Marseilles, Liege, Coblentz, and other places where the firm had correspondents. But news of the scheme reached the police. One man who called himself "Lord Fairfax" was arrested at Liege; another was taken at Madrid.

TWO MONTHS' TRACKING.

The City detectives were convinced that Johnson - a man with most polished manners, who was usually to be found in the Monico, the Criterion, or the St James's Restaurants - was the brains of the gang. But, in spite of most painstaking effort, they found it impossible to track him to his place of residence. At last Mr. Cox was given this undertaking as a special task. It took him two months.

Johnson would never let even his confederates know where he lived. He would mostly meet them at railway stations; and had only to notice a fresh face twice when on a journey to strike off in a fresh direction. Another of his ruses was to book at a railway station, wait until the train was in, and then be the last to pass the ticket barrier.

It was at a house in Kingsland-road that, as it ultimately proved, the plant for the forgery was stored. Johnson's dwelling-place was in Beaconsfield-road, Twickenham. The inspector gives an illuminating account of the way in which he successfully "housed" this forger, whom many detectives hold to be more accomplished even than the notorious Schmidt, who figured in the Barmash case.

The forged notes eventually discovered were practically perfect. Only a slight difference in the letter "o" could be detected when they were compared with genuine notes belonging to Messrs. Drexel, Morgan, and Co.

SUBTLE STRATEGY.

"An informant guided us to Bacon-street, Spitalfields, which was one of Johnson's haunts," said the inspector. "It was from here that we used to get out in pursuit of him. On this particular day Johnson came from Bacon-street, boarded an omnibus, and got out when it had proceeded 500 yards to see if anyone was behind him. I, garbed as a working man, had sought concealment in a doorway. Johnson took train at Bishopsgate-street, and got out at Hammersmith, where he again carefully watched to see if he were followed. I had taken the precaution to join the crowd of passengers in front of him. This time my quarry booked for Richmond. Once more leaving the train he hung about until the platform was clear.

I again adopted my tactic of getting in front of him, and then crossed over to the Richmond South-Western Station.

"On this occasion he took a ticket for Twickenham, and nearly left me in the lurch. He only left the train as it was on the move again. In jumping out after him I bumped into a pillar, and only a big stroke of luck prevented him noticing me. Crossing over to the up-line he caught another train returning to London, disembarking at St. Margaret's. As quickly as possible I got ahead of him and stood at the bottom of the long flight of stairs leading from the station. A glimpse of his boots as he commenced to descend the stairs, and I hurried to seek refuge in a public-house close by, with the idea of letting him pass me. I waited to see him go by - but waited in vain. At length I ventured outside - not a trace of him.

AN ANXIOUS TIME.

"I need not tell you that I felt anxious. The whole case rested on me. The heads of my department were ready to act as soon as Johnson's place of residence could be discovered. For three-quarters of an hour I hovered in the vicinity of those stairs. Then all at once I saw Johnson leave a public library, which stood opposite to the public-house. I followed him until he turned down Beaconsfield-road - so quiet a thoroughfare that to walk after him would have spoilt all my previous efforts. A baker's cart was at the top of the street. I stood behind it, causing the baker to glance suspiciously first at my rough clothes, and then at his wares.

"Johnson's house was halfway down the street. He entered it backwards, looking round him all the time. I was too far away to state definitely which of two houses was his: so next evening, dressed as a clerk, with silk hat, umbrella, and evening paper, I walked up the road about the time that Johnson returned from the station. Just as he reached his home another detective, disguised as a painter, lurched across the road, and gruffly asked the time. I fumbled long enough with my watch to note which was Johnson's door. The house was surrounded that night; and at the Old Bailey Johnson and his chief confederate, a man named Phillips, each received a seven years' sentence."

The police were assisted in this case by an informant, and in this connection Inspector Cox underwent an experience which is probably unique in police annals. During the magisterial hearing the informant disappeared, making for Rouen. Inspector Cox was deputed to persuade him to return. The informant said he feared the vengeance of other members of the gang and only consented to come back on condition that the hotel in London Wall at which he was to be accommodated should be protected night and day. Even this did not satisfy him; and as a last resource Inspector Cox took him to his own house where he stayed for a week. Plain clothes men continuously guarded the inspector's house.

A GUARDED DETECTIVE.

To prevent the man from again attempting to escape Mr. Cox used to sleep upon his clothes. He would only leave the house if accompanied by the inspector and another officer. When the trial was concluded the informant was still so afraid that he would be shot that Mr. Cox had to accompany him in a Pullman car from Holborn-viaduct to Dover, and see him safely on board ship.

Not long afterwards the man got into trouble on the Continent. A warrant was issued, and while in the Borough Mr. Cox accidentally encountered him. The informant's former protector arrested him after a struggle, and he was extradited.

Inspector Cox is not likely to forget the arrest of Samuel Herbert Dougal. He was on duty at the Bank of England, and was called in to take the murderer of Miss Holland to the Old Jewry for being in possession of notes which were part proceeds of a forgery. Dougal walked quietly enough until the entrance to the City Police headquarters was reached.

Then without warning he took to his heels and ran towards Cheapside. Endeavouring to dodge the pursuing inspector Dougal turned into Frederick-place, a cul de sac - a move, of course, which cut off all hope of escape.

But it speaks well for the presence of mind and resource of Mr. Cox to mention that the only real hitch he ever experienced had its humorous side. In the earlier part of his career he observed a coterie of pickpockets in Fleet-street surrounding a relative of the late Baron Pollock. The gentleman's gold watch was delicately removed, but Mr. Cox ingeniously stepped into the place of the accomplice who was to receive the watch from the actual thief, seizing the latter at the same time. Unfortunately for the detective, the owner of the watch immediately accused him of the robbery, and it was not until explanations had been gone into at Bridewell Station that he was pacified.

[Chris]

The record of the trial of George Johnson, the man tailed by Henry Cox, and of his accomplice John Phillips, who was arrested by Robert Sagar, including the evidence of the informant, Joseph Tragheim of 81 Greenfield Street, can be found on the Old Bailey Proceedings website:

http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/browse.jsp?id=def1-38-18901124&div=t18901124-38

[Chris]

Although these accounts of Henry Cox's reminiscences about the Johnson case don't have anything to do with the Whitechapel Murders, they are interesting because they can be compared with the testimony given at the trial, which gives us some useful guidance as to how far we can trust the details of Cox's Ripper-related reminiscences, which were published around the same time.

The comparison shows that while Cox's recollections seem broadly accurate, there are - as is only to be expected after a lapse of 16 years - some errors of detail, and perhaps some indications of literary licence in preparing the story for publication.

Probably the biggest discrepancy (potentially relevant to his statement that he watched a Ripper suspect for nearly three months) is the Evening News's claim that it took him two months to locate Johnson's residence. The trial evidence shows that he must have discovered it much more quickly. The informant didn't communicate with the police until 12 September, and from Cox's own evidence the surveillance appears to have begun on 24 September. But Johnson's house had certainly been discovered by 22 October, when he was arrested there, and probably it had been discovered some time before, as that arrest was simultaneous with Sagar's arrest of his accomplice Phillips, and followed the failure of their scheme the day before, when Daniel Hope had been arrested in Liege. So another dramatic detail of the Evening News account - that the police surrounded Johnson's house the night after Cox located it - is probably an embellishment.

Perhaps the importance of Cox's role in bringing the informant Tragheim back from the Continent is also somewhat overstated. The Evening News says "Inspector Cox was deputed to persuade him to return", but according to the trial evidence it was Robert Child who followed him - and it was Havre he went to, not Rouen. Of course, Cox may well have accompanied Child, but if so it was not mentioned at the trial.

There are other small discrepancies concerning aspects of the case that Cox wasn't directly involved in. For example, the newspaper accounts refer to one arrest at Liege and another at Madrid (Evening News) and to arrests in Marseilles and Madrid (Police Review), but in the trial evidence only two arrests at Liege are mentioned.

So on the whole in interpreting Henry Cox's Ripper reminiscences we should probably allow for some elasticity in timings and some margin of error regarding the details.

[Chris]

I have added a page on Henry Cox to the wiki section of Casebook:

http://wiki.casebook.org/index.php/Henry_Cox

[Hunter]

Excellent, Chris.

This provides an even better understanding of the police investigation and the men that were involved.

[robhouse]

I am wondering if Cox should be in this photo... I have downloaded this from here somewhere, but I can't recall where. The photo I have is labelled "city_detectives.jpg"... so I was thinking... couldn't both Sagar and Cox be in this photo?

RH

[Scott Nelson]

I think Sagar joined the force the year after this photo was taken. He is described as never having worn a uniform.