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Happened across the attached newspaper article which was first published on the 30th June 1889 and then again on the 8th July 1889.
As can be seen it relates to two H Division Constables KNOWLES & BURR.
I decided to see if I could discover anything about these two officers.
There are several KNOWLES who joined the Met between 1879 and 1911, however, there appears to be only one with any connection to our area of interest. (The only other KNOWLES who was serving at the same time, also started his service in T Division, but moved to G Division, in 1891 he's living in Hackney and is still there in 1901). So I can be fairly confident that he's not the KNOWLES in the article?
He is a Samuel KNOWLES who joined the Metropolitan Police 23rd July 1888 and was posted to T Division warrant number 738828.
Now there is only one Samuel KNOWLES on the 1891 census with a police connection and he's listed as living in Bethnal Green.
He was awarded the 1897 Jubilee Medal whilst in J Division. By 1902 he's back in T Division, still there in 1911 and retires in 1913 T Division.
In 1898 & 1899 he gives evidence at the Old Bailey as Constable 105J. The 1898 case occurs on Three Colts Lane, a stones throw from Bethnal Green Police Station and in 1899 it's actually documented that he was on duty in Bethnal Green Police Station.
Then I tried BURR, again there are several BURR's who joined between 1879 and 1911, but one in particular drew my attention. 69363 Edward BURR T Division who joined on the 02.06.1884.
Coincidence that both these officers came from T Division?
Could it be that Samuel KNOWLES & Edward BURR are the same KNOWLES & BURR from the newspaper and that they were both posted from T to H Division due to Jack the Ripper?
I know that T Division transferred several officers in October 1888 but KNOWLES & BURR are not among them.
The first batch of police reinforcements from other divisions appear to have been dispatched to the district following the murder of Annie Chapman, (this `special detection force` being 3 Insps 9 Sgts and 6 Constables on the 8th September this being increased to 51 in October and another 28 employed to carry out the house to house searches) it should also be noted that 120 Constables (and the relevant number of Sgts) of H division were deployed on night duty of these 43 came from a special augmentation from H division men and 77 had been supplied nightly from other divisions). Following the double event, one of the first things Sir Charles WARREN, did was to draft additional extra men to the district, from other divisions. Officers were drafted and usually patrolled in pairs (27 men are certainly documented as being employed in plain clothes work at this time, this being increased to 89 in October and 143 in November, being reduced to 102 in January and 47 in February 1889. These resources begin to be reduced in February 1889 (in December 1888 their numbers appear to be 1 Insps, 9 Sgts and 126 Constables), these men appear to have come from other divisions, worked constant night shifts and were coming from some distance away (which they had to pay for at their own expense).These additional men had been ceased by March 1889. In July 1889 following the murder or Alice McKENZIE it was amused that the Ripper had resumed his killings so the men and patrols , (these being 3 Sgts 39 Constables in plain clothes and 22 extra men in uniform). Two months later following the discovery of the Pinchin Street torso, an additional 100 plain clothes men were drafted in, these continued until April 1890 when they finally ceased. When the plain clothes patrols were disbanded 34 uniformed officers originally detailed for patrols in Trafalgar Square (A division) remained in Whitechapel and were still there in the summer of 1889.
The article states that the two officers were summons to re attend following the adjurement of the original hearing. Which would suggest that this incident took place certainly earlier in the June perhaps?
So KNOWLES and BURR would have had to have been transferred to H Division prior to that?
Perhaps as part of the original batch, following the NICHOLS murder.
This might account for why come June 1889 these officers not from the area where patrolling together, as apposed to being partnered up with an officer who did know the area?
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