Thames Division: Treatment of Bodies

[Bridewell]

I found the following in the entry for 'Police' in "Dickens's Dictionary of the Thames 1887":

"An important portion of the duties of the Thames Division consists in searching for and dealing with the bodies of suicides, murdered persons, and persons accidentally drowned. The dragging process is only carried on for one tide, after which it is considered that the missing body will pretty certainly have been carried out of reach, and it occasionally happens that a corpse will drift into a hole and be covered over before it becomes sufficiently buoyant to rise. Should it be eventually recovered, it is first photographed and then preserved as long as possible for identification, not at the station but at the parish dead-house, following in these respects the regular course pursued with respect to all corpses found by the police in any part of the town, as well as the bodies of all insensible persons so found who may die before identification. When ultimately buried on the coroner's order, the clothes are preserved by the parish authorities, but are only shown to those who bring with them a police order to that effect".

Does this mean that there was in existence, at some time, a post-mortem photograph of Montague John Druitt?

Regards, Bridewell

[Monty]

Hey Colin,

I think its highly likely that there was one yes.

Monty
;-)

[Chris]

I think we do know that the Thames Division's jurisdiction didn't extend as far upriver as Hammersmith:

http://www.casebook.org/forum/messages/4922/5383.html

[Bridewell]

I think we do know that the Thames Division's jurisdiction didn't extend as far upriver as Hammersmith:
http://www.casebook.org/forum/messages/4922/5383.html

I think you're right!

Regards, Bridewell.

[Rob Clack]

This might help, it's from the 1889 Met Police Orders.



Rob

[Monty]

Hello all,

Should it be eventually recovered, it is first photographed and then preserved as long as possible for identification, not at the station but at the parish dead-house, following in these respects the regular course pursued with respect to all corpses found by the police in any part of the town

The directive for photographing bodies was the same throughout the whole of the Police force, Met and City (See Citys instruction below).

Monty

[Robert]

This must have been a hectic 24 hours for William - at Chiswick for the inquest on Wednesday, then riding back to Dorset with the body on the train, in time for the funeral on Thursday. I'm wondering just what would have happened : would the decomposed body have been lifted from its mortuary shell and placed in a decent coffin for the journey and burial? Or was the shell taken to Dorset and the body then transferred to a coffin?

[Dave O]

Or 36 or 48 hours--I think for the inquest to have played out the way it did, for identity to have been established before opening court on the 2nd, the police would have had to contact William pretty quickly, regardless of whether he was in Dorset or in London at the time. It's likely that William's over there to identify Montague on the 1st or even the 31st. I don't know if his name was on that cheque or if the disappearance had been reported to the police (given the discovery of the suicide note), and the police are checking the appearance of the body against some missing person list that's circulated, but identity doesn't seem to have been much of a mystery.

Family and police must have spent a couple of weeks realizing Montague was dead, or at least strongly suspecting it. If you have a missing person in London, a note but no body, maybe you look to the river and check your calendar? If not immediately, the rivers seem to have usually given up their bodies after a month, give or take a week. Over and over, the police would see that happening. So perhaps there wasn't much surprise that the body turned up when it did.

Dave

[Robert]

Yes Dave, it's possible William came up earlier. The papers on the body may have given Druitt's name or there might have been a distinctive birthmark or scar. Given Monty's sporting interests a scar at least seems a possibility.
There were quite a few mourners at Monty's funeral so it seems that they would probably have had more than a mere day's notice.

[PC2267]

Can anyone tell me what letter or number the Thames Division used? By this I mean what would be engraved onto 1887/1897 medals to these officers?

[Simon Wood]

Hi PC2267,

Thames Division, 1888—



Regards,

Simon

[Rosella]

It doesn't appear to be known. There is a small Museum of River Police at Wapping (and presumably an archivist.) It contains history relating to the formation of the Marine Police and later Thames Division. Why not Google it, email or write? I'm sure he/they'd be glad to help.