Another Vigilance Committee?

[Chris Scott]

Apart from the well known Whitechapel Vigilance Committee, including Messrs Lusk and Backert among others, were there other such committees?
The snippet below refers to an "East London Trade and Labourers' Society's Vigilance Committee" presided over by a man named John Chandler.
Does any one know more of this committee or the man Chander please?
Chris

Daily News
9 October 1888

[Supe]

Chris,

Neil Bell is your man as soon as he sees the thread. In Ripperologist 95 (September 2008) he had a great article "Defenceless Whitechapel" that discusses Mr. Chandler's vigilance committee, among others.

Don.

[perrymason]

Hi Chris,

Aside from the ones mentioned and the Mile End Vigilence committee, is there any definative number available on them recorded anywhere do you think?

Cheers mate.

[Chris Scott]

Hi Don
Many thanks for the pointer
I had a look at the article and there is a bit more info, especially that the Chairman was one Thomas Kelly
I would still be keen to know more about these two men

Michael
I will let you know anything I find out
Chris

[Sam Flynn]

As Neil points out in his excellent article, vigilance committees had been in existence before the period of the Whitechapel Murders. Indeed, they weren't confined to the East End, either. Vigilance committees had long existed in the USA, Ireland and other parts of Britain before 1888. The earliest mention of a British vigilance committee I've been able to find was in the Times of 1866, which referred to one in Lancaster, northwest England.

[Tom_Wescott]

The first of the vigilance committees was formed after the Tabram murder. There were quite a few of them, but only one received a kidney in the mail and had good press connections, so they're the one we talk about the most.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[Monty]

The From Hell letter was addressed to Lusks home address, not the Commitees HQ, the writer directs the letter at Lusk and there is no mention of the Vigilance commitee and its work in the letter. Therefore its just as reasonable to suppose the kidney and letter was directed to Lusk himself as much as the commitee.

[Sam Flynn]

There had been various vigilance committees in operation in London since the mid 1880s. Their focus was on stamping out "immorality" in various neighbourhoods dotted around the metropolis - so they weren't particularly "new" to London by the Summer of '88.

However, the East End certainly seems to have got its committees off the ground rather late in the day, which is borne out by what Tom said.