The Secrets of the Special Reports

[Simon Wood]

Hi David,

Excellent information. Thanks.

This is Casebook at its best.

Regards,

Simon

[Monty]

Another little snippet of possibly relevant info I discovered today - from a PO of 27 January 1888 - was that there was a horse drawn "despatch cart" which left Bethnal Green Police Station four times a day, carrying correspondence to Scotland Yard.

Assuming that this was how Inspector Spratling's report was transmitted, the relevant cart for our purposes commenced its journey at Arbour Square Police Station at 10:45am. Travelling at seven miles per hour, it reached Bethnal Green Police Station (via Bow Police Station) at 11:24am (stopping for 3 minutes) before reaching Scotland Yard (via Leman Street Police Station) at 12:15pm. Allowing for the mail to make it's way through to the clerk at the Executive Branch at either 12:30pm or 12:50pm, depending on one's point of view, this would make sense and would mean that Spratling must have completed his report by 11:24am. On that basis, the search he referred to in his report must have been carried out before that time. Thinking about it, it certainly makes sense that Spratling, who was clearly on duty at 4:30am, is very unlikely to have been writing reports during the evening as he must have gone off duty at some point during the afternoon. The last cart, incidentally, left Bethnal Green at 9:27pm (arriving Scotland Yard at 10:15pm).

Hey Dave,

You kinda pre-empted my reply.

My book, Capturing Jack the Ripper (plug, plug), 'Tecs' chapter, page 103, footnote 27, I refer to a later Police Order dated 20 March 1888, which cited H divisions HQ (Leman St) Despatch Timetable.

Leman St - 8.12 am, 11.42 am, 5.42pm and 9.42pm (with 3 min turnaround).

I was hoping to post a copy of the orders however my PCs hard drive has gone kaput (I'm on my phone) and in for repair, so alas I cannot. When I get it back, I shall.

Anyway, as I said, you have pre-empted me, and I support your post above.

Monty

[Simon Wood]

Hi All,

Apologies if this is off-topic, but not all communication within the Metropolitan Police was horse-drawn.

By 1849 Scotland Yard and all the district police stations of London were connected by a telegraph line.

And on 9th November 1888 Robert Anderson made a telephone call from Whitechapel to Scotland Yard whilst Dr. Thomas Bond was examining the corpse in Millers Court.

Regards,

Simon

[Monty]

Hi All,

Apologies if this is off-topic, but not all communication within the Metropolitan Police washorse-drawn.

By 1849 Scotland Yard and all the district police stations of London were connected by a telegraph line.

And on 9th November 1888 Robert Anderson made a telephone call from Whitechapel to Scotland Yard whilst Dr. Thomas Bond was examining the corpse in Millers Court.

Regards,

Simon

Absolutely,

See pages 38, 49-50 (notes 33, 34 and 35), and image number 22 in my book Simon. ;-)

Monty

[Simon Wood]

Hi Monty,

Will do.

A copy of your book is speeding its way to me.

Regards,

Simon

[David Orsam]

Here is the timetable of the despatch cart from the 27 January 1888 Police Order:

[David Orsam]

I now have a theory about the missing Second Special Report in the Nichols case which hopefully explains all the puzzling aspects of it.

The way I see it is that Inspector Spratling, being the first inspector on the scene, and involved in the investigation between about 5am and 11am on the Friday morning, had to submit a report to Scotland Yard via his Superintendent. He probably did so in a state of some exhaustion having probably been on duty all night but certainly since 4:30am. This was the first Special Report.

We know that Inspector Helson was also involved in the investigation that day, having received information about the murder at 6:45am, at which time he went straight to the mortuary (and then, no doubt, continued investigating through the day). As the Local C.I.D. inspector within J Division, I am assuming that he too had a responsibility to file a report to Scotland Yard, which he would probably have written later on the Friday and despatched it on either the 5:24pm or the 9:24pm cart from Bethnal Green Police Station. This is the report (which would also thus have been dated 31 August 1888) which I suggest is the missing second Special Report.

In line with PO of 9th Feb 1888 (which says that, "A further report of the progress of the inquiry is to be sent in at not longer intervals than a week"), Helson then provided his second report a week later, on 7 September 1888. This was the third Special Report.

The notion that he sent the second (his first) Special Report on 31 August explains why the third (his second) begins with the identification of the body as being Mary Ann Nichols, which was established on Saturday 1 September. It explains why two reports would have been sent on the same day, but by different inspectors.

(There may also be a similar explanation for the missing Special Report in the Tabram case because I note from Swanson's report on the murder that Local C.I.D. Inspector Reid took statements from local residents on 7 August 1888, yet we have no report from Reid on that day but the table in the MEPO file does list a police report dated "7 Augt 1888" which we do not have - the first report in the file is one from Inspector Ellisdon dated 10 August).

In the Nichols case, it may be that the reports of Spratling and Helson were essentially duplicative, so one of them was not retained but I still can't help wondering if the missing report is in the original file but was not microfilmed. Has anyone ever been allowed to inspect the original MEPO file??? The fact that it seems to be plausible that two reports on the same day might have been submitted to C.O. gives me a little hope that it exists.