"Internet Law Book Reviews" PROVIDED BY - Rob Jerrard LLB LLM (London)

E-Mail me, send your photographs

I am working on developing this part of the site based upon The City of London, have you any photographs you can scan and forward copies to me

WANTED PHOTOGRAPHS Connected with the City of London Police

Photographs of City of London Policeman: During my service as a City of London Policeman hundreds of photos of me were taken by tourists, this was true of all City Officers I am sure, now years later we would like any copies you have, if you have a name good, if not somebody may recognise them. The helmet will be as below and displayed at the top of the page, that would have a number and letter inserted as in the photo. I was 408C from 1968 until 1976, I served at Bishopsgate as a PC, before moving to Snow Hill om promotion to Sergeant, then I was PS14.


You can see the different Helmets, I am bottom row 2nd from left, the only City of London Policeman in the photo - The City trained with the County Forces in Oxfordshire, see helmet in photo below

Example of Tourist Photo, Tony McHale and me on Tower Bridge, Summer lightweigt uniform. Swiss Tourist who sent us a copy.

BELOW is Charles Robert Hender PC 180D (Cloak Lane) taken about 1912, born 1890, joined City Police age 21 and retired after 25 years, Photograph supplied by his granddaughter, Angela Harris

Old City police motorcycle with Tower Bridge in the background, can you identify him?

Who is this?

Books

I Spy Blue, Now out of Print - The History of The City of London Police

In the Elizabethan City the Provost Marshal hanged offenders from a portable gallows.

For nearly two hundred years his successors, the City Marshals, escorted the condemned carts from Newgate gaol to Tyburn.

In the nineteenth century they rode around the scaffold on execution morning carrying a silver gilt mace, in a scarlet tunic with gold epaulettes and on a horse with a leopard-skin saddle cloth.

I Spy Blue is the first full history of the police and crime in the City

of London. Beginning with the Privy Pykers nailed by the ears to the Cheapside pillory, Donald Rumbelow shows how, in spite of being hamstrung by the powerful ward committees and by the unwillingness of the citizens to help them, the City Marshals tried to suppress the sanctuary men and swaggering bullies of Stuart and Hanoverian London. Backing them were the watchmen, old weak men, generally the cheapest labour that could be hired, who at night wandered through the streets with rusty halberds in their hands, lighting lords to brothels or taking bribes, or sleeping in their watch boxes.

From completely new and unpub­lished material Mr Rumbelow shows how the police and crime grew side by side out of the stews and slums in the heart of London, and how, when the City became bankrupt and the Marshal's offices had been sold to pay off debts, they were auctioned to the highest bidders and became investments for exploiting crime. One Marshal boasted that he had over two thousand thieves working for him. His marshalman was the later self-styled 'Thief-Taker General of Great Britain and Ireland', Jonathan Wild.

In 1780 the Gordon Riots, the burning of Newgate and the frenzied mob attacks on the Bank of Eng­land, led to the beginnings of police reform. In 1839 the City's Day Police and Nightly Watch became the City of London Police. The Dickensian thieves' kitchens that thrived in the City had to be tackled by the first Commissioner, Daniel Whittle Harvey who at one time, when he owned the Sunday Times, had been imprisoned for libelling George IV, and had been ousted from Parliament because of his powerful oratory. His men had to live side by side with the thieves they hunted, in appalling squalor and misery - frequently they were half starved because they did not have enough to live on. Yet in their top hats and blue frock coats, unarmed except for a small painted truncheon, they slowly brought order to the squalid lodging houses in Field Lane, the infested streets of beggars and boy pickpockets, the workhouses, and to Newgate on execution morning in the shadow of St Paul's Cathedral.

Donald Rumbelow presents all this, and more. He has written a vivid, memorable book that will fascinate the general reader and the student of London social history alike.

Donald Rumbelow served in The  City of London Police. In 1966 his play Lobsters and Bowmen was produced by Sally Miles at the Horseshoe Wharf Theatre Club in the City.  He wrote other books including "The Houndsditch Murders", about the police murders in 1910 and the Siege of Sidney Street.

Photographs provided by Bob Green

Bob Green , ex PC 498C. Bishopsgate and in later years attached to E Dept Traffic. He served from 1956 to 1971,when he emigrated to Ontario, Canada.

In the Bow Street Runners photo Ex PC 498C is the one on the extreme left ,he cannnot remember all the names except of course Colonel Young the Commissioner. This was taken in the mid 60s ,for an official City Police Chrismas card

The occasion of the Laying up of the Colours of the 3rd Battalion Coldstream Guards at the Guildhall,1959.From left to right Pete Law,Dusty Smith,Bob Green,& Morris French.

(Cornelius) Aldridge I am attaching 3 of my father. He was Con (Cornelius) Aldridge. He joined before 1932 and remained a police constable - being a batman to the Commissioner Sir George Young until he died in 1955. He was a good footballer and played for the City of London Police team. He is the goalkeeper in the photo. (Taken 1935) The other photo is of a Dad with a Norwegian sailor. It has The Norwegian Seamen's Church, Rotherhithe, on the back. Who took or why the photo was taken I don't know! The number looks like B179 on his helmet. There are no names on the football photo. My brother went to see my father play at Imber Court where he represented the British Police in internationals. I would be very interested to hear if anyone recognises any of the other faces.

As a result of an article in The City of London Police Pensioners' Newsletter the following is from Lionel Seymour.

Further to your entry in the above Pensioners Newsletter, yes Con Aldridge was a very nice chap, having been introduced to him on joining in December 1951 that I had to keep in touch with him if I was to play football regularly for the Force. At that time he was the Section’s Secretary. I never had the pleasure of playing in the same team but everybody said how good a goalkeeper he was. Before I joined the Force it was registered as a Senior Club and played only Police Cup matches and friendlies. Most of the Senior Clubs around the Southern Counties would be visited as the Force had a strong side. In was in 1951 the Force entered the Nemean League having obtained there own ground at Manor Park behind the City of London cemetery. Con was Secretary until 1955 when his very good friend, DS George Pingree, took over. He played well into his late 40’s until he broke a collar bone. In 1959 having been groomed by George I took over as Secretary for the next 25 years.

In the picture I can identify the following:-

1st in left - Jim Dellaway - ended up an Inspector, Snow Hill

3rd in left - Harold Walters (Sgt) who was the Athletic General Secretary

5th in left - Terry Howard who ended up at Snow Hill as a Chief Supt. He was also a very good cricketer.

‘Con’ - the goalkeeper and shoulder to shoulder with him George Pingree (DS)

Regards Lionel Seymour

LINKS