Abberline: The Man Who Hunted Jack the Ripper by Peter Thurgood Page A
Authors: Peter Thurgood
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murder case he was still in charge (theoretically) of the Whitechapel murders as a whole, which now included, Emma Smith, Martha Tabram, Polly Nichols and now Annie Chapman, and still without one credible witness or suspect.
To make matters worse, if that were possible, a group of local businessmen had formed themselves into a group known as the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee, led by a local builder named George Lusk, who was elected chairman during the committee’s first meeting on 10 September 1888. The purpose of the committee was to employ local volunteers to patrol the streets, mainly at night, in their search for the murderer. They said that the murders were affecting their businesses, and that the police were doing nothing whatsoever to help.
As chairman of the committee, George Lusk became something of a celebrity, with his name appearing in the national newspapers and on posters in Whitechapel, appealing for information concerning the identity of the murderer. Lusk also complained about the police’s lack of foresight in not offering a reward for such information. In answer to this, Chief Inspector Donald Swanson immediately had an official police poster made up, stating: ‘Ghastly Murder in the east end. – Dreadful mutilation of a woman. – Capture Leather Apron.’ This absolutely infuriated Abberline, as John Pizer, the man the public knew as Leather Apron, had by this time already been cleared of any involvement in the murder, and to mention the name ‘Leather Apron’ again would, he felt, throw the public off the track completely. This was still, of course, before the name ‘Jack the Ripper’ was thrust into the public arena.
6
Searching for the Real
Annie Chapman
F rederick George Abberline had not embarked on his career in the police force because he thought it was going to be an easy job, neither did he do it for the money, for a policeman’s wages in those days were very poor by today’s standards, and the only perk he was allowed was living accommodation at his local police station. Abberline had entered the police service because he was a decent and honest man. In today’s parlance, he would probably be described as a man of the people.
Although born in the country, he never felt more at home than when he was in the East End of London; he became almost an honorary East Ender, and as such, had an empathy with his surroundings, and the people who lived and worked there. Unlike many other policemen of his day, Abberline was interested in the well-being of his fellow East Enders, and did not treat them simply as statistics; be they a local priest, a market labourer or a lowly prostitute, in his eyes they were all human beings, who deserved the same level of help, respect, and protection from the police as a Westminster politician would expect.
During his years in the police force, Abberline had seen many murders, but it was only when he was put in charge of what became known as the Ripper case that he saw anything so horrific; for these poor women had not just been murdered, they had been mutilated, and from the little evidence on hand, he could see no motive for the murders, other than that the women were all prostitutes.
Abberline decided to find out as much as possible about these women, from their early life onwards, and not just as lifeless corpses lying in some dirty alley in the East End. He felt that if he could learn more about them, it might just be possible to gain an insight into their lives, their friends, their fears and what motivated them. This, he hoped, might possibly lead to the murderer.
Starting with the most current, which was Annie Chapman, Abberline learned that she was born Eliza Ann Smith, on 22 February 1842, the daughter of George Smith, a soldier in the 2nd Regiment Life Guards, and his partner, Ruth Chapman. Annie was born out of wedlock; her parents didn’t marry until nearly six months after she was born in Paddington. Although a soldier at the time of
To make matters worse, if that were possible, a group of local businessmen had formed themselves into a group known as the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee, led by a local builder named George Lusk, who was elected chairman during the committee’s first meeting on 10 September 1888. The purpose of the committee was to employ local volunteers to patrol the streets, mainly at night, in their search for the murderer. They said that the murders were affecting their businesses, and that the police were doing nothing whatsoever to help.
As chairman of the committee, George Lusk became something of a celebrity, with his name appearing in the national newspapers and on posters in Whitechapel, appealing for information concerning the identity of the murderer. Lusk also complained about the police’s lack of foresight in not offering a reward for such information. In answer to this, Chief Inspector Donald Swanson immediately had an official police poster made up, stating: ‘Ghastly Murder in the east end. – Dreadful mutilation of a woman. – Capture Leather Apron.’ This absolutely infuriated Abberline, as John Pizer, the man the public knew as Leather Apron, had by this time already been cleared of any involvement in the murder, and to mention the name ‘Leather Apron’ again would, he felt, throw the public off the track completely. This was still, of course, before the name ‘Jack the Ripper’ was thrust into the public arena.
6
Searching for the Real
Annie Chapman
F rederick George Abberline had not embarked on his career in the police force because he thought it was going to be an easy job, neither did he do it for the money, for a policeman’s wages in those days were very poor by today’s standards, and the only perk he was allowed was living accommodation at his local police station. Abberline had entered the police service because he was a decent and honest man. In today’s parlance, he would probably be described as a man of the people.
Although born in the country, he never felt more at home than when he was in the East End of London; he became almost an honorary East Ender, and as such, had an empathy with his surroundings, and the people who lived and worked there. Unlike many other policemen of his day, Abberline was interested in the well-being of his fellow East Enders, and did not treat them simply as statistics; be they a local priest, a market labourer or a lowly prostitute, in his eyes they were all human beings, who deserved the same level of help, respect, and protection from the police as a Westminster politician would expect.
During his years in the police force, Abberline had seen many murders, but it was only when he was put in charge of what became known as the Ripper case that he saw anything so horrific; for these poor women had not just been murdered, they had been mutilated, and from the little evidence on hand, he could see no motive for the murders, other than that the women were all prostitutes.
Abberline decided to find out as much as possible about these women, from their early life onwards, and not just as lifeless corpses lying in some dirty alley in the East End. He felt that if he could learn more about them, it might just be possible to gain an insight into their lives, their friends, their fears and what motivated them. This, he hoped, might possibly lead to the murderer.
Starting with the most current, which was Annie Chapman, Abberline learned that she was born Eliza Ann Smith, on 22 February 1842, the daughter of George Smith, a soldier in the 2nd Regiment Life Guards, and his partner, Ruth Chapman. Annie was born out of wedlock; her parents didn’t marry until nearly six months after she was born in Paddington. Although a soldier at the time of
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