http://www.casebook.org/ripper_media/book_reviews/non-fiction/cjmorley/183.html | ||||
William Thick
[ My intention with my blog is to simply collect articles of
interest to me for purposes of future reference. I do my best to indicate who has actually composed the
articles. NONE of the articles have been written by me. – Louis Sheehan ]
Sergeant William Thick was accused of being Jack the Ripper by a member
of the public, Mr H.T Haslewood, who wrote to the police on the 10
September 1889 saying that he had very good grounds to believe that,
'The person who committed the Whitechapel murders was a member of the
police force', and who's name he would forward. Haslewood admitted that
his suspicion was based on very slight evidence, but with the help of
the police records could ascertain where this person was on the
respective days of the murders. Haslewood wrote to the police again a
few days later, this time naming his suspect as Sergeant T. Thicke,
misspelling Thick's name. He stated that, 'Thicke should be watched, and
his whereabouts ascertained upon other dates where certain woman have
met their end'. Written in the margin of the letter was the official
police response to the accusation, 'I think it is plainly rubbish,
perhaps prompted by spite'.
William Thick was born in
Salisbury, Wiltshire, on 20 November 1845. He joined the police force in
1868 and was appointed to H-division, Whitechapel, where he earned the
nickname Johnny Upright, due to his uprightness, both in his walk and
his methods. He was described as 5ft 8"tall, with dark hair and a heavy
drooping moustache. The press at the time commented on his striking
checked suits and went on to describe him as a smart officer. F. P
Wensley, ex- chief Constable CID, described Thick as, 'One of the finest
policemen he had ever known'. Thick retired in 1893. His most prominent
action during the Ripper investigation was the arrest of John Pizer
(Leather Apron). In 1902 he showed Jack London around the East End when the writer was researching his book The People of the Abyss. |
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
WILLIAM THICK
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