Record revealed
Hoax letter signed by ‘Jack the Ripper’
This is one of hundreds of letters in police files claiming to have been written by the infamous Whitechapel Murderer – otherwise known as 'Jack the Ripper'.
Item
Prisoner name: William Bradley. Court and Date of Trial: Court Martial Devonport....
Catalogue reference: HO 18/166/8
What’s it about?
This record is about the Prisoner name: William Bradley. Court and Date of Trial: Court Martial Devonport.... dating from 1845 in the series Home Office: Criminal Petitions, Series II. It is held at The National Archives, Kew.
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Full description and record details
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Reference (The unique identifier to the record described, used to order and refer to it)
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HO 18/166/8
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Date (When the record was created)
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1845
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Description (What the record is about)
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Prisoner name: William Bradley.
Court and Date of Trial: Court Martial Devonport.
Crime: Striking a superior officer.
Initial sentence: Transportation 14 years.
Petitions and letters: Petition from the prisoner's father, Matthew Bradley, 1846, stating the prisoner was drunk when he committed the offence. He pleads for mitigation on the grounds the prisoner had been in the King's Dragoon Guards for nearly 8 years and has previously borne an excellent character.
Letter from G. N. Langmead, Chaplain to the Plymouth Garrison, to the prisoner's father about his son's situation and how he may help him.
Letter from Major Robert Warrand to the Earl of Lincoln, a neighbour, stating the prisoner's father is a small freeholder and an industrious man. He encloses the letter Matthew Bradley received from the prisoner's commanding officer, Major Scousman(?), saying he would welcome mitigation of some kind, and the letter from the Chaplain to the Garrison to the prisoner's father. Warrand asks the Earl whether he could write to Sir Graham, which he does, asking for mitigation.
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Held by (Who holds the record)
- The National Archives, Kew
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Former department reference (Former identifier given by the originating creator)
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166/8
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Legal status (A note as to whether the record being described is a Public Record or not)
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Public Record(s)
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Closure status (Whether the record is ‘open’ (available to the public) or ‘closed’ (not available due to a legal exemption))
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Open Document, Open Description
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Subjects (Categories and themes found in our collection (our subject list is under development, and some records may have no subjects or fewer than expected))
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Record URL
- https://beta.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/id/C20875907/
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Series information
HO 18
Home Office: Criminal Petitions, Series II
See the series level description for more information about this record.
Catalogue hierarchy
Over 27 million records
This record is held at The National Archives, Kew
1,719,919 records
Within the department: HO
Records created or inherited by the Home Office, Ministry of Home Security, and related...
14,553 records
Within the series: HO 18
Home Office: Criminal Petitions, Series II
51 records
Within the piece: HO 18/166
Petitions. (Details at item level)
You are currently looking at the item: HO 18/166/8
Prisoner name: William Bradley. Court and Date of Trial: Court Martial Devonport....
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