Peaky Binder! 100-year-old police ledger filled with mugshots of flat cap-wearing rogues, and a suffragette accused of plot to kill the PM sells for £10,500
- The Peaky Blinders-style images were discovered inside a police ledger dating from between 1890 to 1920
- Document mentions Alice Wheeldon, a woman convicted of plotting to kill Prime Minister David Lloyd George
- Overall, there are 500 pages and every one features a grainy mug shot and details of crimes
- The fascinating document of ‘serious importance’ was rescued from a skip by a former police officer
A police ledger hundreds of Peaky Blinders-style mugshots from the Victorian era and beyond has sold for more than £10,000 after it was rescued from a skip.
The document, with records dating from 1890 to 1920, mentions Alice Wheeldon, a woman convicted of plotting to kill the then British Prime Minister David Lloyd George more than a century ago.
Overall, there are 500 pages and every one features a grainy mug shot and details of crimes ranging from theft, burglary, shoplifting and assault.
Lesser offences include petty theft such as stealing a comb, bad language or even being an ‘incorrigible rogue’.
The fascinating document of ‘serious importance’ was rescued from a skip by a former police officer working in Derby over 40 years ago.
His son, 53, sold the book via Hansons Auctioneers and was stunned when it fetched more than three times the estimate, with a UK bidder snapping it up for £10,500 today.
Derbyshire Record Office (DRO) had hoped to secure it for public use and launched a Crowdfunder appeal but only raised £2,000.
A police ledger dating from between 1890 to 1920 that features a collection of haunting criminal mugshots from the Victorian era and beyond is set to fetch thousands at auction after being rescued from a skip. Above: Alice Wheeldon, her daughter Winnie, and son-in-law Alfred Mason, who were all convicted in 1917 of conspiring to murder the then Prime Minister David Lloyd George. The mugshots are enhanced versions of those that appear in the original ledger files
The crooks include many from Derby but also men and women from all over the country – including Southampton, Hull, Birmingham, Leicester and Nottinghamshire.
The ledger’s most notables pages relate to the Wheeldon family – who were charged and convicted with conspiracy to murder Lloyd George.
Alice Wheeldon, her daughter Winnie and son-in-law Alfred Mason were all believed to have been wrongfully convicted of the plot in March 1917.
David Lloyd George was Prime Minister from 1916 until 1922
Lloyd George was then just three months into a six-year stint as Prime Minister that came to an end in 1922.
Mrs Wheeldon was also a well-known pacifist and was opposed to wartime conscription, sending young men to the trenches.
She took in a man claiming to be a conscientious objector, going by the name of Alex Gordon, who was in fact a British spy, and whose evidence about the supposed murder plot was presented in court – without cross-examination – during Mrs Wheeldon’s trial.
Despite the convictions, the use of Gordon saw the government questioned about its methods in using an agent provocateur.
Just weeks after the trial, the intelligence department to which Gordon belonged was shut down, while the agent was sent abroad.
In the black and white mug shots of the Wheeldons, Alice is described as 51 years old, pale with dark brown hair.
A note dated February 27, 1917 states, ‘Conspiracy to murder – 10 years’.
Underneath in red ink a note dated December 30, 1917 states ‘Discharged’. Added on February 21, 1919 is ‘Died’. Weakened by her ordeal, Alice lost her life to influenza during the infamous Spanish Flu pandemic.
After being convicted, Alice went on hunger strike and was released early due to ill-health later in 1917. Her daughter was also released in 1919, after the war had ended.
After a recent campaign for justice by Mrs Wheeldon’s relatives, the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) said although the bid to re-examine the case had merit, the case was too old to justify the expense.
However, in its decision, the CCRC said: ‘The submissions identified in the application may raise a real possibility that these convictions would be overturned.’
The crooks include many from Derby but also men and women from all over the country – including Southampton, Hull, Birmingham, Leicester and Nottinghamshire. Above: Thomas Donald of Birmingham arrested for theft and housebreaking
William Watson of Derby who stole a bicycle and was also found guilty of ‘larceny’, which means theft. The ledger’s seller said it was rescued by his police officer father, who prevented it being thrown in a skip during a clear out more than 40 years ago
Martin Adams, of Nottingham, was arrested for a litany of offences, including the theft of a comb. The ledger is being sold by via Hansons Auctioneers where it is expected to fetch between £2,000-£3,000 on October 19.
Ms Wheeldon is now viewed as a hero in Derby for her fearless campaigning and boasts a blue plaque in the city’s walk of fame.
The engineer from Staffordshire who inherited it from his dad and kept it in a cupboard for decades, said he was ‘flabbergasted’ by the final price.
The seller said: ‘It would have been nice if it had gone to Derbyshire Record Office or ended up in a museum but I suppose it’s all down to who has the deepest pockets. I wish the collector well.
‘I am very happy with the result. To say I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement.
‘I was flabbergasted. I would have been happy with the original estimate of £2,000-£3,000.
‘The book was rescued by my father, a police officer at the time, when he was working for Derby Borough Police more than 40 years ago.
Winnie Mason was sentenced to five years in prison for her alleged role in a conspiracy to murder Lloyd George. She was released in 1919, after the war had ended
Alfred George Mason, the husband of Winnifred, was sentenced to seven years in prison for his role in the murder plot
‘The station was clearing out some garages and store rooms at an old police station on St Mary’s Gate in Derby.
‘My father saved it from being thrown into the skip. He thought it was too interesting to end up in landfill.
‘Unfortunately, my dad is no longer with us so I can’t ask him for more details. He passed it to me 30 years ago.
‘After decades in a cupboard I decided it was time someone else had the opportunity to research this important historical record.’
Hansons’ books expert Jim Spencer said: ‘It is an exceptional item. Nothing prepared me for that first look inside it.
‘I was amazed how many individuals were featured in the book, and I was struck by the range of offences.
‘I’m sure many people will say it reminds them of TV’s Peaky Blinders, and I guess some criminals do have the appearance of a baddie in a Laurel and Hardy film, but most seem pitifully trapped by their circumstances.
‘There is a sense of societal division between the majority of criminals dressed in cloth caps, stealing food and clothing, and the occasional gentleman wearing a bowler hat charged with embezzlement.
‘Some convictions seem shockingly petty, such as ‘stealing a tin of pine apple’, ‘stealing a bag of soot’, ‘stealing growing apples’, and some are bizarrely vague, like ‘incorrigible rogue’.
‘This makes it all-the-more surprising to stumble upon a conviction for conspiracy to murder a prime minister.
‘Alice Wheeldon is a famous name, and it’s quite surreal to see the original mug shots of her and her family members.’
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