The Whitechapel Vigilance Committee was a group of local civilian volunteers who patrolled the streets of London's Whitechapel district during the period of the Whitechapel murders of 1888. The volunteers were active mainly at night, assisting the Metropolitan Police in the search of the unknown murderer known as the "Whitechapel Murderer", "Leather Apron" and, latterly, "Jack the Ripper".
Sketch from the 13 October 1888 Illustrated London News depicting members of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee observing a suspicious character
George Lusk, President of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee.
The Whitechapel Vigilance Committee was founded by sixteen tradesmen from the Whitechapel and Spitalfields districts, who were concerned that the killings were affecting businesses in the area.[1][2] The committee was led by a local builder named George Lusk, who was elected chairman during its first meeting on 10 September 1888.[3]
Other committee members included publican Joseph Aarons (treasurer), Mr. B. Harris (secretary),[4] and Messrs. Barnett, Cohen, H. A. Harris, Hodgins, Houghton, Isaacs, Jacobs, Laughton, Lindsay, Lord, Mitchell, Reeves, and Rogers. The Daily Telegraph reported on 5 October 1888 that the leading members of the committee were "drawn principally from the trading class, and include a builder, a cigar-manufacturer, a tailor, a picture-frame maker, a licensed victualler, and 'an actor.'"[5] The latter may have been the entertainer Charles Reeves.[6]
Civic duties
Members of the committee were unhappy with the level of protection the local community was receiving from the Metropolitan Police, so it introduced its own system of local patrols, using hand-picked unemployed men to monitor the streets of the East End every evening from midnight to between four and five the next morning. Each of these men received a small wage from the committee, and each patrolled a particular beat, being armed with a police whistle, a pair of galoshes and a strong stick. The committee itself met each evening at nine in a public house called The Crown, and once the establishment closed at 12.30am the committee members would inspect and join the patrols. These patrols were shortly to be joined by those of the Working Men's Vigilance Committee.[7]
Publicity
As chairman of the committee, Lusk's name appeared in national newspapers and upon posters in and around Whitechapel, appealing for information concerning the identity of Jack the Ripper and complaining about the lack of a reward for such information from the British government. Due to this publicity, Lusk received threatening letters through the post, allegedly from the killer. He is also mentioned in a letter dated 17 September 1888, reportedly discovered among archive materials in the late 20th century; however, most experts dismiss this as a modern hoax.[8]
Members of the Vigilance Committee examine the contents of the box sent to Lusk.
On 30 September 1888, the committee members wrote to the government under Lord Salisbury in an attempt to persuade them to offer a reward for information leading to the apprehension of the Ripper. When the Home SecretaryHenry Matthews refused this request, the committee offered its own reward.[3] The committee also employed two private detectives, Mr. Le Grand (or Grand) and Mr. J. H. Batchelor,[4] to investigate the murders without the involvement of the police.
Correspondence
The "From Hell" letter, which was sent with half of a preserved human kidney, was personally addressed to Lusk, who received the parcel on 16 October 1888.[9] The letter was postmarked on the previous day.[10]
Many scholars[11] of the Ripper murders regard this letter as being the communication most likely to have been sent by the actual murderer.[12]
The Whitechapel Vigilance Committee on the London Walks website
January 06, 2023
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The Whitechapel Vigilance Committee was a group of local civilian volunteers who patrolled the streets of London s Whitechapel district during the period of the Whitechapel murders of 1888 The volunteers were active mainly at night assisting the Metropolitan Police in the search of the unknown murderer known as the Whitechapel Murderer Leather Apron and latterly Jack the Ripper Sketch from the 13 October 1888 Illustrated London News depicting members of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee observing a suspicious character Contents 1 Formation 1 1 Civic duties 2 Publicity 2 1 Correspondence 3 See also 4 References 5 Cited works and further reading 6 External linksFormation Edit George Lusk President of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee The Whitechapel Vigilance Committee was founded by sixteen tradesmen from the Whitechapel and Spitalfields districts who were concerned that the killings were affecting businesses in the area 1 2 The committee was led by a local builder named George Lusk who was elected chairman during its first meeting on 10 September 1888 3 Other committee members included publican Joseph Aarons treasurer Mr B Harris secretary 4 and Messrs Barnett Cohen H A Harris Hodgins Houghton Isaacs Jacobs Laughton Lindsay Lord Mitchell Reeves and Rogers The Daily Telegraph reported on 5 October 1888 that the leading members of the committee were drawn principally from the trading class and include a builder a cigar manufacturer a tailor a picture frame maker a licensed victualler and an actor 5 The latter may have been the entertainer Charles Reeves 6 Civic duties Edit Members of the committee were unhappy with the level of protection the local community was receiving from the Metropolitan Police so it introduced its own system of local patrols using hand picked unemployed men to monitor the streets of the East End every evening from midnight to between four and five the next morning Each of these men received a small wage from the committee and each patrolled a particular beat being armed with a police whistle a pair of galoshes and a strong stick The committee itself met each evening at nine in a public house called The Crown and once the establishment closed at 12 30am the committee members would inspect and join the patrols These patrols were shortly to be joined by those of the Working Men s Vigilance Committee 7 Publicity EditAs chairman of the committee Lusk s name appeared in national newspapers and upon posters in and around Whitechapel appealing for information concerning the identity of Jack the Ripper and complaining about the lack of a reward for such information from the British government Due to this publicity Lusk received threatening letters through the post allegedly from the killer He is also mentioned in a letter dated 17 September 1888 reportedly discovered among archive materials in the late 20th century however most experts dismiss this as a modern hoax 8 Members of the Vigilance Committee examine the contents of the box sent to Lusk On 30 September 1888 the committee members wrote to the government under Lord Salisbury in an attempt to persuade them to offer a reward for information leading to the apprehension of the Ripper When the Home Secretary Henry Matthews refused this request the committee offered its own reward 3 The committee also employed two private detectives Mr Le Grand or Grand and Mr J H Batchelor 4 to investigate the murders without the involvement of the police Correspondence Edit The From Hell letter which was sent with half of a preserved human kidney was personally addressed to Lusk who received the parcel on 16 October 1888 9 The letter was postmarked on the previous day 10 Many scholars 11 of the Ripper murders regard this letter as being the communication most likely to have been sent by the actual murderer 12 See also EditList of serial killers before 1900 VigilantismReferences Edit Begg Jack the Ripper The Facts p 119 Jack the Ripper Through the Mists of Time ISBN 978 1 782 28168 9 p 22 a b Jack the Ripper Timeline Casebook Jack the Ripper a b Eddleston John J Jack the Ripper An Encyclopedia Published by ABC CLIO 2001 pg 139 ISBN 1 57607 414 5 Daily Telegraph 5 October 1888 Charles Reeves Casebook Jack the Ripper Sugden Philip The Complete History of Jack the Ripper Robinson London 1995 Ripper Letters Casebook Jack the Ripper The East London Horrors An Extraordinary Parcel Casebook Jack the Ripper Science Images and Popular Images of the Sciences ISBN 978 1 134 17580 2 p 127 Sugden Philip Ibid lt citation 5 gt p 273 From Hell Fact or Fiction Casebook Jack the Ripper Cited works and further reading EditBegg Paul 2006 Jack the Ripper The Facts London Anova Books ISBN 1 86105 687 7 Eddleston John J 2002 Jack the Ripper An Encyclopedia London Metro Books ISBN 1 84358 046 2 Evans Stewart P Skinner Keith 2001 Jack the Ripper Letters from Hell Stroud Gloucestershire Sutton Publishing ISBN 0 7509 2549 3 Lightbody Bryan 2007 Whitechapel Milton Keynes Author House Publishing ISBN 978 1 425 96181 7External links Edit Media related to Whitechapel Vigilance Committee at Wikimedia Commons The Whitechapel Vigilance Committee on the Casebook Jack the Ripper website The Whitechapel Vigilance Committee on the London Walks website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Whitechapel Vigilance Committee amp oldid 1121017803, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
