Skip to main content

‘Jack the Ripper’ Link

Which Blandfordian has appeared the most in film and on television? A strong candidate would be Frederick George Abberline, but who was he? Frederick has been portrayed on the big screen by Michael Cane, Johnny Depp and several other leading actors. Clive Russell played him in the BBC’s Ripper Street. Unfortunately, Caine’s portrayal of Abberline as a drunkard and that of Depp as a drug addict were totally inaccurate. However, as Frederick had passed away in Bournemouth in 1929 he was unable to speak up for himself. In fact, and despite looking more like a bank manager, he is justifiably regarded as both a hard working and decent London policeman.

Frederick George Abberline was a Chief Inspector for London’s Metropolitan Police and a key figure in the East London, Jack the Ripper serial killer murders. In a BBC survey, Jack the Ripper was voted as the most evil Briton of the last 1,000 years. After the murder of Mary Ann Nichols, Abberline was chosen in September 1888 to lead the investigation because of his knowledge of the seedy Whitechapel area. He was a portly and balding officer with a thick moustache and bushy side whiskers. Four similar murders followed but the identity of the Ripper was never uncovered. It remains one of the biggest unsolved murder mysteries of all time. The chief suspects were all men, including a member of the royal family, but Abberline always believed the Ripper could have been a woman.

Abberline was born in Blandford Forum in January 1843, the son of Edward and Hannah, formerly Chinn. His father worked as a saddle maker and local government clerk. Frederick trained initially as a clockmaker and was an avid reader of crime novels. These, at the age of 20, probably inspired him to leave for London and join the Metropolitan Police. He was highly ambitious, gained several promotions and by 1890 reached the rank of Chief Officer. In March 1868, he had married Martha Mackness who sadly died due to consumption only two months later. His second marriage to Emma Beamont lasted more than 50 years.

He also investigated the Cleveland Street Scandal and the Irish Fenian explosion at the Tower of London. The former started with apparently thieving telegraph boys and resulted in the alleged involvement of a member of the royal family, the naming of a royal equerry and many others in a rent boy scandal. Frederick retired from the police in 1892 after receiving 84 commendations and awards. He then worked for the Pinkerton Detective Agency and spent some time in the casinos of Monte Carlo looking out for cheating customers.  In 1904, he retired again and moved to Bournemouth. Frederick Abberline died on 10 December 1929 at his home in Holdenhurst Road and is buried in Wimborne Road Cemetery. When he died he had no close family to organise his headstone so he was buried in an unmarked grave. However, in 2007 a local stonemason donated a headstone after a campaign by retired police officers and Ripper enthusiasts. As one of the Metropolitan Police’s finest officers, it is perhaps ironic that Blandford born Frederick George Abberline is best remembered for the case he was unable to solve.



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Panda Pops

Panda  Blue Rasperry Ade, Strawberry Jelly & Ice Cream and Casper Ghostly Limeade were all unique soft drink flavours produced by the Panda Pops brand owned by Badger Beers. Panda Pops were often sold in small bottles of fizzy drink that were as sweet and sticky as it was as possible for them to be. Other popular Panda Pop flavours were Cherry Ade and Bright Green Cola. Even more singular blends could be concocted by mixing two or more flavours in a Panda Pops mixing bowl. Panda Cola achieved a sort of cult status and there is even a song, ‘ Warm Panda Cola’ . While among Panda aficionados there was even the spoof blend of Princess Diana Memorial flavour! The Blandford drink competed remarkably well against American giants Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola. Panda Pops date back to the 1960s when the Blandford brewer dropped the name of Sunparlor for its soft drink brands. Sunparlor had also been the name of a winning race horse owned by a member of the Woodhouse family. Cream soda was...
Post a Comment
Read more

True Lovers Knot - a Tragic Tale

True Lovers Knot public house describes itself as a traditional  inn set in a picturesque Dorset valley in Tarrant Keynston. Yet, this historical hostelry is said to have gained its name from a particularly tragic tale and still to be haunted by a distressed former publican. This publican’s son met and fell in love with the daughter of the local squire. Because the young lad was not from the gentry they decided to keep their relationship secret from her father. Unfortunately, a stable hand saw the two young lovers together and told her father. Set firmly against this friendship the squire made plans to send his daughter away from the district. Not able to face up to life without her boyfriend, the young girl decided to commit suicide and hanged herself from a tree in the village. So upset was the publican’s son of hearing of his girlfriend’s death he too hanged himself from the same tree. The Tarrant Keynston publican had, himself lost his wife at child birth and now losing his s...
5 comments
Read more

Holton Heath's Tragic Explosion

Ten were killed and 23 were injured according to newspaper reports at the time. This made it one of Dorset’s worst ever industrial accidents. Holton Heath employees were blown into unrecognisable fragments necessitating a roll call of the factory’s entire staff before the identities of those killed were identified. Eleven men were originally believed to have been killed but when a roll call was held one turned up. A crimson red plume of acid vapour had towered into the sky resembling the shuddering eruption of a volcano. It was caused by the bursting of a sulphuric acid tank. Close by low buildings vanished and the shock affected houses for 20 miles with roof slates dislodged, ornaments knocked down and windows broken. The sound of the explosion could be heard at Shillingstone some 18 miles away. Closer to the factory, a hoe was wrenched from the hands of a gardener who was flung against a tree. One fortunate employee, Charles Rogers owed his life to having to leave, just before the ...
1 comment
Read more