Chapter 17

Samuel Davis and Alfred George Plank

1885

The evening of 2 December 1885, had been a busy one in the Clock House Tavern, in Knightsbridge. The potman, Edward Tilley, had been run off his feet most of the night but, by 11.00pm, the rush seemed to have died down somewhat, and only a few customers stayed behind, finishing off their drinks.

At 11.15pm, three soldiers, Harry Denton, Thomas Cooper and Samuel Lockwood, walked into the bar. All three men were members of the Coldstream Guards and all wore medals on their chests. No sooner had they ordered their drinks, than three local men, Samuel Davis, Alfred George Plank and Joseph Philip Hawkes, stepped forward and began goading the three men in uniform.

Hawkes took little part in the banter and it seemed to be Davis who did most of the talking. He told the three soldiers that they had not earned their medals and had no business wearing them. The soldiers told him to mind his own business and pointed out that they had only come in for a quiet drink and did not want any trouble. This did nothing to calm Davis down and he then took out his coat and said that he would fight all, or any of them.

At this provocation, Edward Tilley stepped around the bar and told Davis to clear off and take his two friends with him. When Davis stood firm, Tilley manhandled him out of the bar, into the street outside. As Davis shouted abuse from the street, and threatened what he would do, Plank and Hawkes calmly followed their friend outside.

Edward Tilley went back to his duties and served the three soldiers with their drinks. Peace only reigned for a minute or so, though, for then Davis stormed back in, without his coat, grabbed hold of the nearest soldier, which happened to be Thomas Cooper, and tried to pull him out into the street so that they could fight. Once again, Edward Tilley intervened and, once again, Davis was thrown out.

The soldiers finished their drinks and left the tavern together a few minutes later. All three walked down to the corner of Sloane Street, where they all shook hands and bade each other goodnight. Cooper was only on a one-night pass and had to report back to his barracks. The other two, Denton and Lockwood, both had extended passes and were free to go elsewhere. After the handshakes were completed, Denton and Lockwood walked off towards Piccadilly and Cooper carried on down Sloane Street.

Denton and Lockwood had not gone very far when a figure dashed out from behind a corner. Denton knew nothing more as a punch under his jaw knocked him down to the ground. It was a local constable who came to Denton’s aid, picked him up, dusted him down and then watched as he and Lockwood went on their way.

The assailant had, of course, been Samuel Davis and he was still with his friend, Alfred Plank. They saw the policeman approaching and wasted no time in making good their getaway down Sloane Street, chasing after Cooper as they did so.

Adam Storey was a private in the 1st Battalion of the Coldstream Guards and he too was returning to barracks and walking down Sloane Street. Storey noticed Cooper, who was in the same battalion and whom he knew well, walking on the opposite side of the street. As Storey started to cross the road to join his comrade, two men rushed up to Cooper and one of the men struck him savagely behind his right ear. Cooper fell to the ground and Storey made an attempt to grab the man who had hit him, but he managed to struggle free and Storey watched helplessly as both men then ran off. It was Storey’s cries for help, which brought a constable to the scene.

Thomas Cooper was rushed to St George’s Hospital, but despite the best medical attention, he died the following morning, without ever regaining consciousness. Police enquiries at the Clock House Tavern soon led to positive identification of the three men who had goaded the soldiers and Davis, Plank and Hawkes were all arrested and charged with murder. In the event, once the three made their appearance before the magistrates, all charges against Hawkes were dropped, as it was accepted that he had taken no part in the attack itself. Further, the charges against the other two were amended to ones of manslaughter, the magistrates believing that there had been no actual intention to kill.

The trial of Davis and Plank took place on 14 December, with Mr Poland and Mr Montagu Williams detailing the case for the Crown. Davis was defended by Mr Keith Frith, whilst Plank was represented by Mr Geoghegan.

After Edward Tilley had given his testimony, Harry Denton, the soldier who had been battered to the ground, told the court his story. He confirmed that he and his two friends had gone into the Clock House at around 11.15pm and immediately been met by abuse from the two prisoners, chiefly from Davis. After he had recovered from the blow on the corner of Sloane Street, he and Lockwood had walked on to Piccadilly. He saw nothing of the attack upon Cooper.

Samuel Lockwood had actually seen neither the attack upon Cooper nor the one upon Denton. Lockwood had walked a few steps ahead of Denton and, after hearing a cry, turned to see him lying on the ground. A policeman then came forward and helped his friend to his feet, before sending them on their way.

Daniel Parrott was a butler, in service at 42 Prince’s Gardens, Kensington, but on 2 December, at some time between 11.00pm and midnight, he was walking past the Clock House Tavern when he saw a slight scuffle in the doorway. This was, apparently, Edward Tilley, in the act of ejecting Davis from the premises, for the second time. Plank was standing a few yards away and Parrott heard him say something like, ‘Wait a minute, until they get round the corner.’

Soon after this, Parrott saw three soldiers come out of the tavern and walk towards Sloane Street. Though he did not know the man at the time, Parrott then saw Davis run from around a corner and strike Denton before he and Plank ran off up Sloane Street, towards Cooper. Parrott, concerned that a serious assault had already been committed, ran after the two men. Moments later, he saw Cooper lying on the pavement and ran on to find a constable.

Constable Thomas Thomas had been on duty that night and at around 11.30pm he saw Davis outside the Clock House, threatening someone inside. Constable Thomas went up to Davis and told him to clear off. He then went inside the tavern and advised the soldiers to drink up and be on their way. They did as he suggested and, having spoken to the potman for a minute or so, Thomas went back outside to see Denton lying on the ground and Davis standing over him, ready to strike him again. As the officer went to Denton’s aid, Davis and Plank ran off.

Just a few moments after this, the last witness, Daniel Parrott, rushed up to Thomas and told him that there was another soldier lying badly injured in Sloane Street. Parrott took Thomas to where the injured man lay and, acting on Thomas’s instructions, went off to find another constable who might assist.

This second officer was Constable George Barley who, when he arrived at the scene, saw Cooper still lying unconscious on the pavement. There was blood pouring from his ear. Barley and Thomas then helped take the injured man to hospital.

Doctor Harry Marmaduke was the surgeon on duty at St George’s Hospital and he testified that Cooper was brought in just before midnight on 2 December. Despite receiving immediate treatment, he never woke and died at 1.40am on 3 December. Dr Marmaduke later performed the post-mortem and reported a fractured skull with corresponding laceration of the brain.

The jury retired to consider their verdict and, after a short consultation, returned verdicts on both men. Samuel Davis, the man who had undoubtedly struck the blow that killed Cooper, was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment. Alfred George Plank was found not guilty of manslaughter but was adjudged to be guilty as an accessory to the crime. For that, he received a sentence of fifteen months’ hard labour.