CHAPTER 8

Murdered Whilst on Duty
1881

We are almost hopeless of ever being able to bring this crime home to the person who committed the murder.

The life of the Victorian policeman was not always pleasant. Long hours, low pay, physical danger, few days off and being sneered at by writers of detective fiction were among its negative aspects. As The Pirates of Penzance puts it, their ‘lot is not a happy one’. For some officers, it could be fatal, and whilst one might think that police work would be more dangerous among the inner city slums, it could also be lethal in the affluent suburbs, too.

Burglaries in the larger houses in Kingston had been common in the autumn of 1881. There had been a burglary at The Woodlands, Kingston Hill, on Monday night of 19 September 1881. The bedroom of a servant was entered via a ladder and money and a little jewellery was taken. On the following day, two men were seen leaving a house called Coombe Leigh with a silver box. No one was hurt in either of these two incidents.

PC Frederick Atkins was only twenty-three and had been in the police force for four and a half years (joining on 14 May 1877). His beat began at 10 pm. In the early hours of Thursday 22 September 1881, he was on his beat on Kingston Hill. One of the detached houses which stood on this road was The Knoll (on the east side of the road, now demolished), then the residence of the wealthy Mr Powys Keck. It was a lonely spot. His household servants included William Short, the butler, James Bloomfield, valet and Harriet Snow, the housekeeper.

On the previous evening, Short locked up just before 11. Everything seemed to be then safe, as he went to bed himself. Yet at about 1.40am, the household was roused by a number of loud noises just outside the building. Short left his bed and stood at the landing. His fellow servants had also heard the noises and were coming up the stairway to meet him. A search of the house revealed nothing amiss, but when they reached the hall door, they heard a moan.

Opening the door, Short saw a policeman lying on the ground. His helmet was at his feet and he was evidently in great pain. Short sent a footman to go to the police station for help. No one else was in the vicinity, but near to the prone figure was a ‘dark’ (unlit) lantern, they also found a screwdriver and a jemmy. Short stayed with the injured man, not taking him indoors because he thought he was having a fit. Bloomfield helped move him to a more comfortable position and gave him some water. On removing the man’s tunic they discovered he had not suffered a fit, but had been seriously injured, so they then rebuttoned the tunic. Underneath him was a broomstick.

It was some time (half an hour) before help arrived, and when it did there was a further wait for a doctor. Inspector Henry Rushbridge, who had ridden on horseback from Kingston police station to the scene, asked his injured colleague, who was PC Atkins, ‘What is the matter, Atkins? Have there being burglars here?’ He said, faintly, ‘I don’t know, sir. ’When Dr Roots, the divisional surgeon, appeared on the scene he concluded that Atkins was dying. He had been wounded in three places – the chest, the groin and the abdomen. Furthermore, his hands and face were icy. There were no burn marks on the man’s tunic, so the shots had not been fired at very close range. He was conveyed to the police station in London Road. It was not thought that in his weakened condition, he should be moved to Surbiton Cottage Hospital, which was further away. The Reverend Father Morey, a local Catholic priest, did his best to administer to Atkins, but the constable was unable to comprehend what was going on.