In my diary for 6 August 2007, I recorded the following discovery: “..late afternoon while Googling on the internet I found that one of my great-great-grandfathers, Chief Inspector George Clarke, was tried at the Old Bailey on a conspiracy charge but was acquitted. Need to check this out – watch this space!”
At the time, I had been undertaking research for a book on the First World war experiences of my grandfather, and this had led me to investigate my family tree. It came as a shock, however, to realise that one of my ancestors had spent time in the Old Bailey dock in a sensational trial. From that moment my research interest shifted to George Clarke. I soon discovered that Clarke had been a senior member of the small Metropolitan Police Detective Department located at Old Scotland Yard during the 1870s. Extensive searching of the Metropolitan Police and Home Office files at the National Archives, complemented by the newly-digitised newspaper databases that were becoming available online, revealed a fascinating story that I felt had to be published.
From 1864 onwards, Clarke was involved in many of the major criminal investigations and trials of the mid-Victorian period. These included: the hunt for the perpetrator of the first murder committed on a British train; the investigation of a headless corpse at Plaistow marshes; the policing of Irish terrorism (including Clarke’s role in the arrest of a leading mercenary and a Fenian arms organiser); thefts at Windsor Castle and the Earl of Cardigan’s residence; providing evidence that contributed to the conviction of that greatest fraudster of his era, the Tichborne Claimant; pursuing investigations into baby farming; eventually bringing to justice, in an Austrian court, the murderer Henri de Tourville; leading the 1876 police inquiry into the death of Charles Bravo; and many other cases. Trusted by his superiors, Clarke was highly regarded until two ruthless and clever fraudsters sought to offset their heavy prison sentences by claiming that corruption existed within the Scotland Yard detective team.
While some other authors have concentrated on the generic role of detectives in Victorian times, or have published books on individual cases, ‘The Chieftain’ (a reference to one of George Clarke’s nicknames) explores new ground in evaluating the entire career of one of Scotland Yard’s most senior and trusted (yet little-known) detectives, and the social and political history behind his investigations.
A feature article on Chris Payne’s research into his detective ancestor is published in the June 2012 issue of Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine.