THE TERRIBLE HOUNDSDITCH AFFRAY

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 234, 8 February 1911, Page 3

THE TERRIBLE HOUNDSDITCH AFFRAY

I FULL PARTICULARS BY MAIL. GRAPHIC STORY. DESPERATE CRIMINALS: UNARMED POLICE. The last English mail gives full particulars of the terrible affray at Houndsditch which took place oil December 10'. The Manchester Guardian of December IS gives the following graphic description of the crime:— ~'■ for a long time has a crime so '..'*' .1 London as that which was period late on Friday night, December i .n Houndsditch, where one police sergeant was killed almost instantly, and on the following' day two more ollicers died from the wounds they had received. From the reports that had reached them the police formed the theory that the occupants of a house in Exchange Build- ' ings, off Cutler-street, Houndsditch, were trying to tunnel from that hous.e to :i jeweller's shop which .stands at. right angles to it, but which is entered from an adjoining thoroughfare. Three sergeants and two constables tried to enter the house in Exchange Buildings, when the people inside opened fire on them. In a few seconds all the officers were lying in a disabled state in the roadway, and the murderers, dashing out of the door, made their escape. THE STORY OF THE CRTME. The details of the affray, now that they are fully known, are even more startling than was apparent from the first reports. It proves,to be one of the, most sensational encounters between police and a gang of determined criminals that has taken place in recent years. It took place shortly after 11.30 on Friday night in a narrow thoroughfare off Houndsditch.

An attempt, preceded by long and careful preparation, to break into the premises of a Mr. H. Harris, goldsmith and silversmith, was being made by a party of "cracksmen," when a number of city policemen attached to the Bishopsgate police station arrived on the scene, and a des;i:ate encounter ensued. The burglar-, whose number is not definitely known, iud taken care to be well prepared for any emergency. Armed with revolvers, their surprise was no sooner effected than, turning on their prospective captors (three sergeants and two constables), 1 they fired at them with terrible effect, all the officers being hit.

I The scene of the encounter is an offshoot of Cutler-street (which runs at right angles to Houndsditch) known as Exchange Buildings, and consisting of a number of small tenements running parallel with Houndsditch, the houses on one side backing on to the rear of the premises in the latter thoroughfare. THE SHATTERED WINDOW. Some three weeks ago the dwelling immediately to the rear of Mr. Harris' shop was taken by a man and woman, but little was known of the new tenants by their neighbors. It had been noticed since their occupation that the shutters of the lower room had not been taken down, and sounds of knocking had been heard, but these facts did not give rise to any suspicion among the other inhabitants of the Exchange Buildings. The police, however, were possessed of fuller knowledge as to the occupation of the newcomers and the purposes for which the dwelling had been taken, and it was as a result of the information that at about 11.30 on' Friday night Sergeants Tucker, Bentley and Bryant, with Constable Cboat and Woodhams, appeared on the scene.

What then happened is at present not definitely known, as all the officers concerned are either dead or under treatment in hospital. It is known, however, that the officers made an attempt to effect an entrance and that they were received with a revolver shot fired by a man mounted on the staircase. One report is that each officer in turn, with great gallantry, attempted to enter, and was promptly shot down by two men standing at the head of the staircase and armed with revolvers. This story, however, is hardly borne out by subsequent discoveries, inasmuch as the wounded officers were found, not in the house, but in different parts of the street, or, as several residents in the building said, "all over the place," i.e., within a space of twenty yards, representing the distance separating the tenement from Cutler-street. MANY SHOTS IN THE STREET.

The more probable theory is that the man or men, rushing out of the house, fired at the officers in turn as they encountered them in the street. A customer at the Cutlers' Arms public-house, situated at the corner of Cutler-street and the Exchange Buildings, stated that hearing shots he ran out, and found three officers lying on their faces on the ground in the Exchange Buildings, and the other two constables lying in Cutlerstreet. It is generally agreed that six shots were beard by people in the neighborhood, but, from the number and nature of the wounds of the injured men. it is obvious that several other shots must have been fired. The wooden shutter of the house bears the mark of a bullethole, and the door of another house has been perforated by a bflllet. A young man who lives in the Exchange Buildings, when interviewed.said: "At 11.30 p.m. I was in the Cutlers' Arms, and, hearing shots, I rushed to the door. At first I was under the impression that something bad gone wrong with the mechanism of a passing taxi-cab, but a friend who was with me remarked, <N T o, that's a shooter,' and he proved to be right, for I saw a sergeant shot. His assailant was a man about sft flin in height. He wore a blue Melton cloth overcoat and a bowler hat. He wore gaiters; his appearance generally was dirty. Having fired the revolver he darted off before one had time or opportunity to seize him. His back was towards me, so that I had no chance of seeing his face. I ran to the sergeant, lifted him up, and gave him brandy, after which he was conveyed to the London Hospital." A man living opposite to the tenement concerned stated: "At about 11.3,1 p.m. I was in my house, when I heard shots fired. Looking from my upper window 1 saw a policeman lying,' half in and half out, of the doorway opposite. The door was wide open. Elsewhere three other officers were lying on the ground. I shouted 'Murder,' whistles were blown, and then other policemen arrived on the scene."

THE POLICE HELPLESS. The little bund of police stood defenceless against the desperate onslaught. Every officer was wounded. Tucker, who had completed twenty years service in the force and leaves a widow and several children, died on his way to the hospital; Choat, a single man of thirty-five, died on Saturday morning; Bentley, who had five bullets taken from the upper part of bis body, died on Saturday night, his wife being with him at the end. Woodhams was shot in the logs; Bryant was wounded in the arm and chest. In the terrible confusion the assailants escaped. A vivid story of the scene at this moment was given by some of the residents. Women screamed, rushing hither and thither; some fainted, and others in an agony of fear pulled at their hair. The street, which a few moments before had been all quiet, was throaged with

(people. Police blow their whistles. Men ran in all directions. "It was like a reign of terror!" ev . claimed one woman. "it was terrnib'! 'lt was shocking! I don't wish ever to experience another night like it. Constables shouted to us loudly to 'Get indoors.' I ran upstairs, snatched up my baby, and carried it to some friends across the road." Another said: "It was like pandemonium in the street. There is a large alien population in the neighborhood, and many of the people became terribly excited, beating their breasts with their hands and exclaiming, 'Mem Gott!'" NOISES THAT LED THH POLICE TO THE HOUSE. Mr. S. Cohen said that he occupied No. II Exchange Buildings, up till about three weeks ago.- He had the place for storing second-hand clothing for some years. Millard and Co., the landlords, let the house, 11 Exchange Buildings, to a couple, who informed them that they were about to get married. Before this, Mr. Cohen stated, two men residing at .No. 10 Exchange Buildings, recommended the couple for the rooms at No. 11. During the last three or four nights Mr. Iscnstein, a fancy toy dealer, whose shop is next door to Harris' (the jewellers), complained to the police of certain noises I he had heard.' A police sergeant went' round on Friday night, and wanted to f know what the knocking going on meant. According to Mr. Cohen, tue reply to the oliicers question was, "Oh, nothing. It's all right. We are going to bed now. Good night." The noise did not cease, and about 11 o'clock Sergeant Tucker went round to No. 11 Exchange Buildings, accompanied by other officers, knocked at the door and said, ''l think ,there are burglars at the back. I want ,to : come in." The man in the house said, "Oh, there are no iturglars here. You cannot come in," and a constable turned j round and said, "We are coming in lo see if there is anybody in here."

Mr. Cohen went on to say that the people in the neighborhood were afterwards alarmed by reports which went "bang—bang," the police officers being all shot down. He stated that the police found in the house a collection of burglars' tools and enough dynamite to blow up ail Houndsditch,/together with a number of blow-pipes, The burglars, he stated, must have made a mistake, for instead of boring into Harris' shop they bored into Isenstein's shop. They dug a large hole underneath Isenstein's so as to gain admittance. In the pit blow-pipes were found. The occupants of No. 11 ivere very seldom seen during the day or evening; they generally took two shutters off the window instead of the three. When the -woman entered the house in the day-time her face was never visible to the neighbors. "I have great doubts as to whether it was a woman. I think it was a man disguised." AN EYE-WITNESS' EVIDENCE.

At the inquest on the body of Sergeant Robert Bentley, Police-Constable dames Martin, plain-clothes officer, gave "evidence as to what happened when the police attempted to enter the house in which the criminals were at work. He said: I am attached to the Bishopsgate Station. Shortly after 11 p.m. on Friday I was on duty with Police-Constable Strongman, when we met Sergeant Bentley. He said: "There's a noise at the back of Harris' shop" (a small jeweller's shop). He said to Strongman: "Will you go to the police station and ask the inspector to telephone to Mr. Harris, and ask him to come with the keys, as there is something wrong?" He said: "You come with me, Martin." AYo went together to Exchange Buildings, at the rear of the premises off Cutler-street. He asked: "Which do you think is the nearest way to the back of the jeweller's?" T told him what I thought was the nearest way, but after we had gom\ a few yards, deceased said: "I don't think it is quite so far down. We will go round to the front." We went round to the front, where wc met Sergeant Tucker, Sergeant Bryant, and Police-Cou-ntable Strongman, wdio had returned from the station. W 7 e then went to Exchange Buildings, five of us, and also Police-Constable Woodhams, one of the wounded men. Sergeant Bentley went to No. 11 Exchange Buildings and knocked at the door.

THE ASSASSIN. The Coroner: Who opened it? Witness: It was opened by the assassin whose body is at the mortuary at the London Hospital, and whose name is given as Gardstein or Bernstein. Witness (procceaing): Sergeant Bentley said, "Have you been working here, or knocking about inside?" The man inside made no answer. Sergeant Bentley then said, "Do you understand English? If you don't speak it, have you anyone in the house who does? If so, fetch them up." The man inside then closed the door to about an inch opening, and apparently went towards the stairs. The Coroner: Did you hear him? Witness: Yes, I heard him leave, and then go towards the stairs. He did not go into the room. Sergeant Bentley then pushed the door open, and stood just inside. He was standing there for a few moments, when somebody rushed from the back of the house from a door on the ground floor. I saw a hand'.thrust forward. Was it a man's or a woman's?—lt was a man's. At the same time there was a report from a revolver, with a flash of lire. I and Sergeant Bryant rushed to the door, and at the same time a Hash of light came from off the stairs. Upon that Sergeant Bentley fell backwards into the doorway on No. 11. How were you getting on?—I was standing back on the kerb. Were you armed with a revolver?—No; I had only just an ordinary truncheon, which is made of hard wood. It was in my coat pocket. You had it handy?— Yes. The hand with the revolver fired up the street in the direction of Cutler-street, and then the hand turned

The Coroner (interposing): Where was the hand?

Just in the door. I could not see a man. It was a man's hand, judging from the coat.

How many times did he fire?— Three times in quick succession, like this. (The witness here clapped his hands three times rapidly, by way of illustration). It was like a Maxim gun. Witness (continuing): As be turned his hand round, I turned round sharp, and in turning I fell. Why did you fall? You were not wounded.—No, I was turning round, and stumbled in some way, but I could not exactly say how. AFTER THE SHOOTING. What about Sergeant Bryant? Did you see him when you got up?— Ves. I saw him standing up against the wall. He had been wounded. He was bleeding from the hand.

What about your other comrades? Where were they?— When I went up the street I saw one officer lying in the roadway, P.C. Woodhams. He was a little further up than No. 11. Where was Choate'—He was lying on the footway, very nearly in Cutler-street. He had been wounded, but I did not knew that at the time. What did you do?—T went to the assistance of Sergeant Bentlcy, who had his legs in the doorway, w'itti his head in the footway. Meanwhile had anyone come out of the house?—l did not see anyone eomo out. " You say yon went up to Beritleyf—¥es, and with another officer put him oh

the footpath. 1 undid his jacket and shirt, and found that he had a nastj wound on the risrht side of the neck. A juryman: Was Mere time for anyone to come out of the when you had your back lo the door?-It was the' only lime they could hive come out. A juryman: Were you on the ground' long enough for two or three people to come out of the hou.se?—l just fell down, and then looked round and saw the other I officers on the ground, and I could not I see anyone else in the street. Another juryman: Did you see a hand! or a pistol?—l saw both. A juryman: Could the man who fired the pistol see the officers in the doorway?—Ho could distinctly see the sergeant, who was in the doorway. The others were on the footpath.