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Hull Reference Library

 This week I had the pleasure of carrying out research in Hull’s Reference Library.  In the past I have visited the library for various research, most recently for Lloyds Shipping Registers and to peruse the two volumes of Lewis Carroll’s Diaries that are held at the library.  More recently the library has undergone a massive renovation and the Reference library is a vastly improved experience.  The desks are modern, there are more computers available, and whether it was just because the room has been altered it looked as if there were more books and journals on display than in previous years.  I had visited the Reference library just after the renovation for a lecture that I gave on Jack the Ripper- The Hull Connection, however, as this was at night and I was to appear before a crowd my mind didn’t register the new and improved facilities on offer.  

 

This time I was looking through the Lloyds Shipping Registers for steam ships and the Lloyds Shipping Registers for Sailing Vessels in the search for details regarding the ship that Sadler worked on, “Fez” and all of the ships mentioned by Frederick Bailey Deeming and the people that surrounded him.  These included the Ballaarat, Coleridge, Thames, Samuel Plimsoll, Pretoria, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Zebra, Albany, Ophelia, and Sardinian. 

 The Lloyds Shipping Registers were brought out to my desk and I spent a few hours poring over them and found everything I needed plus more. 

 The Hull History Centre

 After that it was a brief stop at the Hull History Centre to look into the antecedents of the 1890/1891 Home Office File on Frederick Bailey Deeming.  This was essentially Frederick Bailey Deeming’s attempt to accuse the Hull Police and Hull Jail of stealing several articles of Jewellery and Clothing.  It also brought in the East Riding Police, Home Office, and the Criminal Investigation Department from Scotland Yard.  The case then became an International incident with the items of jewellery and clothing actually belonging to a South African man who had reported Deeming stealing them off him, thus bringing the South African Government and Police into the case.  What is odd about the whole affair is the lack of newspaper reports covering what was essentially an international diplomatic mess.  I had, some months ago, viewed the Minutes from the Hull Watch Committee Meetings, and discovered 2 pages that covered Frederick Bailey Deeming.  I had hoped these documents would shed light on the case, but discovered that they had nothing to offer.  These were essentially pages asking the question of who will pay for the International manhunt for Deeming for defrauding Reynoldson’s Jewellers.  Sadly, the 2 pages did not reveal who would foot the bill, and therefore raised more questions.  One of the pages hinted that the Minutes of the Hull Finances Committee might hold the key, however, subsequent searches of this file failed to turn any answers up.  I was just about to give up, as I was expected to make two appointments later in the day, when I asked why there was little information as to the outcome of these financial queries.  Luckily I found the answer in a dusty file that had a list of many of the Hull Corporation Committees.  Here in plain view was a file featuring correspondence, and other material on the question of whether Deeming’s manhunt would be paid for by the Hull Police, or someone else in Local or National Government.  The reason why the file has evaded capture for so long is because Frederick Bailey Deeming’s alias was spelt wrong.  Sadly I was expected elsewhere so could not request the files, but they will be checked at the next available opportunity.    

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