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ROGUES GALLERY

Fascinating collection of mugshots from the 1920s show suave men in smart suits and ties and women with curled hair and pearls

The vintage mugshots were collected by a former New Scotland Yard detective in the 1920s

WITH men in suave suits and women wearing their pearls, these pictures may look like family snaps.

But they are in fact mugshots of criminals in 1920s London and they include a murderer, a group of bank robbers and numerous fraudsters.

A fascinating collection of mugshots have emerged of criminals from 1920s London
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A fascinating collection of mugshots have emerged of criminals from 1920s LondonCredit: C&T/BNPS
Many of the men pictured in the mugshots look suave wearing smart suits
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Many of the men pictured in the mugshots look suave wearing smart suitsCredit: C&T/BNPS
The collection of mugshots are expected to sell for £800 at auction
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The collection of mugshots are expected to sell for £800 at auctionCredit: C&T/BNPS

The mugshots belonged to New Scotland Yard detective Herbert Mew and over his time as a police officer, he collected 64 fascinating images.

Many show men wearing smart suits and hats, while the ladies are in bonnets and their best jewellery.

And now they have been revealed after they emerged for auction, where they are tipped to sell for £800.

One of the photos is of Cecil Arthur Maltley who murdered his mistress Alice Middleton on August 24, 1922 in a home in Hyde Park Gardens.

The pictures belonged to former New Scotland Yard detective Herbert Mew during his time as a police officer
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The pictures belonged to former New Scotland Yard detective Herbert Mew during his time as a police officerCredit: C&T/BNPS
The pictures have emerged after Detective Mew died and they were found in a house clearance
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The pictures have emerged after Detective Mew died and they were found in a house clearanceCredit: C&T/BNPS

One of the most striking mugshots in the collection is of portly but well dressed Australian Jack Tar Fishwick who committed three robberies in London in 1923.

Other mugshots are of G.Hughes who committed larceny (modern day theft) and attempted fraud and Horace Maskell who committed fraud.

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Ted Hartley received stolen goods, I. Jacobs obtained food and lodgings by false pretences and G.White committed larceny and fraud.

Some of the photos have red ink where Mew has written the names of the criminals and included in this album is a strung bounded paper folder 'Photographic exhibits' with three pictures taken in the aftermath of a botched Euston bank job.

Crimes which feature in the mugshot parade are larceny, theft of food and receiving stolen goods
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Crimes which feature in the mugshot parade are larceny, theft of food and receiving stolen goodsCredit: C&T/BNPS
Many of the people in the mugshots are wearing suits as they were accused of fraud
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Many of the people in the mugshots are wearing suits as they were accused of fraudCredit: C&T/BNPS

The robbers, who were caught in the act had brought along explosives to blow open the safe which contained £1,600.

The bulk of the criminals in the mugshots were up on fraud charges which perhaps explains their expensive looking clothes.

The biggest scammer seems to be Hugh Lindsey who was accused of a £10,000 fraud. At the other end of the scale, Ulrie Edwin was alleged to have committed a £12 fraud.

While the men posed for the pictures wearing suits, the women also wore some of their best clothes and jewellery
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While the men posed for the pictures wearing suits, the women also wore some of their best clothes and jewelleryCredit: C&T/BNPS

Glen Chapman, specialist at C&T Auctions of Ashford, Kent, which is selling the mugshots said: "When I first saw the mugshots I could not believe how smartly dressed they all were with their expensive looking suits!

"The mugshots belonged to Detective Mew and were passed down his family but they have emerged now as a result of a house clearance."

The mistress murderer

A vintage mugshot of Cecil Arthur Maltley, who murdered his mistress Alice Middleton in 1922
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A vintage mugshot of Cecil Arthur Maltley, who murdered his mistress Alice Middleton in 1922Credit: C&T/BNPS
Maltley murdered his mistress Alice Middleton, in a home in Hyde Park Gardens
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Maltley murdered his mistress Alice Middleton, in a home in Hyde Park GardensCredit: C&T/BNPS

Cecil Arthur Maltley was a 47-year-old tailor, who lived in a flat above his shop, shot his mistress Alice Middleton before he wrapped her corpse in a sheet.

Alice's husband was in the Far East serving with the Merchant Navy and in the summer of 1922 she moved in with Maltby.

Her husband upon his return in December 1922 attempted to find Alice but had no luck so he reported her missing.

When police visited Maltby he told them that Alice had left him on August 15.

They decided to keep a watch on the shop but Maltby never seemed to leave the flat.

Police obtained a health order on the grounds of the premises being in an unsanitary condition. On January 10, 1923, officers charged into the premises and heard a shot from the bedroom.

Maltby had put a gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger.

The bigamist thief

Jack Tar Fishwick was accused of attempted theft before he fled the country and went to Australia
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Jack Tar Fishwick was accused of attempted theft before he fled the country and went to AustraliaCredit: C&T/BNPS

Jack Tar Fishwick had fought in the First World War with the Australian army but later went AWOL.

He went on to marry Lucy Mary Broadhurst from Staffordshire but was later convicted of bigamy in 1919.

Years later he was accused of a string of attempted robberies and he fled back to Melbourne with his wife.

They lived their for the remainder of their lives with Fishwick working as a jeweller.

The drunken fraudster

Ulrie Edwin, who is alleged to have committed a £12 fraud against William Henry Jenkins
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Ulrie Edwin, who is alleged to have committed a £12 fraud against William Henry JenkinsCredit: C&T/BNPS

Dressed in a smart suit, Ulrie Edwin was alleged to have committed a £12 fraud against William Henry Jenkins.

When he was arrested, police went to Edwin's house on Marylebone Road but when his landlady refused to open the door, they broke it down.

The two detectives then found Edwin hiding behind a door in the property with an empty bottle of whisky in his hand.

He tried to tell police that the bad cheque he wrote had been given to him by a man he had done business with in Holland Park.

Edwin then tried to resist arrested but he was eventually detained and told he wouldn't be allowed bail.

Previously we brought you incredible 100-year old mugshots showing the criminals who remained in Britain during the First World War.

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