William Robinson - Saltley Reformatory Inmate
| No. in Admissions Register: | 1056 |
| Age: | 14 (born 3 December 1879) |
| Whence received: | Coventry |
| Description: | |
| Complexion: | Fresh |
| Hair colour: | Dark brown |
| Eyes colour: | Brown |
| Height: | 4 ft 6 ins |
| Particular marks: | 6 vaccination marks; scar on left ankle |
| State of health: | Good |
| Able-bodied? | Yes |
| Date of admission: | 12 February 1894 |
| Late residence: | 1 court 4 house Castle Street, Coventry |
| Parish he belongs to: | - |
| Customary work and mode of life: | Merchant's boy |
| Whether illegitimate: | - |
| State of education: | |
| Reads: | Imperfectly, Standard 2 |
| Writes: | Imperfectly, Standard 2 |
| Offence: | Stealing a key and 12 boxes of matches, also a brooch value 8s |
| Circumstances which may have led to it: | Lack of parental control |
| Date of sentence, by whom and court: | 5 February 1894; G singer and A J Hill; Coventry Police court |
| Where imprisoned: | Union Workhouse |
| Sentence: | 7 days in Workhouse, then Saltley until 19 years of age |
| Previous committals: | |
| Number: | 1 |
| Length: | 8 strokes birch rod |
| For what: | Stealing a cake |
| Father's name: | William Robinson |
| Occupation: | Machinist in cycle trade |
| Mother's name: | Emma Robinson |
| Occupation: | Charwoman |
| Parents dead? | - |
| Survivor married again? | - |
| Parents' treatment of child: | Neglected by parents |
| Character of parents | Not good |
| Parents' wages: | Not known |
| Amount parents agree to pay: | Not reported |
| Parents address: | 1 court 4 house Castle Street, Coventry |
| Superintendent of police (to collect payments): | - |
| Person making this return: | Inspector James Shelley, Coventry |
| Notes: | |
| 26 January 1894 A previous offence was reported in the Coventry Herald Friday 26 January 1894 p.8 col.7: JUVENILE THIEVES. - Three boys, named Albert Williamson (12), 4, Adderley-street, Henry William Dowell (11), 8, Bradford-street, and William Robinson (14), machinist, 1c. 4h. [1 court 4 house], Castle-street, charged with stealing on the 15th instant, from 12, Jordan-well, eight brooches, value 8s., the goods of Selina Rymell; and William Robinson was further charged with stealing on the 22nd instant from 19 and 20, Fleet-street, a cake value 3½d., the goods of Frederick William Poole. - Miss Rymell, who is a fancy draper, stated that on Monday week she missed the brooches, which were in a small box on the counter, immediately after prisoners had been to the shop for a subscription the Boys of England Football Club. - A brother of Dowell stated that he went in the shop with the prisoners, and saw Robinson put his hand on the brooches, but he left before the others. When they came out they showed him the brooches. - George Green, a boy living in Adelaide-street. said Williamson gave him three brooches, and he gave them to another boy named Thomas Robinson, living at 5, Bradford-street. - Thomas Robinson and Jabez Lane, Bradford-street, also gave evidence of them sharing the plunder. - Detective-constable Imber proved the arrest of prisoners. Five of the brooches have not been recovered. - Prisoners pleaded guilty, and the Chief Constable said numerous complaints had been received of a gang of youths who entered shops and appealed for subscriptions in the manner described. If refused money they abused the tradesmen, threw mud at the windows, and sometimes committed petty thefts. He believed the lads called as witnesses were members of the gang. - In the second case, Robinson was arrested with a packet of cocoa and the cake in his possession. - The Bench sentenced Robinson to receive eight strokes with the birch, and ordered Williamson and Dowell to come up for judgment if called upon. | |
| 5 February 1894 The crime that sent him to Saltley was reported in the Coventry Evening Telegraph Monday 5 February 1894 p.3 col.5: A GANG OF BAD BOYS. - Thomas Henry Beasley, 19, Spencer Street, and William Robinson, 1c. 4h. [1 court 4 house], Castle Street, juveniles, were charged with stealing a key, value 6d., the property of Thomas Frost, confectioner, 2, Pepper Lane; the prisoners, in conjunction with Edwin Thomas Hartley, 20, Jenner Street, were also charged with stealing twelve boxes of matches, value 2½d., the goods of Mary Ann Hunt, huckster, 59, Spon Street; and Edmund Burke, Primrosehill Street, and George Turrall, Castle Street, also juveniles, were charged with stealing from a shop in King William Street 6ozs. of sweets, value 3d. - The Chief Constable stated that the defendants were members of a gang of small boys who went about committing petty thefts, and were a terror to the neighbourhood in which they lived. - The Bench made an order for Beasley, and Hartley to be sent to Gem Street Industrial School, Birmingham, till they are each 16 years of age, and sent Robinson, who had previously been convicted for larceny, to a reformatory school for five years, the Mayor remarking that the Bench were glad that they now had power to send a boy straight to a reformatory without previously committing him to prison. This was the first case they had had under the new act. Burke was bound over in £5 to come up for judgment when called upon. Turrall was discharged. | |
| 28 September 1897 Discharged from Saltley by order of the Home Secretary, on account of enlisting in the Tailoring Department of the Army | |
| 8 February 1898 The Reformatory Committee Log Book report records receipt of a letter from Robinson, Chatham. (Likes soldiering. Stationed at Chatham. Kind enquiries for a companion in the School) | |
| 12 February 1901 The Log Book report records receipt of a letter from Robinson, Malta. There was also a letter from the Bandmaster, 3rd Royal Warwickshire Regiment concerning Tye [boy 1047], Robinson, and Johnson [boy 911] | |
| 10 December 1901 The Log Book report records receipt of a letter from Robinson, Malta | |
| 22 April 1902 The Log Book report records receipt of a letter from Robinson, Malta | |