William Denson - Saltley Reformatory Inmate
| No. in Admissions Register: | 1175 |
| Age: | 14 (born 11 January 1884) |
| Whence received: | Newcastle under Lyme |
| Description: | |
| Complexion: | Fresh |
| Hair colour: | Brown |
| Eyes colour: | Grey |
| Height: | 4 ft 5 ins |
| Particular marks: | Small cut in centre of forehead |
| State of health: | Good |
| Able-bodied? | Yes |
| Date of admission: | 9 June 1898 |
| Late residence: | - |
| Parish he belongs to: | - |
| Customary work and mode of life: | - |
| Whether illegitimate: | No |
| State of education: | |
| Reads: | Imperfectly, Standard 2 |
| Writes: | Imperfectly, Standard 2 |
| Offence: | Larceny of 2 watch chains |
| Circumstances which may have led to it: | Reported very good boy up to 11 years of age when he got led away by associations being with bad boys. Had a very miserable home, which no doubt partly accounts for it |
| Date of sentence, by whom and court: | 30 May 1898; James Poole and Robert E Trigges; Newcastle under Lyme Petty Sessions |
| Where imprisoned: | Workhouse until a [reformatory] school be found |
| Sentence: | 3 years at Saltley |
| Previous committals: | |
| Number: | 2 |
| Length: | 1) (12 August 1895) 6 strokes with birch rod; 2) (1 November 1897) 12 strokes with birch rod |
| For what: | 1) Stealing money; 2) stealing meat pies |
| Father's name: | William Denson |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Mother's name: | Mary Ann Denson |
| Occupation: | Charwoman |
| Parents dead? | - |
| Survivor married again? | - |
| Parents' treatment of child: | - |
| Character of parents | Father very drunken, dissolute and lazy man. Mother hard working respectable woman |
| Parents' wages: | - |
| Amount parents agree to pay: | - |
| Parents address: | Lower Green, Newcastle under Lyme |
| Superintendent of police (to collect payments): | - |
| Person making this return: | John Stirling, 6 June 1898 |
| Notes: | |
| A previous offence by William, and also one by his brother Aaron, were reported in the Newcastle Guardian and Silverdale, Chesterton and Audley Chronicle Saturday 17 August 1895 p.2 col.1: PRECOCIOUS LADS. - Joseph Griffifths (15), Robert Hicks (12), Aaron Denson (11), and John Williams (14), all living in the vicinity of Lower Green were charged with stealing three bottles of ginger beer, value 6d., the property of Margaret Clarke, on the 10th inst. - Prosecutrix, who is a widow, keeps a shop in London-road, and from something he was told Sergeant Mandley, on seeing these lads, arrested them, and took them to an outhouse in Penkull-street, where they had been sleeping. There the bottles were found, two of them being empty, and the lads told the sergeant where they had had them from. On going to Mrs. Clarke's the bottles were missed, and the lads described how they took them. - Williams who has been up twice before this year for stealing, was ordered to be sent to the Workhouse until a reformatory could be found for him, where he will be detained for five years; and Denson, who had not been up before, was ordered to receive twelve strokes with the birch rod. The other two were not dealt with until after the hearing of the next case. | |
| THEFT FROM A TILL. - Hicks and Griffiths were then charged in company with a lad named William Denson, 11, brother of Aaron Denson, with stealing 27s. from a till on the 17th of July. - Mary Holmes, a widow, who keeps a shop in the West Brampton, stated that she placed the money all in silver in a basin inside the till, as she expected a traveller to call for it. It was there at one o'clock. As the traveller did not come she went to fetch the money two hours later. The basin and the money, however, were gone, and prosecutrix gave information to the police. - John Williams, prisoner in the last case, was called, and stated that he saw these lads fetch the money out of Mrs. Holmes's shop. Hicks told him that they had 12s each. - Sergeant Mandley deposed to charging Hicks and Griffiths, whilst in custody on the previous charge, and also to arresting Denson this morning. The lads all admitted their guilt, and described how the money was taken. - Chief Constable Taylor said that these lads for the past three or four months had been going about doing nothing else but committing these robberies. - He had several other clear cases against them if he only chose to proceed with them. - Hicks's father asked for another chance for his son, and the father of Griffiths thought that a month in gaol would do his lad good, as flogging was of no use at all. - Griffiths was sent to a reformatory for four years. Hicks was ordered to receive twelve strokes with the birch rod, and Denson six strokes, the magistrates expressing the opinion that he had been led into the affair by the others. | |
| 6 November 1897 Another previous offence was reported in the Staffordshire Advertiser Saturday 6 November 1897 p.7 col.4: THEFTS BY BOYS. . . . William Henry Denson, 13, John Grannon, 13, Thomas Murphy, 12, Alfred Fannon, 12, William Lakin, 11, and Frederick Farrell, were charged with breaking into the shop of George Brayford, confectioner, Liverpool-road, on Sunday night, and stealing therefrom certain pies and confectionary of the value of 3s. The lads had been arrested from information given by a boy of eight who had seen them steal the goods through the broken window. On being charged by Sergt. Leech, the defendants admitted their guilt, and one of their number said that Murphy had cut the pane of glass in the prosecutor's window with a diamond cutter. Denson and Lakin, who had been previously flogged with the birch for larceny, were ordered to receive 12 strokes, the other lads being sentenced to have six strokes each. The parents of the boys were called upon to pay the costs. | |
| 4 June 1898 The crime that sent him to Saltley was briefly reported in the Newcastle Guardian and Silverdale, Chesterton and Audley Chronicle Saturday 4 June 1898 p.3 col.4: A BOY SENT TO REFORMATORY. - William Denson, a boy with a record on the police books was charged with stealing two chains, value 8d., on the 28th inst., belonging to Walter Robinson. - The boy was sent to a reformatory for three years. | |
| 1 May 1901 The Register of Boys on Licence records that Denson was licensed to go out and work for Mr G Dent, Knutton Steel Co, Newcastle under Lyme | |
| 8 June 1901 Sentence expired whilst out on licence, discharged from Saltley | |
| 9 February 1903 The Reformatory Committee Log Book report records receipt of a letter from Denson, Lichfield | |
| 11 October 1904 The Log Book report records receipt of a letter from Denson, Lichfield | |
| 13 December 1904 The Log Book report records receipt of a letter from Denson, Lichfield | |