George Hemmings - Saltley Reformatory Inmate
| No. in Admissions Register: | 1215 |
| Age: | 13 (born 14 December 1886) |
| Whence received: | Newcastle under Lyme Petty Sessions |
| Description: | |
| Complexion: | Fresh |
| Hair colour: | Light brown |
| Eyes colour: | Bluish grey |
| Height: | 4 ft 8 ins |
| Particular marks: | Several dots left bottom, also dot on right forearm |
| State of health: | Good |
| Able-bodied? | Yes |
| Date of admission: | 9 January 1900 |
| Late residence: | 1 house 1 court Salters Lane, Newcastle under Lyme |
| Parish he belongs to: | Newcastle under Lyme |
| Customary work and mode of life: | - |
| Whether illegitimate: | No |
| State of education: | |
| Reads: | Imperfectly, Standard 2 |
| Writes: | Imperfectly, Standard 2 |
| Offence: | Shop breaking, etc |
| Circumstances which may have led to it: | This boy has been very much neglected at home. The day upon which he was convicted, his mother was sentenced to 3 months hard labour for neglect, and the case against his father was adjourned for a month |
| Date of sentence, by whom and court: | 3 January 1900; W J Webster, H Mosley, and W Moody; Newcastle under Lyme Petty Sessions |
| Where imprisoned: | - |
| Sentence: | 5 years at Saltley |
| Previous committals: | |
| Number: | 1 (28 May 1897) |
| Length: | Discharged under the First Offenders Act [properly the Probation of First Offenders Act, 1887] |
| For what: | Larceny of a box |
| Father's name: | George Hemmings |
| Occupation: | Tile maker |
| Mother's name: | Sarah Hemmings |
| Occupation: | Stays at home |
| Parents dead? | Neither |
| Survivor married again? | - |
| Parents' treatment of child: | - |
| Character of parents | Father honest and industrious but addicted to drink; mother drunkard |
| Parents' wages: | - |
| Amount parents agree to pay: | - |
| Parents address: | 1 house 1 court Salters Lane, Newcastle under Lyme |
| Superintendent of police (to collect payments): | - |
| Person making this return: | John Sterling, Chief Constable |
| Notes: | |
| 6 January 1900 The crime that sent him to Saltley was reported in the Staffordshire Advertiser Saturday 6 January 1900 p.7 col.5: JUVENILE SHOP-BREAKERS. - Samuel Matthews and George Hemmings, lads, were charged with being concerned together with breaking into a shop between 8 p.m. on the 22nd and 8 a.m. on the 23rd of November last and stealing three pots of jam, value 9d., the property of James E. Buckley, Salter's-lane. The shop is a lock-up establishment. The boys, it was alleged, broke a pane of glass in the window and so obtained an entry to steal the articles named. They were convicted, and after their homes were described in the two following cases the Bench ordered them to a reformatory school for five years each. SHOCKING NEGLECT OF CHILDREN. - George Hemmings and Sarah Hemmings, man and wife, of No. 1 court, Salter's-lane, were charged with neglecting four children under the age of 16. The defendants were the father and mother of the prisoner Hemmings in the first case. - Police-Sergt. Dockery stated that on Saturday night he visited the house where the parties live. He saw the female defendant asleep on a "squab." He tried to rouse her, but found her "dead drunk." He examined the premises. There were a couple of old chairs and one table downstairs. In the front bedroom there was a bed. There were no blankets and the bed was comprised of a few flocks covered with the remains of an old bed tick. There were two old jackets and an old piece of sacking and a piece of carpet about a yard square. These constituted the covering of the bed. In the back bedroom there was no bed clothing and only a mattress to lie upon. The walls showed marks of vermin The whole place was in a beastly condition, filthy dirty. He (the officer) was glad to gel out There was no food in the house. Later in the day he saw the male defendant. He was drunk. With the two defendants there were eight in family. One slept out, and four of the children were under 16 years of age The eldest daughter slept with the mother in the front bedroom. The father slept downstairs and the remainder of the children in the back bedroom. The father earned 23s, per week and his boy brought home 8s. per week. His employers gave him a good character. The wife was addicted to drink. - Chief Constable Stirling stated that when the boy Hemmings was brought to the police-station he was clothed in an old, torn shirt, and an old jacket. His stockings had no feet, his toes projected from the boots, and his head was filthy. He visited the house. He never saw a dirtier place. It was filthy from top to bottom and the beds were so bad he would not allow a dog of his to sleep on them The husband told him he would not sleep upstairs because it was filthy. - The male defendant repeated this In court. He said everything he took home his wife made away with. He handed to his wife 19s. a week and paid the rent and rates. The boy allowed her 7s. 6d. He had taken home blankets and sheets, end these his wife disposed of. - The female defendant had nothing to say. The magistrates described the case as a most disgraceful one. They thought the woman most to blame and sentenced her to three months Imprisonment. The case against the husband was adjourned for a month to allow him an opportunity of making provision for the family. | |
| 28 June 1902 The Register of Boys on Licence records that Hemmings was licensed to go out and work for Mrs Wakefield, Water Orton, near Birmingham | |
| 2 January 1905 Sentence expired whilst out on licence, discharged from Saltley | |