| No. in Admissions Register | 461 |
| Age: | 13 |
| Whence received: | Birmingham Borough Prison |
| Description: | |
| Complexion: | Fresh |
| Hair colour: | Brown |
| Eyes colour: | Grey |
| Visage: | - |
| Particular marks: | Scar on left breast |
| State of health: | Good |
| Able-bodied? | Yes |
| Date of admission and term: | 6 January 1872 5 years |
| Late residence: | Gem Street Industrial School, Birmingham |
| Parish he belongs to: | - |
| Customary work and mode of life: | - |
| Whether illegitimate: | - |
| State of education: | |
| Reads: | Imperfectly |
| Writes: | - |
| Offence: | Escaping from an industrial school |
| Circumstances which may have led to it: | Not known |
| Date of sentence, by who and court: | 5 December 1871, Birmingham Police Court, T C S Kynnersley |
| Where imprisoned: | Birmingham Borough Prison |
| Sentence: | 1 month prison (hard labour), 5 years at Saltley |
| Previous committals: | |
| Number: | One |
| Length: | 6 weeks |
| For what: | Escaping from an industrial school |
| Father’s name: | William Biggs |
| Occupation: | Plasterer |
| Mother's name: | - |
| Occupation: | - |
| Parents dead? | - |
| Survivor married again? | - |
| Parents’ treatment of child: | Good |
| Character of parents | Good |
| Parents’ wages: | £2 per week |
| Amount parents agree to pay: | No sum mentioned |
| Parents address: | 9 court Bridge Street West, Birmingham |
| Superintendent of police (to collect payments): | G Glossop |
| Person making this return: | - |
Notes:
| 28 September 1871 An offence committed while he was at the Industrial School is reported in the Birmingham Daily Gazette Thursday 28 September 1871 p.6 col.6: ABSCONDING FROM AN INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL.- Frank Stephens (12), and George Biggs (12), inmates of Gem Street Industrial School, were charged with absconding therefrom, and stealing the sum of 8s. 7d. from one o£ the drawers. The prisoners made their escape from the school on Tuesday last. After they had been missed one of the drawers was found broken open, and 8s 7d. taken out. The fugitives were traced to Barnet, near London, by one of the schoolmasters, named Grundy.-They admitted taking the money, and were sent to gaol for six weeks. |
| 3 August 1874 Absconded through tool house window |
| 5 August 1874 Caught near Coventry |
| 12 September 1874 Fetched from Warwick County Prison |
| 1 February 1876 Licensed to work with his father. Lives 3 Wharf Lane, Soho, Birmingham |
John Insley - Saltley Reformatory Inmate
| No. in Admissions Register: | 5 |
| Date of admission: | 11 July 1852 |
| Weekly payments: | - |
| Age: | 11 |
| Education: | Good |
| Previous employment: | spectacle making |
| Crimes, how often and in what prison: | Birmingham, 6 |
| Training in reformatory: | Spectacle making |
| When left reformatory: | March 1854 |
| Parentage and family: | Both dead |
| Residence: | Martin Street, Birmingham |
| Trade of father: | - |
| With whom the boy is placed: | Chilton |
| Trade: | spectacle making |
| Address: | - |
Notes:
Brother of William Insley
George Smith - Saltley Reformatory Inmate
| No. in Admissions Register: | 466 |
| Age: | 10 |
| Whence received: | Stafford Gaol |
| Description: | |
| Complexion: | Fresh |
| Hair colour: | Brown |
| Eyes colour: | Brown |
| Visage: | - |
| Particular marks: | - |
| State of health: | Good |
| Able-bodied? | Yes |
| Date of admission and term: | 29 February 1872 5 years |
| Late residence: | Old Hill |
| Parish he belongs to: | Rowley Regis |
| Customary work and mode of life: | None |
| Whether illegitimate: | - |
| State of education: | |
| Reads: | Not at all |
| Writes: | Not at all |
| Offence: | Stealing £1 13s 6d |
| Circumstances which may have led to it: | Bad company |
| Date of sentence, by who and court: | 31 January 1872, Old Hill Petty Sessions, E Moore and N Hingley |
| Where imprisoned: | Stafford |
| Sentence: | 1 month prison (hard labour), 5 years at Saltley |
| Previous committals: | |
| Number: | None |
| Length: | - |
| For what: | - |
| Father’s name: | Charles Smith |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Mother's name: | - |
| Occupation: | - |
| Parents dead? | Neither |
| Survivor married again? | - |
| Parents’ treatment of child: | Good |
| Character of parents | Honest, sober, and good health |
| Parents’ wages: | £1 per week |
| Amount parents agree to pay: | 1s 6d per week |
| Parents address: | Gosty Hill, Old Hill, Halesowen |
| Superintendent of police (to collect payments): | W Mill, Brierley Hill |
| Person making this return: | W Hayes, Halesowen |
Notes:
| 3 February 1872 There is a report of the crime in the County Advertiser and Herald for Staffordshire and Worcestershire Saturday 3 February 1872 p.3 col.5: A YOUNG THIEF. - George Smith, a ragged lad, about 12 years of age, was brought up on a charge of stealing £1 13s 6d, the moneys of the Great Western Railway Company. John Hodgetts, the station master at Old Hill said that on the evening of the 26th inst., he locked up his office, and on returning in about half-an-hour, he detected the prisoner making his exit from the place through the slide window. He took prisoner into the office, and he then produced £1 13s 6d, which he admitted having stolen from the money drawer, and he also said that he gained admittance to the place by pushing back the slide of the window. The prisoner was sentenced to one month's imprisonment, and afterwards to five years in a Reformatory. |
| 19 September 1876 Licensed to work for King and Co, Netherend Colliery, near Stourbridge |
| 15 October 1876 There is a letter from the boy: Old Hill, near Dudley, Oct. 15th 1876. Dear Sir, it is with love that I write this letter to you, hoping that it will find you quite well, as it leaves us all at present. I am very glad to tell you that I am going on very well. I thank you very much for allowing me to come home. I am very glad that I went to that School, for I am a scholar now. I send my kind love to you and the mistress. Please to send me a pass for the 19th. I shall come over to see you next month. I remain your obedient servant, G H Smith. Address: Mr Charles Smith, Slacky Lock Row, Old Hill, near Dudley. |
Richard Hampson - Saltley Reformatory Inmate
| No. in Admissions Register: | 820 |
| Age: | 13½ |
| Whence received: | H M Prison Strangeways, Manchester |
| Description: | |
| Complexion: | Fresh |
| Hair colour: | Light brown |
| Eyes colour: | Brown |
| Height: | - |
| Particular marks: | Cuts on forehead |
| State of health: | Good |
| Able-bodied? | Yes |
| Date of admission: | 2 July 1886 |
| Late residence: | 116 Spring Gardens, Bolton |
| Parish he belongs to: | Unknown |
| Customary work and mode of life: | Factory operative |
| Whether illegitimate: | No |
| State of education: | |
| Reads: | Imperfectly |
| Writes: | Imperfectly |
| Offence: | Stealing an India rubber stamp and a tobacco pouch |
| Circumstances which may have led to it: | Bad company |
| Date of sentence, by whom and court: | 17 June 1886; J Livy and R N Cottrell; Bolton Police Court |
| Where imprisoned: | H M Prison Strangeways, Manchester |
| Sentence: | 21 days in prison, 3 years at Saltley |
| Previous committals: | |
| Number: | Nil |
| Length: | - |
| For what: | - |
| Father's name: | Richard William Hampson |
| Occupation: | Drysalter |
| Mother's name: | Mary Ann Hampson |
| Occupation: | Housework |
| Parents dead? | - |
| Survivor married again? | - |
| Parents' treatment of child: | Good |
| Character of parents | Believed to be honest. Father drinks |
| Parents' wages: | Unknown |
| Amount parents agree to pay: | Unknown |
| Parents address: | 114 Spring Gardens, Bolton |
| Superintendent of police (to collect payments): | G Swainson, Borough Examiner, Bolton |
| Person making this return: | J W Preston, Governor, Strangeways Prison, Manchester |
| Notes: | |
| 7 July 1886 There is a report of the crime in the Birmingham Daily Post Wednesday 7 July 1886 p.3 col.4: YOUTHFUL WAREHOUSE-BREAKERS. - At the Borough Police Court [Hanley], yesterday, William Taylor (13) and George Leake (13) were charged. with having broken into a warehouse, and stolen therefrom a rat-trap and other. articles, belonging to the Corporation of Hanley. - It was stated that the defendants broke into a warehouse at the Corporation Sanitary Depot, in the Bucknall Road, on the morning of the 26th ult., and stole therefrom several trifling articles. They were seen and recognised by the machineman at the Northwood Colliery, who subsequently handed Taylor, whom he met in the street, over to the police. - The lads had been four times previously convicted, and the magistrates ordered them to be imprisoned for a month, and afterwards sent to a reformatory for five years. | |
| 30 March 1889 The Register of Boys on Licence reports that Hampson was licensed to go out and work for Mr Mr Deakin, Cheapside, Bolton | |
| 6 July 1889 Sentence expired. Discharged from Saltley whilst out on licence | |
| 9 December 1890 The Log Book report records receipt of a letter from Hampson, Bolton | |
Thomas Emuss - Saltley Reformatory Inmate
| No. in Admissions Register: | 1077 |
| Age: | 12 (born 29 March 1882) |
| Whence received: | H M Prison Stafford |
| Description: | |
| Complexion: | Fresh |
| Hair colour: | Brown |
| Eyes colour: | Grey |
| Height: | 4 ft 9 ins |
| Particular marks: | None |
| State of health: | Fair |
| Able-bodied? | Yes |
| Date of admission: | 20 September 1894 |
| Late residence: | Heath Town, Wolverhampton |
| Parish he belongs to: | - |
| Customary work and mode of life: | None |
| Whether illegitimate: | No |
| State of education: | |
| Reads: | Not at all |
| Writes: | Not at all |
| Offence: | Theft of 6s 8d |
| Circumstances which may have led to it: | Father dead, mother lost all control over boy. Boy stolen money on several occasions and stayed away from home |
| Date of sentence, by whom and court: | 11 September 1894; N C A Neville; Bilston Petty Sessions |
| Where imprisoned: | H M Prison Stafford |
| Sentence: | 10 days in prison, 5 years at Saltley |
| Previous committals: | |
| Number: | 1 (13 August 1894) |
| Length: | 4 strokes |
| For what: | Stealing money |
| Father's name: | - |
| Occupation: | - |
| Mother's name: | Sarah Emuss |
| Occupation: | Housewife |
| Parents dead? | Father |
| Survivor married again? | No |
| Parents' treatment of child: | Good |
| Character of parents | Good |
| Parents' wages: | Not stated - mother keeps house for grown-up sons |
| Amount parents agree to pay: | - |
| Parents address: | - |
| Superintendent of police (to collect payments): | - |
| Person making this return: | Superintendent James Cutiss, Bilston |
| Notes: | |
| 31 October 1895 The Medical Officer reported: Eczema | |
| 11 March 1896 The Medical Officer reported: Abscess in neck, better by 18 March | |
| 24 June 1896 The Medical Officer reported: Synovitis, still had it on 1 July but better by 9 July | |
| 2 November 1896 The Medical Officer reported: Pleurodynia, better by 4 November | |
| 1 December 1897 The Medical Officer reported: Dislocation of left wrist, improving by 8 December | |
| 9 August 1898 The Reformatory Committee Log Book report records that Emuss had requested to enlist, which had been granted, but he had failed to do so because of his mother withholding her consent | |
| 17 August 1898 The Medical Officer reported: Iritis and conjunctiva | |
| 12 September 1898 The next Log Book report notes that Emuss has enlisted and the Home Secretary has therefore ordered his discharge from Saltley | |
| 9 December 1902 The Log Book report records receipt of a letter from Emuss, Aldershot | |