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When researching your family tree, every now and then you come across an interesting character, and George Charles Herbert Hunter definitely falls into the category of “interesting”.
He was born on 21st September 1886 at 8 Aytoun Road, Stockwell, in the London Borough of Lambeth. His mother was Emma Helen Prosser, (sister of my great great grandfather, Samuel George Reese Prosser) and his father was Walter Hunter, better known as G. W. Hunter (George Walter Hunter), a well-known music hall comedian, singer, dancer and magician.
Whilst G. W. Hunter used his wit and talent for sleight of hand and trickery to entertain music hall audiences, his son George Charles Herbert Hunter unfortunately turned similar skills into a means of making a living through crime. He spent a significant amount of his adult life in and out of prison and, in 1929, articles he had written about his crimes were published in the book “Crooks of the Underworld” under the pseudonym Charles G. Gordon. The Villanova Law Library has credited authorship of this book to Major-General Charles George Gordon, 1833 to 1885, a British Army Officer. This however cannot be correct as the crimes detailed in the book all took place in the early 1900s, well after the death of General Charles George Gordon. My research has uncovered the true author as George Charles Herbert Hunter, 1886 to 1964. Any references in this article to “his book” refer to the book, “Crooks of the Underworld” by Charles George Gordon with an introduction by George Dilnot published in 1929 by Geoffrey Bles, Suffolk St., Pall Mall, London.
So, how did I uncover the truth? It began when I was searching the Ancestry database for George Charles Herbert Hunter. The search results included a number of records relating to the crimes of “George Charles Gordon”. At first, I dismissed these as relating to somebody else, but on closer inspection, I spotted some key details which pointed towards them being the same person. Firstly, the register of Habitual Criminals for 1918 listed “George Hunter” as an alias for the criminal “George Charles Gordon”. Secondly, the same register described George Charles Gordon as having a “fresh” complexion, light brown hair, hazel eyes, a “pierced heart” tattoo on his right forearm, and on his left forearm, the letters “FLO” along with a cupid and sword. This matched the description of George Charles Herbert Hunter in his Royal Navy Record from 1904, which described him as having a “fresh” complexion, brown hair, hazel eyes and most importantly, a “pierced heart tattooed right arm”. He must have gained the additional tattoos on his left arm after 1904. I haven't yet worked out who “FLO” was. His step mother's first name was Florence but I'm sure the tattoo wasn't for her! His first wife, who he married is 1909, was called Jane Jones, not Florence. She appears with George on the 1911 census but I'm not sure what happened to her after that.
In search of further evidence, I turned to the British Newspaper Archive. I soon came across a report in the Morning Advertiser from 31st December 1910 which detailed how George Charles Hunter, aged 22, occupation bookbinder, had been charged along with three other men with breaking into a warehouse at 9 Dean Street, Soho, and stealing 22 cases of champagne. Hunter was actually found not guilty of this particular crime, however, the Police Gazette Supplement A for August 9th 1918 includes an entry for George Charles “Gordon” describing his past crimes. Amongst these is described a crime in which he and three others broke into a wine warehouse and stole a number of cases of champagne. This description of the same crime under the name “Hunter” in the newspaper and under the name “Gordon” in the Police Gazette added weight to my hypothesis that these two people were the same man. Crucially, the Police Gazette includes a photograph of George Charles “Gordon” and he certainly bears a strong resemblance to G. W. Hunter, his father. Additionally, in his introduction to the book “Crooks of the Underworld”, George Dilnot states “Gordon, of course, is an assumed name” and states that George's father was “a man well and favourably known to the public”. Putting together all of the information I had gathered, I concluded that George Charles Herbert Hunter, the criminal known as George Charles Gordon and the Author with the pseudonym Charles G. Gordon must all be the same person. “Gordon” was just one of many aliases he used.
I initially stumbled across the fact that George Charles “Gordon” had written the book “Crooks of the Underworld” whilst searching the British Newspaper Archive for details of his crimes. An article in the Daily Express, 9th September 1931, describes how George Charles “Gordon” gave a story of his career during his trial at the Old Bailey. The fact that he had written a number of articles on crime, published in the book “Crooks of the Underworld”, was also mentioned. In the witness box, Gordon stated “I knew no home from infancy” and “I was put out to a decent school until I was thirteen. Then, as those responsible failed to pay the fees, I was put into the workhouse. I escaped on the first night, and, unfortunately, I fell among thieves. I went right into the lap of crime. I was taught to be a sneak thief and pilferer until I was seventeen, when I was caught and sentenced for housebreaking.” Was this a desperate attempt to win over the empathy of the judge with a made-up sob story? Or was he telling the truth? The fact that he was caught and sentenced for housebreaking when he was seventeen is certainly true and I believe the remainder of his story to be largely true as well.
From what I know of the early life of George Charles Herbert Hunter, the fact that he “knew no home from infancy” is certainly true. His father, G. W. Hunter, filed a petition for divorce on 19th August 1889, on the grounds that his wife had committed adultery. George Charles Herbert would have just been approaching his third birthday at this time. The final decree was granted on 4th November 1890 and G. W. Hunter was given custody of George Charles Herbert and his sister, Edith. G. W. Hunter may have been a great entertainer, but sadly it seems he was a little too busy performing to have much interest in his children. His career took him all over the UK and further afield. On the 1891 census, G. W. Hunter was boarding in Manchester whilst performing at the Folly Theatre and by this time he had acquired a new “wife”, Florence Kate Arthur (better known as Aimée Desirée, who performed illusions as part of an act entitled “Mystia”). Although Florence Kate Arthur didn't actually marry G. W. Hunter until 1930, she was referred to as his wife from at least 1891 onwards. G. W. Hunter's children meanwhile were staying with a cousin of their father in St Albans at the time of the 1891 census.
In his book, George Charles Herbert states “I was educated at a famous school”. I haven't yet found details of which school he attended so haven't been able to corroborate the details of him leaving school and entering the workhouse when he was thirteen, but what I do know is that his father, G. W. Hunter, was on tour in South Africa and then Australia for around 11 months at this time. He and his “wife” departed from Southampton for Cape Town on 20th May 1899, arriving in Cape Town on 8th June 1899. They departed Cape Town on 10th August 1899, arriving in Sydney, Australia on 31st August 1899 and stayed in Australia until 28th Feb 1900, arriving back in London on 13th April 1900. George Charles Herbert turned thirteen in September 1899. If his father had not made adequate arrangements for the payment of his school fees and could not be contacted due to being out of the country, this could explain how George Charles Herbert ended up being removed from school and sent to the workhouse.
On Saturday 14th April 1900, part of a letter written by G. W. Hunter whilst on board the Orient line ship “Ophir” on his return from Australia was published in “The Era”. He wrote “While we were ploughing through the Indian Ocean, during intense heat, I gave an entertainment of conjuring and clairomancy, which was a great success, and resulted in a collection of £5 14s 6d, which I have divided as follows:- Seaman's Orphanage £1 14s 6d; Music Hall Benevolent Fund £2; Music Hall Home Fund £2”. It seems a little ironic that he was busy raising money for an orphanage whilst his own son had effectively been abandoned! George Charles Herbert could quite easily have put the full blame for the way his life turned out on his father, but interestingly, in his book he states, “Mostly it has been my own fault”.
In his book, George Charles Herbert Hunter glosses over his teenage years and deliberately avoids giving away information that might reveal his true identity, but records show he joined the Navy as a boy trainee on 12th April 1902, aged 15. The only hint he gives of this in his book is the statement, “I have sailed before the mast”. He trained at HMS Impregnable and Vivid I at Devonport, Plymouth. His Navy record then shows he was assigned to the depot ship HMS Triumph (later renamed HMS Tenedos) from 25th November 1903 to 15th January 1904 and finally HMS Doris from 16th January 1904 to 23rd June 1904. HMS Doris was undergoing an overhaul at Devonport at this time so he wouldn't have been out at sea. His character on his Navy record was described as “good”, however, the discharge notes state “Run” indicating he deserted the Navy. This would have left him a wanted man.
His first prison sentence started on 9th August 1904, just a few weeks after deserting the navy and a month before his 18th Birthday. He used the alias “Henry Barrett”, presumably to escape further punishment for desertion. The Islington Gazette, 29th July 1904 reported that he was “charged at North London Police-court yesterday with breaking and entering the dwelling house No. 24, Douglas Road, Canonbury, and stealing a large quantity of cutlery and plates, the value of which is at present unknown, belonging to the Rev. Frederick William Newland”. He gave his age as 21 and occupation as stableman and appeared in court wearing riding breeches. The UK calendar of prisoners shows that he pleaded guilty at his trial on 9th August and was sentenced to 6 months hard labour in Wormwood Scrubs Prison. In his book, “Crooks of the Underworld”, George Charles Herbert Hunter recounts how he made the mistake of lying that his age was 22 when he was actually 19. In reality, he was only 17 and gave his age as 21. Although there are some slight discrepancies in the detail, the consequences were the same; as a 21 year old, he had to serve his sentence with ordinary prisoners rather than juveniles. He refers to being “mixed with the common herd” and recounts being “bundled unceremoniously into a large store-room where coarse fibre mattresses were laid upon the floor”. He admits “I confess that I was scared when I saw the unlovely specimens of humanity sprawled out before me on the beds in that noisome store-room of the prison.”
Sadly, this was just the beginning of a life of crime. The UK calendar of prisoners reveals a string of sentences in the following years:
26th March 1907 - 9 months imprisonment using the alias “Henry Barrett” for attempting to steal.
17th December 1907 - 18 months imprisonment in Wormwood Scrubs using the alias “Henry Barrett” for “burglary in the dwelling-house of Hedley Hammond and stealing therein two overcoats”.
28th February 1910 - 3 months imprisonment using his real name, George Hunter, for loitering.
29th June 1910 - 6 months imprisonment using the alias “Arthur Harris”, for being a suspected person loitering.
25th April 1911 - 20 months imprisonment using the alias “Arthur Wordsley” for robbery.
This is the point at which he started using the alias “George Charles Gordon”. On the 4th February 1913, he was sentenced to 7 years imprisonment for a well-publicised case that became known as the “Treacle Plaster Robbery”. In his book, he protests that he was innocent of this particular crime but states “I consoled myself with the fact that there were scores of crimes for which I had not even been charged.” The Westminster Gazette, 2nd November 1912 reported that a cashier carrying a bag of money “was pounced upon by four men, who knocked him down, clapped a mask smeared with treacle upon his face, and snatched the bag from his grasp”, before the men escaped into the subway, padlocking an iron gate behind themselves to make their escape. The Star, 20th November 1912 reported that three men, including George Charles Gordon were charged with this offence and placed on remand. A week later, a fourth man was charged, as reported by the London Evening Standard, 28th November 1912. Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper, 8th December 1912, then reported that a fifth man, William Charles Blake had given himself up and confessed to being involved. Regarding Blake, it was reported that “the accused, referring to the photograph of three of the men in custody, which had been published, said: “It was a good photograph of Sailor Hunter.”” He is likely to have been referring to the photograph which was published in the Daily Mirror, November 21st 1912 showing George Charles Gordon, Daniel Harris and Henry Willis “in the dock”. William Charles Blake obviously knew the true identity of George Charles Gordon. The Morning Advertiser, Thursday 12th December 1912, reported that William Charles Blake had withdrawn his confession. The remaining four men appeared in court in January 1913. The Daily News (London), 23rd January 1913 reported that the trial “came to an end at The Old Bailey yesterday” and stated that the jury disagreed and were discharged; the case was postponed. The Morning Advertiser, 15th February 1913 reported that the trial had concluded the previous day and that all four men had been found guilty. George Charles Gordon was sentenced to “penal servitude for seven years” but was found not guilty of being an habitual criminal. This case was reported widely in the press and by the time he had spent several years in prison as “George Charles Gordon”, this alias stuck.
World War I broke out whilst George Charles Herbert was serving his sentence for the treacle plaster robbery. Whilst most men of his age were sent to fight in the trenches, he was in the relative safety of prison! In his book, he states that he petitioned the Secretary of State seven times to join the Forces, but his requests were refused. He was released on 1st August 1918, just three months before the war ended. On release, unsurprisingly, he was far less keen to join the Army and managed to escape joining up by absconding and then, according to his own account, managed to obtain exemption papers on medical grounds. In his book, he doesn't explain how he obtained these papers but is purposefully brief about the details “owing to the scandal which would arise out of the matter”.
For the following 10 years, he seems to have managed to stay largely out of prison with just three short sentences; the Police Gazette supplement A shows he was sentenced to 1 month in 1919 for failure to report, 6 months in 1920 for stealing a cigarette case and 3 months in 1927 for being a suspected person loitering. He had appeared in court in 1926 for picking pockets but was bound over rather than being sent to prison. It was during these years that George Dilnot engaged George Charles Herbert Hunter in writing about his crimes. Dilnot worked as an editor for “The Detective Magazine” published by The Amalgamated Press, Ltd. A number of articles written by “Charles George Gordon” were published in this magazine between August 1923 and August 1924; these articles formed the basis of the book “Crooks of the Underworld”. In his introduction to the book, George Dilnot states “he wrote these articles for serial publication in a magazine I was then editing. Gordon had opportunities of cheating me on monies advanced without any risk during the months that followed. I never met any man more scrupulous in fulfilling his obligations”. So perhaps this crook wasn't all bad? In his book, he states that he “often endeavoured to spare a victim unnecessary pain or anxiety” and proceeds to recount how he had once stolen a jewel case, the contents of which included war medals. He says he returned the medals to the victim by post. Perhaps he did have a conscience of sorts? A very different picture of him is painted by The Police Gazette, Supplement A vol. V no. 32 (August 9th, 1918). This describes him in the following way:- “Walks erectly; speaks quickly; addicted to drink and is an inveterate smoker; is of sullen disposition and would not hesitate to resort to violence to evade arrest”.
In his book, he talks of trying to stay “on the straight” and find work, however he was also determined to be truthful to prospective employers about his background, rather than to obtain work by deception. Without experience or references, honest work was almost impossible to find. He recounts how he resorted to venturing into the Kent countryside looking for farm work, however, this didn't go particularly well. He spent a day working on a pig farm but when asked to clean out the “gilts”, he had no idea what gilts were and proceeded to clean out the Tamworths instead. This led to a fight with a farm worker and brought his farming career to a swift end!
Staying straight proved difficult for him. I have found evidence that he served two further prison sentences in the 1930s; on 8th September 1931, he was sentenced to 18 months for stealing a diamond pendant from a lady's neck (reported in the Daily Herald, 9th September 1931) and on 18th April 1934, he was sentenced to 20 months for burglary having broken into a house in Chelsea and stolen jewellery and wearing apparel (reported in Chelsea News and General Advertiser, 6th April 1934). In 1937, he was put on probation after stealing £10 in silver from a stand at the Business Efficiency Exhibition at Earl's Court (reported in Chelsea News and General Advertiser, 1st October 1937). After this, he appears to have lived a relatively quiet life. In 1933, he married Ellen Elizabeth Ethel Bishop - she was 18 years younger than him but perhaps she had a good influence on him? The 1939 register shows them living together at 29 Clonmel Road, Fulham, and George Charles Herbert is listed as a Motor Driver. Electoral registers show the couple living at 5 Cleveland Road, Chiswick, between 1945 and George Charles Herbert's death in 1964. For a man who had previously never stayed at one address for more than a few months, to live in the same house for around 20 years was quite a significant change.
What caused this change? Was it the influence of his wife? Was it the fact that he had found honest work as a motor driver? Another possible explanation for George settling down after the 1930s may be that he inherited money from his father who died in 1936. Probate records show Walter Hunter died on 17th May 1936 leaving a fortune of £38,267. Average annual salaries were less than £200 at the time so this would have been a significant amount of money. Did he have the heart to leave any of it to his criminal son? I await a copy of his will to find out...