illegal

Very interesting series of pix. Got the link from the Guardian 1930s mugshots online They're almost all very short. None are described as unemployed.

Note the 'RIP London Blitz 1940'.

I think I may be related possibly to this man , my mother is a murray and her father was killed in the blitz there , she could recall the glass filling her cot . If so this would be the first photo of him i have ever seen

There are two Alexander Murrays with a possible connection on the 1911 census - a six year old who was born Gateshead and recorded at 8 Sarah Street, Gateshead. This was the household of his parents, Joseph, (aged 38 and a Pipe Coverer from Gateshead) and Mary, (aged 39 and from Gateshead). Joseph and Mary have been married for 18 years. As well as Alexander they have 6 other children. The other candidate is a 5 year old from South Shields. He was recorded at 43 Richmond Road, Tyne Docks, South Shields. His father, Alexander, is aged 40 and a Marine Engineer from South Shields. His mother, Annie is aged 40 - the pair have been married for 20 years.As well as the young Alexander, they have 5 other children. Both Alexanders seem to have had a fairly stable upbringing, so if it is one of them that is photographed here, then one wonders what happened. Switching to the RIP London Blitz 1940 note, the picture is even more unclear. There is no Alexander Murray recorded on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission as dieing in 1940 anywhere near London - either as a civilian \ member of the emergency services or as a serviceman. Checking the General Registry Office lists of deaths for 1940 in England and Wales, again there is no obvious candidate. Of course there remains a number of possibilities - Alexander could have been a middle name or a name he was known by in the family or even just a false one he gave to the police and it may have suited him for that persona to be listed as dead in the Blitz. He could also have come from elsewhere and so doesn't appear on the 1911 census for England and Wales. Intriguing stuff :-)

Thanks for that research. Quite a few of these men are elusive to track down, but have a look at the story of William Jones www.flickr.com/photos/twm_news/7789731538/in/set-72157631... for someone with no fewer than three aliases

Compared to most of these bums he looks almost the gentleman.

The Gentelman Thief but people did dress smarter in those days. Found this stream via the story in todays Guardian, fascinating, my In Laws live in Sunderland.

'All classes of thieves'. You had to mind your p's and q's with Tommo.

dapper dude

Liked himself, didn't he!

its eraserhead !

I retouched this photo and made it into something awesome!

"Fatty" Potter? How on earth would he have scored a nickname like that!

I found 9 newspaper stories (from 1926-1932) about this fellow. Here's one: A "CAT" MAN CAUGHT -- HID IN A LIFT SHAFT -- Newcastle. Monday. - Described as "a dangerous man who could climb any wall and get to any house window", James Boyd Potter was at Newcastle today sent to prison for three months for being on enclosed premises. Sergt. Robinson found the accused hiding in a lift shaft in buildings in Bath-lane. "It was a dark night," the accused pleaded, "and the doors were open. What could you expect me to do?" -Hull Daily Mail - Monday 11 October 1926

From a year earlier: APPEAL FOR ANOTHER CHANCE -- Man Who Did Not Pretend To Be an Angel. Pleading guilty at Newcastle to two charges of theft from warehouses in which goods valued at £50 15s 9d were involved, James Boyd Potter (25), of no fixed abode, against whom was a long list of previous convictions, appealed to the the Bench for another chance. "I don't want you to think I am an angel," he said. "I have a bad record, but I came out of prison four months ago, after a sentence of eighteen months, determined to do what was right. I had not a penny and could not get work. I am willing to do anything. I have had no assistance from the parish or the "dole." Give me another chance, and if I come back you can send me to prison for as long as you like. Prison has no effect on me." Mr. C.J. Dymond (chairman) said it was difficult to know what to do with a man with a record like accused. However, they decided not to send him for trial. He would have to go to prison for twelve months. "Twelve months! And I will come out without a penny!" exclaimed accused as he went below to the cells. Dundee Evening Telegraph - Friday 13 November 1925