Can you help me find George Herbert "Topper" Brown of Chatham?

[ShaunJ]

29th August 1907:  Croydon - 6 strokes for placing an obstacle on the railway
5th October 1908:  Epsom - 5 years on a training ship for stealing 3/6

I'm following the trail of these offences to see if we are on the right track. Newspaper reports from September and October 1908 ("The Boy Brown in Trouble Again" is one headline from the Dorking Advertiser) reveal that the chief witnesses against were the boy's parents and younger brother.

The father was William Cavill Brown and the younger brother was Percy Lionel Brown. Address 25 Caen Wood Road, Ashtead,Surrey.

There's a family in Sheffield in 1901 that matches:

25 Carfield Road:

William C Brown 48 journeyman joiner, Lincs, Barton on Humber
Lucy E wife 45, Lincs Appleby
Leonard son 10 Sheffield
?? son 8 Sheffield
George H son 3 Sheffield
Percy L 2 Sheffield


There is an online tree that records the birth of a son Cyril to William Cavill Brown in 1889.

[JJen]

1891 with Cyril -

William C Brown   38
Lucy E Brown   36
William R Brown   7
Oscar O Brown   4
Cyril E Brown   2

RG12 Piece 3802 Folio 80 Page 14

Oscar ends up in a reformatory for stealing. Records show his father as a joiner.

JJ

[Christine53]

14th March 1914: George Herbert Brown, a baker aged 17 years and one month is sentenced at Leicester to 3 years Borstal for stealing a watch. Previous convictions:

29th August 1907:  Croydon - 6 strokes for placing an obstacle on the railway
5th October 1908:  Epsom - 5 years on a training ship for stealing 3/6

The report on the 1908 incident mentions a brother , Percy Lionel , aged 9. In 1910 Percy Lionel of 21 Chipstead Villas , Coulsden , Surrey appears in Court , charged with stealing coal. The Chipstead Villas address can be found on the census and leads to an Oscar Oswald Brown b1887 Grimsby.

1911 index for Oscar Oswald Brown:
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XW8N-DN8

1891 census for Oscar , transcribed Oscar D Brown, giving parents William C and Lucy E Brown in Grimsby:
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:7L4L-26Z ( advisable to view an image on ancestry or FindMyPast )

1901 census

William C Broun 48 b Barton Humberside
Lucy E Broun 45
Leonard 10
Vincent 8
George H Broun 1 b Sheffield
Percy L Broun 2 b Sheffield

address Heeley , Sheffield

I see some of this has already been covered but will post anyway because of Percy Lionel and the Surrey connection.

[heywood]

1901 3983/139/6

Cyril Edgar Brown 11 yrs born Sheffield is an inmate in North Lancashire Reformatory for Boys

I am assuming that this is brother Cyril.

[Peffness]

WOW, it's a Valentine's miracle!
You lot truly are amazing, let me digest all of this///

Hi,

Who are the witnesses on the marriage cert as they could hold some clues?

JJ

I have a copy of the marriage certificate and to me it looks like Mary F. Hull and R. H. J. Mester

1938 Electoral Register records George Herbert Brown and Adelaide Brown living at 2 Kersley Mews, Battersea S.W.11

JJ

What a find, thank you so much JJ! I've had a quick look on Google Maps and Kersley Mews is only a 10 minute walk from Battersea Park Road (Adelaide's address on the 1939 Register).

This may not be your George but there is a report in the Kent & Sussex Courier 29 Jun 1934 of a George Herbert Brown , 38 , a ganger of Chatham , being sentenced to 3 years penal servitude following a robbery. Looking at your picture it's a bit difficult to reconcile the two !

He does look quite respectable, doesn't he? Must have been Sunday best!

ShaunJ & CB53 thank you so much for looking into the newspaper reports! Are these available in the Gale British Newspapers Collection, or elsewhere?

This all very exciting! (And not the first criminal to show up in my family, haha!)

I found this photo of Oscar Oswald... It might be wishful thinking but I can see a resemblance between him and Topper (George Herbert)... The nose and chin especially... And he looks a LOT like my dad. This is blowing my mind a bit!

[ShaunJ]

FindMyPast has a 1918 merchant navy seaman's identity certificate for George Herbert Brown born Sheffield 24/2/1897, a trimmer. It has a striking photograph of the young man. 

[Peffness]

KGarrad, ShaunJ, paco, rosie99, heywood, CB53, JJen and bearkat thank you so much for taking the time to look into this for me. You've helped turn up so much new information and set me on the way to find out more about Topper's ancestors as well as his life.

I spoke to my grandmother today (she is Topper's granddaughter). She said that she'd never been told about Topper's past but that he was "a rotten chap" and "a real hard nut" so she wasn't surprised!

[Peffness]

As an update on this, I've been in touch with the Surrey History Centre and they have an enrollment record for George Herbert Brown at the Royal Philanthropic Society School which seems to match with Topper
The record includes a photograph - can't wait to see it!

[heywood]

Thanks for the update - great success