Albert Bachert aka Alfred Charrington

[Debra Arif]

The perspective on the coffin bothers me a little, Debs. It works in isolation, but seen together with the other objects, it "rolls" awkwardly from left to right, as if jutting out of the plane of the paper. I think a trained draughtsman would have done a rather better job of the composition.

Each to their own, Gareth. I disagree but don't fancy continuous back and forth posts on the subject of perspective!

[Gary Barnett]

I have seen JR's thread before but didn't pay much attention until Jerry came up with the Bachert link.

I think I may have missed it because it was in the 'pub talk' area.

I've been haphazardly compiling a list of places where so-called SA activity took place (see below). It's nowhere near complete, but what I have so far ranges from Devon to Norfolk and from Sussex/Kent to Scotland - and even crosses into mainland Europe. The imagery - skull and crossbones/coffins etc - must have been recognisable to a large part of the population in the 1880s, so whoever wrote the Birmingham letter may well have had the SA in mind.

Luton
Worthing
Hastings
Northampton
London
Exeter
Weston-super-Mare
Honiton
Buckingham
Hereford
Walton-under-Edge
Gravesend
Gorgier (Switzerland)
Braintree
Hounslow
Hammersmith
Newbury
Kings Lynn
Torrington
Tunbridge Wells
Melton Mowbray
Shoreham
Folkestone
Uppsala (Sweden)
Alton (Staffs)
Sevenoaks
Salisbury
Eastbourne
Bournemouth
Leith
Chelmsford
Colyton
Yeovil
Bridport
Stockport

[Debra Arif]

I think I may have missed it because it was in the 'pub talk' area.

I've been haphazardly complying a list of places where so-called SA activity took place (see below). It's nowhere near complete, but what I have so far ranges from Devon to Norfolk and Sussex/Kent to Scotland - and even crosses into mainland Europe. The imagery - skull and crossbones/coffins etc - must have been recognisable to a large part of the population in the 1880s, so whoever wrote the Birmingham may well have had the SA in mind.

Luton
Worthing
Hastings
Northampton
London
Exeter
Weston-super-Mare
Honiton
Buckingham
Hereford
Walton-under-Edge
Gravesend
Gorgier (Switzerland)
Braintree
Hounslow
Hammersmith
Newbury
Kings Lynn
Torrington
Tunbridge Wells
Melton Mowbray
Shoreham
Folkestone
Uppsala (Sweden)
Alton (Staffs)
Sevenoaks
Salisbury
Eastbourne
Bournemouth
Leith
Chelmsford
Colyton
Yeovil
Bridport
Stockport

Gary, you rarely comply but almost always compile something useful..
Anyway, I think the(artistic) skull and crossbones with the added 'BLOOD' plus the coffin the SK A used to hide behind may very well have been a nod to that cause.
The thing is, which side was Albert on?

[Howard Brown]

Regardless of whether or not Bachert was responsible for that letter I think it relates to the Skeleton Army and I think there is considerable artistic, albeit stylistic, ability demonstrated in those sketches. The method of shading and contouring is quite advanced and the perspective is all good on the coffin, which is difficult to pull off.
-Debs Arif-

I agree Debs.....its a little too good to be just a random threat-letter, IMHO.

[Gary Barnett]

Gary, you rarely comply but almost always compile something useful..
Anyway, I think the(artistic) skull and crossbones with the added 'BLOOD' plus the coffin the SK A used to hide behind may very well have been a nod to that cause.
The thing is, which side was Albert on?

I've edited it already.

And I can now add Romford to the list - hooray!

[Jerry Dunlop]

Has anyone found a reference to the SA prior to October, 1881? It was certainly active in the West Country by then.

Gary,

I'm wondering if there was an Army prior to the Skeleton Army organized by Bachert. In one of the first clips I posted, Alfred Charrington says in his letter to the Daily News, " You state that the Skelton Army was first begun at Hackney. This is also not true, for I first founded an opposition Salvation Army at Whitechapel some four years ago which has grown to the great organization of the present day..." This would be in 1879 as the paper this came from was dated in 1883.

I also found a clip stating Frederick Charrington, the brewer, was a member of the Blue Ribbon Army. I'll see if I can dig that one back up.

[Robert Linford]

This Google result leads to an item from 1891 but I can't access it.


SCARED BY MOLLIE MAGUIRES.; THREATENING LETTERS ...

query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res...
All the letters are signed "A. O. of H.," and a skull, crossbones, and coffin are d.rawn under the initials. Blood spots surround tae skull and cross-bones. All of the recipients are greatly exercised and are in fear of their lives. 2'he la$o Franklin B. Gowen, s President of the Reading Railroad and Coral Companies, stamped out, ...

[Debra Arif]

Gary,

I'm wondering if there was an Army prior to the Skeleton Army organized by Bachert. In one of the first clips I posted, Alfred Charrington says in his letter to the Daily News, " You state that the Skelton Army was first begun at Hackney. This is also not true, for I first founded an opposition Salvation Army at Whitechapel some four years ago which has grown to the great organization of the present day..." This would be in 1879 as the paper this came from was dated in 1883.

I also found a clip stating Frederick Charrington, the brewer, was a member of the Blue Ribbon Army. I'll see if I can dig that one back up.

In which case Bachert would have been politically aware at a very young age. In 1879 he was round about 16?

[Debra Arif]

Regardless of whether or not Bachert was responsible for that letter I think it relates to the Skeleton Army and I think there is considerable artistic, albeit stylistic, ability demonstrated in those sketches. The method of shading and contouring is quite advanced and the perspective is all good on the coffin, which is difficult to pull off.
-Debs Arif-

I agree Debs.....its a little too good to be just a random threat-letter, IMHO.

It has all the elements, I agree, How.

[Howard Brown]

Bob:

About 6 months ago, Nina did a full genealogical background check for one of the plant managers where we work. His great grandfather ( He, like the Mollies, was Irish ) had to leave the coal cracker region of Pennsylvania because he stood up to the Molly Maguires. They never went after him.

Anyway....

New York Times
February 9, 1891
***************

[Gary Barnett]

Gary,

I'm wondering if there was an Army prior to the Skeleton Army organized by Bachert. In one of the first clips I posted, Alfred Charrington says in his letter to the Daily News, " You state that the Skelton Army was first begun at Hackney. This is also not true, for I first founded an opposition Salvation Army at Whitechapel some four years ago which has grown to the great organization of the present day..." This would be in 1879 as the paper this came from was dated in 1883.

I also found a clip stating Frederick Charrington, the brewer, was a member of the Blue Ribbon Army. I'll see if I can dig that one back up.

Hi Jerry,

Presumably Fred was an ex-brewer by the time he pinned on his blue ribbon.

Gary

[Jerry Dunlop]

Bachert makes another interesting statement in the news clip he was denying his identity as Alfred Charrington. The clips says "Mr Backert is quite a young man and a little under the medium stature. " Not big in size, he says himself, but the emphasis he puts upon the "in size" means a lot.

It appears, if Backert actually organized this huge Army that spread across the land, he was a big man. He had to feel a lot of self importance to all his followers. I'm sure he had a lot of enemies (the salvationists) in a lot of areas in England as Gary has pointed out with all the towns they were located in. By 1888 he seemed to have been put in his place. At least that's how I see it. He was less important but always projected an image of greatness. I don't recall him telling anyone he was the General of the Skeleton Army during his Whitechapel escapades. It's like he didn't want anyone to know. In reality, he may have been more powerful than we all know.

By the time of his theft arrest, I believe he was living in Bristol? At least that was the address he gave when arrested in the East End of London. Maybe his enemies were closing in on him? I'm wondering if we can find him under the name of Charrington in his later years, thus the difficulty in finding him under the name of Bachert?

[Jerry Dunlop]

Gary, you rarely comply but almost always compile something useful..
Anyway, I think the(artistic) skull and crossbones with the added 'BLOOD' plus the coffin the SK A used to hide behind may very well have been a nod to that cause.
The thing is, which side was Albert on?

I think the letter relates to the SK A as well, Debs. Just too many drawings that match their mottos and symbolism all in one location on a single letter.

[Howard Brown]

I'm wondering if we can find him under the name of Charrington in his later years, thus the difficulty in finding him under the name of Bachert?
-JD-

Wouldn't it be something if this were true, JD ? Good thinking.....

[Jerry Dunlop]

In a divorce case in 1897 a Mrs. Charles Charrington (wife of the well known East End brewer) states her husbands nickname to his friends was Toby. [Daily Mail Jan 29, 1897]

In another ripper letter addressed to 13, Newnham Street on 9th October, 1889, Bachert is addresssed as Toby Baskett. He seems to have adopted the name of Charrington and I am wondering if there is a strong connection between Bachert and the brewer.