Photos Of Frederick George Abberline

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Group photo of the Police and Police Sergeant Constables of H Division (Whitechapel). The date is unknown.

Photo Source: www.jacktheripper.nl/Politie

I believe that Inspector Frederick Abberline is seated in the front row, center (sixth one from the left). If you look closely, you can see the letter "A", written upside down, in blue paint or ink right in front of that officer too. I am not sure if the letter was painted on the ground prior to the photo shoot or if the letter was added in ink directly to the photograph itself, by a family member or friend of the family.

Other photos of Abberline:

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Frederick George Abberline
Photo credit: Ovation TV Photo

Just yesterday, a poster named "Wickerman" (another poster who hides behind an alias), stated that the police officer that I had identified as Local Inspector Abberline, could not have actually been Abberline, and he cites as his reason that the stripes on Abberline's uniform are not those of a Chief Inspector. Well, I hate to bring fact back to the discussion, but Abberline was NOT promoted to Chief Inspector until 1890!! The group photo of H Division Whitechapel was taken in 1886 or 1887, because P.C. William Smith is seen in the second last row and he joined the Met Police in 1886. The photo could not have been taken in 1888 because Abberline was transferred to Scotland Yard in February 1888, and if you look at the background of the photo, you can tell that it is not winter! Here is his CV:

1878 : Apr 8 - Moved to H Division (Whitechapel) and promoted to Local Inspector.
1887 : Feb. 26 - Moved to A Division (Whitehall). Nov. 19 - Moved to CO Division.
1888 : Feb. 8 - Promoted to 1st Class Inspector.
1890 : Dec. 22 - Promoted to Chief Inspector.

It seems that Mr. Wickerman needs to get back down to basics with his research and read all of the information found at the links above "Message Boards." God knows, you won't learn the facts there!

Here is the cropped photo of Abberline placed beside the known sketch of Abberline:

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