Scoundrels and Scallywags (And Some Honest Men)

“An exceptionally interesting book about criminals and their ways” Daily Mirror

The fascinating autobiography of detective Tom Divall, who served in the Metropolitan Police from 1882 to 1913. His recollections and reminiscences from more than thirty years in policing, beginning as a police constable, and rising to the rank of Chief Inspector of the Criminal Investigation Department (C.I.D.) at Scotland Yard.

Unlike other police memoires of the era, which tend to focus on famous or fictional cases and favour sensationalism over authenticity, Tom Divall writes earnestly about his own direct experiences as a policeman. He recalls a wide range of encounters he had with criminals of all classes, genders and nationalities, including many clever and dangerous characters. As a constable he dealt with much drunkenness and disorder. As a detective, he investigated many robberies, frauds, assaults, and murders, as well as lesser discussed crimes such as abortion and the ‘white slave trade’.

Tom Divall started out in his police career serving in the Blackheath and then Deptford Divisions. His time in the C.I.D. was then spent in the Southwark, Whitechapel and Hackney Divisions, before finally being based at head-quarters in Scotland Yard. Divall is a proud policeman and an accomplished storyteller who vividly describes the people and places he knew so well in Victorian and Edwardian London. After retiring from the police, he was privately employed at various racecourses in Britain and Ireland, where he became familiar with numerous well-known criminal gangs of the age.

First published by Ernest Benn in 1929. This special edition is published by Lewisham Press, 2020. Scoundrels and Scallywags (And Some Honest Men) is a compelling and important narrative that will captivate the attention of those interested in crime, policing, social issues and local history.

Thomas Divall was born in Hartfield, Sussex in 1861. He was killed in 1943, during a German air raid in Hove, Sussex.

£6.99