Lewis Henry Salmon

Lewis Henry Salmon was found dead in his shop at Bishops Road in Paddington at 6.30pm on 30 November 1917.

He had been gagged and bound and had died from heart failure.

The pathologist said that the gag had accelerated death which was due to injuries and asphyxiation.

A general timeline of events is as follows:

• 3.50pm: Tobacconist opposite asked by Lewis Salmon to look after his shop whilst he went out.
• 4pm: Lewis Salmon went off somewhere in a taxi-cab.
• 4.50pm: Lewis Salmon returned to shop and officer follows him in.
• 6pm or 6.15pm: Lewis Salmon thought to have made a cup of tea.
• 6.30pm: Lewis Salmon's body discovered by two men.
• 7.10pm: Police surgeon examined Lewis Salmon's body.

The police offered a reward of £2 for information as to where Lewis Salmon was taken by a taxi-driver who picked him up at about 4pm at the corner of Bishops Road and Eastbourne Terrace, near the Great Western Railway Station.

Lewis Salmon had been a dealer in antique furniture and second-hand clothing, including second-hand uniforms. He was also described as a well-known wardrobe dealer.

His son-in-law said that on the morning of the tragedy that when Lewis Salmon had left the house for his place of business he had been wearing a gold hunter-watch, a diamond pin, a chain with two or three heavy gold seals attached, and a diamond ring on each little finger. He added that Lewis Salmon had also usually carried a considerable amount of loose money with him and that on 30 November he should say that he would have had somewhere between £20 and £30 on him.

It was noted that his gold watch had been worth about £25 and that he had only just purchased it about four days before his death.

His son-in-law noted that he also carried with him a pocket-book containing articles of jewellery, and in addition had upon him a £50 War Bond from a customer for security.

He added that when he saw Lewis Salmon's body at the shop that he noted that the shop had been in disorder.

His body was discovered at about 6.30pm.

An RFC mechanic that went to the shop with a companion to make a purchase on the evening of 30 November 1917 said that when they entered that they called out but got no answer. He said that they then walked through to part of the shop that was lighted and then saw, in the passage between the two parts of the shop a body lying on its back.

He said the hands were tied at the wrist across the chest and that there was a gag in his mouth.

He said that he immediately thought that the best thing to do would be to call the police, noting that there was no one about and that Lewis Salmon appeared to be dead.

He said that he had never been in the shop before and had never seen Lewis Salmon before.

The Divisional Police Surgeon that examined Lewis Salmon's body, said that Lewis Salmon might have been tied up in the outer room and then dragged to the inner room. He said that a handkerchief that had been forced into his mouth was covered with blood, which also covered his face. He added that there was also blood on his collar and cuffs.

He said that he noticed that he was wearing diamond rings on his little fingers, and also had a diamond and pearl breast-pin, which he noted appeared to have been pulled forward as if in an attempt to extract it, but that that had been prevented by the safety clasp.

He noted that there was no watch or chain on his body and that a quantity of money was missing. It was noted that the War Bond, which was initially thought to have also been stolen, was later found in one of Lewis Salmon's old coats.

It was noted that his pocket nook was also missing.

It was said that there were four main clues:

1. The letter 'H' on his missing pocket book.
2. The words 'Russel, Liverpool', on the works of his missing gold watch.
3. The peculiar pattern of a missing watch chain with heavy gold seals.
4. Peculiar laundry mark upon the piece of linen that was found in his mouth.

It was said that the linen, a handkerchief, that had been thrust into his mouth had had a faint laundry mark on it. It was determined that the material didn't belong to Lewis Salmon and the Coroner noted that the marking was unmistakable and could be readily identified. It was added that the clue had resulted in a large number of detectives visiting laundries. The piece of cloth was described as a piece of herring-bone stitching in black cotton.

It was noted that his hands and feet had been tied up with bootlaces.

Lewis Salmon's wife said that on 20 November 1917 that she went to the shop as he was going to some auction rooms and that when he returned she left him in the office sitting in the armchair. He noted that he invariably used two cups when he made himself tea.

She said that he had been in business in Paddington as a jeweller and wardrobe dealer for twenty years.

His wife said that after she left that her daughter later called the shop and asked, 'Is that you, papa?' and said that there was no answer and that she got very agitated. She said that afterwards that her daughter was answered by a man who said that he was a friend of Mr Salmon and said that it then became apparent to her that something was wrong.

The police later said that they were trying to trace a man of the following description:

• Aged about 60.
• Height 5ft 8in.
• Stout.
• Appearance of a Jew.
• Wearing brown overcoat, grey Trilby hat, black boots.

He was said to have been seen getting into a taxi cab at the corner of Eastbourne Terrace in Bishop's Road.

The police said that they thought that there had been more than one assailant.

He was said to have had an ugly wound on the back of his head and that the blow must have been dealt as he was struggling to prevent his assailants tying his limbs with the bootlaces.

It was said that the linen that had been used as a gag, had been so forcibly thrust into his mouth as to tear his lip, loosen his false teeth, and force the plate into the roof of the mouth. It was said that the gag had then been secured by another piece of linen that had been wrapped around the head and tied at the back.

Blood was also said to have been oozing from his mouth.

The police surgeon noted that he also found a cigarette stump in Lewis Salmon's tea saucer, and said that the remains of a cup of tea were still warm when he reached the shop. He said that he later carried out experiments and found that tea, after being made with boiling water, would take three-quarters of an hour to reach the temperature at which he found it. As such, he said that he thought that Lewis Salmon had made his tea about 6pm or 6.15pm, as he had found the dregs at 7.10pm.

It was reported that his assailants appeared to have been disturbed whilst in the act of removing the diamond rings from his fingers.

It was also said that a chair was found to be knocked over, a gas mantle broken, and that clothing had apparently been taken from the front of the shop and scattered about the floor.

On 3 December 1917 it was reported that the police were working on what were reported to have been important clues. It was said that two men, described as being of middle age and of Jewish appearance, had been seen outside the shop at about 5.45pm. They were both said to have had dark moustaches and to be wearing dark clothes and Trilby hats. The taller of them was then said to have been seen going into the shop after which the shop was lit up and then later observed to fall into darkness. It was noted that the man was not seen to leave the premises.

It was noted that a watch answering the description of the dead man's watch was said to have been offered for sale in the East End on 2 December 1917, but that as the watch was obviously worth more than that that the shopkeeper became suspicious and would not purchase it. It was said that on hearing the tradesman's objections that the would be vender hurriedly left the shop.

The pathologist that carried out the post mortem said that there were a number of bruises and abrasions on the legs, arms and head. He said that internally there were slight bruises on the lower part of the breast-bone and chest. He added that from the appearance of the injuries that they must have been inflicted within a few minutes of death and that most of the injuries to his face, in his opinion, were caused by kicks, with others being caused whilst Lewis Salmon had been being knelt on.

He said that in his opinion that there must have been a struggle and noted that one man would not have been able to have bound Lewis Salmon's hands and feet with laces whilst he had been struggling.

He said that he thought that his death had been due to syncope, consequent upon the injuries received, adding that the handkerchief gag had accelerated death, which was due to the injuries and asphyxiation.

When the pathologist was shown a cup and saucer that contained tea leaves and asked whether he thought that Lewis Salmon had been drugged, he replied, 'I should not like to say it has been drugged. The tea leaves look rather dark'.

It was reported that it was not believed that his murder was intended, with one theory being that Lewis Salmon had been gagged and bound so that he should utter no sound whilst the robbery was being committed and that an attack of syncope supervened, either whilst they were at work, or after they had left.

It was said that he had been in failing health for some time and that at his age, the excitement might have proved fatal.

It was said that there was no evidence that any instrument had been used with which to strike him.

A tobacconist that had a shop next door to Lewis Salmon's shop said that just before 4pm that Lewis Salmon asked him to keep an eye on his shop. The tobacconist was also a councillor and a member of the Paddington Borough Council.

He said that he had seen a man in the uniform of an Army officer call at Lewis Salmon's shop on the day of the murder in the afternoon, noting that Lewis Salmon had been out and that he had waited for about twenty minutes for him to return. He described him as the most abrupt man he ever saw, saying, 'He was the most abrupt man I ever saw, and I hardly knew how to be civil to him'.

He said that as soon as Lewis Salmon had left that the man dressed as an officer came up and tried the door and that when he told him that Lewis Salmon was away that he said that he would wait. He said that the man walked up and down and that after a few minutes he asked him most abruptly if he could get a bus to East Sheen, and said that he directed him, but said that the man returned and asked if he had a map of London. He said that when he replied, 'No', that the man, who he described as the most abrupt man he had ever come across, and who didn't even know the use of the words, 'please' and 'thank you', went off.

He said that when Lewis Salmon returned at about 4.50pm that he was followed into the shop by the officer who he saw later having a coat tried on and trying on tunics, and that that was the last that he saw of Lewis Salmon, noting that he didn't see the man leave and heard nothing more until the news of his death.

He described the officer as:

• About 5ft 8in tall.
• Fair moustache.
• Fair complexion.
• Longish face.
• Medium build.
• Had a captain's three bronze stars on the shoulder.

He added, 'I should say that he was not an educated man'.

He noted that Lewis Salmon used to receive a large number of cheques from army officers, stating, 'He would not on any account pay them into his own bank. I used to pay him Treasury notes and silver for them. He used to be wired or telephoned to attend to sales at a moment's notice, and usually carried between £30 and £40 in his pocket'.

A corporal said that he had been walking past the shop when he saw a man in khaki enter, apparently an officer. He said that as he then passed the shop that he heard 'a kind of shuffling noise'.

He said that at about 4.15pm he had been walking by Paddington Station when he had noticed the man in khaki, apparently an officer, walking up Bishops Road. He said that he saw the man then enter Lewis Salmon's shop and then heard the shuffling sound coming from the shop, but no cry and he could not see inside.

He described the man as:

• 5ft 10in tall.
• Well proportioned.
• Full faced.
• Walked with a slight stoop.
• Wearing khaki.

He added that he thought that he might be able to recognise the man again.

It was said that on the afternoon before his death that Lewis Salmon had had a business appointment in Greek Street, Soho.

At the inquest, Lewis Salmon's son-in-law, an accountant of Notting Hill, held up a bundle of newspaper cuttings and, addressing the Coroner, said that he wished to express his indignation at the scandalous reports that had appeared in the press in connection with Lewis Salmon's death, but the Coroner told him that he had nothing to do with what appeared in the press.

Lewis Salmon was described as a careworn old man with a deeply wrinkled face and forehead and heavy beard and to have had few friends and to have kept very much to himself.

However, his son-in-law said that Lewis Salmon had been on good terms with everyone.

The business had actually belonged to his wife and he had managed it for her.

It was noted that the shop had been a double fronted one that faced Eastbourne Terrace and which ran parallel to Paddington Station. On one side of it there was a tobacconist and on the other an eating house and that immediately opposite it there was a public house.

It was said that at the time of the murder, about 6pm, that business at the eating house was brisk and that a string of taxi-cabs and other vehicles were being drawn up along the kerb.

A female van driver that had lived in Harrow Street, said that she and a friend had got into conversation with two Australian soldiers in a coffee house on 30 November 1917, and left at 5.45pm. She said that the soldiers followed and that ten minutes later she saw then standing outside the public house opposite Lewis Salmon's shop.

A Notting Hill cab attendant said that he saw two civilians enter the shop, stating that they were much like foreigners, 'as much like Germans as anything'. His evidence was confirmed by a porter who said that the men appeared to be Jews and said that they appeared to be quarrelling. Another man, a taxi-driver, said that he saw a man wearing a motor cap in a suspicious attitude outside the shop at 6pm.

It was stated that the authorities didn't know of any German prisoners at large, but stated that they were seriously considering the possibility that the attack upon him had been the work of an enemy prisoner that had made his way to London by train. It was stated that the shop was close to Paddington Station and that in an endeavour to disguise himself that he might have called to get fresh clothes.

At the conclusion of the inquest, the Coroner said that it appeared that Lewis Salmon had been murdered while at tea.

He also said that the tying of his hands and the gag in his mouth suggested the participation of two men, noting that were he unconscious, then why would it have been necessary for him to be bound and gagged.

His inquest returned a verdict of murder against some person or persons unknown.

It was noted that a curious feature of the case was that Lewis Salmon was the man from whom Hawley Crippen bought a sack in order to dispose of his wife's body after he had cut it up in 1910. It was also said that he had sold the male attire that his female companion had later donned when she accompanied him on his voyage to Canada.

However, it was also claimed at the inquest that the statement that the affair had a connection with the Hawley Crippen case was not correct and that neither Lewis Salmon nor his wife ever saw Hawley Crippen or his female companion, or had anything to do with them.

Bishops Road is now called Bishops Bridge Road.