- John Littlechild
Detective Chief Inspector John George Littlechild (
21 December 1848 –2 January 1923 ) was the first commander of theLondon Metropolitan Police Special Irish Branch, renamedSpecial Branch in 1888.Littlechild was born in Royston,
Hertfordshire . By 1871, he was a DetectiveSergeant . He was promoted to DetectiveInspector in 1878.The Special Irish Branch was formed in 1883. It was technically under the command of Detective
Chief Inspector Adolphus Williamson , but since he was also responsible for the wholeCriminal Investigation Department (CID), Littlechild, as his deputy, was always in effective control. Although he is not thought to have had any direct involvement in theJack the Ripper investigation, in September 1913 he wrote a letter to journalist G. R. Sims, in which he identified a "Doctor T" (whom he described as "an American quack named Tumblety") as a likely suspect.Littlechild was promoted to Detective Chief Inspector in 1891. He resigned from the Met in 1893 and worked as a
private investigator . He worked for the prosecution in theOscar Wilde case.References
*Various contemporary articles in "
The Times "
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