Sir Edward Henry Assassination Attempt - Sheffield Terrace, London, UK
N 51° 30.330 W 000° 11.728
30U E 694629 N 5709770
This English Heritage blue plaque indicates that the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Edward Henry, "lived here 1903 - 1920". In November, 1912 Sir Edward was shot as he answered the door at his home in Sheffield Terrace.
Waymark Code: WMTM86
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 12/09/2016
Views: 0
Wikipedia has an article about the assassination attempt that tells us:
On Wednesday 27 November 1912, while at his home in Kensington, Henry survived an assassination attempt by one Alfred Bowes (also reported as "Albert" Bowes), a disgruntled cab driver whose licence application had been refused.
Bowes fired three shots with a revolver when Sir Edward opened his front door: two missed, and the third pierced Sir Edward's abdomen, missing all the vital organs. Sir Edward's chauffeur then tackled his assailant. Bowes faced a life sentence for attempted murder
Sir Edward appeared at court and followed a humane tradition of pleading for leniency for his attacker, stating that Bowes had wanted to better himself and earn a living to improve the lot of his widowed mother. Bowes was sentenced to 15 years' penal servitude, but Sir Edward maintained an interest in his fate, and eventually paid for his passage to Canada for a fresh start when Bowes was released from prison in 1922
Sir Edward never really recovered from the ordeal, and the pain of the bullet wound recurred for the rest of his life.
The full wording on the English Heritage blue plaque, that makes no mention of the attempt at Sir Edward's life, is:
English Heritage
Sir
Edward
Henry
1850 - 1931
Metropolitan Police
Commissioner
1903 - 1918
and pioneer of
fingerprint
identification
lived here
1903 - 1920
The Kensington and Chelsea website has an article about Sir Edward Henry that advises:
Henry spent many years in India with the Civil Service. Here he met and married Louisa Langrishe in 1890. They had three children.
Posted to Bengal in 1873 he was made Inspector-General of Police in 1891. After secondment to the Transvaal police force he returned to England in 1901, becoming assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. Promoted to commissioner in 1903 he proved an excellent manager and brilliant policeman. However, it was his work on Sir William Herschel’s use of fingerprints for recording illiterate contractors that marked him out. Through correspondence with Francis Galton and practical work with sub-inspectors Aziz-ul-Haque and Hem Chandra Bose, Henry developed this into a form of criminal identification. His system was accepted in India in 1897 and in Britain in 1899. He published Classification and Uses of Fingerprints in 1900 and established the first fingerprint bureau at Scotland Yard in 1902, recording 5155 prints by 1905. After retiring in 1918 he continued this work.
While living in Sheffield Terrace he narrowly avoided assassination by Alfred Bowles. Dropped off from work by his official car he was shot on his doorstep. The reason for the attack was that Scotland Yard had refused Bowles’ request for a cab licence, in hindsight a very wise decision.