Edwin Helliwell

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Dianne Jones on 11th January 2022

FOOTNOTE 2 -- Newspaper coverage: From 'The Manchester Guardian', April 22, 1856: "THE ATTEMPTED ROBBERY IN SCHOOL CLOSE, LEEDS; CAPTURE OF ANOTHER TICKET-OF-LEAVE MAN (From our correspondent) At the Leeds Court House yesterday, Edwin Hellewell, a ticket-of-leave convict, and George Hirst, another chartered convict, were charged with being concerned in the attempted robbery of Mr. Holmes’s shop in Neville Street, School Close, early on Saturday morning; the particulars of which were stated in the ‘Guardian’ of yesterday. The police constable, Wainwright, was still unable to appear, in consequence of the serious head wounds he had sustained in the conflict with the prisoner Hellewell. As to the complicity of Hirst it was shown that he and Hellewell had been seen together on Friday evening, a little before the robbery, near Hellewell’s house. Hirst had lately been living without any perceptible means of subsistence. He was transported for ten years in 1851, for being concerned in a cloth robbery. He was then keeping a beer-house in Market-street, Leeds; and the police suspecting that he had been concerned in the robbery, searched his premises, and found that a part of a cask had been ingeniously fitted up for the reception of ale, but that the other portion was stored with the cloth of which they were in search. Hirst obtained his ticket two years afterwards and has since been living in Leeds. The prisoners were further remanded to Saturday." (http://www.perthdps.com/convicts/w4644.htm)

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Dianne Jones on 11th January 2022

FOOTNOTE 1 -- Newspaper coverage: From 'The Manchester Guardian', April 21, 1856, p3: "DESPERATE CONFLICT WITH A CRACKSMAN AT LEEDS (From our correspondent:) At the Leeds Court house, on Saturday, a smart-looking young man, named Edward Hellewell, who is a ticket-of-leave convict, was charged with attempting a felony and with assaulting the police early on Saturday Morning. It appears that as Police-constable Wainwright was going his rounds in the neighbourhood of School Close, Leeds, he observed two men standing in a suspicious proximity to the shop of Mr. Holmes, shoemaker, Neville Street, School Close. Upon nearer examination Wainwright found Mr. Holmes’s shop had been forced with a 'jemmy' and that the two robbers were just preparing to enter when he disturbed them. He boldly walked up to the thieves and seized the one nearest him, but a rescue was made, and the men separated and fled; but Wainwright observed that one of them had concealed himself in an adjoining urinal, and he consequently followed him and tried to apprehend him. A conflict of the most desperate character ensued. Wainwright was beaten severely over the head by the robber with the 'jemmy', and he had only time to lodge his prisoner (Hellewell) safely in the police office before he began to be dizzy and faint from loss of blood. Mr Price, surgeon to the police force, immediately attended to his wounds, but he was so severely injured by the blows upon his head that he was unable to appear at the courthouse on Saturday to give evidence. The case was consequently adjourned to Monday; and as Hellewell, on being searched, was found to be armed with a brace of pistols, it is “suspected” he will be wanted on other charges." (http://www.perthdps.com/convicts/w4644.htm) --0--

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Dianne Jones on 18th December 2021

IN WA: From his Fremantle jail record: HELLIEWELL, Edwin; #4644, arrived 1 Jan 1858 per Nile Date of Birth: 1831 Marital Status: Unmarried Occupation: Labourer, tailor Literacy: Semiliterate Sentence Place: York, Yorkshire, England Crime: Wounding resisting arrest Sentence Period: Life Previous Convictions: Yes Ticket of Leave Date: 19 Sep 1861 Conditional Pardon Date: 9 Aug 1866 (https://fremantleprison.com.au/).

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Dianne Jones on 18th December 2021

CORRECTION: Further to John Huthwaite's notes above, there were two court appearances at York only a few years apart, the latter (in 1856) being the one that resulted in Edwin's transportation to WA for life. TRIAL -- SHEEP STEALING: 10 July, 1852: Edwin Hallewell [sic] was convicted at the York Assizes and sentenced to 7 years' jail for sheep stealing. JAIL: 1852: He was held at Wakefield Gaol, also called Wakefield House of Correction, Wakefield County Gaol, Wakefield Prison and HMP Wakefield. 3 May, 1853: He was sent from Wakefield and admitted to Portland gaol, in Dorset. He had served 10 months in separate confinement while at Wakefield. Opened in November 1848 as the first male convict public works prison, Portland received prisoners who had already undergone periods of separate confinement at Millbank, Pentonville and specially contracted local prisons (https://www.prisonhistory.org/prison/portland-prison/). In Portland, as prisoner #3397, he was listed as Edwin Hallewell [sic], 23, a tailor, married with one child, able to read and write and a Protestant. His previous convictions were noted: convicted at Bradford Sessions in May 1849 with 6 months served for stealing pigeons; 14 days for assault served in Leeds gaol. He appears to have been released from Portland in December 1855 because his monthly behaviour log ends then. For 31 of the 32 months recorded at Portland, his behaviour was assessed as "good" (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951; Portland Prison; Prison Records to 1870). --00-- TRIAL -- CUTTING AND WOUNDING: 9 July, 1856: Edwin Helliwell [sic] (case #15) was tried, convicted and sentenced to life, at the County of York Assizes at York Castle, for "cutting and wounding with intent to prevent and resist his lawful apprehension after two previous convictions of felony" (England & Wales, Criminal Registers, 1791-1892; England; Yorkshire - North Riding, 1856; same record is also filed under 1858). JAIL: He was again kept at Wakefield jail, serving 9 months 21 days in separate confinement (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; Character Book for Nos 4508-5585 (R8)). --0-- 16 July, 1857: Edwin Helliwell, #1182, was sent from Wakefield to Chatham, a public works prison for male convicts east of London, at St Mary’s Island, in Kent (https://www.prisonhistory.org). This time, his behaviour was listed as "very good" at Wakefield and "good" at Chatham. On the record of “male transports” from Chatham per Nile to WA he was listed as 25, single [note the change], a tailor, and able to read and write imperfectly [another change] (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; Convicts Transported Per Nile (R32)). --00--

4

John Huthwaite on 11th April 2018

Edwin was christened at Leeds St Peters on 27 September 1829, the son of John & Matilda. John was a worker in the cloth industry. Edwin married Louisa Beck (1833-1905)and the couple had one child, Emily b 9 April 1851 but died and was buried in Leeds Becket Street cemetery on 11th September 1851 aged 6 months. Edwin had a previous conviction at Wakefield Quarter Sessions on 14 May 1849 for stealing pigeons and he was sentenced to 3 months in the house of correction with hard labour. Edwin's wife Louisa subsequently married Bennett Cowlam in 1856