In 1911 Arthur Sweetman appeared in court in Margate, charged with being in possession of offensive weapons. The magistrate was told he had been carrying an impressive armoury when taken into custody: a new heavy calibre six-chamber Colt revolver, fully loaded; 16 loose cartridges; a long-bladed sheath knife attached to his belt and a combination knife. More remarkable was that Arthur was only 16 years old.
Arthur was born in Willesden and Kent was a long way from his parents’ Cricklewood home, so what was he doing there? He was arrested in Broadstairs on the evening of 25 February by PC Brenchley. Brenchley became suspicious when he saw Arthur loitering outside St Peter’s Court, a prep school where 11-year old Prince Henry the Duke of Gloucester, and the son of King George V, was a pupil. Sweetman could not give any reason for being there, so he was taken to the police station. He said he came from Deal and when searched, in addition to the weapons he was also carrying a pocket lamp, compass and Ingersoll watch.
Arthur made
a statement the following morning. This time he gave his correct name and age,
and said that his parents’ home was at 57 Mora Road, Cricklewood and that his
father was an unemployed school teacher. He described himself as an out of work
shorthand clerk and typist, last employed at Sandy Lodge Golf Club in
Northwood. He said:
I ran away from home about a month ago and fell in with an American subject who said his name was Charlie Esminger. He was a deck hand on board a cargo steamer. I had no money when I left home, but Esminger and I together visited Portsmouth, Southampton, Fratton, Chichester, Barnham, Littlehampton, Worthing, Brighton, Horsham and Hastings. Here Esminger gave me the slip.
The magistrates ordered Arthur to be remanded for a week to allow further enquiries to be made.
At his next court appearance, Arthur’s wanderings round the south of England came to what the press called ‘an inglorious end’ when the real story emerged. He hadn’t run away from home but absconded on 25 January with the proceeds of a £30 cheque (worth about £3,500 today), which he had been sent to cash for his golf club employers. His American companion, the oddly named Charlie Esminger, did not exist. Arthur had left London with a friend, a year older than him, who Arthur claimed was responsible for encouraging him to steal the money. Together they bought the weapons out of the proceeds of the robbery. The court report is silent as to what their motive had been, nor does it name Arthur’s accomplice. Their friendship came to a swift end when Arthur’s companion left, taking all but £8 of the remaining money. Arthur next went to Bognor where he abandoned a new bicycle and 150 gun cartridges. He walked across Kent and was penniless and half-starved when arrested in Broadstairs.
Frustratingly, given the many unanswered questions, that was the end of the affair. Despite the large sum of money involved, surprisingly, the Golf Club declined to prosecute Arthur. No reason was given. There was no further evidence to explain why he had so many weapons in his possession. Arthur was handed over to his father, who was given 10 shillings from the poor box to pay his fare home.
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Who was he?
In the 1901 census schoolmaster John David Sweetman had been living in Hendon with his wife Louisa and their family which included three sons, John, Fred and Arthur. Arthur, born in Willesden, was then six years old.
The 1911 census was held a few weeks after the Margate court case, and John had moved to 12 Valetta Road, Acton. This was a more sophisticated survey than before and included a question about the number of children you had. John wrote that he and Louisa had eight, one of whom had died. As he entered the names of seven children on the return, one of his sons had to be Arthur. But that name is missing. John and Frederick are there, along with a third son, Albert Robert. Age 16, born in Willesden and employed as a shorthand typist and clerk, Albert Robert Sweetman was in fact Arthur, the heavily-armed typist.
After his adventure Albert seemed to have lived a conventional life. He went on to serve in the RAF in WWI, and was still living with his parents in 1921 working as a shorthand typist for the LCC.
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