Vol 14; No 04 The Strange Case Of The Australian Digger

[Les1949]

HAMPTON, AROUND AND ABOUT

Things you may not know, or didn’t know you knew!
No 4 THE STRANGE CASE OF THE AUSTRALIAN DIGGER

On 28th July 1856 a man’s body was pulled out of the River Thames near Hampton Court. The Inquest was held at The Mitre pub – at the time, it was quite normal for inquests to be held in pubs. The story of Lewis Solomon, the deceased, not only made it into the local press but also in newspapers as far apart as Bristol and Durham. Local newspapers were not averse to carry articles from all over the country.

Solomon, aged 34, had recently returned to the area having left for the Australian colonies in 1853. Dr Garrett of Thames Ditton had examined the body on 30th July but was asked, by the Coroner, to make a second post mortem on 25th August, which involved exhuming the body of the unfortunate Mr Solomon. This time wounds were discovered caused by ‘shot’ (all will become a little clearer in due course!). Entry wounds were found in various parts of the upper body.

During the examination of various witnesses, the story of Mr Solomon’s demise began to unfold. Locally, Solomon, had become known as the ‘Australian Digger’.


Solomon’s wife, no doubt having given up on him ever returning to England, had taken up with a George Grey, in Whitechapel. Solomon was heard to have threatened to ‘make widows of both of us’ – though in court his wife swore that they were still on ‘friendly terms’.

Solomon was staying with relations, Mr & Mrs Arnold, who stated that the last time they had seen him was on the morning of the 24th July. A witness, Mr Jeffreys, had been with Solomon at a public house and told how the deceased was calling for Brandy, drinking excessively and had 15 or 16 Sovereigns on him (each worth £1), though nothing was found on the body when searched, which initially led to thoughts that he might have been murdered. Several witnesses also spoke of him drinking to excess, carrying a dagger, a large pistol and a powder flask, he boasted that ‘this is how colonists travelled’ (there were, and still are, numerous pistols that fire shotgun pellets).

A Mrs Tyler stated that Solomon had been ‘raving’ and was not in his right mind.
The Court heard that Solomon hadn’t been seen after the 24th until he was pulled from the river, four days later. Given the evidence before them the Jury were unanimous that the deceased had died as a result of wounds caused by a pistol shot but whether it was self-inflicted, or by some other hand, it was impossible to say.

The court may have been unable to make a firm decision, however, the general public gave their ‘verdict’ when his widow, Louisa, and her new partner Grey, turned up to give evidence and were met with a very hostile reception.

The Old Historian