Victorian mugshots reveal soldiers and sailors who turned to crime

The newly uncovered series of early mugshots of criminals from the mid 19th Century bring to life the harsh society they lived in.

Imprisoned or sentenced to hard labor for crimes as petty as stealing slippers or oats, the details are a stark reminder of the brutal fight for survival in Victorian Newcastle.

Surprisingly, the batch of mugshots reveal men who made a living either as employed workers or serving in the military.

One of the men pictured, John Thomas, was a 20-year-old soldier when he was sentenced to six months hard labor for stealing a pair of slippers.

He was pictured wearing his military uniform, complete with neatly combed hair, when he was convicted on January 23, 1873.

Another soldier who was caught supplementing his military salary was Scottish-born John Park, 19.

He was convicted of stealing a violin, and despite it being his first offence, was ordered to do one month hard labor.

Another young serviceman was Thomas Haigh, 17, a sailor from Yorkshire who was found guilty of stealing a pocket watch.

The teenage mariner, who had no previous convictions, was sentenced to one month hard labour for his crime.

Other offenders were locked up for stealing food, revealing their daily struggle to feed themselves and their families.

William Harrison, 51, was a porter but was jailed for 12 months in 1872 for “obtaining oats by false pretence.”

Married blacksmith William Bell, 32, was caught stealing beef and was sentenced to a month in Newcastle City Gaol.

William Brankston, 43, a laborer, was also jailed in 1872 for stealing four rabbits.

Office clerk John Grieveson, 21, was imprisoned for four months for stealing pigeons in Newcastle.

While many stole whatever food or animals they could get their hands on, some got a taste for the finer things in life.

David Barron, 19, was a cabinet maker but found himself serving six months with William Hill, 28, for stealing champagne.

Meanwhile in 1873, grocer Ezekiel Yates, 35, was convicted of stealing tobacco and was jailed for six months.

Author Dr. Helen Rutherford revealed the mugshots in her book ‘Newcastle Prison: A History 1828 - 1925’.

The book revealed the number of arrests for petty theft dramatically increased following the expansion of the police force across the city and along the River Tyne.