For many years I’ve lived near the Thames. I used to live near the river in Caversham, and I have now moved upriver to the south side of the river near Tower Bridge, which is one of my favourite stretches of the Thames. When I came across an old print featuring the work of the Thames River Police, I couldn’t resist it. Reproduced from the Illustrated London News in 1888, it shows colour sketches of various aspects of the aquatic force’s work, including chasing thieves, arresting stowaways and even rescuing a suicide victim. As I made the preparations to hang it on my study wall, I wanted to know more about this unique and fascinating river police force. Following in the footsteps of Charles Dickens, who spent a night with the river police, my investigations led to thieves, smugglers, mudlarks and a little-known morgue.
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