James Townshend Saward
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James Townshend Saward (1798 – c. 1875) was a Victorian English barrister and forger also known by the nickname of Jem the Penman.[1] In addition to his legal career he forged money orders for almost 30 years.
Early life
James Townshend Saward was born in 1798 at Rotherhithe in Surrey, the son of James and Elizabeth Ann Saward.[2] He was called to the Bar in 1840, became a barrister and had his chambers in the Inner Temple. With his wife Maria he had a son, Francis (born 1831), and a daughter, Henrietta (born 1837).[3]
Career
At the time a normal forging method was to forge somebody's
Saward required blank
Saward cashed the cheques by handing them over to an accomplice called Anderson, who gave them to another accomplice called Atwell. Atwell disguised himself, hired a messenger and sent him to the bank to get the money. Anderson followed Atwell to make sure he really did hand over all the money and later gave him his cut. When the bank became suspicious, they had only the errand boy to question. This way Saward got a couple of hundred pounds at a time.
In addition, Saward and his associates fenced stolen goods; they helped with the disposal of the stolen gold from the Great Gold Robbery of 1855.
Eventually banks grew suspicious in London and Saward decided to try his luck elsewhere. In Great Yarmouth, another accomplice called Hardwicke blundered when he opened an account with one name and commissioned solicitors to collect "debts" by another name. When he realized his mistake, he asked for instructions. By the time Saward's answer came, the bank had warned the police who were already questioning Hardwicke. They opened the letter and found out his identity.
The Great Yarmouth accomplices confessed and turned
In popular culture
In his play, Jim the Penman (1886), British baronet, barrister and playwright
Saward has been referred to as "a 'real-life' Professor Moriarty".[6]
References
- The Trial of Jim the Penman (Central Criminal Court, UK, Famous Trials Series 1930, ASIN B000869IKY)
- ^ Griffiths, Arthur (1884); James Townshend Saward (Jem the Penman) The Chronicles of Newgate vol. 2, pp. 395-398
- ^ James Townsend Saward in the London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538–1812 (August 1798)
- ^ 1851 Census for James Townsend Saward – Ancestry.com (subscription required)
- ^ Conviction of James Townsend Saward and James Anderson for Forgery (1857) – The Proceedings of the Old Bailey Online
- ^ England & Wales, Criminal Registers, 1791–1892 for James Townshend Saward (1857) – Ancestry.com (subscription required)
- ISBN 978-1-902580-19-7.