A warning to war widows
During World War 1, a Yorkshire private detective sought to benefit from the grief of women who had lost their husbands on the battlefields
Not much is known about Mr JR Crompton of West Yorkshire, but what IS known is not good. He was not on the frontline during the First World War, but instead stayed home in Yorkshire, moving into a furnished room at 17 Clare Road in Halifax. The house he was living in had previously been occupied by an offshoot of the Berlitz School of Languages, and Mr Crompton found discarded office stationery in his room, and decided to use it to promote himself. He established himself as a private detective, and scoured the local newspapers for potential leads to get himself work.
During the war, there were many who were keen to capitalise on grief. One Sheffield war widow had received official notification that her husband had died, and been awarded a pension by the War Office. But in her grief, she started to go to her local Spiritualist church, hoping to get messages from her husband. One of the Spiritualists struggled to pass on any message, and suggested to the widow that her husband might actually be alive still - and thus unable to contact the Spiritualist. She was encouraged to advertise for news of her husband in a Sunday newspaper.
‘A Hypnotic Seance’ by Richard Bergh
Mr Crompton read her advert, and saw an opportunity. He wrote to the widow, on his official-looking stationery, and expressed sympathy with her plight. He wanted to help her, he wrote, and would investigate - for a fee. "My terms are five shillings with the application," he stated, "and £1 when I have traced your husband." He put pressure on the widow to respond quickly; if she only answered him after a while, he would double the fees.
This poor, grief-stricken widow was solely dependent on the War Office pension, and could little afford the five shillings. But Mr Crompton had told her she had to get in touch quickly, and so she wrote back to him, including her initial fee.
Soon, Mr Crompton wrote to her again, telling her that he had definite news about her husband - and this news was "official and contains all details." Despite this simply being confirmation of her husband's death, Crompton tried to make his findings more mysterious, implying that, in fact, he had found evidence that the soldier was still alive. He sent his client a series of vague hints about what he had found, demanding that she now pay him the pound 'reward' for 'finding' her husband.
Luckily, the widow now realised that Crompton was conning her. She refused to pay him any more money, and reported him to the police. However, Crompton was not alone; it was noted that there were others, like him, who were eager to take advantage of the hopes many had that their loved ones might actually still be alive somewhere, despite being listed as missing or killed in action.