Police ledger with 1917 mugshot of anti-war campaigner who plotted to kill PM to be sold

A century-old police ledger featuring a mugshot of a one-time suffragette and anti-war campaigner convicted of conspiring to kill the prime minister is going under the hammer.

Alice Wheeldon was a women’s rights campaigner who opposed the First World War.

Her face is shown gazing from the pages of the 500-page book, alongside black and white photographs of others convicted of a host of offences between 1890-1920.

Mrs Wheeldon, of Derby, was convicted at the Old Bailey of plotting to kill David Lloyd George in 1917, during the war, and was jailed for 10 years.

But the record showed she was discharged from HMP Aylesbury just months later – at the end of 1917 – on the request of Mr Lloyd George himself.

The spell in prison appears to have taken its toll on her health, with a later note recorded under her mugshot in the ledger in bold red ink: “Died 21.2.19”.

She was convicted in March 1917 alongside her daughter Winnie Mason, a school teacher, and son-in-law Alfred Mason, a chemist, who are also recorded in the ledger.

Mr Wheeldon took in a man going by the name Alex Gordon, who claimed to be a conscientious objector but was actually a British spy and his evidence about the supposed murder plot was presented in court – without cross-examination – during her trial.

Despite the convictions, the use of Gordon saw the government questioned about its methods in using an agent provocateur.

Just weeks after the trial, the intelligence department to which Gordon belonged was shut down, while the agent was sent abroad.

After a recent campaign for justice by Mrs Wheeldon’s relatives, the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) said although the bid to re-examine the case had merit, the case was too old to justify the expense.

However, in its decision, the CCRC said: “The submissions identified in the application may raise a real possibility that these convictions would be overturned.”

The ledger was saved from a skip by a then serving police officer during a clear-out at an old station in St Mary’s Gate, Derby, more than 40 years ago, and is now being put up for auction by his son.

There is a blue plaque honouring Mrs Wheeldon in the city and she has a star on its walk of fame.

Jim Spencer, of Hansons Auctioneers, said the images and details recorded for more than 500 other criminals within the ledger were an insight into society at the time.

“The overwhelming feeling for me is quite tragic, with petty thefts being committed by desperate people living in poverty,” he said.

“I just get a sense of some very difficult lives in this book.”

The ledger is going under the hammer at Hansons Auctioneers’ library auction on 19 October, with an estimate of between £2,000-£3,000.

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