Thurso Ripper sleuth became country’s top cop
A TOP detective who came from Caithness and investigated some of the most famous crimes in the Victorian era is to be the subject of a new book.
Donald Sutherland Swanson is best known as the officer in charge of the notorious Jack the Ripper murders which captivated and shocked the nation in the late 19th century. But little is known about Swanson’s work on other high-profile crimes during a 35-year police career or his early life in Thurso.
However, that is about to change as a biography on Swanson is due to be published early next year. It is being written by Adam Wood who comes from London but lives in the Cotswolds. He was in Thurso last week to carry out research on Swanson’s early years and to find out what the town was like at that time.
Helping him piece together the details were local historian Alan McIvor and retired head teacher Allan Lannon.
In an interview with the John O’Groat Journal, Wood praised their contribution to his research and explained why he decided to write the book.

"It is intended to be a full biography of Swanson and an in-depth look at the development of the Metropolitan Police in London over the course of his career. Swanson joined the Met in 1868 and retired just as fingerprints began to be used in evidence," he said.
"It’s clear from his personal papers, which the Swanson family have kindly allowed me to access, that Swanson was an intelligent man with a good sense of humour and fair play.
"I believe these qualities were instilled in him during his early days in Thurso, so I was very keen to get a sense of what it means to come from the town. Alan McIvor has been incredibly helpful, as have Caithness Archive Centre and Allan Lannon. As a result, while little was previously known about Swanson’s early days, I’m now in a position to present a full biography of those years."
Swanson was born at Geise on August 12, 1848, but three years later his family were living in Durness Street in Thurso.
He was educated at the Parish School in Market Place then the Miller Institution where he worked as an assistant before heading to London in 1867. The young Swanson was employed as a clerk in the City but left to join the police at the age of 19.
Within three years he was promoted to sergeant and five years later was a detective sergeant based at Whitehall. In May 1878, Swanson married Julia Ann Nevill and two months later was promoted again to detective inspector.
In 1880, he was responsible for arresting the thief who stole £3500 – about £3 million in today’s money – of jewellery from Lady Bective. Her butler who carried out the robbery was captured by Swanson and found with one pearl in his pocket. The detective took him to a nearby pawnbrokers and recovered most of the things.
In those days police officers were allowed to get rewards from grateful victims of crime. Swanson received £200. During his career he received several rewards and commendations.
That was just one of his high-profile cases but many more were to follow.
Top stories
-
‘It was a tough operation’: Military historian tells of ‘phenomenal’ interest in wartime mission from Skitten
-
Shiver me timbers! Isabella Fortuna open to visitors on Wick pirate-themed day
-
Award-winning photographer Ken Crossan to host talk at Wick church
-
King expected to attend Mey Highland Games 2025 – record number of Heavyweights and female athletes this year
In June 1881, Swanson arrested Percy Lefroy Mapleton who murdered 64-year-old coin dealer Frederick Gold on the express train from London to Brighton. It was a famous case because it was the first time a sketch of a wanted man was circulated in a national newspaper.
The drawing was featured in the Daily Telegraph and, as a result, Mapleton was recognised. He was hiding in a house in the east end of London and Swanson, who was accompanied by another detective, arrested him.
The 21-year-old was escorted to Lewes police station near Brighton and was later tried and executed for the murder.
A few months after the Mapleton case, Swanson was investigating the theft of the Earl of Crawford and Balcarres body which had been taken from Dunecht in Aberdeenshire in November 1881.
The earl had died the year before and was buried in the family crypt on the estate but the body was dug up and held for ransom. Swanson was sent up from Scotland Yard as the rising star of the Met to try and locate the body. Although not successful, the body was recovered on a confession soon afterwards. A local man was convicted and given a jail sentence with hard labour.
The detective was also one of the senior officers who investigated the Fenian bombing campaign which was waged in the UK in the early to mid-1880s. Those responsible wanted the release of Irish prisoners and left bombs at a number of government buildings, the CID headquarters and Paddington Station.
Swanson’s career was going from strength to strength and in 1887 he was promoted to chief inspector. After the first two Ripper murders in Whitechapel in the east end of London, he was personally selected by Commissioner Sir Charles Warren to take charge of the investigation.
He was to be the "eyes and ears" of the commissioner "with every paper, document, report and telegram connected to the case to pass through his hands". Swanson was taken off all other duties for a six-week period.
The murder of Mary Kelly on November 9, 1888 – the fifth victim – was generally agreed to be last of the Ripper murders although others took place. Swanson was involved initially in these cases but not once it was established they were not Ripper murders. No-one was charged with the crimes but Swanson had his own suspicions and believed a Polish Jew called Aaron Kosminski was the main suspect.
In the mid-1890s the Caithness detective co-ordinated a crackdown on blackmail by homosexual rent boys in the west end of London and was also involved in the arrest of Leander Starr Jameson who led a botched raid in the Transvaal during the Boer War. It resulted in Swanson and other officers being sent to South Africa to arrest Jameson and his colleagues.
In April 1896 there was yet another promotion for Swanson who became superintendent of the CID – effectively the top detective in the country.
And he was still involved in major cases. In 1901, he negotiated the return of the world famous Gainsborough painting The Duchess of Devonshire which was stolen 25 years earlier.
Two year later Swanson, who returned to Thurso on annual holidays, retired on a pension of £280 a year. He died in Surrey on November 24, 1924, at the age of 76 and was buried at Kingston cemetery.
Alan McIvor is delighted the Swanson biography is being written and said it was "a pleasure" to help Wood with his research.
"It will highlight the role of a largely unknown Caithness detective in some of the most high-profile Victorian crime cases," he said.
Mr Wood will start writing his biography this month after carrying out his extensive research and hopes the book will be published early next year. Wood said Swanson was one of the few career policemen to rise to superintendent. "Most high-ranking officials were ex-military or legal men who were appointed to the position and had little understanding of policing," he said.
"His cases perfectly illustrate the changes in laws at various times from 1868 to 1903 and how the Met could or couldn’t go about arresting someone.
"I’m very lucky Alan McIvor has supplied so much excellent information already and has pointed me in the direction of where to find the other data I need. Allan Lannon has also given me very detailed information on the Miller Institution, where Swanson was educated and taught for a time before departing for London."