John Kensit

John Kensit was injured during an affray when a file was thrown at him at the ferry terminus in Birkenhead on 25 September 1902.

He later died on 8 October 1902  from a septic wound of the left orbit followed by septic meningitis and pneumonia of both lungs.

He was a publisher and the secretary of the Protestant Truth Society and had lived at 146 Alexandra Road in South Hampstead, London.

On the Thursday afternoon of 25 September 1902 John Kensit and his wife travelled down from London to the Music Hall in Cloughton Road, Birkenhead where he addressed a meeting.

The meeting finished at 10.15pm after which they were escorted to a tramcar by the police. At Hamilton Square Station there was a hostile crowd assembled that were hooting and shouting and so they decided to go onto the ferry. As they were going from the car to the ferry John Kensit fell with blood coming from his head. His wife helped him into the ferry building and found he had a head injury and an iron clenched in his hand.

He was taken to the Liverpool Landing Stage and from there by horse ambulance to the Royal Infirmary where he died on 8 October 1902 at 6am.

A 19-year-old labourer, noted for playing the mouth-organ was tried for his murder but acquitted.

Just before John Kensit fell, witnesses said they saw something flying through the air that came from the direction of three men stood near a lamp post, one of whom had been the mouth-organ player.

Another witness said that he and a friend met a man and had asked him if John Kensit had gone down and said that the man replied, 'Yes, I have hit him with something and nearly killed him', and asked him to go and see if he had cut his eye out but the witness could not identify the man and thought the man he had spoken to was smaller than the man on trial.

It was also said that John Kensit had claimed that the person that had thrown the file at him had been a girl, but his wife denied having heard him claim that.

John Kensit's wife said that after the meeting concluded at 10.15pm that they were escorted into a tramcar by the police but that when they arrived at Hamilton Square Station a large crowd had assembled and were hooting and shouting and so they decided that they should take the ferry.

It was noted that when the car had arrived at Hamilton Square Station that some detectives had got off in order to secure the area, expecting the preachers to follow but that they were surprised to find that they didn’t and that they instead stayed in the car which went off towards the ferry and that they had had to chase it in order to re-join the party.

John Kensit's wife said that when the car arrived at the terminus she stepped off followed by a friend and John Kensit, who she said told her to hurry up. She said that there seemed to be very few people at the ferry but added that she knew that a number were coming down behind.

She said that after she had gone about three or four steps that she felt a push from behind and that when she turned around she saw that it was John Kensit falling and then noticed that he was bleeding from the face and said something to the effect that he was killed.

She said that she then assisted him into a room at the ferry building and whilst helping to staunch the blood coming from his head noticed that he had an iron clenched in his right hand which she then took from him and gave to the police.

Another woman that had been with the group gave similar evidence and said that when she saw John Kensit in the ferry building that she thought he said, 'I am done for now', adding that she thought that that was all he said.

However, at the trial it was submitted that shortly after being struck by the file that he had claimed that it had been a girl that had thrown the file at him, stating something along the lines of, 'Oh, she has blinded me!'.

A doctor was called and John Kensit was soon after taken by boat to the Liverpool Landing Stage from where he was taken in a horse ambulance to the Royal Infirmary where he died in his wife's presence on 8 October 1902.

The man that was tried for John Kensit's murder was noted for having played the mouth-organ to which girls would dance to and which he was heard playing by the lamppost by many witnesses during the period preceding John Kensit's murder.

A man that lived in Back Street, St Anne Street said that on Thursday 25 September 1902 that he met some friends, including the mouth-organ player at about 7.30pm in Cloughton Road by the music hall and remained in the area until about 9.45pm when they went down to the Woodside Ferry and stood by the veranda opposite the coffee cart. He said that a crowd of about thirty people went down to the ferry with them and noted that as they were going down that the mouth-organ player was playing his mouth-organ but said that when they arrived at the ferry he didn't hear him playing  there or dancing.

He said that when they went to the ferry in the first instance that they had all gone there with the intention of seeing the Kensit preachers and that they later left with the intention of going home but that when they saw a car approach Hamilton Square Station they heard someone call out, 'Here they are' and that they then all went close to the station where the car had stopped. He said that he then saw two detectives get out to clear a way for the preachers to get into the station but said that no one got off and the car then proceeded to the ferry.

He said that he and his friends, including the mouth-organ player, then proceeded to the ferry, noting that he walked but that the others ran although they all got there at the same time.

He said that when the car stopped that he saw John Kensit get out of the car along with the rest of the preachers and then heard John Kensit groan and saw him fall to the ground.

He said that he had been standing on the foot walk nearest to the railway station when John Kensit fell and didn't see the mouth-organ player in the crowd at that time but saw him immediately after standing about 6 yards away from where John Kensit fell. He said that he then saw John Kensit carried into the ferry and that he then went home.

A newspaper seller who lived in a lodging house in Church Street, Birkenhead said that on the Thursday night, 25 September 1902 that he had gone to the Woodside Ferry Entrances at Birkenhead at about 7pm to sell evening newspapers and remained there until about 11.30pm.

He said that at about 9.45pm about 20 persons consisting of young men and girls came down together from the direction of Hamilton Square and stopped about opposite the refreshment van to the left of the entrances to the ferry building, noting that the mouth-organ player, who he said went by the nickname of 'Nigger', was amongst them. He said that he had been playing a mouth-organ to the tunes of which some of the girls danced and that he was standing close to the upright post that supported the electric trolley wires nearest to the refreshment van and would every now and then hit the post with something in his hand, keeping time with the tune he was playing. He said that it sounded like a piece of iron when it hit the post and that once it fell and that the sound it made then also sounded like a piece of iron.

He noted that he saw when it fell that it was about 15 inches long and that about 1½ inches or more from one end that it tapered to a point although the other end seemed to be about the same thickness throughout. He added that it was about ½in thick and when he was shown the file that was thrown at John Kensit said that he thought that it was like it but could not say if it was the piece of iron that he had seen.

He said that some of the girls sang, 'We are the boys of Wexford' and that once the playing stopped that one of the girls said to the mouth-organ player, 'Hey, Nigger, has he come down yet?' to which the mouth-organ player replied, 'No' and then started to play his mouth organ again and the girls started to dance.

He said that he soon after stopped and that he went down to the station as a train had come in and that when he got back and stood opposite the coffee stall he saw a crowd coming down from Hamilton Square and then saw an electric car coming down also. He said that when he came back from the station that he saw the mouth-organ player standing opposite the electric pole with some young fellows and girls and heard one of the girls say, 'Hey, Nigger, when he comes down hit him with it', but noted that he didn't hear him say anything in reply to that.

He said that he knew that John Kensit was in Birkenhead and thought that they had been waiting for him.

He said that it was about 10.30pm when the car came down the road to the terminus at the ferry and that it was followed by a number of persons.

He said that he then heard someone that was waiting near the terminus say, 'Here he is, he's going to get out first' at which time he said that the mouth-organ player was still there and that he waited by him opposite the refreshment van.

The newspaper seller said that he knew John Kensit as he had been pointed out to him before and that when the tram car stopped at the terminus that he saw John Kensit get off at the end of it nearest to the ferry buildings.

He said that when John Kensit had walked a few yards the crowds rushed up and that he also got crushed up with them and that he then saw the mouth-organ players' arms go up as though he was throwing something in the direction of John Kensit, but said that he didn't see what it was, noting that it had been his right arm that had gone up.

He said that directly afterwards that he then saw John Kensit fall on his knees and lift his hands above his head as if he had been hurt and then saw his friends carry him into the ferry building.

He added that when he saw John Kensit fall that he noticed the mouth-organ player walk off in the direction of Hamilton Square and didn't see anyone else go with him.

The newspaper seller said that he soon after saw blood where John Kensit had been struck and then later went home at about 11.30pm.

A similar account was given by another newspaper seller that had lived in Priory Court, St Mary's Gate, Birkenhead.  He said that he had been at the Woodside Ferry Entrance at Birkenhead at about 6pm to sell evening newspapers and remained there until about 11.15pm that night.

He said that at about 9.45pm about 20 persons came down together to the ferry and stopped opposite the refreshment stall to the left of the entrance to the ferry. He said that there were about four young men amongst them and that the rest of them had been girls about 16-years-old and noted that the mouth-organ player was amongst them and that some of the girls called him 'Nigger' and that he had been playing a mouth-organ on the way down before stopping against the electric post nearest the refreshment stall.

He said that one of the girls then said to the mouth-organ player, 'Now, Nigger, give us a good Irish song so we'll understand it', and that the mouth-organ player then struck the electric post with something in his right hand that sounded like iron, noting that the greater part of it was up the sleeve of his coat.

He said that he only saw him strike the post with it once when he first came down with it and that he then commenced playing tunes on the mouth-organ to which the girls danced.

He said that he went to the railway station at about 9.55pm to sell newspapers and then came back to the ferry at about 10.02pm at which time the mouth-organ player was still playing tunes and the girls dancing, noting that the girls were singing Irish songs.

He said that about half an hour after he came out of the station that a tramcar came down to the ferry and that he saw John Kensit, who he knew, and some ladies and gentlemen get off the car at the end nearest the ferry and that at the same time he saw the girls run to meet the car and that the mouth-organ player then stepped towards the left about two yards towards John Kensit.

He said that he then heard one of the girls who had run towards the front of the car shout, 'Now, Nigger, that's him with the black hat' and that at the same time she turned towards John Kensit and pointed to him.

He said that at that time the mouth-organ player was standing on the foot walk and John Kensit and his friends were hurrying towards the foot walk, about two or three yards from where the mouth-organ player was standing.

He said that he then saw the mouth-organ player step backwards towards the coffee stall, but didn't notice anything in his hand nor see him throw anything and that at almost the same time he saw John Kensit fall to his knees and groan.

He said that a crowd was then getting round and that he saw the mouth-organ player making his way through and that he then lost sight of him.

He said that he then went to John Kensit and saw that he was bleeding and then saw his friends carry him into the ferry building and that he then stayed until about 11.15pm at which time he went home and told the police what he knew the following morning.

At the trial he identified the man on trial as the man that he had seen playing the mouth-organ.

Another newspaper seller that had lived in Taylor's Buildings, Cromwell Street, Birkenhead said that on the Thursday night, 25 September 1902 he had been at the Woodside Ferry Entrances at Birkenhead to sell evening newspapers and gave a similar account to the others.

He said that he thought that there had been about 6 or 7 men in the group that had come down amongst the girls and that the mouth-organ player was amongst them and that he stopped by the electric pole by the refreshment stall and played his mouth-organ.

He said that after the girls asked him to play an Irish jig and that another young man about 17 or 18 years old, wearing a dark blue jacket with a velvet collar and white trousers came up and stopped by the weighing machine and that the mouth-organ player went up to him and the young man pulled a piece of iron from under his coat and put it partly up his sleeve and that the mouth-organ player then said to him, 'Lend it us' and that the young man then handed it to the mouth-organ player who then put it up his sleeve and started to play his mouth-organ.

He said that as the mouth-organ player was playing his mouth-organ that he saw him strike the lamp post with it twice.

He said that he also then went to the railway station to sell some newspapers and said that when he came back about 3 minutes later that he didn't see the mouth-organ player although he added that he didn't take much notice.

He said that he then saw a tramcar which was followed by some girls and boys and that he heard one of the girls shout, 'That’s him, the little man standing up with the tall shiner' and that he then saw John Kensit getting off and go towards the ferry entrance but that at that point a crowd of young men and women came hurrying down and he got knocked over and that as he was getting up he heard a moaning and heard the tramcar driver say, 'I think that's Kensit crying'.

At the trial he identified the mouth-organ player as the man that he had seen take possession of the piece of iron from the other man.

A waiter that had lived in Laurel Road, Tranmere said that he managed the refreshment stall at Woodside Ferry, Birkenhead and said that he had been on duty on Thursday 25 September 1902 and that at about 10.10pm he saw about 20 persons consisting of young men and women come to the ferry from the direction of Hamilton Street.

He said that they seemed excited and noisy and so when they came he commenced to close his stall.

He said that the girls came first and the young men after, noting that there were only about 3 or 4 of them as far as he could remember and that one of them stood with his back to an electric pole nearly opposite his stall and another in the roadway about a yard away from the electric pole, noting that they seemed to take up positions with a view to getting a good view of the electric cars arriving at the terminus.

He said that when the young men arrived he heard one of them say that that was the best place to stand as they would be able to see him come down by any car.

He noted that an electric car did come down before the one that John Kensit had been in and that he heard one of the girls say, 'He's not in this car', or words to that effect.

He said that the young women were singing Irish songs and dancing.

He said that he was about halfway through closing when one of the young women jeered at him, saying, 'Oh, look, he is closing, he's afraid of us', or words to that effect. However, he noted that when the girl said that that one of the young men said to her, 'You bloody fools, don't interfere with them', or words to that effect and that with that the young women withdrew their attention from him.

He said that after that that the whole group moved away in the direction of Hamilton Street and that as they were going that he heard one of them remark, to the effect, 'Let's go up to the station, there will be a better chance there for us', and that he also heard, 'Let's go up there, we shall cop him better there'.

He said that they were only at the ferry for about three minutes and that they returned again after about seven minutes, noting that the young men were the first to arrive and that they took up the same positions as before with the girls following almost immediately behind.

He said that at about the same time an electric tramcar approached the ferry and that when it crossed the points near the terminus some of the girls shouted, 'There he is in that car'.

He said that he was as keen as anyone to see John Kensit and that he locked his door and that as he was heading towards the car he saw something pass through the air from the direction of the lamppost where the young man were standing, two yards from the electric pole. He said that it seemed to be something like a piece of stick and that almost instantaneously before it passed through the air he heard a young man's voice say, 'Cop him on the head with it if you can', and 'Give it the whore's bastard. Take good aim', or words to that effect.

He said that he then saw John Kensit in a kneeling position on the ground groaning with his face covered with blood and that he went up to him and tried to lift him up and that as he did so John Kensit was groping on the ground for something and he thought that he wanted his stick or something and said that he said to him, 'Never mind that, let's get you out of the mob as soon as we can for fear of something else'.  He said that he then helped him into the receiving room.

He noted that as he had been helping John Kensit up that he heard one of the girls say, 'You've hit him'.

The mouth-organ player was arrested at about 1am on the Saturday 27 September 1902. When he was charged with murder he said, 'I didn't do it'.

He was tried at the Liverpool Assizes in December 1902 where he pleaded not guilty and was acquitted on Thursday 11 December.

The defence said that there was no evidence whatever that the mouth-organ player had thrown anything.

It was further claimed that the pneumonia from which John Kensit died had nothing to do with the wound to his head but had been caused by him lying on his back. However, the official cause of death was stated as having been due to a septic wound of the left orbit followed by septic meningitis and pneumonia of both lungs, it being noted that he had had a fatty heart which had also contributed towards his death.

It was also heard that several other witnesses had said that they had seen one of the other youth's with an iron up his sleep and that one witness had heard the other youth say, 'If I see Kensit I will do for him'. It was also heard that one witness had seen him running away and that when he asked him why he had said to him, 'I have nearly killed Mr Kensit' whilst several others had said that the other youth had run to them saying that he had hit John Kensit.

The defence noted that much of the evidence from the boys was worthless and stated that he didn't think that the jury could hang a dog on such evidence.

John Kensit was known for campaigning about ritualism in church service and had founded the Protestant Truth Society to oppose it and the excessive influence of the Oxford Movement on the Church of England. During his campaigning he was known to attend churches where Ritualism was being conducted or courts where Ritualist cases were being tried and would vocally disrupt the proceedings. In one instance he was fined at a police court for interrupting the proceedings at a church, but the conviction was later quashed on appeal.

He stood for election to Parliament in 1900, initially declaring that he was going to run in Manchester East but finally running in Brighton where he gained 24% of the vote.

John Kensit was interred in Hampstead Cemetery on Saturday 11 October 1902, the first part of the burial service being held at St Mary's Church in Kilburn. The inscription on his coffin read, 'John Kensit, who fell asleep in Jesus, 8th October 1902, aged 49 years'. During the service, the Reverend charged the congregation to all pray that the man that had struck the blow that had caused John Kensits death be converted to Christ as well as the magistrate that had unjustly condemned John Kensit's son to prison, adding ‘Let their only retaliation be earnest prayer’.

The enscription on his tombstone reads: 'John Kensit d. 8.10.1902 aged 49, having been struck by the missile of an assassin in Birkenhead'.