Lot Essay
G.M. London Gazette 1.6.1948.
'Even farther West, on 29 February 1948, following disturbances in the town of Accra, Gold Coast, a mob of looters passed intoxicating liquor over the wall of Ussher Fort Prison and, later in the day, nearly 600 prisoners mutinied. Efforts were made by a Warder to persuade the prisoners to return to their cells, without success, meanwhile Superintendent S.E. Hutchings and another Warder, both off duty, went to the prison and forced their way through the hostile mob gathered outside the gates. Once inside the prison, he took charge of the staff of 30 Warders and, although the situation was such that the use of firearms would have been justified, he tried peaceful methods of persuasion. Later, when the mob outside forced the prison gates, releasing 200 prisoners, he and two Warders fought their way to the gates and succeeded in closing them and, additionally, were successful in recovering 50 prisoners. Without any thought for personal safety, Superintendent Hutchings then returned to the yard and, although he was struck on several occasions, he persisted in his efforts to pacify the prisoners, finally succeeding after a total of 80 hours. The two Warders were each awarded the B.E.M.' (Major D.V. Henderson's G.M. Archive refers).
Superintendent Samuel Edgar Hutchings, G.M., was born in Bradford and served in the Regular Army until joining the Prison Service in October 1930. After training at Portland Borstal Institution, he was posted to Feltham Borstal and afterwards served at H.M. Prison Wormwood Scrubs from 1942.
After the War, Hutchings transferred to the Colonial Prison Service, being posted to Ussher Fort and James Fort Prisons, Accra, on the Gold Coast, as a Prison Superintendent. Early on the Sunday morning of 29.2.1947, there were disturbances in Accra during which a store neighbouring Ussher Fort prison was looted. The mob passed crates of beer, wine and spirits over the wall to the inmates who consumed it without discrimination. The Warders on duty were quickly rendered powerless in face of the crowd of some 600 prisoners all of whom seemed eager to share in the spoils arriving 'by air'.
At 7.45 a.m. Hutchings was summoned by telephone from his bungalow and he set out at once for Fort Ussher undeterred by the hostile mood of looters along the way. At the prison he entered the yard and attempted to restore order, and as this was impossible he concentrated his efforts in preventing the Warders from any acts that would stoke the fire further. Meanwhile, the mob outside forced the main prison gates by sheer weight of numbers and, opening the inner gate, encouraged and aided the escape of about 200 inmates, before Hutchings and his few Warders inside the yard were able to close the exit and hold it against the 300 or so furious prisoners who had missed the opportunity to escape.
When the Director of Prisons arrived on the scene he was staggered to learn that Hutchings was inside the yard, as he 'considered that the consequences to any Officer in amongst that mob were extremely grave, and that the chances of his remaining, or being able to get out alive, were remote'. In due course, reinforcements arrived from a Warder Training Depot and the Director decided to contact Hutchings: 'I entered the yard only with the greatest of difficulty, preventing prisoners from rushing the gate as it was opened to allow me to enter. I found Mr. Hutchings extremely harassed by the yelling and shouting around him, but cool and completely fearless ... He informed me a military picquet had arrived shortly before with fixed bayonets and that the Officer in charge of the military patrol had fired his revolver in the air. With commendable courage and common sense, Mr. Hutchings had ordered the military patrol out of the prison in order to avoid bloodshed, and decided to handle the situation with such force as he had available'. At length, and by persistence, he persuaded even the most mutinous of the prisoners in the yard to return to their cells without resorting to the tear gas and pick axe handles laid in by the Director.
Gazetted for a well-deserved G.M., which he received at an Investiture at Buckingham Palace on 2.11.1948, Hutchings was transferred to Malaya in 1951 to take over control of the Central Prison at Kuala Lumpur. In 1955 he was seconded to the Colonies Detention Camp at Ipoh, Central States of Malaya, where he figured in a further serious incident concerning the killing of three Chinese detainees by gunfire. In retirement, Hutchings wrote a memoir entitled Life in the Colonial Prison Service, a copy of which is sold with the Lot.
'Even farther West, on 29 February 1948, following disturbances in the town of Accra, Gold Coast, a mob of looters passed intoxicating liquor over the wall of Ussher Fort Prison and, later in the day, nearly 600 prisoners mutinied. Efforts were made by a Warder to persuade the prisoners to return to their cells, without success, meanwhile Superintendent S.E. Hutchings and another Warder, both off duty, went to the prison and forced their way through the hostile mob gathered outside the gates. Once inside the prison, he took charge of the staff of 30 Warders and, although the situation was such that the use of firearms would have been justified, he tried peaceful methods of persuasion. Later, when the mob outside forced the prison gates, releasing 200 prisoners, he and two Warders fought their way to the gates and succeeded in closing them and, additionally, were successful in recovering 50 prisoners. Without any thought for personal safety, Superintendent Hutchings then returned to the yard and, although he was struck on several occasions, he persisted in his efforts to pacify the prisoners, finally succeeding after a total of 80 hours. The two Warders were each awarded the B.E.M.' (Major D.V. Henderson's G.M. Archive refers).
Superintendent Samuel Edgar Hutchings, G.M., was born in Bradford and served in the Regular Army until joining the Prison Service in October 1930. After training at Portland Borstal Institution, he was posted to Feltham Borstal and afterwards served at H.M. Prison Wormwood Scrubs from 1942.
After the War, Hutchings transferred to the Colonial Prison Service, being posted to Ussher Fort and James Fort Prisons, Accra, on the Gold Coast, as a Prison Superintendent. Early on the Sunday morning of 29.2.1947, there were disturbances in Accra during which a store neighbouring Ussher Fort prison was looted. The mob passed crates of beer, wine and spirits over the wall to the inmates who consumed it without discrimination. The Warders on duty were quickly rendered powerless in face of the crowd of some 600 prisoners all of whom seemed eager to share in the spoils arriving 'by air'.
At 7.45 a.m. Hutchings was summoned by telephone from his bungalow and he set out at once for Fort Ussher undeterred by the hostile mood of looters along the way. At the prison he entered the yard and attempted to restore order, and as this was impossible he concentrated his efforts in preventing the Warders from any acts that would stoke the fire further. Meanwhile, the mob outside forced the main prison gates by sheer weight of numbers and, opening the inner gate, encouraged and aided the escape of about 200 inmates, before Hutchings and his few Warders inside the yard were able to close the exit and hold it against the 300 or so furious prisoners who had missed the opportunity to escape.
When the Director of Prisons arrived on the scene he was staggered to learn that Hutchings was inside the yard, as he 'considered that the consequences to any Officer in amongst that mob were extremely grave, and that the chances of his remaining, or being able to get out alive, were remote'. In due course, reinforcements arrived from a Warder Training Depot and the Director decided to contact Hutchings: 'I entered the yard only with the greatest of difficulty, preventing prisoners from rushing the gate as it was opened to allow me to enter. I found Mr. Hutchings extremely harassed by the yelling and shouting around him, but cool and completely fearless ... He informed me a military picquet had arrived shortly before with fixed bayonets and that the Officer in charge of the military patrol had fired his revolver in the air. With commendable courage and common sense, Mr. Hutchings had ordered the military patrol out of the prison in order to avoid bloodshed, and decided to handle the situation with such force as he had available'. At length, and by persistence, he persuaded even the most mutinous of the prisoners in the yard to return to their cells without resorting to the tear gas and pick axe handles laid in by the Director.
Gazetted for a well-deserved G.M., which he received at an Investiture at Buckingham Palace on 2.11.1948, Hutchings was transferred to Malaya in 1951 to take over control of the Central Prison at Kuala Lumpur. In 1955 he was seconded to the Colonies Detention Camp at Ipoh, Central States of Malaya, where he figured in a further serious incident concerning the killing of three Chinese detainees by gunfire. In retirement, Hutchings wrote a memoir entitled Life in the Colonial Prison Service, a copy of which is sold with the Lot.