Liverpool’s first police chief – Brian Maye on Wexford-born Michael James Whitty

Liverpool’s first police head constable and organiser of that city’s first fire brigade was Wexford man Michael James Whitty, who died 150 years ago on June 10th. He was also a journalist, newspaper editor and proprietor and author of a number of books.

He was born in Duncormick, Co Wexford, in 1795, the son of a farmer, corn merchant and owner of boats operating out of Wexford port. Some sources suggest he studied for the priesthood for a time but this was more likely his eldest brother, who had a private tutor in whose lessons Michael was allowed to share before afterwards attending St Peter’s College, Wexford. It seems he was his father’s business assistant from an early age but when the business failed, he moved to Dublin in 1821, where he met and later married Mary O’Neill.

He began his writing career in Dublin, before shortly moving to London, where he took up journalism with the London and Dublin Magazine, acting as its editor from 1823 to 1827. Under various pen-names, he wrote much of the magazine himself, contributing poems and articles, including a series on Robert Emmet. The Emmet articles were reprinted many times and were finally revised and published as a book entitled Robert Emmet: The Cause of His Rebellion by M.J.W. in 1871. These articles “greatly influenced the popular historical memory of Emmet and his rebellion”, according to Martin McElroy, who wrote the entry on Whitty in the Dictionary of Irish Biography.

He wrote for other publications also during the 1820s and in 1824 published Tales of Irish Life, Illustrative of the Manners, Customs and Conditions of the People in two volumes. The famous British illustrator and caricaturist, George Cruikshank, who was a friend of Whitty, contributed illustrations to the book and it proved a great success, being reprinted in America and translated into French and German.

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By now well established as a writer and editor, Whitty moved to Liverpool in 1829, where he was editor of the Liverpool Journal (1829-36), later purchasing it, and he was also Liverpool correspondent and agent of the London Daily News. In addition to his journalistic activities, he became deeply involved in the city’s civic and administrative life.

There were three different police forces in Liverpool at the time: the Day Police, the Night Watch and the Dock Police. Whitty was appointed superintendent of the Night Watch and displayed bravery and strength in the role.

In 1835, he quelled an attack on the Vauxhall Bridewell jail in what became known as the Orange Riots. For this and his other achievements, he was appointed the first ever head (later chief) constable in Liverpool.

Part of his duty in the latter role was to establish a fire brigade (up till then, insurance companies extinguished fires). Under Whitty, the first Liverpool Fire Brigade came into existence. He created much employment, with 350 men or more working under his command. He held the highly respected position for 11 years, retiring in January 1847. As a mark of gratitude for his many years of service, the people of Liverpool, through the city council, gave him a cash gift of £1,000.

By now proprietor of the Liverpool Journal, he called for the abolition of the stamp duties and other forms of duties on newspapers. When a parliamentary commission was established to consider the matter in 1851, he appeared before it and argued that if the duties were abolished, he would publish a daily paper for one penny. When they were removed in 1855, he launched the Liverpool Daily Post, which has a claim to be the first penny newspaper published in the UK and quickly became one of the leading provincial newspapers. It “espoused liberalism and free trade and was widely circulated in Liverpool, Lancashire and Cheshire,” according to Martin McElroy.

“The influence of Whitty in bringing the penny press to the poor man was to give him a wider view of the world and the right to examine those in power,” it has been well asserted (www.liverpoolmonuments.co.uk/anfield).

He sold both the Liverpool Journal and the Daily Post in 1869 and died four years later, aged 78, at his home in Prince’s Park, Liverpool. He was buried beside his wife, who predeceased him in 1864, in Anfield Cemetery. There is a portrait of him, painted by John Bishop in 1840, in the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool. Two of his sons, Edward Michael and William Alfred, became journalists; the latter was the father of the actress Dame May Whitty. Two of his daughters, Anna and Sarah, were talented musicians, and Anna wrote a novel and many short stories.