Joseph Biggs - Saltley Reformatory Inmate
| No. in Admissions Register: | 1097 |
| Age: | 12 |
| Whence received: | Staffordshire Quarter Sessions |
| Description: | |
| Complexion: | Fresh, much freckled |
| Hair colour: | Sandy |
| Eyes colour: | Blue and grey |
| Height: | 4 ft 4½ ins |
| Particular marks: | Scar right hip, 7 vacc. marks left arm |
| State of health: | Good |
| Able-bodied? | Yes |
| Date of admission: | 24 July 1895 |
| Late residence: | Cannon Street, Willenhall |
| Parish he belongs to: | - |
| Customary work and mode of life: | - |
| Whether illegitimate: | No |
| State of education: | |
| Reads: | Very imperfectly |
| Writes: | Very imperfectly |
| Offence: | Warehouse breaking and stealing |
| Circumstances which may have led to it: | Keeping bad company |
| Date of sentence, by whom and court: | 2 July 1895; Baron Hatherton; Staffordshire Quarter Sessions |
| Where imprisoned: | Not |
| Sentence: | 5 years at Saltley, dating from 2 July 1895 |
| Previous committals: | |
| Number: | 2 |
| Length: | 1) 1st Off. Act.; 2) 6 strokes |
| For what: | 1) Stealing thimbles; 2) stealing a coat |
| Father's name: | John Biggs |
| Occupation: | Caster |
| Mother's name: | Martha Biggs |
| Occupation: | Housewife |
| Parents dead? | Neither |
| Survivor married again? | - |
| Parents' treatment of child: | Good |
| Character of parents | Good |
| Parents' wages: | - |
| Amount parents agree to pay: | - |
| Parents address: | - |
| Superintendent of police (to collect payments): | - |
| Person making this return: | M F Blakiston |
| Notes: | |
| 6 July 1895 The crime that sent him to Saltley was very briefly reported in the Staffordshire Chronicle Saturday 6 July 1895 p.7 col.3: Gilbert Williams (14) and Joseph Biggs (12), breaking into a warehouse on June 9 and 10 and committing a theft, remanded to the workhouse and then sent to a reformatory, Biggs for five years and Williams for four years | |
| 10 April 1900 The Log Book report records that Biggs had expressed a wish to enlist, but his parents refused to give their consent | |
| 13 December 1904 The Log Book report records receipt of a letter from Biggs, Curragh, Ireland | |