The Hyde Park Incident
In December 1925, Thomson was arrested in London's Hyde Park, and charged with "committing an act in violation of public decency" with a young woman, Miss Thelma de Lava. Thomson rejected the charges, insisting that he was engaged in conversation with the woman for the purposes of research for a book he was writing on London vice. Nonetheless, he was found guilty of public indecency, and fined £5.
In reality the story he gave the court (which his barrister, Sir Henry Curtis Bennett, probably did not support) sounded totally peculiar. Thomson apparently lied (or told a half-truth) regarding his name, calling himself "Home Thomson" when he was arrested with Miss de Lava. "Home" was one of his middle names. Unfortunately he was recognized by the police. He tried alternately to bluster or to offer a vague bribe to the constables. When he presented his version in the courtroom he said he was researching a book on the danger of left wing agitators in England and he was together with Miss de Lava awaiting for the speech to begin. Had this been true, Thomson should have revealed in court who the orator was he was awaiting for. He kept refusing. That plus the background of Miss de Lava as a prostitute ended any real credibility that Thomson thought would save him.
| Police appointments | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir Melville Macnaghten |
Assistant Commissioner "C", Metropolitan Police 1913–1921 |
Succeeded by Sir Wyndham Childs |
Read more about this topic: Basil Thomson
Famous quotes containing the words park and/or incident:
“Borrow a child and get on welfare.
Borrow a child and stay in the house all day with the child,
or go to the public park with the child, and take the child
to the welfare office and cry and say your man left you and
be humble and wear your dress and your smile, and don’t talk
back ...”
—Susan Griffin (b. 1943)
“What is character but the determination of incident? What is incident but the illustration of character?”
—Henry James (1843–1916)