Sidney Reilly - in London: 1890s

In London: 1890s

In 1897, Rosenblum began a torrid affair with Margaret Thomas (née Callaghan), the youthful wife of Reverend Hugh Thomas, shortly before the latter's death. Rosenblum first met Reverend Thomas in London via his Ozone Preparations Company. Thomas had a kidney inflammation and was intrigued by the miracle cures peddled by Rosenblum. Thomas introduced Rosenblum to his young wife at his Manor House, and an affair developed between the two over the next six months. On 4 March 1898, Thomas altered his will and appointed Margaret as an executor. A week after the making of the new will, Reverend Thomas and his nurse arrived at Newhaven Harbour Station. On 12 March 1898, in that same hotel, Rev. Thomas was found dead in his bed. A mysterious Dr. T.W. Andrew, who matched the physical description of Sigmund Rosenblum, appeared on the scene to certify Thomas' death as generic influenza and, signing the relevant documents, proclaimed that there was no need for an inquest. Records indicate that no Dr. T.W. Andrew was in Great Britain circa 1897.

Margaret insisted that her husband's body be ready for burial 36 hours after his death. Six weeks later, she inherited roughly £800,000. The Metropolitan Police did not investigate Dr. T.W. Andrew, nor did they investigate the nurse whom Margaret had hired, even though the nurse was previously linked to the arsenic poisoning of a former employer. Four months later, on 22 August 1898, Rosenblum married Margaret Thomas. The two witnesses at the ceremony were Charles Richard Cross and Joseph Bell. Bell was an Admiralty clerk, while Cross was a government official. Both would eventually marry daughters of Henry Freeman Pannett, an associate of William Melville. The marriage brought the wealth which Rosenblum desired, but provided a pretext to discard his identity of Sigmund Rosenblum, and, with Melville's assistance, crafted a new identity: Sidney George Reilly. This new identity was the key to achieving his desire to return to Czarist Russia and voyage to the Far East.