Richard Pearce
Police Constable Richard William Pearce (922 City). Surname also spelt 'Pearse'[1].
Witness at Catherine Eddowes' inquest.
Born 1850 in Whitechapel. Resident of 3 Mitre Square where he lived with his wife Jane (b.1852, Hampshire) and children William Richard (b.1879), May Olive (1880-89) and Alice (b.1883)[2]. PC Pearce had gone to bed at 12.20am, 30th September 1888 and had heard no noise or disturbance of any kind. The Pearces were the only residents of Mitre Square.
He was first alerted to the murder of Catherine Eddowes at 2.20am when a police constable knocked at his house. He stated that he could plainly see the murder spot from his window.[3]
By 1891, the Pearce family had moved to 22 White Lion Street (now Lamb Street), Norton Folgate. After retiring from the force, Richard Pearce became a licensed victualler and the family had settled in Fulbourne Road, Walthamstow.[4]
