London - Marble Arch Prior to 1908. And the Cumberland Hotel Hammer Attack.

The Postcard

A postally unused postcard that was published by Edmund Düsédau of Plaistow, London. The card was printed in Germany.

The card was posted on the 27th. July 1908 to:

Monsieur Péron,
Impasse Gravel,
Levallois-Perret,
Seine,
France.

There was also a very brief message on the divided back:

"26 Juillet 1908.
S. C."

Levallois-Perret

Levallois-Perret is a commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department and Île-de-France region of north-central France.

It lies on the right bank of the Seine, some 6 km from the centre of Paris in the north-western suburbs of the French capital.

Marble Arch

The Marble Arch is a 19th.-century white marble-faced triumphal arch in London. The structure was designed by John Nash in 1827 to be the state entrance to the Cour d'Honneur of Buckingham Palace; it stood near the site of what is today the three-bayed, central projection of the palace containing the well known balcony.

In 1851 the arch was relocated, and following the widening of Park Lane in the early 1960's is now sited, incongruously isolated, on a large traffic island at the junction of Oxford Street, Park Lane and Edgware Road.

The traffic going round the traffic island these days is very heavy and fast-moving; don't try and cross the road to get to the arch - you won't make it.

The Cumberland Hotel

All the Georgian houses in the background are no longer there; they have been replaced by the enormous Cumberland Hotel.

The www.kzwp.com/ website created by Kattie Zion has a detailed history of the Cumberland Hotel building. She writes that:

"In 1901 the island site bounded by Oxford Street, Old Quebec Street, Bryanston Street and Great Cumberland Place, was progressively acquired by Joseph Lyons for the erection of the Cumberland Hotel.

The Cumberland project was formidable. The excavations alone entailed the removal of over 100,000 cubic yards of material, during which historical relics from all periods were unearthed. All building work was carried out by Lyons' own staff.

The Cumberland Hotel featured all the latest developments of comfort. It was sound-proofed, double glazed, air conditioned, and all 900 bed-rooms had their own en-suite. All air entering the hotel was filtered, including the supply to the kitchen areas. Here the exhaust was treated in order to eradicate cooking smells.

The structure consisted of thirteen floors, ten of them above ground and three below. Part of the hotel backbone was an enormous 100-ton girder which required the world's largest lorry to convey it. Fifteen thousand tons of steel-work was used in the hotel's construction. Four hundred thousand square feet of 'Empire grown timber' was used in the making of bedroom furniture.

The Cumberland Hotel officially opened its doors on the 12th. December 1933.

Two thousand staff were employed at the hotel, and a specially built annex provided accommodation for 300 girls who slept in single or double rooms. There was one bath to every four girls, and they ate in their own restaurant on the ground floor of the annex."

The Cumberland has seen many famous guests over the years; in the music world these include Bob Dylan, Diana Ross, Jimi Hendrix and Buddy Holly.

In the Spring of 2019 the hotel changed its name to the Hard Rock Hotel, but reverted back to the Cumberland name four years later in May 2023.

The 2014 Cumberland Hotel Hammer Attack

In April 2014 the Cumberland Hotel was the scene of a devastating hammer attack.

Three sisters, Ohoud, Khaloud and Fatima Al-Najjar were staying in adjoining rooms at the Cumberland Hotel in Marble Arch, when Philip Spence hit all three of them violently with a claw hammer.

Spence was able to enter their seventh floor room, which was not locked, after he walked in off the street.

Philip Spence

Thirty-three year old Philip Spence from Harlesden in north-west London carried out his attack in front of Khaloud’s three children, aged seven, ten and twelve.

He hit one of his victims, Ohoud al-Najjar, 34, with such force that her skull split open as her nine-year-old nephew cowered under the sheets next to her.

Spence was permanently excluded from school at the age of eight, smoked cannabis from the age of 11, and was addicted to crack cocaine and heroin by 18.

Spence’s history of violence includes chasing his landlord with a hammer and punching a woman at council offices in 2007, as well as biting a passer-by in 2011.

Spence has 37 convictions for 62 offences dating back to 1993.

The three women left their hotel rooms unlocked on the night of the attack in order to allow a fourth sister to return later in the evening.

The fourth sister, Sheika al-Mheiri, on returning discovered her sisters lying injured on the floor, with blood spattered on the walls.

Spence had fled the scene with a suitcase stuffed with iPads, gold jewellery and mobile phones, having dumped the hammer just outside the hotel.

CCTV footage captured Spence on a bus examining items that he had stolen from the women after his attack.

The Criminal Trial

A year later at his criminal trial, Spence’s barrister, William Nash, said in mitigation that his client had consumed a large amount of drugs at the time of the attack:

“He didn’t know of any other crackhead
as big as him. He can’t forgive himself.
He describes himself as being a totally
different person. He is not unempathetic.”

Nevertheless Spence was convicted of three counts of attempted murder.

The "hotel creeper" was initially ordered to serve life with a minimum of 18 years, but this was increased to 27 years on appeal.

The High Court Case

The BBC provided the following information on the 7th. May 2019 relating to the attack and its legal consequences:

"Three sisters who suffered devastating injuries in a hammer attack by a thief are suing the owners of the London hotel where it happened.

At the start of the case at the High Court, lawyers described the injuries to the women, who were from Abu Dhabi in the UAE:

-- Ohoud was left with five per cent brain capacity, and will require care for the rest of her life.

-- Khaloud has had 20 operations to rebuild her head and face.

-- Fatima cannot taste or smell, and has problems with her memory.

Spence admitted the attack,, but denied attempted murder.

The family's barrister, Susan Rodway, said that Spence - who had a history of sneaking into hotel rooms to steal - had "great knowledge and familiarity" of the Cumberland Hotel.

She said that he told his criminal trial he was a regular intruder at the hotel, and had even been able to sleep in maids' cupboards.

She added that security "failures" led Spence to directly target the hotel, where he knew he could make an easy buck from the rich pickings there.

The court heard that it was "well-known" to the hotel that it was common for Middle Eastern guests to leave doors on the latch in order to enable family members to go between rooms.

The hotel's owners deny liability, arguing that by leaving their door open, the women voluntarily assumed the obvious risk of allowing anyone to enter the room while they were asleep inside.

Neil Block QC, for the hotel, said in a written submission:

"Each guest room was fitted with a heavy duty
fire door with efficient self-closers and automatic
locks, deadlocks, security chains and spy-glasses.
The rooms were designed so that guests could
not leave them open accidentally."

He said that after the incident, police tested a closed bedroom door, and found it impossible to gain access with a hammer similar to that used by Mr Spence.

Ms Rodway said that the hotel's CCTV system was "purely reactive" and that:

"it was clearly only there to enable review
should an incident occur, but not to enable
any anticipation or prevention of an incident".

But Mr Block said the fact that there was no system for live monitoring of all 130 CCTV cameras at the hotel "was, and indeed remains, the norm for similar hotels".

He concluded:

"But for the deliberate interference with
the door's locking mechanism, the attack
would not have occurred."

The case is expected to last for two weeks."

The High Court Judgement

On Friday the 21st. June 2019, the High Court judge Mr. Justice Dingemans ruled that:

"There was no liability on the part of the
Cumberland Hotel to Ohoud, Khaloud
and Fatima for the attack carried out by
Mr Spence".

He said that the case raised issues about whether a hotel proprietor owes a duty to guests to take reasonable care to protect against injury caused by the criminal actions of third parties, and if so whether the duty was breached in this case.

Dingemans concluded that there was such a duty of care, but based on the facts of the case, there was no breach of that duty.

The judge said that:

"The hotel acted with reasonable care to
protect guests at the hotel against injury
caused by the criminal acts of third parties".

However Khaloud and Fatima said in a statement after the ruling:

"Re-living the horrors of that terrifying night
where we almost lost our lives has been
extremely traumatic for us to endure, and
we are devastated that it has all been for
nothing.
We lost our sister, and our lives were
changed forever when we were attacked
by Spence in the privacy of our own room."

Khaloud and Fatima said that they felt the decision was "a travesty" and that "justice has not been done".

A spokeswoman for the owner of the Cumberland, GLH Hotels, said after the ruling:

"We believe today's judgement is the
correct outcome.
Regardless, the al Najjar family's
experience was deeply shocking and
wholly unprecedented and we reiterate
our heartfelt concern for their well-being
as they continue to receive all necessary
support."

The Sinking of the Ying King

So what else happened on the day that the card was posted?

Well, on Monday the 27th. July 1908, the 1908 Hong Kong typhoon sank the passenger steamer Ying King, causing 421 crew and passengers to drown.

As a result of the catastrophe, additional safety measures were undertaken, including the construction of a second typhoon shelter in Hong Kong harbour.

Thomas Stevenson (Toxicologist)

The day also marked the death in Streatham, London of Thomas Stevenson.

Thomas, who was born in Rainton, Yorkshire on the 14th. April 1838, was an English toxicologist and forensic chemist. He served as an analyst to the Home Office and as an expert witness in many famous poisoning cases. These included the Pimlico Mystery, The Maybrick Case, the Lambeth Poisoner, and the George Chapman case.

Thomas Stevenson - The Early Years

In 1857 Stevenson became a medical pupil to Mr Steel of Bradford. He entered Guy's Hospital Medical School in 1859 and graduated MB in 1863 and M.D. in 1864. He won several gold medals whilst still a student.

Thomas Stevenson - The Later Years

Thomas became MRCP in 1864 and FRCP in 1871. Stevenson became demonstrator in practical chemistry at Guy's in 1864, and was lecturer in chemistry, 1870–98, and in forensic medicine, 1878–1908.

He also served as the President of the Institute of Chemistry and of the Society of Public Analysts.

Thomas is notable for being the scientific mentor of the Nobel Prize winner Frederick Hopkins.

Stevenson died at the age of 70 of diabetes on the 27th. July 1908 at his home in Streatham High Road, London and was laid to rest in West Norwood Cemetery.

Thomas was a man of deep Christian faith, as was his wife, Agnes. All their seven children followed in their parents footsteps. Mabel trained as doctor and became a medical missionary in India before returning home and becoming a nun at the House of the Epiphany in Truro.

Another daughter, Alice later joined this order too as a nun.

The British Medical Journal obituary, besides detailing his notable career, noted his Christian faith and service:

‘He was a diligent student of the Bible;
indeed, his character and life were the
direct result of his constant and abiding
faith in God, every act being simply and
solely done for His glory.’

Taken on: September 11, 2023

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