Almost nothing is known about the man known as “Harry the Hawker”. Presumably he was a hawker of some sort, perhaps itinerant, though this is unsubstantiated. It has been suggested that he was a regular customer of Annie Chapman’s, others have suggested he was merely an acquaintance. Contemporary news reports say that he was in The Britannia accompanied by another woman, probably Eliza Cooper, and quite drunk on the Tuesday before the murder. The news goes on to say that Cooper attempted to steal a florin from Harry, and that Chapman drew his attention to it. This is given as the cause of the fight that the two women engaged in at the time. There is no evidence either for or against this being the cause of events.
