GC44JF7 The Original Sherlock 2 (Unknown Cache) in East Midlands, United Kingdom created by Martin112358

GC44JF7 ▼

A cache by Martin112358 Message this owner

Hidden : 1/16/2013

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

A puzzle cache about Tanky Smith, an interesting Leicester character.

The coordinates are not those of the cache, but of Tanky Smith’s grave. You might want to research this at the same time as The Original Sherlock 1.
You may well need to visit Tanky’s grave and ‘Top Hat Terrace’ (see The Original Sherlock 1) to solve the puzzles.

Tanky Smith was one of the first detectives of the Leicester police force in the nineteenth century. He was able to disguise himself and infiltrate the criminal gangs that plagued the city at that time, becoming a very successful police officer. After retiring from the police he became a private detective.

What made Tanky’s name as a private detective was the sensational Winstanley affair. When a prominent Leicestershire man disappeared Tanky was hired to find him. His search took him to the Continent.

The reward from the Winstanley family was enough to build ‘Top Hat Terrace’ (see The Original Sherlock 1) adorned with several busts of Tanky in some of his many disguises.

Tanky eventually retired and moved out of town to a street he more or less owned and that was named after him. He lived to a good age and was buried in St Mary Magdalene Churchyard, Brinsmead Road. His and his wife’s tombstone can still be clearly seen (at the nominal location above).

It is thought that Tanky was one of the models for Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes. His success as a detective, his penchant for disguise, and the sensational Winstanley affair are all certainly very like Holmes.

Questions

Some are multiple choice, others give a year or other number. Take the digital roots of the latter group to reduce them to single digits.

J What was Tanky Smith’s wife’s first name?

	Abigail	1
	Doris	2
	Elizabeth	3
	Jane	4
	Josephine	5
	Henrietta	6
	Margaret	7
	Mary	8
	May	9
	Victoria	0

K What year was the Leicester police force set up?

L What year did Tanky join?

M After a while a detective force was created. Tanky and his partner were promoted to sergeant and became the first detectives. In what year?
Warning: a web site that you are likely to find gets this wrong, suggesting that Tanky and his partner joined as detectives. They did not, but were ordinary ‘beat’ officers for several years before there were any detectives.

N Tanky Smith’s partner was known as?

	Black Jimmy	1
	‘King’ Arthur	2
	Red Roberts	3
	Brown Billy	4
	Red John	5
	Chalky White	6
	Black Tommy	7
	Yellow Hal	8
	Brown Windsor	9
	Cranky Jones	0

O What was Tanky’s real first name?

	Albert	1
	Arthur	2
	Charles	3
	David	4
	Francis	5
	George	6
	Henry	7
	James	8
	Robert	9
	William	0

P Why was he called ‘Tanky’?

	He wore a type of metal reinforced top hat known at the time as a ‘tank’	1
	He was a powerfully built man, ‘tank’ being Victorian slang for an unstoppable force	2
	He introduced an early type of handcuff, known at the time as a ‘tank’	3
	One of his disguises was as an Irish tinker, and he got into the habit of saying ‘tank ee’ for ‘thank you’	4
	He was notoriously mean when drinks were being bought, ‘tanking’ being Victorian slang for cadging a drink	5
	When making an arrest he would often say “It’s the tank for you my lad”, ‘tank’ being Victorian slang for ‘gaol’	6
	He was a lay minister at Clarendon Hall Baptist Church, often performing total immersion baptisms in the ‘tank’	7
	He had an interest in fish, and installed one of the first domestic aquaria in his home	8
	When promoted to sergeant he bragged that his pay had gone up by a shilling a day, ‘tank’ being Victorian slang for a shilling	9
	He was known to strike criminals with his walking stick, ‘tanking’ being Victorian slang for ‘hitting’	0

Q In what year did Tanky die?

R In what year did Mrs Smith die?

You should now have a list of 9 digits J to R.
As a check and a way to ‘backfill’ a missing answer, the sum of J to R is the answer to life, the universe and everything.

The cache coordinates are given by N52° 3s.tuv W001° 0w.xyz
where

s = K+L-Q
t= N+Q-O
u = M+N-J
v = J+N-R
w = K+L-N
x = J+P-M
y = P+Q-O
z = L+O-R

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