NEWS – without comment”
PI HISTORY
Historic PI Competition in Glasgow!
One of the few things known about Glaswegian detective James Aitken is his competition with a fellow ‘tec in the city
DR NELL DARBY
MAR 2, 2026
© 2026 Dr Nell Darby
548 Market Street PMB 72296, San Francisco, CA 94104
James Aitken was a Glaswegian private detective who operated from 1870 until his untimely death in February 1881.
He was initially based at 15 McFarlane Street, moving his business to 10 Dundas Street at some point between August and November 1876.
In late 1877, he was operating from 132 West Nile Street; in 1879, he was based at 14 Renfrew Street.
It was at this last address that he died two years later.
I have been unable to find out James’s origins, and although a friend or relative placed a brief death notice in a local paper, commenting on his ‘sudden’ death on 1 February 1881, I do not know if he was married or had children. I can’t locate a private detective of his name in the 1871 Glasgow census, and his address where he died appears to have been a lodging house, with no other Aitkens living there. He did not leave a will – the other two James Aitkens who died around the same time and who left wills were not the private detective.
What I do know is that he must have been fairly successful: he employed other men as his assistants. Although I can’t find any mention of him as a private detective between 1870 and 1873, it is known that in 1874, he had two young male assistants, and two years later, he had an assistant named John or William Leggatt, among other staff. He also kept busy with various cases being referred to in the Scottish press, including one, in November 1876, where he investigated a man named Robert Fulton who was charged with selling methylated spirits in excess of what an excise licence allowed. Aitken, together with two of his assistants – including Leggatt – found that he was selling methylated spirits to Glasgow’s working-class men and women, who wanted alcohol and could only afford methylated spirit to drink. Fulton was, as a result of Aitken’s investigations, fined over £60.
I do know that Aitken had something of a competition with another Glasgow-based detective, Alfred Knowles.
Knowles, who was originally from London and who returned to live there later, was working as a private detective in close proximity to Aitken.
Both tried to use the name Glasgow Private Detective Agency, and both were competing for similar cases.
Both were regularly cited in the Scottish newspapers, and both advertised their services in the same column of the same paper.
Knowles appeared to have an advantage over his rival, citing his former police experience, but Aitken appears to have been well-known and well-respected. Unfortunately, however, Aitken’s untimely death ended his decade-long career, and enabled Knowles to continue without him.
Thanks for reading Secret Sleuths! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
By: Dr Nell Darby from Secret Sleuths <secretsleuths@substack.com>
Posted by: Ian (D. Withers)
www.WAPI.org
Disclaimer: News items in W.A.P.I.’s “News Without Comment” section are republished articles from external sources. W.A.P.I. is not the originator of this content and does not endorse or verify the accuracy of the material. Complaints or requests for correction should be directed to the original publisher. W.A.P.I. will review any substantiated notice of defamation and, if appropriate, remove or update the content.