Tinned Fanny
Sir: As my Spectator of 31 July went astray in the post, I first learnt of Jaspistos' sur- prising ignorance of the identity of the orig- inal Fanny Adams when I read Alastair Forbes' letter (21 August).
While I do not question Alastair Forbes' assertion that his maternal grandfather's first wife was called Fanny Adams, the Fanny Adams who gave rise to the expres- sion was an eight-year-old child who was murdered and dismembered in Alton, Hants, in 1867.
This crime, which received considerable publicity at the time, coincided with the introduction in the Royal Navy of tinned mutton. The tins in which the meat was packed were subsequently used as mess utensils, which the sailors, with rather grue- some humour, called Fannys, an expression which is still used for a cylindrical mess tin holding about a gallon.
D. F. Russell
4 Hyde House Gardens, Hyde Street, Winchester, Hants
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