Dozen Conisbrough Boys in Trouble – “The Burglar’s Gang”

August 1915

Mexborough & Swinton Times, August 14, 1915

“The Burglar’s Gang”
A Dozen Conisborough Boys in Trouble.

A dozen boys from Conisborough were charged with breaking into a camp tent at Clifton Hill and stealing a number of articles on 4th and 5th of August, belonging to Hermar Beecham and others.

A number of young men are camping in Mr Hawley’s field next to Clifton Hill, and when they went to the tent on Wednesday a few articles were missing. On the following night a box had been forced open and articles valued at 30s had been stolen, including dumbbells, a chest developer, four belts, three ties, a screwdriver and a ground sheet.

Information was given to PC Knowles, who traced the robberies to the defendants. He went with them to a plantation in the field, and the boys show him a hole in the ground which was covered with earth and stones, and there he found articles hidden.

He charged the boys the theft, and they all replied; “I took part in it.” They were decent boys, and had not had any complaints before.

Three of the boys denied the theft but acknowledged that they had received some of the articles.

A small diary was produced which had been left in the tent. On one page was written, “The Burglar’s Gang,” and underneath five names of the boys and the words, “We have captured 2 ties,” and a list of articles, among them, two belts, a pair of dumbbells, pair of hand springs, a pair of boots, luggage bags, a box, a picnic rope, some envelopes etc.

The parents of several of the boys attended, and explained that they had never had any trouble with them before.

The chairman of the consulting his colleague said no doubt a good deal of this sort of thing was done out of mischief. They would deal with them under the first offenders act and they were bound over the sum of 20s. They were warned that if they came again they would be severely dealt with.