Stole From Church Arms Box – Denaby Boys Bought Toys

January 1955

South Yorkshire Times Jan 29

Stole From Church Arms Box
Denaby Boys Bought Toys

After stealing an offertory box from St Albans Church, Denaby, two schoolboys aged 9 and 10 hid the box on the hillside and then taking with them an axed smashed it open the following morning.

This was stated at Doncaster’s west riding juvenile court on Wednesday when the two boys admitted to stealing the box and £2 contents and were discharged conditionally on payment of 7 s 6d costs each.

The chairman Mr A Atherton told the mothers of the boys to impress on them that stealing from the church was a very low down thing to do.

Insp. R Memuir said that the priest in charge visited the church on November the 26th and found everything in order but three hours later he discovered that the combined offertory box and candle holder was missing from the front of tha altar.

He added that the offence came to light as result of police officer questioning another boy who he had seen making purchases in the shop with a lot of copper coins. Leaving some of the money hidden the two boys went into Doncaster and spent it on toys then returned and hid the toys with the rest of the money. The younger boys said that a big kid had told them about the box and money.