Mexborough and Swinton Times April 13, 1928
The Poor That Rob the Poor
Fowl Stealing At Denaby
Two Conisborough miners, Edmund Taylor and James Davies, pleaded guilty at Doncaster on Wednesday to charges of having stolen four fowls.
Taylor was charged with having stolen the files, and Davies with receiving a fowl, valued at 7s 6d, knowing that property to have been stolen.
Superintendent Minty said that Reginald Birch, a Conisborough miner, locked his fowl house and made it secure on April 6. On the following morning he found that the henhouse been broken into and his four fowls were missing.
He gave information to the police, and on April 8, PC Dobson interviewed Taylor. Taylor said “I know what you want. I took all four fowls on Friday night and put them in my cellar. I got up at six in the morning and threw three into a wood, and gave one to Mary Ellen to take to Denaby.”
When charged, Taylor replied: “I took them. I don’t know what made me do it.”
PC Dobson later saw Davies, who said that he had a fowl and took it to the Denaby Main hotel and sold it for 1s 6d. When charged, Davis replied, “When I got the fowl and it was not got by honest means. I sold a fowl at the Denaby Main Hotel and spent the money on beer. The reason I told a lie was because I don’t want to get the daughter in the business. I am sorry. I am guilty of the offence.”
Superintendent Minty said it was a case of one working man robbing another. The other three fowls had not been recovered, and it was a question if Taylor did throw them into the ward. When the police were able to find the culprit in one case, in 19/20 others they were not.
PC Dobson gave corroborative evidence
Taylor was sent to prison for one month and Davies fined £1.