Mexborough & Swinton Times – Saturday 09 October 1920
Unprovoked Assault
On Tuesday, at Doncaster, Alfred Smith, miner of Conisbrough, was summoned by William H Day, an army pensioner, for assaulting him on the night of 26 September.
Mr JA Baddeley, for the complainant, pointed out that the complainant was a pensioner at present under treatment at the Mexborough Hospital, and was waiting to go into hospital. He suffered from tuberculosis, as a result of being wounded and gassed.
Two nights a week he assisted to “wait on” at the Red Lion hotel, it appeared that the assault really arose out of a disturbance outside the hotel on the previous night. On this night, as he was going home, a disturbance was taking place; two men had been fighting, and one was being kicked on the floor by a man with whom the defendant lodged.
As he was going home the following night, the defendant and the man whom he had seen kick the other man stopped him. Smith asked him for a cigarette and he gave him one, and then the other man asked him if he saw him take the other man with whom he was having trouble the other night. When he told him he did, he said he was a liar, and thence Smith intervened and struck him, knocking him several yards. He struck him twice more.
Reply to the defendant, he denied that he challenged him to fight.
Joseph Mason corroborated, and defendant denied the assault. The complainant, he said was worse for drink, and each identified. He struck him, and he (defendant) retaliated.
The bench fined him 40 shillings