Notable Events In Week Fortyseven

Hertfordshire Police Historical Society

This Week In History

19/11/1906

Times 19/11/1906 Embezzlement by a Prison Governor – At Hertford Assizes on Saturday, before Mr Justice Lawrence William Oxley, ex-governor of St Albans gaol, was sentenced to 3 years penal servitude for embezzling £250 of public money at St Albans.

19/11/1989

On 19 November 1989, Hertfordshire was the ﬁrst area outside London to be affected by the ambulance dispute. Following requests from the chief ambulance ofﬁcer, an operation was mounted to enable both the police and army to provide an emergency ambulance service. Nine police vans were converted for this purpose and posted to strategic points. Nine Army Field ambulances, together with over 60 military personnel were located in various police buildings. Where army ambulances were escorted by a police vehicle when attending an emergency. Between 19 November and the end of 1989, a total of 2141 calls had been made by police vans and 2710 by army ambulances.

24/11/1976

Times
A Man who set ﬁre to a courthouse gets ﬁve years. A man said to have kept breaking into a courthouse and setting it on ﬁre because magistrates had threatened him with prison, was jailed at St Albans Crown Court yesterday for ﬁve years. In the ﬁrst ﬁre, Dale Sims, aged 20, was said to have caused £13,000 worth of damage to Hitchin Magistrate’s Court, and in the second £135 of damage. Mr Sims a machine operator, of South Place, Hitchin, pleaded guilty to 2 charges of arson and one of burglary. He asked for four other offences to be considered.

24/11/1925

On 24 November 1925, Alfred George Catesby, of Trinity Lodge, Rickmansworth Road, Watford reported the breaking into of his house and the larceny of two sets of false teeth valued at 15 shillings. Sgt 289 Springett investigated the case, which remains undetected despite the fact that the Sergeant circulated the description of both the crime and the teeth to the Metro information list 2 of 30th of November 1925, the Police Gazette, Case 39 of the same date and also local circulations C1717 and C 1718

Saturday 22 November 1862

Hertfordshire Express and General Advertiser
ST ALBANS UNION HOUSE BOARD OF GUARDIANS
The fortnightly meeting of the Board of Guardians was held Tuesday last J. Bennett, Esq., in the chair. Messrs. How, Dickenson, Pitkin, Stone, Cherry, Purrott, Pack, Goome, and H. H. Toulmin, Esq., ex-officio.
Number of inmates, 166,
The governor stated that a tramp died in the union-house and he applied for the interment in St. Michael’s parish burial ground, but the sexton stated that a resolution had been passed in the vestry that no tramps who died in the union-house should be buried in the churchyard; but referring to the Act of Parliament which directs that all persons dying in the workhouse having no resident parish in the bounds of the union are to be buried in the church yard in the parish in which the union-house is situated. The Board ordered the governor to apply to the vicar of St. Michael’s pariah and if he refused, the bearers were to leave the corpse in the churchyard.

Saturday 21 November 1863

Hertfordshire Express and General Advertiser
Winter Assize.

There will be special goal delivery for this county, which will be held Hertford on Thursday, the 3rd of December. Mr. Justice Williams is the judge appointed for this county, will open commission in the afternoon of the 3rd of December, and will swear the grand jury and proceed to try the prisoners (of whom there are present twelve) at ten o’clock the following morning.

The Queen v. Lawrence. At the Criminal Court of appeal on Saturday, case was heard which was a question arising under the Night Poaching Act, George IV. The prisoner was convicted before Mr. Baron Bramwell at Hertford for being in enclosed lands in the night time armed for the purpose of taking game. The prisoner had stolen some young pheasants that were brought up under domestic hen. The question reserved was whether the birds could be considered game. Mr. Clarke, for the prosecution, urged that the birds had not changed their nature from being brought up under domestic hen. They were still force natures. Judgment reserved.