Convicts, crimes, and murder

By Scott Daily

Though rare, crime and even murder (or at least the accusation of them), has led to some from the Cumnock area being forced to move elsewhere. Some after serving their time of imprisonment or forced labour would settle and raise families in the area they were sent to such as Australia. A few would return to Ayrshire, but others would pass away still imprisoned. In the case of murder of course it would also influence the population of the area adversely. 

These are just a few of the accounts of those mentioned on the Cumnock Connections site as being affected by crime or murder.

First, by way of example of someone who was sent to Australia and was later able to make a life there, we have David Vallance whose family has a long history of living in the Cumnock/Auchinleck area. David married Euphemia Walker and they had  a child, Alexander. 

For a time David worked as a butcher in Cumnock. In 1843 he was accused of stealing, either 8 sheep and was sentenced to be transported to Tasmania, Australia on board the Henrietta to serve for 7 years. Upon being granted his freedom in 1850 he seems to have settled in an area, as he is recorded as passing away in Tasmania in 1886 at the age of 66. His wife Euphemia lived out her days in Thornhill and earend a good living as a dressmaker. The son Alexander died of TB in 1860 aged 19.

Maybe it is a stretch to write about murders in a blog about immigration, but two high profile murders took place in the area in the early 1900's. The death of Grace Dickie McKerrow in Cumnock and the death of Agnes Bone of Glenbuck were both treated as murders, and both lead to convictions of individuals from the area. 

Grace Dickie McKerrow was born in Sorn, and moved to Cumnock to serve as the housekeeper for a Mr Lennox who lived at home called "Woodside" at 159 Glaisnock street. On Monday the 19^th of November 1906 a package was delivered to the home with a card that read “With happy greetings from an old friend”. When the package was opened it was found to contain iced shortbread. Four day later, on the 23^rd the shortbread was brought out to try when a neighbour, a Mrs Bain, stopped by. Grace was seen to eat two pieces, though complaining about how bitter it tasted. Suddenly all who were eating began to experience great pain, the servant girl, a Miss Thorburn, having only ate a small amount felt best and was sent to bring a doctor. Whie the others would recover, Grace passed away. Suspecting poison, a postmortem was conducted, and it was found that Grace had ingested strychnine. When the shortbread was tested it was found that the icing contained poison, one report saying the icing contained sugar and 41% strychnine). 

Some articles about the murder

The man who was eventually arrested and tried for the murder was Thomas Mathieson Brown from New Cumnock. Until his retirement he had served as manager of the Lanemark Colliery in New Cumnock. His wife was the niece of William Lennox, and it was believed that Brown was seeking to murder Lennox so that his wife might inherit money or land. Rather unusually the prosecution wanted Brown declared insane, as he was known to suffer from epilepsy, while the defence wanted him tried as normal with a plea of not guilty. The evidence brought against Brown was that the handwriting on the card delivered with the package seemed to match his and he was found to have purchased strychnine, which he claimed was for killing rats. A mortar and pestle thought to be used to grind up the poison was also found, along with ingredients to make the icing. The Crown set about proving that Brown was insane, bringing in various medical experts. The jury reached the verdict that Brown was indeed insane, and so he was sent first to the Criminal Lunatic Department in Perth, then later transferred to Crichton Royal Institute, Dumfries, and finally moved to Ayr County Asylum where in 1915 he passed away. 

Article about murder of Agnes Bone

Briefly, another murder that shocked the local community, took place in the village of Glenbuck.  Thomas Bone was found guilty of murdering his wife, Agnes Campbell Bone. It is possible that the two were related, the Cumnock Conections site listing her as his cousin, though the family tree conected with the link does not back this up. Other sources state she was his second cousin and actually born Agnes Campbell, such as the this Cumnock Chronicle article. Thomas grew increasingly violent and possessive of his wife, so much so that many feared for her safety, and Thomas was according to the Chronicle, sentenced to 40 days hard labour as he “behaved in an outrageous fashion” toward her. In 1908 he was “sent down”  for two months, when he got out he again went to find his wife. His mother-in-law saw him and tried to warn her daughter, who was away from the village working at nearby farm, to not come back to Glenbuck, but her letter arrived too late. On Thursday April 2, 1908 around 2pm, the couple were seen walking on a path near the railway station. It began to rain and they went into a shed, where they were observed arguing by a local shepherd. They left, and that was the last anyone saw of Agnes alive. Around 3:05pm Thomas was seen back in the village washing his hands in the burn. He then went to his aunt’s house in the village and confessed to the murder, going from there to other houses and doing the same, though few believed him as it was such a shocking thought. As Thomas kept insisting, even telling them where to find the body, eventually a local miner went to check, and discovered Agnes lying dead on the footpath. (See  article 1 and article 2 for details)

At the trial, to the surprise of many including the judge, Thomas pled guilty, and admitted his murder. He stated that Agnes’s mother had told her not to have anything more to do with him and he was so upset he killed her. Thomas was sentenced to be hung, apparently, according to Chronicle, “the last prisoner at Ayr jail to sit under sentence of death.” But the night before he was to be hung the Secretary of State declaed that he was to have his sentenced changed to one of “penal servitude”. On the 15th November 1912, while serving time in Perth Prison, Thomas hung himself using a bed sheet. 

Finally, one other possible crime, though this one I don’t have a much information about. Again, citing the Cumnock Connections site, a George Murdoch from Auchinleck was convicted of forgery, and after being released on bail he “absconded to America”. If he is the same George Murdoch listed, then he would seem to have had children who ended up in the state of Ohio in the US. It does seem certain that a George Murdoch did immigrate to the United States around that time, but there appears to be several men with that name. 

J.J. Wardrop and G.D. Wardrop from Rigg Farm to New York

by Roberta McGee

 Patrick Douglas Wardrop farmed Garlaff, Old Cumnock, afterwards Rigg, Auchinleck. When his wife Agnes McLanachan died in 1884, aged only 43 years, she left behind a large family. Two years later in 1886 Patrick married Jeanie Dick Jones who was forty years younger than him. Patrick and Jeanie went on to have another three children - James Jones Wardrop, George Douglas Wardrop and Andrew who died aged 2 years. 

James Jones Wardrop was born in 1887 at Rigg Farm, Auchinleck. He sailed from Glasgow to New York on the 'Parisian' , arriving there on 5th June 1905. He was 18 years old, an architect, and his intended residence in the USA was with Alexander Timpany, Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York. Alexander Timpany was born in Auchinleck in 1851 and was a shipping clerk. 

In 1910 James was lodging in Manhattan and his occupation is given as draughtsman (architecture). He travelled Europe and Africa for eight months between 1911 and 1912. He moved into shipping and became President of The Wardrop West African Line in February 1917 and appeared to be a very successful business man. 

He became naturalised in 1918 and enlisted in the military that same year. Whether he engaged in active service is unclear but he did take various courses in aerial photography.

While he was serving in the military his shipping company became bankrupt and when he was demobilised he began bootlegging (or rum-running) in order to recover some of his losses in shipping. When he applied for a passport in 1919, giving his occupation as lumber & shipping, he stated; 

'I am going over to Scotland to be married. I have personal interests there that have been much neglected on account of my absence due to military service'. He added that he wished to leave as soon as possible. 

James Jones Wardrop - Passport Photo

Between 1919 and 1925 there doesn't seem to have been much recorded about James. He resurfaces on 7th February 1925 when he sailed from Veracruz, Mexico to New York on the 'SS Mexico'. He was 37 years old, single and his address in New York was 405 Lexington Avenue, New York City.  

This is where the tale unfolds. With a number of others he owned two boats and each came to a sudden end. The authorities in America were on his track because of his bootlegging and had sunk one of the boats and captured the other one. He fled back to Scotland in November 1925 and he seemed to live in luxury for a time until May 1927 when he appeared in the High Court in Edinburgh where he admitted eight charges of fraud amounting to £1784. He had pretended to several people, most of them friends and relations, that he had mahogany plantations in Mexico and persuaded them to invest their money, sometimes their whole life savings, in them. In another instance he pretended to be the husband of a titled lady who had a large holding in a big Scottish concern which he attempted to sell them shares in. 

He was found guilty, sentenced to three years in jail and recommended for deportation. The Lord Justice-Clerk said, in passing sentence;

'The accused appeared to be gifted with a fertile imagination and a plausible tongue, which gifts - if they were gifts - he had devoted to criminal purposes and to a series of ingenious devices. He had swindled a number of persons, including friends of his own and appropriated nearly £1800 to his own use. No part of the money has been recovered. The charges covered a lengthy period and betokened a deliberate course of fraudulent conduct'. 

The Scotsman 28/5/1927

When James finished his sentence in Peterhead Prison, Aberdeenshire, less than three years later, he was immediately taken into custody and transported back to Glasgow where, the next day, he was placed on a ship on the Clyde and sent back to New York as an undesirable alien, arriving there on 1st September 1929. It must have been a bitter-sweet return for him. His mother had died in New York on 25th March 1927 while James was in Scotland facing charges of fraud and his brother George had died in New York on 12th August 1929. James didn't arrive back in the USA until about three weeks after his death.

In 1930 he was once again living in Lexington Avenue, Manhattan, New York, his occupation being a timber merchant and widowed. Whether James had, in fact, ever married is uncertain. In 1942 he was living at the YMCA in Boise, Idaho, his occupation being a travelling writer.

On 13th June 1948 James committed suicide at The City Jail, Trenton, Grundy, Missouri, USA.

George Douglas Wardrop was born in 1890 at Rigg Farm, Auchinleck. He began his journalistic career in the Cumnock Chronicle office. He left there to work for a short time with a local newspaper  in Clacton-on-Sea in the south of England. On 16th July 1910, when he was 20 years old, he set sail on the 'Caledonia' out of Glasgow to meet with his brother James in New York.

James had made many important contacts while he was working in the USA and managed to secure an appointment for George with ex-President Theodore Roosevelt. The ex-President was impressed with George and appointed him one of his secretaries in connection with the controversial magazine 'Outlook' of which he had become Associate Editor in 1909 after serving his time as the 26th President of the United States. 

During this time Roosevelt was campaigning vigorously against Woodrow Wilson and George's job was to read between 30 and 40 newspapers highlighting anything that might be of interest to Roosevelt. He would take shorthand notes of his editorials and book reviews and transcribe them for the printer, then carefully proof-read them. After a year of this work George was appointed Associate Secretary and in that capacity he visited every state with the ex-President during the 1911 campaign.

G.Douglas Wardrop writes to John B. Franks regarding personal items of Theodore Roosevelt’s which he is willing to sell - Harvard College Library

At the end of three years George accepted a seat on the Editorial Board of 'The Independent'. He went on to become Editor of 'The Aerial Age Magazine', the official flying paper in America. The publication was focused on aviation and aeronautics and covered topics related to aircraft design, technology, industry news and achievements of aviators. George made significant contributions to the understanding and development of aircraft propulsion systems.

Cumnock Connections

When their father Patrick died on 3rd December 1913 at 76 Ayr Road, Old Cumnock, the brothers took responsibility for their mother and decided to bring her to New York. In 1914 George had some business to attend to in England. He had meetings with, among others, Mrs Asquith, Lloyd George and Mrs Pankhurst and when that was concluded he accompanied his mother Jeanie Dick Wardrop on the 'SS Pretorian' which sailed from Glasgow on 17th June 1914 to her new home in Richmond Hill, New York. 

George Douglas Wardrop - Passport Photo

George's next trip to Scotland was to represent the Washington government in connection with 'Aerial' matters and, more importantly, to marry his childhood sweetheart Mary Paterson Thomson. George and Mary had been brought up near to each other in Ayr Road, Cumnock. Mary's father was Cumnock born Charles Thomson, a woollen manufacturer. They were married on 24th July 1918 at Cathcart in Glasgow and Mary then joined her new husband in New York. The 1920 Federal Census shows George, Mary, their baby daughter Jean, who was born in New York, and mother Jeanie living at North Columbus Avenue, Mount Vernon, Westchester, New York.

Mother Jeanie Dick Wardrop died on 25th March 1927 at Niagara Falls, Niagara, New York and her death was followed just over two years later by that of her son George who died on 12th August 1929 at Albany, New York. During that period James was incarcerated in Peterhead Prison in Aberdeenshire. 

George had been naturalised in 1918 in New York. When he died his wife Mary's US citizenship was extinguished and she was forced to return to Scotland with their daughter Jean, leaving New York on 5th October 1929 and arriving in Glasgow on 13th October 1929. 

Mary remarried in 1936 to Chicago born George William Probst at Edinburgh St. Giles. George William was a widower whose wife had been killed in a train crash near Glasgow Central Station in 1934. George, who was of Italian extraction, was arrested as an alien and detained for a short time on the Isle of Man during WW2 but was released with out restrictions in 1940. He was a Thread Works Manager with J & P Coates. Mary died at Morningside, Edinburgh in 1968 and daughter Jean died in Edinburgh in 1996.

The Scotsman 8/9/1934

Francis Carter

by Elaine Corbett

The discovery of rich mineral deposits in West Cumberland became an ideal point of convergence for a huge number of workers in the 19th century.

Francis Carter was born in 1857 in Lamplugh, Cumbria, the first son of Irish immigrants William Carter and Elizabeth Doyle. They had been married in Whitehaven in 1856. The 1861 census tells us that Elizabeth had come from Wexford, along with her brother Patrick and their mother. Along with William Carter they had come to West Cumberland attracted by the prospect of employment and had eventually settled in the small hamlet of Skelsceugh in the centre of a group of iron mines around Winder, Frizington, and Rowrah. 

William Carter became an iron miner. The Doyles, also iron miners,  lived a few doors away at Skelsceugh, and both the Doyles and the Carters had their first children in Lamplugh.

At the age of 13 Francis was listed as an iron miner in the census.
Francis would have been born in a typical two up, two down miners’ terrace house surrounded by open fields, and spoil heaps from the mines. There would have been worksheds and winding gear built around the mine shafts, and the landscape was criss crossed with train tracks trundling the tubs of ore.

Just to the north of the Winder mines, the Kelton and Knockmurton mines in Lamplugh were large producers of iron ore. The mines were owned by William Baird & Co of Gartsherrie, Scotland, who had ventured south in search of quality ore for their blast furnaces. Between 1869 and 1913 over 1.25 million tons were raised, much of which was transported to their works though some went to the Moss Bay and Harrington furnaces on the west coast, and a little to the Midlands.

This is the little engine built by Neilson and Co. to draw the ore wagons and bought in 1876 by William Baird and would be a familiar sight to Francis. The Kelton Fell now on display at the museum of Scottish Railways, Bo’ness and Kinneil Railway museum. Photos from Elaine Corbett.

In the census, Francis gave his birthplace as Lamplugh, while the rest of his siblings seem to have been born in Skelsceugh, so perhaps William, his wife Elizabeth, and the rest of her family, the Doyles came over to work in the Lamplugh mines of William Baird and Co.

Winder Mines link to maps

Holbeck mine owned by Dalmellington, Frizington

Another link to the Cumnock mining area can be seen in the name of the mine shown in the map above. This one would also be within walking distance of the Carter and Doyle families, although it was common for miners to hitch a ride on the ore wagons to get to their place of work.

The Dalmellington Iron Company, opened the Holbeck Mine in 1869 and worked it until its closure in 1900. Holbeck mine was a wet mine. In addition to the discomfort of working underground, the miners were persistently wetted with water dropping from the roof, and seeping through at the sides of their excavations. They came home wet every night, and cold in the winter. The stream running above the mine workings was encased in concrete and walls built to prevent overflow, and although the ammount of water was much reduced, the conditions were still poor.

At the age of 24 Francis, his parents, his six siblings, and an Irish boarder are all living in the same house. How did they all fit in I hear you ask? But most properties housed a boarder in addition their often large family. The usual haunt of the working man was the nearest public house where they could slake their thirst,  escape the children, smoke their pipes and play dominoes. 

Francis had joined his father among the ‘red men’ as yet another iron miner. Children often followed their fathers into the mine work, starting young and being mentored by their parent or uncle. Typically, iron mines would employ around 50 men and boys in small teams with a team leader. This mode of working helped foster a team mentality wherby each of the team members would look out for one another in terms of safety. If an accident happened to any of the team members - and accidents were worryingly frequent - there were many acts of valour among the team in recovering the situation. The Durham Mining Museum website lists all the mines in West Cumberland and details the fatal accidents and inquests held at the hotel a stone’s throw away from Francis’ house. A common theme would be deaths caused through falls from height, crushing injuries from contact with ore wagons, and roof/side rock falls. At the Inquest it is remarkable that most record no fault on the part of the mining company. 

The ore was blasted into rubble in the Room and Pillar method of working, the roof would be shored up and the ore shovelled into tubs. Miners were paid by their team leader based on the quantity of ore they extracted.

The working conditions in the mines were poor. There were no facilities at the mine for showers or sanitation. The lavatories were basic, two old tar barrels were reported as the norm. It wasn’t until 1950 that showers were provided.The men and boys came home coated in the red dust of the ore, and would have breathed in considerable ammounts of it, along with the fume from explosives, during their often short working lives. Their clothes would be dried overnight at the fire to be worn again the following day. There was no escape from the red dust, or mud in the case of wet mines. The bedclothes were stained with it, streams ran red with it, and the hemlines and petticoats of the wives and daughters were stained with it. 

There was a general belief held among the medical profession as well as the miners, that the iron dust was more harmful to the lung than coal and this may have been a consideration that persuaded Francis to leave for the coal fields of Cumnock. Another consideration of course is the pitiful wages that iron miners commanded, with most of the profits seemingly going to mine owners and land owners.

 The population of West Cumberland was swelled by the arrival of Irish workers. Around this time, mine worker terraces, Catholic churches and schools were built to accommodate them. This was the time of a great boom in iron extraction, and gave the area the nick-name ‘The Klondike’.

There was however, a sectarian divide arising from the influx of mainly Roman Catholic Irish workers with matters reaching a low point in the so called Murphy riots. The notorious anti-Catholic William Murphy was attacked by 300 Cleator Moor iron-ore miners at Whitehaven in 1871. At the time of the Irish Potato Famine, mining and associated jobs were plentiful and all of the West Cumbrian towns such as Whitehaven and Workington as well as large villages like Frizington and Cleator Moor developed sizeable Irish populations with the mix of Catholics and Protestants providing potential for sectarian quarrels. Murphy, a notorious anti-Catholic came to Whitehaven in April 1871 the Magistrates decided to allow him to speak in the Oddfellows Hall only for him to be attacked by 300 well-drilled iron-ore miners from Cleator Moor and around. The police, caught unawares and hopelessly outnumbered, could do little for him and before a rescue could be effected Murphy was horribly beaten. It was some weeks before he recovered sufficiently to face his attackers in court. As consequence five men were given 12 months with hard labour and two got three months. Murphy came back to the town in December, despite the entreaties of the local magistrates, but events passed off relatively smoothly. In March 1872 he died, Birmingham surgeons claimed, because of the lingering effects of the savage assault dished out by those Cleator Moor miners. The Press was horrified that a man could die for his views and there followed an Orange revival in Cumbria. Until recently Orange parades were a regular feature in West Cumberland.

There was only one newspaper clipping from this time that I found, which suggests that Francis was not particularly devout, and no indication whether he was Catholic, Protestant or of any religion at all.

From the Cumberland Paquet 1877…

The other people mentioned in the article are also miners, or have jobs associated with the industry, and gives an idea of what life was like in the ‘wild west’ at this time. Pitch and Toss seems rather tame in comparison.

In the 1881 census, when Francis was 24 there may be a hint of why Francis left; his younger brother James, at 21 was unemployed. James was later seen in Lancaster (1891 census) with the family of his friend and had become a tailor. 1911 census, James married and had a daughter, Alice, and was working as a tailor in a shop. Curiously, the 1901 census shows him as a ‘sailor seas’.

When Francis arrived in Ayrshire however, he lost no time in marrying and starting his own family with Maggie Murray, a Cumnock girl in 1884. Their first child was born in Auchinleck, which infers that Francis may have started working at the Ironworks, or a local iron ore mine. By the time of the birth of their next child, they were living in Cumnock, and Francis had transferred to the coal mines. They also supplemented their income by taking lodgers. Elbow Lane housed a number of miners of both coal and iron ore. The iron ore pit may have been Shankston.

There were several lodging houses on the lane for incoming workers. Cumnock must have been buzzing when the shifts were done and the wages handed out.

At the time, Cumnock sounds very similar to the town Francis had left behind. The people were a mixture of mining nationalities with a common aim of finding work. There were plenty of public houses and the town was in a rural area. In Frizington, although people were poor, there was ample opportunity to supplement the diet with rabbit, game, and fish from the river. The river Ehen is still well known for ir’s stock of Salmon and Trout that were regularly ‘tickled’ out for sale in the local pub or served up for supper. Most boys kept a few ferrets for trapping rabbits, and I’m sure the art would be continued in Cumnock. They also had Lurcher dogs that were bred to bring down game.

Walter Krone

by Roberta McGee

Walter Krone was born 19/12/1923 in Wysoka, Federal Republic of Germany. He was a soldier with the Polish Forces and lived in Hut No. 229 Pennylands from 1949-1951.

 Pennylands Occupants History (cumnockhistorygroup.org)

According to the United States Social Security Applications Walter's parents were Paul Krone and Veronica Matuzek:

Walter Krone born 19/2/1923 Wysoka, Krs. R. Federal Republic of Germany, Father Paul Krone Mother Veronica Matuzek.

Walter married Joanna Conn Bunten in 1948 in Auchinleck, Ayrshire and in 1955 he is recorded as being a shop proprietor in Main Street, Auchinleck. His shop was at the bottom of Auchinleck Main Street and was locally referred to as 'The Pole's". He sold shoes.

He was friendly with another Polish soldier named Zenon Garn, a jeweller who lived in Blackpool. After he had visited Walter's house in Auchinleck late in 1955 £950 was found to be missing. Walter suspected that Garn had stolen the money and he reported it to the police. However the police could find no evidence that Garn was the thief.  Walter was convinced that Garn was guilty because he had heard stories about Garn freely spending lots of cash, so, accompanied by two other local men, went to Blackpool, bundled Garn into their car and brought him back to Auchinleck. They took what money they could find on Garn and handed it over to the local police. 

 Garn made a complaint against the three men who were then charged with false imprisonment by detaining him forcibly against his will and with causing him grievous bodily harm. The men pleaded not guilty at a trial at Lancaster Assizes in January 1956 and were subsequently acquitted. 

                                                            Daily Herald 8/12/1955

                                                                        Transcription

A 32 year-old jeweller was kidnapped, beaten up and held prisoner for nine and a half hours on a nightmare car ride to Scotland, a court was told yesterday. The kidnapping was carried out by three men, one of whom believed that the jeweller had stolen from him, the prosecution alleged at Blackpool. THE ACCUSED, all from Ayrshire, are Walter Krone, 32 year old German shop-owner, of Main Street, Auchinleck; Alexander Stewart, 47, a telephonist, of Mill Square, Catrine; and David Bunten, 30, a miner, of Lamont Crescent, Cumnock.

                                                                      Resentment

THE JEWELLER, Zenon Garn, a Pole, of Woodstock Gardens, Blackpool, had been suspected of stealing £960 from the Krone home while he was on holiday there, said Mr. A.H. Bryant, prosecuting. Garn was cleared, but Krone was not satisfied. "He apparently took the view that the police had not done their duty, and this case is the result of his resentment against Garn". One of Krone's companions called for Garn in Blackpool and told him; "I am from the police. I want to ask you a few questions." The jeweller was persuaded to get into a car. Then Krone, who had been hiding in the front seat, showed himself.  Said Garn: "When I realised I was not going to the police station I opened the car door and shouted for help. Krone put his hand over my mouth". Near the Blackpool boundary he again opened the door and shouted to an oncoming car. "I was held half in and half out of the car and beaten up. The three rained blows on my mouth and my head and chopped blows on the back of my neck. I saw Bunten holding a hammer in his hand, and he said: 'See that, it's a hammer, and if you try anything I'll hit you with it'. 

                                                                        Searched

The car stopped in a side street, Krone leaned forward, put his hand in my pocket and took my wallet. He took out the money and counted it. Bunten searched me and took money from my trousers pocket. He counted it and found there was £119. Krone accused me of taking his money. I denied it and said: 'You might as well kill me and I will still deny it'. He then asked me to sign a statement that the £119 was part of his money. The car was restarted. I asked them what they intended to do with me. One said: 'Maybe we will kill you'. The car was driven off."

                                                                         Injuries

When they got to Auchinleck Garn asked to be taken to the police and Krone replied "The Blackpool police will not do anything but my police will". Garn was taken to the police station and later went to hospital, it was said. He was still being treated for his injuries. The three men denied at the police station that they took Garn to Scotland against his will. They were sent for trial accused of unlawfully imprisoning Garn and harming him.

                                                              Yorkshire Post 8/12/1955

                                                                  

Transcription

Pole Kidnapped at Blackpool - ALLEGATION     from our Blackpool Correspondent

                                                                December 8 1955

A man was kidnapped in a Blackpool street, it was alleged at Blackpool Magistrates' Court yesterday, when three men from Scotland were sent for trial at Lancaster Assizes. They were allowed bail. The men were Walter Krone (32), shop proprietor, of Main Street, Auchinleck, Ayrshire, Andrew Whitelaw Stewart (47), telephonist, of Mill Square, Catrine, and David Conn Bunten (30), miner, of Lamont Crescent, Netherthird, Cumnock. The charge was that, on November 11 at Blackpool, they assaulted Zenon Garn and injuriously imprisoned him for nine and a half hours. Garn, a jeweller, lives at Woodstock Gardens, South Shore. Mr A.H. Bryant, prosecuting, said the alleged offence was formerly commonly known as kidnapping which, in common law, was also known as unlawful imprisonment. Garn was a Pole living at Blackpool, Krone was a German living in Auchinleck and the other two were friends of Krone. Krone was known to Garn, who went to stay at his house in August, said Mr. Bryant. In October it was alleged by Krone that £960, which had been concealed in a bedroom in his house, was missing. He reported it to the police and among the suspects were people who had stayed there in August. Police inquiries revealed no evidence against Garn. The prosecution said that Krone went to Blackpool with the other two accused as his companions. They went to a house asking for Garn. When he came to the door Garn was told "I am from the police. I want to ask you some questions". Garn was taken to a waiting motor car, added Mr Bryant, and was induced to get in.

According to the Lancaster Evening Post dated 28/1/1956 the jury was out for an hour and the three men were acquitted. Their lawyer Mr. C.Q. Henriques submitted there was not the slightest evidence they kidnapped Garn and that Krone had always held a genuine belief that Garn knew something about the missing money which included the life savings of his widowed mother-in-law. Summing up, Mr. Justice Gorman said the case had somewhat unusual features in that a criminal charge had been made against civilians for the alleged false imprisonment of another civilian against his will. He said that Krone and Garn were both former Polish soldiers, known to each other when serving with the Polish Forces in this country, where they both married and settled down.

Walter and Joanna had a daughter Margot Ann Krone who was born and died in 1960 in Auchinleck. They also had a son Paul who was born in 1963 at Ayr. The family moved to Florida possibly in the 1970s.

Walter died 23/4/1999 at Port St. Luce, Florida.

US Newspapers Obituary - Ancestry

The Palm Beach Post 25/4/1999

Walter Krone age 76yrs born about 1923 Germany. Residence Port St. Luce, Florida, died about 1999. Spouse: Joanna    Child:  Paul

Cumnock Connections - Family Tree (tribalpages.com)

Joanna is probably the sister of David Conn Bunten mentioned in the Yorkshire Post article above but I cannot verify this.