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Looting

We have a rosy picture of the Second World War as a country of stalwart Britons, bravely enduring rationing and all pulling together to support volunteer bodies such as the Auxiliary Fire Service and Air Raid Precautions wardens, all to the strains of Dame Vera Lynn singing There'll be bluebirds over the white cliffs of Dover. But the conflict also brought out the darker side of the people. Reading George Cogswell's excellent article about the impact of the flying bomb raids around Manchester, which will appear in a future Manchester Genealogist,  one word recurs in many of the incidents which he describes – looting.

The damage resulting from the numerous air raids, particularly in 1940/41 and later in 1944, left many houses wholly or partially ruined and insecure. Regardless of whether the occupants survived or perished, there were those who would see a damaged home or business as a rich source of plunder. Doubtless many of the incidents of looting went unreported or the perpetrators were never apprehended. However, some of the reports on court cases which were published in the Manchester Evening News shed some light on this grossly insensitive crime.

A search of the Manchester Evening News using the British Newspaper Archive covering the war years produces 31 reports from the Manchester and Salford courts in which the accused is named, and several more relating to juveniles in which no personal details are provided. These provide an interesting picture of the goods stolen and the people who stole them. There are some surprises.

The looters span a wide range of ages. The youngest were an unnamed 8 year old boy and an eleven year old unnamed girl. The oldest a 55 year old "labourer" of no fixed address, described in court as "a tramp". The majority were in their 20s or 30s. However, very few were such obvious potential thieves as our tramp. Where employment status is recorded, we find trades such as a railway engine driver and two firemen, an instrument maker, a shopkeeper and three soldiers. Some are in more surprising occupations. There are two Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS) firemen and an air raid precautions (ARP) Squadron Leader. Even more surprisingly we find a Police sergeant and three constables who between them were accused of stealing goods worth over £600. These last four were bailed to appear at the next Assizes, but no record can be found of a trial. Perhaps the charges were quietly dropped.

The majority of those accused had not taken anywhere near the value of goods alleged to have been looted by the four policemen. Most thefts were pathetically small. Four towels and a vest; four fire grates; six bottles of liniment; a mackintosh were some of the hauls described. One theft of 56 lbs of roofing lead suggests a more professional thief, but most seem to have represented opportunistic pilfering rather than grand crime. Where the accused were children, it is possible that they did not even realise it was stealing. Penalties could be harsh. While some of those convicted escaped with a £5 or £10 fine (no small sum in the 1940s, equivalent to £275 to £550 today), prison sentences from two to six months were common. Presumably the authorities wanted to send out a message.

The names, ages, occupations and home addresses of those appearing in court are set out below. Full details are available to MLFHS members in the Great Database.

ADDISON, Jonathan

38

Shopkeeper

Dalton Avenue, Stretford

ALDCROFT, Herbert

20

Soldier

 

BRADSHAW, Edgar

17

 

 

CHAPMAN, John James

43

Locomotive fireman

Honduras St, Chorlton-o-M

COACKLEY, Ezra

43

ARP Sqn. Leader

High Street, Salford

COCKER, Edward

18

 

Briercliffe Road, Bolton

COFFEY, Jeremiah

26

Hawker

Wheaters Street, Broughton

DERBYSHIRE, John

17

Instrument maker

Kennedy Road, Pendleton

FEENEY, Dominic

31

Builder's Lab.

Lower Byrom St, Manchester

FORSYTHE, Kenneth

17

Labourer

Bishop Street, Pendleton

GONZALEZ, Sidney Henry

28

 

Arthur Street, Pendleton

GRIFFIN, James Munro

36

Police constable

Allenby Road, Cadishead

HADFIELD, Frederick

44

Police constable

Werneth Avenue, Rusholme

HARRISON, Ellis Leslie

30

AFS Fireman

Alton Street, Hr Openshaw

HAYES, Rosette Selina

37

 

Cundiff Road, Chorlton-c-H

HORAN, Kathleen

18

Packer

No settled address

HORNE, Samuel

27

Soldier

 

LANG, Alexander

30

Soldier

 

LEE, Albert

 

 

Sleeping in air raid shelters

MASSEY, Joseph

20

Road sweeper

Boundary Street, Pendleton

MILLER, Leo

46

Police sergeant

Stretford Road, Old Trafford

O'NEILL, Eugene Jerry

32

AFS

Cowley Street

PARKER, Thomas Vincent

24

Locomotive fireman

Philip Street, Patricroft

PETERSON, Patrick

40

Labourer

 

RILEY, Edward

54

 

Embden Street, Hulme

ROBBINS, Frank Malcolm

28

Police constable

Milner Street, Old Trafford

RUTTER, George

44

 

Cross Lane, Salford

SCHOLES, Edwin Holt

55

Labourer

No fixed address

VALLELEY, Leo

53

Locomotive driver

Hortree Road, Stretford

WARD, William

37

Police constable

Addison Cres, Old Trafford

WIEGELMAN, Vladimar

18

Machinist

Tootal Drive, Pendleton

 

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