Poor Boy killed on the Spot at Midnight- Was it class prejudice?

Dover Express and East Kent News August 23rd 1929


Apple stealing case part 3

Part one here

Part two here

On Tuesday the following letter appeared in the “Daily Mail” from Mr. Edwin Bradley, whose letter to Lord FitzWalter was published in our last issue:

(To the Editor of the “Daily Mail”)

“Sir- Mr. Elks- the representative has stated in today’s (Saturday’s) ‘Daily Mail’ that the trouble in East Kent arises from class prejudice against the miners and denies that the miners have raided the farmers’ crops. He asks for facts, May I give him a few as I have lived in East Kent all my life and I know the people well?
A farmer living at Ackholt, near Snowdon Colliery had a field of potatoes, and about a fortnight ago, set his two sons with a dog to guard them at night. (This is Kent in the 20th Century) The elder lad, aged 20, took a loaded gun, he (two unreadable short words here-b) unwisely, probably feeling afraid. By some means the gun was accidentally discharged and the poor boy killed on the spot at midnight. Did that father send his sons to there because of class prejudice? N, it came out in very reluctant evidence at the inquest that he was compelled to guard his crop against the miners.
The Wingham branch of Magistrates of which I am a member; has been severely blamed for sentencing a young miner for 14 days’ hard labour for stealing one shillings’ worth of apples. This is only half the truth. The man was 23 (figure very unclear-b) and one of a gang of four: the other three escaped. It is true he only had a shillingsworth of apples in his possession, but he and others like him would have had all the fruit in the orchard. if it had been unguarded. My next point is most important. On this same farm some time ago three grown up miners aged about 40, were caught red handed stealing the fruit. There was no previous conviction against them and the magistrates anxious to spare their character, discharged them after appealing most earnestly to their better natures, and warning them that imprisonment must be the penalty for another offence. This may have been foolish leniency it certainly was not class hatred. Another farmer I have known had his whole onion crop stolen and many others have suffered similar loss, but the thefts generally occur at night, and the culprits are hard to catch. The farmers too, are very reluctant to proceed against them as rightly or wrongly, they dread reprisals. The farmers are having a great struggle to get a living just now. Is it fair to expect them to go to the expense of watching their crops, not to speak of the suspense and annoyance caused them. They naturally look to the Magistrates and police to protect them. I suggest to Mr. Elks that the miners’ organizations take the matter up seriously, and try to restore the former sense of security and confidence in the countryside. I know that they would have no easy task in controlling that portion of the mining population that is frequently shifting, but they would find that the Kentish people of all classes would cooperate with them and a better feeling would follow them all around and a sing (sorry that’s what it looks like-b) be removed from the mining community.- Edwin Bradley, Leybourne House, August 24th 1929)

We have received a letter from Mr. T. Turner, the Chairman of the Snowdon branch of the Kent Mine Workers Association, but we cannot publish it as it makes charges of perjury against another person that would justify an action for libel, if not of criminal libel against us if we published it. If there is any authority for his allegation it is a matter of Public Prosecution and the Police to take up and not a matter to a letter to the Press.


Damn, I would love to see Mr. Turner’s letter.

In all these articles I have tried to copy punctuation and capitilisation exactly- it seems important. Magistrates get a capital M even in the middle of a sentence. Police get the middle of a sentence capital sometimes e.g. when Express is being magisterial about Mr. Turner’s letter. All named policemen have capital letters before their name Miners and farmers don’t qualify for any special capitals, before their name or otherwise.

Lord FitzWalter gets 2 capitals in his territorial name-one slap in the middle.

Miners refer to others by surname only Jackson, farmers to each other as Mr. Jackson. Miners don’t refer to farmers by name and vice versa.



BramBled