On
the morning of Wednesday 8 April 1908, the curious adventures of
Moses Newell a somewhat grimy but innocent-looking 13 year old boy,
were related to the Magistrates Mr J. P. Pratt and Mr P. Elliott at
Fenton Police Court when he was brought before them on the charge of
stealing a purse containing 11s, 4½d that belonged to his mother who
lived at 17 Park Lane, Fenton.
Newell
had left home on the previous Saturday and nothing had been seen of
him until early that morning when he had been discovered sleeping in
an ashpit behind Clarence Street, Fenton. Of the stolen money only
1s, 4d was found on him along with a small diary, some cigarettes and
a few other items. The magistrates were left in no doubt as to the
boy’s guilt or about what he had been doing with the money over the
last four days, as the guileless youngster had been good enough to
keep an account of his crime and his subsequent adventures in his
diary, which were read out to the court. It was an exacting record of
nothing less than a sustained eating and spending tour of the
Potteries towns.
‘Saturday
– Left home at dinner-time, having stolen a purse containing 11s,
4½d. Went to Hanley market, and had a twopenny potato pie, a cup of
tea and a penny cake. Bought a purse and then two ha’penny books.
Went into another cake shop and had another cup of tea, and stopped
there until the theatre was open. Went to the Theatre Royal
“Fourpenny Rush,” came back to Fenton, and slept in ashpit.
Sunday
– Went to Longton and into cake shop. Had two penny herrings, a
pen’orth of bread, a pint of tea. Cost me 4½d altogether. Went
into icecream shop, and had a pen’orth of icecream, a ha’penny
“cornet,” a penny drink, and then a wafer and another pen’orth
of icecream, and a penny drink with icecream in it. On Sunday
afternoon went into same cake shop, and had two-pen’orths of
Yorkshire pudding and a cup of tea. Came back to the icecream shop
and had some more icecream, and stayed playing. Went back to ashpit.
Monday
– Got up at a quarter to seven, walked to Hanley, bought a ha’penny
book, went on car to Burslem. Bought a purse. Went into cake shop,
but they had nothing ready. Walked round the stalls, and had a
pen’orth of toffee. Went into cake shop. Had a cup of tea. I
fetched some coal for her and she gave me a penny, and I had another
cup of tea and some sandwich. Bought two ha’penny books – “Dick
Turpin” and “Robin Hood.” Went to Longton again. Cost me
threepence going and threepence to go to the theatre. I had a bottle
of “pop,” two oranges, and I paid for another boy threepence to
go in and gave him twopence. He bought some “fags” and fetched me
some.
Tuesday
– Got up about seven. Got a car and went to Longton cake shop. Had
two-pen’orth of meat, two-pen’orth of bread, and a pint of tea. I
stopped in the cake shop until dinner-time. Had a penny bowl of soup
and another pint of tea. Got a car to Hanley and thought I would go
to theatre, but did not. I got a car again and went to Burslem. Went
in another cake shop. Bought a penny bowl of soup, ha’porth of
bread. I had a pen’orth of tea and went to Drill Hall (Poole’s
entertainment), and paid twopence to go in. Bought a pen’orth of
chocolate, ha’penny wafer, ha’penny glass of “beer,” and had
another pen’orth of chocolate. When I came out I had a penny bottle
of “burdock.” Got on the car to Hanley, and came to Fenton and
got in the ashpit again.’
On
the morning of Wednesday 8 April, though, young Newell’s spending
spree came to an inglorious end when he was woken by a woman throwing
ashes on him. Newell told the court that at first he thought it was a
cat and then he thought it ‘as a fowl pecking him.’ The woman got
hold of him and pulled him out of the ashpit and gave the boy a cup
of tea. The authorities soon learned of his discovery and he was
subsequently arrested by PC Ford for the theft of the purse.
After
hearing the excerpts from Newell’s diary the magistrates remanded
the boy for a week in order that a home might be found for him. A
week later on 15 April, he was brought before Magistrates Mr Harold
Wright and Mr A. Edwards at Longton on the charge of having wandered
abroad without proper guardianship. His mother Fanny Williamson said
that the lad was beyond control and that whenever he did something
wrong he stayed away from home. The previous September and October he
had disappeared for two months and could not be found. He had
eventually come back, but had been away since then. On Saturday he
‘had been found in the pigeon place’, but later that day he had
again absconded, this time with his mother’s purse and money. The
woman was evidently at her wit’s end with the boy and the
Stipendiary Magistrate Mr Wright said that the best thing to do was
to send him to Werrington Industrial School until he was 16 years
old.
Little
is known of Moses Newell’s later life, though after serving his
sentence he moved out of the area; at the age of 16, in the 1911
census, he was recorded as working as a servant on a farm in Ruthin,
Wales. Neither the Medal Rolls nor the Commonwealth War Graves
records for World War One list his name, so this artful dodger seems
to have managed to slip away again.
Reference: Staffordshire
Sentinel,
8 April and 15 April 1908.