THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — created by Valerie Martin, contains scenes from her home village of Findon, West Sussex, U.K.

RAIDERS OF A LOCAL POST OFFICE PASS THROUGH FINDON

Copyright Valerie Martin 2006

A drama began on the quiet chilly night of 12th February 1933 and ended in a chase over the Long Furlong road at Findon.    This is how it all began.   East Preston is a village just over the downland and lying to the west of Findon and police constable Shepherd set off on his nightly patrol around his East Preston patch on that particular evening.
 

The story has all the makings of a great robbery taking place, complete with a tourer as a getaway car (I guess it just may have been not dissimilar to the vehicle James Herriot drove in the television series......something like this?)

It was the dedicated vigilance of this one man — a lone local policeman travelling his beat on his bicycle that made all the difference between villains pulling off a successful raid and the capture of rather amateurish perpetrators of justice.

All appeared to be perfectly normal as the policeman methodically pedalled with just the crunch of the tyres to be heard.  He headed towards The Parade at Angmering-on-Sea and it was just gone 10 p.m. when his wobbling light picked out a lone stationery vehicle a few yards ahead.  He later described it as a tourer.  It was parked rather noticeably right in front of the local Sub Post Office (which also served as a greengrocers).  He did not recognise the tourer and the hood was up and the engine icking over. It was all rather suspicious in the constable's enquiring mind.

Why would an elderly open-top Morris tourer be there at that time of night?

Suddenly there was an almighty thud and seconds later the car started to slowly move.  A silent shadowy form dashed from the nearside — towards the front of the vehicle and it was at this point that Constable Shepherd definitely decided it was about time to investigate matters further.

At that precise moment, a second dark figure appeared from nowhere out of the darkness quickly scrambled into the car. The constable dropped his handlebars and the cycle clattered with a crash as it hit the ground.   He ran to the large black object that had been unceremoniously dumped on the ground and was rather surprised to discover it was an unopened heavy metal safe.  The car made off into the night.  He was quick minded enough to immediately flash his torch in the driver's face and memorise the vehicle's registration number, CG 1405, and he then chased the car on foot for several yards before giving up.

After business the day before, a Yale lock had secured the front door of the Post Office.   When Inspector Stripp arrived from Littlehampton to take overall charge of the investigation of the break in, PC Shepherd had half an hour's start on him.  He was able to show his superior thirteen marks made by an unknown instrument used to force open the front door.  The constable had also quickly ascertained that the Post Office was intact inside except for being minus the safe and the insecure cash drawer (used as a makeshift till) which was abandoned empty on the counter.

Another policeman, PC Christmas (I do love the names of the police in those days), stationed at Angmering, was placed on duty later that evening near the stretch of highway at Patching Pond (just over the Long Furlong road to the west of Findon).   By 11.40 p.m. he was actively engaged in halting and checking all cars travelling on the road that winter night.

A Morris tourer with hood and side curtains, blatantly ignored his frantically flashing torch signal and white-gloved hand to stop.  It dangerously swerved round him and disappeared into the darkness of the night heading northwards towards Findon.  He estimated its speed at somewhere between 35 and 40 mph.  He was only able to get the registration letters CG at this stage.  It was enough to indicate that it was the one and the same notorious car used by robbers in the local raid.  In all probability it traversed the Findon roads on its escape.

Within hours, the Metropolitan Police were hot on to the case too.  They tracked both the Morris tourer and the London garage that had been instrumental in hiring it out just prior to the attempted robbery.  Later, when caught and cross questioned about the raid, the getaway driver exclaimed —

"That's done it" and he was promptly detained.

Flying Squad officers then arrested a second accomplice two days later.

The two other crooks involved in the offence mysteriously vanished into thin air and have never been traced to this day and went down in local history as the two that got away.

The two detained culprits stated that the idea of the plan had been hatched merely on the spur of the moment in a local public house when they were introduced to the other two men and decided "to go for a run" in the hired car.

Their story sounded very innocent and not pre-planned   They had driven to Littlehampton for some tea and on to East Preston —

"To get some money by breaking into the Post Office".

They had forced the door and extracted the safe but, but just as they were struggling off with it to their getaway car, the policeman had appeared out of the night and disturbed them.  They had, therefore, dumped the stolen goods and made a hurried escape and then spent a cold February night sheltering as best they could in a field wishing they had never started the venture. The following morning they hoped they had given the police the slip and promptly returned
to London.

The defendants later claimed in their defence that, if they had not been out of work and wanted money —

"They would never have done it".    Where have I heard that story before?

After the police had completed their investigation it turned out that the raid on the local post office was not really so very great after all.  The crime that the lawbreakers had attempted rather as a joke ended up costing them their freedom for a time at least. The total contents of the safe they had stolen that night (but failed to open) was later revealed to have amounted to hardly a fortune but a  mere £130.16s.11d. in cash, a few stamps and a solitary cheque.

The felons ended up serving prison sentences of 15 month and 9 months respectively — both with hard labour... which in
those days meant precisely what it was supposed to be.

Continue if you would like to read about the shooting of a local policeman in Manhunt at Tolmare Farm Assisted by Local Bloodhounds

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THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — www.findonvillage.com is a continually growing record created by Valerie Martin exclusively for documenting life in Findon.