Folkestone Gazette
7-9-1960
Local News
After drinking together
in a Folkestone public house on June 22nd two young men had an
argument over a girl, and later that evening had a scuffle in Guildhall Street,
resulting in one of the men receiving cuts to his hand.
At Folkestone Magistrates’ Court on Friday, Robert
Dennett McNeil, of 47, North Street, Folkestone, who had the word “Love” tattooed
on his right hand, was fined £5 for maliciously wounding a soldier with a
penknife. The soldier was Gnr. James Naismith, of 16th L.A.A. Regiment,
Shorncliffe. Defendant pleaded Not Guilty. Both men are married and aged 23.
Mr. M. Armstrong,
prosecuting, said the accused, Naismith, another man named Williams and a girl
were drinking in the Prince Albert public house on June 22nd. McNeil left
with the girl, and, presumably because he did not like it, Naismith followed
soon after, holding the neck of a broken bottle. Williams, who saw
Naismith with the bottle, went after McNeil to warn him. Subsequently
they met with Naismith in Guildhall Street and they had a conversation in a
shop doorway. A scuffle ensued, and the soldier later had to have
several stitches inserted for cuts on his hand, Mr.
Armstrong continued. As a result of information Sgt. Bailey went with a
police officer to Guildhall Street, where he saw accused, who had blood on his
jumper. He noticed a trail of blood, which led away from the
shop doorway up to Cheriton Road, but he was unable to locate the injured
person. Accused told the sergeant that he had seen a man
with a cut hand and was pushed away when he offered to help. In a
statement, Mr. Armstrong added, McNeil said that after drinking in the Prince
Albert the girl asked him to walk home with her because she did not want the
soldier to do so. “I later met Williams, who told me Naismith was looking
for me with a broken bottle”, he said. As they were walking
towards the Town Hall they saw the soldier, who said “Let’s have a go”. “I saw he had
a broken bottle, so I opened my penknife. He made a lunge at me, and I put up
my hands to stop him and then Naismith grabbed hold of the knife, which I
pulled away”. “The argument stopped, and we both calmed down”,
McNeil added. "I did not know that he was cut”.
Naismith told the court
that he left, the public house with a broken bottle, but by the time he saw
McNeil he had thrown it away. “I got hold of the knife with my hand, as I
thought McNeil might come at me”, he added. “I don`t remember how the fight
started”.
Alfred John Williams, of
4, Hawks Lane, Canterbury, said he did not see the scuffle in the doorway, as
it was dark, and he did not see the broken bottle.
D/Sgt. Frederick Booth
said that Naismith made a complaint at Folkestone police station the
following day. Witness saw McNeil on August 13th, when McNeil said “I
thought he had dropped these charges. I was with him last night”.
McNeil told the court
that at the time of the offence he had just come to Folkestone to see his wife. He added that
he took the knife out to frighten Naismith, who, he was under the impression,
still had the broken bottle. “He caught
hold of the blade, which I drew back as I thought he was going to use the
bottle against me”, he said. He did not realise Naismith was cut, and later that
evening went to Canterbury.
D. Sgt. Booth said that
at the time of the offence McNeil was separated from his wife but had since
returned. He was born in Scotland and had been unemployed for a time, but had
now obtained employment at the atomic power station at Dungeness. He had two
previous convictions.
Earlier on Friday
Naismith was fined £5 for carrying an offensive weapon, the broken bottle he
had been seen by Williams to hold when he left the Prince Albert on June 22nd.
In a statement, Naismith
said that the matter started over a girl. “I had a bit to drink and lost my
head”, he added, “and after breaking the bottle I was going to look for
McNeil”. He threw the bottle away before he met McNeil in Guildhall Street,
Naismith said.
D. Sgt. Booth said
Naismith had five findings of guilt and six convictions, none of a similar
nature to the offence. He was called up in 1958, and was due for release any
time now.
An officer from his
regiment said that Naismith had not had a happy career in the Army, and had
been absent a number of times, due to family trouble in Scotland. “As a result
he has got himself into debt, and is only drawing 7/6 a week instead of his
normal entitlement of £2 4/1”, he added.
Folkestone Herald
11-3-1961
Local News
Folkestone police
arrested five men for being drunk and disorderly last Saturday on what was
probably the worst day for drunkenness the town has known for many years.
One of them,
18-year-old Scotsman, Edward James O`Brien, of 7, Connaught Road, Folkestone,
assaulted a publican who refused to serve him, and smashed seven beer glasses.
He pleaded Guilty to five offences, and was sentenced to three months`
detention. O`Brien admitted assaulting Maurice Bernard Tillman, occasioning him
bodily harm; committing wilful damage to seven beer glasses and to a police
cell, and being drunk and disorderly in Rendezvous Street. He also admitted a
fifth offence, committed two days later, on March 5th, of stealing
40 cigarettes belonging to Jimmy Heath Ltd.
Chief Inspector R.A.
Young, prosecuting, said that at 6.10 p.m. on Saturday, O`Brien burst through
the public bar door of the Prince Albert public house, laid his head on the
counter, and said “Give me a pint”. O`Brien turned to face the customers in the
bar, used abusive language, and knocked over a table and some beer glasses. Mr.
Tillman tried to restrain him, but the youth butted him in the face with his
head, making his nose bleed profusely. He followed this up with a kick at the
licensee`s groin, but his boot missed its target and struck Mr. Tillman`s left
knee. O`Brien was ejected from the bar, but came back again, got behind the
counter, and broke some more beer glasses. Dealing with the theft charge, Chief
Inspector Young said that at 5.40 p.m. on Monday, O`Brien went into Jimmy Heath
Ltd.`s wine shop in Rendezvous Street and asked for a bottle of wine. The woman
assistant turned round to get him a bottle, but suddenly remembered it was not
yet 6 p.m., and therefore wine could not be sold. As she turned back to face
O`Brien, she saw him put two packets of cigarettes in his pocket.
Sentencing him to
three months` detention, the Chairman, Mr. P.V. Gurr, said he hoped he would go
back to Scotland when he was free again.
Folkestone Gazette
22-3-1961
Local News
At Folkestone Magistrates’ Court on Friday Henry
Quinn, of 11, Marshall Street, Folkestone, was fined £2 for being drunk and disorderly, and £3 for causing
wilful damage to 14
beer glasses. He
was also ordered to pay 25/8 to cover the cost of the damage.
Inspector Gray said that at 8.30 p.m. on Sunday,
March 12th, Mr. Maurice Tillman, licensee of the Prince Albert
public house, was serving customers in the saloon bar when he heard the door of
the public bar burst open and a voice shout out an obscene expression. He went to the public bar and saw Quinn
pushing customers out of the way, repeatedly
shouting out this expression. Defendant moved into the
saloon bar, banged on the counter and shouted “Get me a taxi”. Some
customers took him outside and later Mr. Tillman looked out of the window and
saw a crowd of people fighting in the street. Then Quinn returned to the public
bar and a general melee ensued, during which
tables were overturned and glasses smashed. A police officer tried to
restrain Quinn; Mr. Tillman said he saw defendant punch the policeman and
knock him to the ground. Two more police officers entered the bar and after a
short struggle Quinn was taken away.
P.C. Derek Gardner said
that at 8.50 p.m. he saw a crowd of people fighting in Rendezvous Street
outside the public house. He told them to stop, and all dispersed except Quinn,
who was staggering in the middle of the road, shouting and swearing, and
waving his arms about.
Defendant went into the
public bar and he followed him, trying to restrain him. Quinn knocked over a
table and several glasses, and was very drunk and disorderly. He appeared to be
in a temper. With
the assistance of other police constables he removed Quinn from the bar and
took him to Folkestone police station.
Quinn told the court “I just want to apologise. I
had a row with my wife. I had a drink in the house and I went out for a walk.
That was the last I knew”.
Mr. Baden Fuller, the Chairman, told him “We hope you realise you have made a perfect
nuisance of
yourself.
Folkestone Gazette
17-4-1963
Local News
The following application for transfer of licence
was granted by the Folkestone Licensing Magistrates on Wednesday: Prince Albert Hotel, Folkestone, from Mr.
F.C. Charman to Mr.
A. Wood.
Folkestone Herald 29-1-1966
Local News
Two policemen were
assaulted by three men outside the Prince Albert public house in Rendezvous
Street, Folkestone, on Christmas Eve, Folkestone magistrates were told on
Monday.
Two of the men, John
Doran, of Shellons Street, Folkestone, and Walter Dominie Walsh, of London
Street, Folkestone, were told by the chairman, Mr. F. J. Baden Fuller ”These
are extremely serious offences. We had considered whether to send you both to
prison”.
Doran was fined £35 for assaulting a police officer, £5 for being drunk
and disorderly and £2 for damaging the seat of a police van.Walsh was also
fined £15 on each of two charges of assaulting a police officer and £5 for causing a breach of
the peace. Charges
for assaulting a police officer and causing a breach of the peace, against the
third man, John Coyne, of Bridge Street, Folkestone, were dismissed.
Mr. A.C. Staples, prosecuting, said the men were among a group of about
10 men involved in a disturbance outside the public house. When P.C. Graham Newton was
arresting Doran, he was hindered by Walsh and another man. Walsh caught hold of the officer
and shouted that Doran had done nothing. He then struck Sergeant Ronald Sired a violent blow
on the chin. When
P.C. James Booker went to the sergeant’s assistance, he was punched in the
mouth by Walsh. Coyne
tried to get Walsh away from Sergeant Sired and continued to push and pull
during the melee. When
charged, Coyne was said to have replied “That’s what I get for trying to help.
I shall see a solicitor”. Doran was shouting in an unintelligible manner and struck P.C. Newton in
the chest when he attempted to arrest him. Then he kicked the officer inside the police van,
and damaged the wooden bench seat of the van. When charged he denied hitting anyone and said he
was not drunk. Walsh,
on being charged, said “I don’t remember anything or anyone but you tore my
shirt. I want your name”.
A witness for the defence, Mr. Peter Richardson, of 20, Queen Street,
Folkestone, said at no time did he see Doran or Walsh strike a police officer.
Neither did he see Coyne push or pull any police officers. He added “If the
police had been a little more tactful, nothing of this would have happened”. He
said that the police grabbed Doran from behind and added “If you take hold of an Irishman
from behind when he has had a few drinks, you have got trouble”.
Doran, in evidence, said he drank only seven half-pint bottles of beer
and was not drunk. Outside the public house, the police took hold of him from behind and he
was given no chance to explain. This made him annoyed and he agreed that he was shouting and struggling.
He did not strike P.C.
Newton but agreed that he may have pushed him. He did not attempt to kick him.
Coyne said a disturbance broke out inside the Prince Albert following a
game of darts. He was not involved and left the premises as he knew there would be a
rush for the door. He
denied that he had pushed or pulled any of the police officers. He could not have restrained
them because he was carrying a parcel. After Doran and Walsh had been taken from the scene
in a police van he called at the police station because he knew they had not
started the trouble. At
that time, he did not think that he would be arrested for assault, but as soon
as he arrived he was “pushed right through and told he had assaulted a police
officer”.
Walsh said that when the police arrived, Doran was dragged along the
pavement. He did not think this was right because he was not involved. He did not attempt to free Doran
but was merely trying to protect. He denied striking Sergeant Sired or P.C. Booker. After the sergeant had torn his shirt collar, he lost control of himself
and agreed that he resisted arrest.
Folkestone Gazette
17-5-1967
Local News
Mr. Leonard Barker, of 14, Segrave Road, Folkestone, retired licensed victualler,
who died in March, left £12,491 gross, £12,416 net. Duty paid was £745. Probate has been granted to his
niece, Miss Winifred M. Barker, of 10 Hurst Avenue, Horsham, and nephew Walter E.J. Barker, of
148, Comptons Lane, Horsham. He left £500 and certain effects to Mrs. Dorothy M. de Vere, if still in
his employ at his death and not under notice; £50 to Dr. Fritz Ewer, of Greenoaks, Military
Road, Sandgate, “for his kindness and attention to my late wife during her long
and painful illness”; and £25 to the Rev. Gethin-Jones, late of The Vicarage,
Sandgate.
Folkestone Herald 8-7-1967
Local News
Police were called to a public house in Rendezvous
Street, Folkestone, on Saturday, because two men refused to leave the public
bar.
“They had to be forcibly ejected”, said Inspector Alan
Bourlet, at Folkestone Court on Tuesday. “Outside on the footpath they became
extremely truculent. One of the men tried to pick a fight and both were using
obscene language. They were arrested and taken to the police station. They were
put in the cells but found to be too drunk to charge”, added the Inspector.
In Court, Harvey Thompson, of Cheriton Road, and Owen
O`Donnell, of Shellons Street, admitted being drunk and were each fined £5.
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