On This Day in Wembury – 8 January 1942
At the Devon Quarter Sessions, Harry James, a 27-year-old soldier, was sentenced to seven months in prison after pleading guilty to breaking into the Wembury home of Frank Damerell and stealing food valued at about 11 shillings. The prosecution called it a "mean sort of crime," noting that James knew Damerell well and had often been to his house.
James had already deserted from the Devonshire Regiment in April the previous year, and the court also considered an additional charge of stealing lead from a bombed Plymouth house. Sergeant A. G. White told the court that James suffered from a weak heart, which had forced him to abandon several jobs. James himself said he hoped the theft would lead to his discharge from the Army.
Source: Western Morning News, 8 January 1942
Reflection: Wartime Wembury is usually remembered for its guns at Cambridge, its evacuees, and its blackouts, but this case shows another side — the strains on ordinary men. Desertion, ill-health, and desperation could push even a neighbour to steal from someone he knew. It sits alongside other wartime stories in the archive — from ARP drills at Down Thomas to tragic accidents on the gunnery range — reminding us that the home front was shaped as much by personal struggles as by national sacrifice.
