On This Day in Wembury
16 January 1950 — Stole Chickens to Buy Toys
On this day the Western Evening Herald reported a case at Plympton Court where Ernest William Jewell, of Buena Vista, Hollacombe, Wembury, was fined £3 plus costs for stealing three pullets. Inspector Buckingham, the owner, discovered the hens missing and called the police. Constable Matthews later interviewed Jewell, who admitted taking the birds and explained he had sold them to workmates in order to raise money to buy toys for his children.
Reflection: The case is a stark glimpse into postwar hardship: petty theft driven not by malice but by a father’s desire to provide for his children. It shows how the pressures of family life in lean times could lead to desperate choices.
Source: Western Evening Herald, 16 January 1950.
