On This Day in Wembury – 13 October 1941
At Plympton magistrates, Betty Barrick, a 19-year-old postgirl from Wembury, was dealt with for stealing from postal packets while working part-time at the village sub-office.
Paid just 12s 8d a week, Barrick admitted to opening letters while on delivery. In one case she took a 10s postal order, cashed it at Wembury Post Office, and spent the money in Plymouth. She also confessed to taking a 10s banknote from a registered letter. When questioned by Post Office investigators she said, “I am sorry I have been so foolish.”
Her mother told the court that Betty “had not a very happy home life.” The case was heard against the background of wartime disruption, with the young woman due to leave that very day to join the W.A.A.F.
The magistrates bound her over for a year rather than impose a harsher sentence, taking into account both her age and the mitigating circumstances.
Source: Western Morning News, 14 Oct 1941.