On This Day in Wembury — 30 November 1887
On this day three soldiers of the Royal Artillery were accused of stealing a ewe sheep from Herbert Josiah Pitts Giles at Wembury. The offence took place on 30 November 1887. James Costello, aged 31, was tried but acquitted when the prosecution offered no evidence against him. Frederick Smith, 23, and Thomas Spencer, 23, admitted their part and were each sentenced to six weeks’ imprisonment with hard labour.
Sheep stealing had long been treated as a serious crime in rural Devon. Earlier in the century it could bring the death penalty or transportation, but by the late Victorian period the punishment was prison with hard labour. The judge noted the men were members of a distinguished corps and hinted they might not be allowed to re-enlist, although the court had no control over that. The case shows how seriously rural theft was still viewed, even as the law moved away from older harsh punishments.
Source Express and Echo, 4 January 1888
