Child cruelty.

It wasn't always a case of  "the good old days" in Boston. There was crime, murder, drunkeness and more, and stories like the following were more common than you'd think. In June 1923 a married woman, Maud -----,  was summoned for neglecting her children. It was said that the husband of the accused was a fireman on a steam trawler and was employed by the Boston Deep Sea Fishing and Ice Company. He had been on a boat that was sailing from Fleetwood and had been away from Boston since the previous March, he had not returned in the interval. The house in which the Mother, Father and children lived was the Almshouses in Skirbeck Quarter (most likely the Middlecott Almshouses, where Middlecott Close stands today) and there were two rooms, one up and one down.
The children were a baby girl aged ten months, Edward aged four, Gwennie aged six and Phyllis aged eight. Dr. Tuxford told the magistrates that the children were well nourished but their general condition caused them unnecessary suffering. Two pawn tickets were found on the woman and these were for the childrens frocks. It was alleged that strange men had been seen leaving the house in the evening and he was afraid she had been drinking and doing things she shouldn't have, and in the meantime the children had been neglected. Dr. Tuxford also described the scanty clothes of the children and said that the house was disgracefully filthy and in a thoroughly unsanitary condition. The surroundings, although the children were well nourished, were likely to injure their health and it was unnecessary cruelty to keep the children in a filthy state.
P.c. Dickinson said that at 11.p.m. one evening he saw a man leave the house and when he visited the house one time it was in a most filthy condition.
Police sergeant Needham said he went to the house accompanied by P.c. Chappel and they found the door locked. He found the key in a bush, and went in, where they saw the children. The eldest girl was standing near the fire, nursing the baby, and there was no fireguard to protect them. She was wearing an old filthy coat and a vest in a dirty condition. The baby had a filthy old vest on and was wrapped in an old mackintosh.
Gwennie was standing in her bare feet near the fire, and was wearing a dirty vest, with an old coat. Edward had a dirty shirt and overall, and had no boots or stockings. The house was in a dirty and filthy condition, and the stench was almost intolerable, as the windows were closed. Upstairs there were two beds, and the remains of two flock mattresses were scattered on the floor. there were also some dirty old rags and it looked as though the sanitary arrangements, as affecting the children, had not been attended to for weeks. In the pantry there were bread, eggs, tea, sugar and a tin of condensed milk. At 4 p.m. he returned to the house and the woan was still not there, he gave some milk to the baby and it drank ravenously, he gave the other children some cake and tea, which had been given by neighbours. At 4.30 p.m. she returned and was arrested.
An inspector from the N.S.P.C.C. described the condition of the house as "most horrible" and a basket of clothing in a most filthy condition, was beyond description. When she returned she had a bottle of beer and some buns and she denied she had neglected her children but when he asked if she had been visiting public houses she made no reply.

The defendant said she was very sorry and hoped that the magistrates would be lenient with her. The Chairman said it was perhaps the worst case they had had in that court concerning the neglect of children and she ought to be thoroughly ashamed of herself as a mother. They said they would give her a prison sentence simply for the sake of giving her an opportunity of pulling herself together and it was hoped that when she came out she would be a better mother. She was sentenced to six months in prison.

Before we judge the lady we should think that it was fine for the relatively well off magistrates and police to preach but how many of them, in the same circumstances would fare any better than her? It doesn't bear to think about how we, as a modern generation, would have lasted in those dark days.

Richard Leafe.

Richard (Dick) Leafe was born in Boston in 1891. He joined Boston Town but showed enough promise to be signed by Grimsby Town in the Second Division of the Football League. However, after only one appearance he returned to Boston.
In November 1910 Leafe signed for Sheffield United in the First Division. Although only 20 years old he managed to score 15 goals in 28 games in the 1911-12 season.

 

Syd King, the manager of West Ham United, was impressed by Leafe's performances and bought him as a replacement for the prolific Danny Shea who he had just sold to Blackburn Rovers for a British record transfer fee of £2,000.
Richard Leafe was an immediate success and scored in his first four matches. At the end of the the 1913-14 season he was the club's top scorer with 20 goals in 33 league games. He developed a great partnership with West Ham's young centre-forward, Syd Puddefoot. The following season West Ham finished in 4th place in the Southern League. Puddefoot was top scorer with 18 goals and Leafe managed 13 in 30 games.

Leafe's career was interrupted by the outbreak of the First World War. By the time competitive football returned Leafe was past his best. West Ham had been elected to the Second Division and in the 1919-20 season finished in 15th place. However, Leafe had been unable to score in his 15 games for the club. The following season Leafe scored 7 in 13 games but it was Syd Puddefoot who was now the star of the team with 29 goals.
With the arrival of Vic Watson Leafe only played in 3 games in the 1921-22 season. He decided to retire from playing but was given the job as assistant secretary of the club. He held the post until the management was forced to reduce the staff at the outbreak of the Second World War.

Richard Leafe died in 1964.

Bombing and civilian deaths in World War Two.

Many Boston folk were killed in action either in the Army, Navy or the R.A.F. This small article deals only with the civilian deaths of Boston during World War Two,  if there are any I have not mentioned and you can tell me about them I will update it immediately.

Most of Boston's bombings in World War Two occured between August 1940 and June 1942. On nine nights during this period bombs actually fell in the town but there were a few false alarms where people had to sit up, in their air raid shelters or under the stairs, sometimes for hours, because the siren had gone off. On the days after any bombs had fallen the boys of the town turned up to look for fragments of the bombs or the fins of the incendiary bombs. There was rarely more than one enemy bomber involved in each raid and often the bombs were delayed action or duds and the bomb disposal squads had to be called in. One such bomb, outside Cammack's shop in Wide Bargate, took several days to get out and two more, in open fields, are still there to this day.

 

The unexploded bomb outside Cammack's shop in Wide Bargate.

 

On the night of 12th. June 1941, a single heavy bomb burst behind West Street, near James Street. The Royal George pub, several houses and Lovely's Commercial Hotel were destroyed and when the ruins were cleared the next day it was found that there was a tragic death toll. Mr. John Faulkner, an old man in his seventies, Mrs. Nancy Harris and her three little children and two well known teenage girls, Kathleen and Audrey Loveley had all been killed. In all nine people died in what was Boston's worst air-raid incident of the war.
There was a lull of more than a year without any serious air-raids on Boston, but the town had two more serious raids to come, one in July and one in August of 1942.

Above : A Dornier 217, one of which flew across Boston in July 1942,  machine-gunning and dropping four bombs on the town.

 

The first of these was in broad daylight when a Dornier 217 dived out of thick cloud, flew across the town machine-gunning as it went, and then dropped four bombs aimed at the railway goods yard in High Street. Three of the bombs hit the railway yard and caused some damage but one bomb fell short and burst near houses in the Liquorpond Street - High Street - Bedford Place area. One old lady, Mrs. Harriet Gee was killed, several people were injured, and over 100 were bombed out of their homes.
One month later on a Saturday evening, a German bomber dropped a line of white flares near the dock and a few minutes later four bombs exploded between Main Ridge, Silver Street and Threadneedle Street. Many of the surrounding houses were destroyed and four people were killed, five injured and 150 bombed out. Among the dead were an 18 year old young man William Taylor, and his girlfriend, 15 year old Gertrude Creasey. He and his young lady were the last civilians to be buried in the war plot in Boston Cemetery. May they all rest in peace.
Fifty seven high explosive bombs, and also four oil bombs, fell between the town's boundaries, and around 500 incendiaries were also dropped. Sixty four homes were either destroyed or so badly damaged that they had to be demolished.

The Germans.

At the start of the First World War in 1914 there were two German brothers living in Boston who had been naturalised Englishmen for twenty-three years. The brothers, George and Leonard Cantenwine owned a butchers shop in High Street and late on the first Saturday night of the war a crowd attacked the shop because it was rumoured that customers had heard them expressing pro-German sentiments.
All the windows were broken and the shop looted and several of the attackers were later charged, surprisingly one of these was Alfred Harlow, another butcher.

 

Recruiting in the Market Place 1914, when there was hatred toward the German people of the town.

 

When he gave his evidence, Leonard Cantenwine asked the magistrates to be lenient and later several Boston people wrote to the press and expressed sympathy for the Cantenwine's and disgust with the rioters. In the first week of August 1918 when the war had gone on for four long years, an unsigned letter appeared in all the local papers explaining why the local farmers had not supported as well as had been expected the War Savings Campaign that summer. The writer pointed out that 'Germans' were living in Boston and had purchased farms near the military aerodrome at Freiston Shore. Leonard Cantenwine did own a small farm at Freiston and had recently bought a second at Leverton. The letter also accused these Germans of going to these farms daily in order to spy and hinted that they were preparing to assist in a landing of German troops on the coast. The writer was soon identified as Mr. Joseph Bowser J.P., also chairman of the Boston Branch of the National Farmers Union.
The Cantenwines had had enough and decided to defend themselves and started an action for libel against Mr. Bowser, The case wasn't heard until June 1919 when the war was long over. Many witnesses appeared for Mr. Bowser and they retold every little event of the war involving the Cantenwines in an attempt to show that the brothers supported Germany despite their naturalisation and, therefore, that Mr. Bowser's comments were basically true. Miss Bristowe, a barmaid at the White Hart and Walter Woodthorpe the coal merchant, told how Leonard Cantenwine in 1914 had forecast that the Germans would win the war and that he would become 'Burgermaster of Boston'.
The jury took only twenty five minutes to decide that Mr. Bowser's letter was defamatory but that the words used were fair comment on a matter of public interest. The Cantenwines were ordered to pay the entire costs of the case and it is no wonder that they soon left Boston.

Boston Hoaxed.

In 1921 the following was found in an old cutting book which, sadly, was dateless. The Peacock is mentioned and in the 1880's this hotel was renamed the Peacock and Royal after a son of Queen Victoria stayed there so it was obviously pre this date.

"................a military hoax was perpetrated on the Mayor and town of Boston (Lincolnshire) a good many years ago, and which made the town the laughing stock of the countryside for a good many years. One day a gentleman of smart bearing and military appearence arrived at the police station and asked to see the superintendent of the police. He informed this gentleman that he was Captain X--, and had arrived to prepare quarters for 500 troopers who were on the road, and would arrive in Boston the next day. The superintendent took the Captain to the Mayor, and the latter gentleman hastily summoned some of the Aldermen, and it was decided to give the troopers a public welcome. In the meantime the Captain, escorted by the superintendent, went to the chief hotel, the Peacock, and arranged for the officers quarters there, giving very generous orders right and left, even to the killing of several sucking pigs.

Every hotel and inn of the town was requisitioned, and the butchers were soon busy killing extra beasts and sheep. The Mayor decided that it would be the proper thing to meet the troopers on horseback, and invited those Aldermen and Councillors and prominent townsmen who could ride to do the same. The Mayor, leading the way with a numerous suite, all on horseback, started early, and reached Kirton, the first village south of Boston. There they waited, several hours elapsed, but no troopers ever arrived, and at last it dawned on the whole of the people assembled that they had been hoaxed, and very badly hoaxed too, as the captain had cashed numerous cheques which, like the soldiers, were bogus. Some of the butchers were very badly hit, and meat and provisions were very cheap for several days after."

The Victoria Pub.

In March 1920 an objection was put before the justices against the renewal of the licence of the Victoria Beerhouse in Rosegarth Street. The objection was that there were twenty five lodgers living in only six rooms. The statement evidently "staggered" the Mayor who, when he pointed out that there were only six bedrooms, the landlord replied that there were three beds in each room. Six times three equals eighteen the Mayor said and the landlord complacently remarked that they were double beds!

The area of Boston now occupied by the Police Station, old Quik-Save supermaket, Jobcentre etc. By the time this picture was taken most of Rosegarth Street had been demolished.

 

The Chief Constable stated that the licence was unnecessary and the renewal was not desirable. He said that in Lincoln Lane and Courts leading out of the lane, from the corner of Stanbow Lane to the Mission Schoolroom, a distance of 186 yards, there were 68 inhabited houses, three of which were licenced - The Blue Lion, The Victoria and The Duke of York. In Rosegarth Street there were three licenced houses, The Victoria, The Stag and Pheasant and The Hop Pole.
Inspector Swain said that he had known The Victoria for over 30 years and during the last twelve years had frequently visited the house. The class of trade he said was very rough and men and women from various parts of the town went there. On more than one occasion he had spoken to the landlord (George Henry Brady) about the conduct of the house. Brady, the Inspector added, had been too lenient with his customers, and they had got the upper hand of him. J. Broughton of 29 Lincoln Lane, a second hand furniture dealer, said he had been a regular customer for 43 years and that half the customers were local residents, and the volume of trade spoke to the necessity of the house. Evidence was also given by James Wm. Bull of Rosegarth Street, and Walter Vergin, boot repairer, Rosegarth Street. Fortunately for the customers the licence was renewed but the Mayor said they might give a warning as to that particular house, for further guidance.

Boston United stuff.

Thank you to Andrew Butler who sent me the following.

 

Boston versus Gak-Graz, April 1954.

 

 

 

 

The Standard saluting Utd beating the football league club Bradford Park Aveune in the FA Cup in the 20's.

 

 

The club mascot in the 1950's.

 

 

This is one of Andrew's oldest programmes from 1927.......and as he rightly says even I can't remember that far back!!!!