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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1958-01-09, Page 2Society Beauty Slick Forgerer Smilingly they faced one an- other across the silver and im- maculate linen, of the exclusive Mayfair restaurant, the lovely girl and the handsome man. For her, a blue-eyed brunette with a dazzling smile . and Cu- pid's bow mouth, the man with the looks and air of a Guards Officer could open the door to fiches. FOr him, the lovely woman who now leaned provocatively across the lamp -lit table seemed a vision of loveliness too good to be true. They had met at a Mayfair cocktail party only a few days previously. They had taken to one another at once, and soon she was confiding to him that she was worried about a grave problem. He would be only too glad to do what he could to help, he said. He suggested a pleasant little dinner together when she could tell him all about it . . And now, leaning towards him ever the table, the satin sheen of her bare shoulders made rosy by the shaded lamp, she talked. "I had a guardian," she be- gan, "a perfect old dear who Loved me like a father He had no relatives at all, and when he died he made a will leavingme. his great fortune." "Then, if you are rich," inter- posed her companion, "your trouble cannot be so very ter- rible!" "But that's just it," she de- clared. "I'm not rich—I'm very hard up, even if I do move around in Mayfair anddress, well. You see, though my guardian signed his will, he did so without the presence of wit- nesses. Such a will, of course,. is not worth the paper it is typed on." "Well, how can I help?" ask- ed her companion. "By signing as a witness." "But that would be forgery!" he protested. "It would also be a fortune for me and a tidy slice of it for you." "I see" he remarked slowly. Before they parted that night the man Morton, had agreed to sign the document purporting to be the will of an elderly Bir- mingham solicitor. He also un- dertook to find a friend who would sign as the second -wit- ness, for a cut. Thus Josephine O'Dare, daugh- ter of a Herefordshire farm labourer, and christened Theresa .,r.-. Agnes Skyrme, launched her- self by crime on one of the most auiaz.ing careers of fashionable London, in the gay and. naughty 1920s. • Her story of the old guardian was nonsense; of course. The old gentleman whose will she forged was a wealthy Birming- ham solicitor under whose pro- tection she had lived and who had imbued her with a love for luxury and ambition to climb in London society. Forgery, like poisoning, is a crime that is often repeated, and Josephine O'Dare, as she called herself, embarked on a ,.social career on the proceeds of this particular felony. Morton became her close as- sociate, and with him his friend who had added his name as second witness to the forged will. This was a romantic crook named Davis, who passed himself off as Lord St. Helier and Captain Danvers, D.S.O. These three, while strutting about the drawing rooms and - -Apnea clubs of Mayfair as so- cialites and members of the aristocracy, operated as a bus- iness, a business with three par- tners and one product: forged, documents. Between 1922 and 1927 this partnership yielded no less than $60,000. During those years there were two Josephine O'Dares. There was the Irish heiress who gave magnificent parties in her lux- urious Mayfair flat, who rode a fine mare in Rotten Row, was prominent at the great race meetings, and a notable figure at the most fashionable night- clubs. The other Josephine was a hard - working criminal who, with her, two male associates, made a business of forgery. Though Josephine had gate- crashed some of the most ex - elusive mansions in Mayfair, she had not entirely escaped the in- terest of Scotland Yard. They had nothing definite to go on, but they could not find out the source of her income, and she was seen with Davis who had a long criminal record. So they watched and waited. A forged will having done the trick the first time, Josephine continued on the same lines. When she forged a will, with Davis's . assistance, generally, she everwhehned with her allure even the toughest of money- lenders. She seldom came out 0± their offices empty-handed. Another of their activities was collecting authentic signatures for later forging. The system of forgery to which Davie introduced his apt and willing pupil was essenti- ally, simple. He taught her that while the forging of a "guardian's': will may be an excellent idea, it had the 'obvious limitation of num- ber. On the other hand there were many banks to which they could turn their talents, Davis's method was to steal letters from the letterboxes of big business houses. Manyof these letters contained cheques which bore genuine signatures. With these, application was made in the name of the cus- tomer to the bank concerned for a new cheque book. Using the new cheque book, a cheque was drawn and signed and, presented at the bank by messenger.- The bank had just supplied that customer, so it believed, with a new cheque book. What more natural than that he should be making use. of it? By means of this trick and some brilliant forgery, Jose- phine and her two male associ- ates robbed bank after bank of large sums of money. After each successful coup Josephine would throw a party in her flat. To those who knew her then she seemed completely carefree, without a trace of the strain which she was undergo- ing. One day a man presented to the cashier of a West End bank a cheque for $750. He was tall and well-dressed and aroused in the cashier not the slightest sus- picion. Round the corner a pret- ty girl waited anxiously for his return. Meanwhile, the cashier, intent on his work, went across to con- sult a ledger. At that moment panic seized the waiting man. He lost his nerve, turned and ran out of the bank. He could have done nothing to make pur- suit more certain. That was the beginning of the end for Josephine O'Dare. The arrest of Davis was soon follow- ed by the arrest of Morton and of Josephine herself. In March, 1927, Josephine O'Dare stood in the dock at the Old Bailey. She was charged with the forgery of wills, of cheques, and with getting cash from moneylenders by false pretences. What manner of woman was this who began life in a farm cottage, who had but little edu- cation, and yet who could daz- zle and bamboozle society men and women and business ty- coons? She was, of course an adven- turess. But not an ordinary one. She had intelligence and a ready wit. When she went into the ' witness -box at the Old Bailey she did not try to lie her way out, but admitted freely what. she had done. When Josephine O'Dare went down the dock steps at the Old Bailey she disappeared from the gay and glittering world she had Loved for four and a half years.... And then, one day in 1951, the Westminster Coroner held an inquest on a woman named Joan Brooks. She had been found dead in a shabby bed-sitter, and said the pathologist, she had died by her own hand from bar- bituric poisoning. Being charitable, the coroner returned an open verdict on Joan Brooks. In so doing he said the last word on Theresa Agnes Skyrme, alias Josephine O'Dare, master forger, social butterfly, convicted criminal. QUICK SERVICE As an important looking busi- ness man was leaving the small town hotel, he suddenly turned to a not -too -bright -looking lad leaning against the desk. "Quick, son," he ordered. "Run up to Room 13 and see if I left my brief -case there. Hurry! My train leaves in nine minutes." A few moments later the boy rushed back. "Yes, sir," he pant- ed, -"It's there all right." HOME - GROWN BLANKET -- Sporting Sporting a two-year growth of whiskers, Lt. John Tuck, Jr., first American to spend two consecu- tive winters in the Antarctic, is pictured during a press con- ference. Tuck, 25, is returning to school to work .on his mas- ter's degree in geography. ARTISTICALLY INCLINED—Apparently bent on creative endeavor, o actress Linda Christian, left, gets the brush from Roman painter Novella Parigini as she tries her hand at a canvas in the artist's studio. The star is holidaying in the Eternal City. Perils Of The Jungle Keep Her Young As the little dog started bark- ing frenziedly, the tall English- woman who was digging in her garden spun around and drew back instinctively. There, a few paces away, poised ready for the kill, was a krait, one of North Borneo's deadliest snakes. Thinking more of her dog's safety than her own, the woman grabbed hold of it and called out to some natives .who were laying down pipes in an adjoin- ingfield. Seeing the snake, they rushed into the garden ,shouting a warn- ing. Startled by this noise, the snake remained indecisive, and so presented its head to a fatal stroke by a native, wielding his large grass -cutting knife. Had not that dog barked so opportunely, the. Far East might have lost one of the British Red Cross Society's most courageous and adventurous field workers, Lancashire -born Miss 'Millicent Mary Johnson, holder of seven service decorations. Though now in her Goth year, "Johnny", as everyone calls her, returned only a few weeks ago, after a visit to England, for further spell of two years as a pioneer welfare .officer in the jungles of North Borneo. Being interested in people and roughing itare the two ingredi- ents of her recipe for keeping young. Despite her years, she faces many physical hazards in carrying out her jungle duties. Not long ago, at Kotablud, while she wap, preparing for bed, she stepped back with a gasp of amazement and alarm. There, nestling below her pillow, was a bulging . centipede, fully 18 inches longl Adventure dogged her even on her trip back from England. Flying from Damascus to Co- • lombo, she found' herself, owing to bumpy conditions, impressed into service as the sick -bay at- tendant. Two little girls were dreadfully air -sick, and one little boy became so ill that she had to give him oxygen. Her job in Borneo is to intro- duce "mercy services", such as health clinics, first-aid training, old folks' homes and tubercu- losis•welfare centres to the back- ward areas. Sometimes she travels by sea in a native canoe ° . By this means she reaches communities where everyone lives in huts perched high on stilts. A bam- boo stairway • leads down to 'the sea. Climbing these stairs in rough weather is tricky. Even trickier is stepping back into the canoe when it -bobs up and down at the bottom of the stairway. Here, she said, the natives have a very simple way of deal ing with dirty dishes. They merely put them in a basket' and, securing it by a rope, lower it through a hole in the floor into the sea. Once, when visiting an isolated Chinese school, she made first a 20 -mile canoe trip and then, the tide being low, had to wade for half an hour knee,- deep through treacherous mud -flats. On airrival, she washed her'feet and legs, blackened by mud, in a water -.butt outside the school, but could do nothing about her dripping skirt. At village she invariably gets a welcome from a little boy • who rides a buffalo and wears a trilby hat and very -little else. With a grin of joy, he doffs his somewhat battered; headgear in salute to "Missy Johnny" . The people she visits include Dyaks, Ibans, Murats, Dusans, Malayans; Chinese. She . has formed first-class Red .Cross de- tachments from dark - haired Dyak .girls whose grandfathers reveled in their prowess as head- hunters. These new welfare services tend to reduce jungle hazards especially the casualties caused by crocodile bites. A Dyak, involved in 'a cruel tussle with a crocodile, had an arm partially severed. In the old days he would have lost his arm and perhaps his life. But thanks to prompt and proper first-aid action his wound heal- ed. Miss Johnson has also intro- duced blood transfusion services. Richly endowed with Lana - shire "pep", refreshingly broad- minded,resourceful and unof- ficious, - Millicent Johnson first threw herself into Red Cross work at the outbreak of war. She was then a fashion buyer in a Middlesbrough store. But soon Red Cross work, with, its travels, variety, and fascinating insight into human problems, be- came her chief love. After serving in a British gen- eral hospital in Brussels, she volunteered in 1945 for relief work in India, but was switched en route to Colombo, Ceylon. There she helped to receive ship- loads of men released' from Jap- anese prison camps. - One day her heart jumped a couple of bounds. The man now before her and posted as miss- ing three years earlier from Singapore was the brother of her own brother-in-law l Nat- urally, he was equally dumb- founded at this meeting. When this work was finished she found herself with some sur- plus medical supplies. A leper colony near -by was, she knew, desperately short of such sup- plies. To hand them over was unauthorized; it might well earn her a rap from authority. But Johnny never hesitated. She gave the ,supplies to the Franciscan sisters who ran the colony. The place was infested, she noticed, with large disease -car- rying mosquitoes. So, through a naval friend, she recruited a ship's disinfestation squad. The men, all volunteers, sprayed the site thoroughly. Then, in re- sponse to Johnny's invitation, they treated the lepers to a round of sea shanties. Not to be outdone, some lepers them- selves grabbed their drums and beat out breezy rhythms. Meeting emergencies is all part of this go-ahead, practical woman's daily life. And court- ing fresh hardships and adven- tures at 60 shows just how deep- ly Red Cross pioneering has . got into her blood. Ili+f /TA BLE TALKS. i clam Andrews CAULIFLOWER WI'TII PIMENTO SAUCE 1 head cauliflower, cooked 1 can or jar (7 ounces) pimento 6 tablespoons sharp cheese (optional) 2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons flour l cup milk 34 teaspoonful salt Dash cayenne Melt butter -and blend in flour; add milk gradually. Cook over hot water in double boiler, „stir- ring constantly, until thick. Add salt, pepper. Cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally; add cheese. Add pimento stars and pour over cauliflower just before serving. P 5 5 Mash cooked sweet potatoes and serve them in orange shells. Or if you want, to serve them in a casserole with marshmal- lows, cook them this way: SWEET POTATOES WITH MARSHMALLOWS 3 cups mashed sweet potatoes Yg cup brown sugar 14 teaspoon Salt 1 teaspoon each, nutmeg and cinnamon 1 _tablespoon melted butter IA cup cream or rich milk 16 marshmallows Combine potatoes, sugar, salt, spices, butter, and cream. Cut 6 marshmallows in half and mix with this combination. Turn into greased baking dish. Top with remaining marshmallows. Bake at 350• F. for 20 minutes, or until mixture is puffy and marshmallows are delicately browned, Serves 6, * 5 * If you'd like to combine apples with a vegetable, try this acorn aquash with apples. This recipe serves 4. ACORN SQUASH WITH APPLES 2 small acorn squashes 3 cups chopped apple 34 teaspoonful salt r/ cup brown sugar Nutmeg 2 tablespoons butter Cut squash in halves and scoop out seeds. Place squash in baking dish; 1111 centers with apple. Pour a little water into - dish. Cover and bake at 350° F. 30 minutes, or until partly done, Sprinkle with salt, sugar, and nutmeg, and dot with butter. Bake uncovered about 45 min- utes, or until squash is soft; POTATO PUFF 3 cups mashed potatoes 1 egg yolk Hot milk 2 tablespoons melted butter Salt 1 egg white, beaten stiff Combine potatoes, egg yolk, melted butter and salt. Moisten with hot milk. Beat well. Fold in egg white. Pile lightly into greased baking dish. Bake at 375'•F.. 30 minutes, or until puffy and brown. - Moths With "Radar" Biologists have long suspect- ed that warfare in the animal world is at least as complex as in the human world. Now, they have evidence, that moths pos- sess ' an early -warning defense, whicis triggered by' the navi- gational radar of their enemies, bats. According to the current issue of the magazine Scientific. American, when Kenneth D. Roeder of Tufts University and Asher Treat of the City College of New York attached electrodes to a moth's ear, they found the . ear sensitive to the ultrasonic echo -locating cries of a bat 10 feet away. Even more subtle, the biologists found that a par- asitic mite which lives on moths' ears is careful to abstain from eating both of its host's ears — leaving one line of defense against hungry bats and saving his'own skin. STANDING STILL—Making a last stand against progress, this picturesque building in Manhattan finds itself alone, but not for long. The houses that formerly surrounded it have been cleared.' away as workers continue excavationsfor a new apart- ment building. The owner of the old house has refused to sell and the new building will be erected,pround'.his property. In the background=is-Washington Square Arch with the Empire State Building looming in the distance. CHURCH IN PARIS -President Eisenhower is w aving to crowds in Paris on Sunday as he drove to church. The President was over there for the top level NATO meetings as well as personal meetings with the delegates of the other participating countries.