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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1960-01-14, Page 6War Hero Beatein By Whisper Campaign "I, don't know what they are killing out there, but they mean to make sure of it" said Mrs, Hannah Wickham to her hus- band as she heard shots coming from the nearby -by woods. She and Mr. Wickham a coachman employed by Mr. Horace Wilkinson, J.P., lived on the Franfield Manor estate, five miles from Sevenoaks on the Maidstone road, and were used to hearing gunfire from the surrounding country, where game -shooting was common. Little did Mrs. Wickham real- ize that what she heard was the death -knell of a woman she knew well — Mrs. Caroline Mary Luard, wife of Major- General Charles Edward Luard, who lived at Ightham Knoll, a near -by mansion, An hour later .the general came to her door, distraught and trembling. "My wife my wife , . , a terrible accident " he stammered, He asked to see the coachman, but Mrs. Wickham told him that her hus- band had gone to the stables. The general, though apparent- ly near to collapse, went up to the Wilkinson manor where he was met by the butler, Herbert Harding. "She is dead," were the general's fust words. Then, after a brie! rest, he went with Harding to a little summer- house on the estate. There the horrified butler saw Mrs. Luard lying dead, her face almost unrecognizable from bullet wounds a n d blackened with powder. The local con- stable on- stable was summoned, and within an hour a police doctor and detective arrived from Maid- stone. It was a clear case of • brutal murder. The woman had been battered with a heavy stick. Then, when she had slumped down on the steps to the ver- anda, her killer had fired sev- eral shots at her head from close range. One of the bullets had entered under her left eye and almost tore open her face. Another had entered behind her right ear. There was no clue to the iden- tity of the murderer, nor could any possible motive be discov- ered. The revolver from which the shots had been fired was missing. In fact, it was never found. Throughout that night of Aug- ust 2nd, 1908, and the following day, policemen and estate work- ers searched the woods. Blood- hounds were brought in, but no trail was found. No stranger had been seen in the district either before or after the crime. The murder rocked London society and the landed gentry of Kent, among whom the general Hope -Chest Luxury \ife � (Yd, I'ittllp YY 1191E Add a touch of luxury to linens with this combination of embroi• dery and easy crochet. Decorate 6 towels or 3 sets of pillowcases or 3 scarves with these motifs. Pattern 997; trans- fer of six 3" x 12 to 5 x 12 -inch motifs; directions for edging Send THIRTY-FIVE CENTS (stamps cannot be accepted, use postal note tor safety) for this pattern to LAURA Wl•IEEL.ER, Box 1, 123 Eighteenth 5t. New Toronto, Ont, Print plainly PAT- TERN NTJMBTR, your NAME and ADDRESS. New! Newt New! Our 1960 Laura Wheeler Needlecraft Book is ready NOW! Crammed with exciting, unusual, popular de- signs to crochet, knit, sew, em- broider, quilt, weave — fashions, home furnishings, toys, gifts, bazaar hits. In the book S'REE — 3 quilt patterns, Hurry, send 25 cants for your copy. and his wife were well known, The general, squire ot Ightham Knoll, had lived happily in re- tirement with his wife, and both took part in many local affairs, Scotland Yard was 'tai'led in and some of the most experienc- ed officers of the Murder Squad took up the 'investigations;. They were as baffled as the detectives of the Kent Constabulary, if the murderer was a tramp who hadbeen tempted by the sight of an unprotected woman to attack and rob her - why did he leave her trinkets untouched? Would such a man .possess an automatic revolver? If he did, would he be so reckless as to fire several shots in broad daylight on the veranda of a summer- house frequently used by its owners? , Why, after having battered his victim unconscious, did he kill her in a manner that suggested blind, senseless fury? And how did he manage to slink away without leaving a trace and without being seen? The information that the gen- eral gave to the police did• not help them. He told them that un that fine August day he accom- panied his wife on a stroll through the woods. Then he de- cided to go to the golf club to see if he could find a partner. His wife said she wouldwalk to the Wilkinson's summer- house, near Fish Pond Wood, in the hope •of finding a member of the family there at tea -time. Her husband was to meet her there later. The general arrived at the club -house at 3.30 p.m, and was seen by a caretaker. There was no one there to give him a game, so he decided to go home. On his way he met the local clergy- man, the Rev. Albert Cotton. After an hour General Luard ar- rived home and found he had a visitor, a Mrs. Stewart. The General explained that his wife had gone for a walk, in- tending to visit the Wilkinsons at the summer -house, and added - that he was going to meet her there. General Luard told the police — and later the coroner's jury at the inquest — that he walked to the summer -house and found his wife's body on the veranda. It was later established that none of the Wilkinson family had beer. to the summer -house that after- noon. At the inquest a verdict of "murder by a person or persons unknown" was returned. But soon gossip started in the Kent- ish village. The general began. to receive anonymous letters, ac- cusing him of the murder of his wife. There was not the slightest reason why this elderly man, an officer with a distinguished rec- ord in the Boer War, married for many years and extremely fond of his devoted wife, should have committed such a senseless and brutal murder. And yet, there were some un- explained features in the gen- eral's story. Why did Mrs. Luard go to the summer -house? The police established that she must have known that it wbuld be empty and locked up. Mrs. Wil- kinson had told her this a few days before, mentioning that, be- cause of some repairs, the sum- mer -house was not being used. But this question remained unanswered, On September 18th, less thae. a month after Mrs. Luard's mur- der, two boys, returning from a bathe in the Medway, were walking along the railway lane near Teston. Suddenly, and with horror, they saw an elderly man with a heavy white moustache, climbing up the embankment, just as a train was approaching from Teston Crossing. Before their eyes the old man walked upright and briskly to- wards the track. He paused for a moment and then, as the train came on at full speed, he threw himself headlong in front of the engine. Minutes later the ter- ribly mutilated body was identi- fied as that of Major-General Luard. At almost the same time a letter was delivered to Colonel Warde, M.P,, at Barham Court,.a few miles away. It was from General 'Luard and it read: "I thought 1 wasstrong enough to, bear up against the' horrible im- putations and terrible letters which I have received since the awful crime was committed The strength has left me, and I care for nothing except to loin her again in the second life." In a posteripl he added: "1 shall be somewhere on the rail- way line." LONG WAY HOME Leonard W. Baker, 18, was handed a 50 -day prison sentence for damaging a shower room wall while trying to break out of the Tampa, Fla., city stock- ade. What Baker didn't know is that he could have walked out. The stockade is operated on the honour system for pri- soners risoners convicted ot minor crimes. CAROLINA PINE - Linda Chance of New Bern,' N.C., shows off a natural wonder — a duster of 31 pine cones. Local lum- bermen hadn't seen anything like it before, RONICLES �I1NGER FARM Eiva�dittn. D Clrseka While the Christmas season was with, us I was on the look- out. for the unusual in sim- plicity of giving, in decorations, in cards and cookery, in ways of celebrating. In fact anything that had any connection with the Christmas season. The first. oddity cameto light concerning a Christmas cake. A young housewife sent me an S.O.S. She had her cake all mixed and then found she had put in two teaspoons of baking soda instead of baking powder. What should she do — add the baking powder as well as soda? My answer to that was "No— for heaven's sake, no.!" Now I don't pretend to be an authority but I thought I. had better see what suggestions I could ,offer to remedy the situation. I warn- ed her the cake might be over - light . . . to leave the mixture •sitting overnight and in pans deep enough for it to expand without running over. I was afraid the cakes might have a slightly bitter taste but when I tasted the raw mixture I found it was all right. We11, the cakes turned out fine except for being a little too light to keep moist for very long. However, her family soon took care of that situation. Then came another cake -sail. Had I a large, deep pan to lend? I didn't have anything big enough so 'do you knou what this ingenious young .housewife did? She took the. handle off her pressure .cooker and used the cooker for an oven- cake - pan. It worked fine. The cake cooked slowly and evenly in the • heavy metal container. Quite an Hee, wasn't it? Ten days before Christmas a man came to our door selling greeting cards. I was on the point of telling him I didn't want any when he said they were cards he made himself. That was different —• I asked to see them. Each card had .an at- tractive stencil design on the front. Inside were greetings in rhyme and a short original poem. The card opened up like a sheet of paper and on the inside • the same poem was set • to music, All the work of this travelling artist — or so he said. And somehow 1 believed him, •'he seemed to have such an in- 'teresting personality. . Anyway the cards bore his signature and mailing address. The name was familiar but not the person. He was an Irishman, well versed in history and literature. I would Liked to, have asked him in but I didn't because 1 was alone. 1 hate to be sceptical but after all one has to remember that selling things is a good way to gain entry into a house. It is better these days to err on the side of caution. Here is one of the man's verses. How do you like it? "The snowflakes fall, they softly call The heart is quick to hear They fill the sight with sheer delight And thoughts of homey cheer." — J. Mahon In Christmas gifts I didn't hear of anything outstandingly original except in the way one woman solved a financial prob- lem. She is accustomed to giv- ing her own home a Christmas give every year. This time she wanted a really nice set of hos- tess or TV tables. But the ones she wanted were sold only in sets of four and came to more than she could afford. Then she had a hrainwave. She bought the set, kept two for herself and gave the others away to two of her friends. That' way three people were made happy. I saw them and they were. really lovely. In our family we went easy on toy -buying for our grand- sons — except for Ross. He is so crazy about machinery that we couldn't resist . giving him a working model of a power sho- vel. The others had skates, pyja- mas, books, records, rubber farm animals, knitted socks and mitts and cuddly toys for the two -youngest. Incidentally have you realized how hard it •is to get nice stuffed toys? : Most of them are so huge and ugly— and expensive.,I went to about. ten different stores before get- ting one that I thought was really suitable for a toddler. Two weeks before Christmas I ; bought myself an L.P. record of Christmas carols. It has been on the go ever since. Beautiful music — Westminster Abbey Choir singing many of the well- known carols. I think music and KNOCKING THE ROCK — Up to her ears in rock 'n' rola protests, Jan Haldeman shows one city's reaction to the popular musical form. When the radio station for which she works transferred from nonrock to rock programs, it was deluged with letters, 99 per cent of which protested the change. The station switched back to its original approach. Christmas belong together and the right kind of music relieves tension as nothing else And this 1 must mention, to the middle ot ' the pre -Christmas rusk we had a municipal elec- tion, We w-.nt tovote at 4.15, At that time out 01 a possible 350 voters in our particular ward only 75 had east their hal, lot — most of them New Cana- dians. Obviously Europeans ap- preciate freedom to vote. On the other hand British and Cana- dian -born residents appear either negligent of apathetic — and yet are the first to grumble at an Increase in taxes. It doesn't make sense, does it? Blackmailed Hubby To Save Her Marriage After only three months of marriage, the pretty, :twenty- four -year-old housewife w a s very worried because her cre- ditors were beginning to three- ten her: She dared not tell her husband about debts contracted, chiefly through her love of ex- pensive clothes and cosmetics, He was, she knew, very mean about money matters, and cer- tain to fly off the handle. At last the girl, Hilda, thought up a way in which she could wheedle money out of him, and square h e r accounts, without bringing suspicion on herself. Her husband, a twenty -five- year-old chemist's assistant, had, she discovered, a secret too. It concerned an old flame o! his, with whom he was now having a furtive affair. So, to clear her debts, Hilda conceived the idea of blackmail- ing her husband ! Using a bor- rowed typewriter, she wrote anonymous notesto him, threat- eningthat il he did not leave $150 at a certain spot she would reveal his secret to his wife ! Hey paid up and encourage by her success, Hilda repeated her demand. But this time her hus- band went to the •police with the whole story. Routine inquiries led detec- tives to Hilda's financial diffi- culties. Two creditors hadre- cently been satisfied, although other accounts were .still out- standing. And her husband, it was discovered, hadn't an ink- ling about these debts. Next, the police checked against machines in the neigh- bourhood the characters of the typewriter used in the anony- mous correspondence. These tal- lied with a machine belonging'. to a girl friend of Hilda's. From this friend they established the fact that Hilda had sometimes borrowed that typewriter. Confronted with this evidence, the scheming young wife broke down and confessed. "I did it," she sobbed, "so as not to upset my husband, and preserve our marriage."_ Realizing she must love him very much to go to such lengths, her husband forgave her. Now they're living together very happily. LETTER OF THE LAW Judge Bill Hart of Midland, Tex., busy fining overtime park- ing violators, • forgot his own car and got a ticket for over- time parking. • r X 04,°z±rla, Et:ri9'ette by iteherta Lee Q. When writing .a personal letter, is the date oorrertly put at. the end of the message or at the top right of the page? A. If a long letter, the date is usually put in the upper right- hand corner --. and if a short note, the date is inserted at the end, Q. Isn't It proper at all to out up all of one's treat into portions'. before beginning to eat 1t? ' A. This is proper only if you are a very small child and your, father or mother is cutting up your meat for you. Otherwise, cut off only pne portion at a time, Q. When is the proper time to send a 'wedding gift, and to whom, should it be sent if the bride is a stranger? • A. As soon as the wedding in- vitation has been' rectived, and the gift should always be Sent to the bride, even though you know only the bridegroom. Holiday Flattery PRINTED PATTERN Especially becoming! Side- draped neckline flatters your face and draws attention away from any figure flaws. Bodice flows smoothly into slim skirt, For crepe, wool, silk. Printed Pattern 4920: Women's Sizes 36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 46, 48. Size 36 takes ;3ri yards 39 -inch. Printed directions on each pat- tern part. Easier, accurate. Send FORTY CENTS, (stamps cannot be accepted, use postal note for safety) for this pattern. Please print plainly SIZE, NAME, ADDRESS, STYLE NUMBER. Send order to ANNE ADAMS, Box 1, 123 Eighteenth St., New Toronto, Ont. ISSUE 2 — 1960 IN ANY LANGUAGE — Latin screen star Linda Crystal punctu- ates a universal sentiment with a smile. "Happy New Year."