BOYS HOAX A TOWN

Grey River Argus, 24 April 1911, Page 8

BOYS HOAX A TOWN

— . t The extraordinary series of hoaxes recently perpetrated upon Hull ministers, tradesmen, and others by two . young clerks, named fiarry Cyril God-' son, eigtheen, and John Ward, fifteen, was dealt with by the Hull stip-* j endiary, wEen "the lads were charged ■ with stealing their employers' stationery,' writing an abusive letter to Rev. '' R. M. ' Kedward, ' and trying to obtain waggo.no' of coal in . the name of the Rev.' W. H. "Heap and Mr J. Meale,. minister" and organist at Queen's Hall, Hull. 1 T>etective Duguid said that when he. arrested Godson the lad was reading a "penny dreadful"' entitled •. "Viliians' Deeds." The boys had cut from periodicals and advertisements various letters and pasted these on writing-paper to form x various sentences. One ran: "The Rev. Mr Heap dVinks eggs arid beer." In -another instance the' nose of a man in a picture "-of d beer advertisement was reddened and the name "Mr Heap" 'inscribed. , Godson declared that 'he had perj mission to , use his employer's paper. He .admitted writing to " his own employers. He also admitted Hvritihg to players. . He also "admitted that in previous' situations he had j been guilty of malicious ' mischief, such as puncturing cycle-tyres and' putting bottles of oil" in r a person's pocket without the corks being pro- 1 perly fixed. The magistrate said the oil joke . was. most disgusting. The boys were convicted' of, stealing stationery, and counsel intimated at the prosecution would " )^-ot; proceed with -the other charges. It was said that twenty-seven letters had been sent out £>y prisoners, and were forged in eleven different names. The number of firms known to have been victimised was 'thirty-seven, though counsel said he could easily find 137. The goods supplied were to the value of .£250. One letter was a bogus order for two thousand bills. A builder was ordered to send his men to repair the roof of the Queen's Hall, and before the 1 hoax was discovered orders for the delivery of goods were sent out wholesale, one being for forty-seven barrels of beer, and another for sixty . turkeys ; : waggons of coal were ordered from Sheffield' and Rotherhani, and other goods were delivered from London. Other letters were to the members of the Queen's Hall Brotherhood purporting to be an invitation from the Rev. W. Heap to a farewell sermon. Another letter, sent to Mr Meale, purported to be from a member of the church, who threatened to leave on account of his abominable playing. It was said that a hoax epidemv*. broke out in Hull every three yeais. Ward was placed on probation for : a year and Godson for three years.