THE END OF PERCY TOPLIS.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3545, 5 August 1920, Page 7

THE END OF PERCY TOPLIS.

SHOT Dl2’.-\_L‘ BY L’OLICI~J.

-1 DR;\.\l..\ TIC C‘RT[*.\lll\."A.,[

Private Percy 'l‘op'i.<, wumed in conncction with 111:: 1:1111‘d.m' of Sidne_\f Genrge {\.'picel', :1 cl‘.ilfl'ou I'. near .-\ndm'o 1' (H:lnt's) was shut doild on the :lfl'(‘l‘noon on ..Tun«.= (S afier. :1 mutqr chase and re\'o'l\'el' fight.“ wif"ll the police.

For six weeks (tho Inurdn-1' of’ Spicor occz_ll'l'ed on April 24) there had bcvn ~11 huo :uIF. c-ry for Toplis all over tlnr (-m111t1')'. 02‘: NlO ‘night 0'!" tlie (sth u mun who, 0:: ‘rwin}_u "I':lH*"|ll‘_"'i".l. u(lmii‘ted he \.\':v;< the wanted fugitivo_. enCvlln'tol'e.l :1 ]mliv.em:u: in :1 Cumberland village. Toplis nlr.‘n:l('.od the offiursr with :1 I'e\"olvcl' uml escaped. It was at 11:11f'-pm!’ fmxr that 1’01i(-e-<'0n-.~'tz1b‘.e Fulton sax‘-.' av. "mun in khaki

\\'a'xkillg fln'ml;l'h Hl!‘ viiizlg'o of High 11'.o;=ket, zxevr I’olt~:'ith (Cumbel'laMnd), c:'.l'l'yill-9; :1 liit-bag. He c.h:xllengod|

may drew 21 re. j . the ‘' n ‘."ll€‘T’3"'*lnOh ‘X2l’ .4 '

volvor and ’tlll'eafoncd him. “I am the man you want.” declared the stl':ulgm'. He then made off. . The constable’ wom homo unrl ch:lllged il.l‘o mufti. H 0 .<(*cul'l‘.d 11 motorcycle and sped to the police headqll.'u“lc'.:s at Penrith, where he told fhe Chief Consmblo what had hzlppénod. The IzlHm' ixmnofli-uh*ly caglsed :1. cm‘dou of police "F 0 be dl‘:lwn round the \vhov‘o of the <li?~‘fi'ict, and he sent :1. In<'.l.“or-C:11' to the Scene of the incidonf with ztrnnt-d ,*»olieemen in plain clothes.

'l'ln2 _lnului'-x::;La' CUl1l21l1]lIl_::{‘ I_m_». [police liuali l'(,‘lU.‘l.ICLI the village u‘n<:en u mun \\‘:\:s seen near the gate of :1. mansion known as Roman \‘v'ay. 'l7h(s‘. officers stv.p[)(‘(l him, \*.'hel'eupon ‘rliu mun proinptly l'iro(_l sc\'u’l':ll SllotS ‘nil: the pziily .‘r.'i'om {'l‘l“oV()lV'€l‘. At once tho police drew their I'oVul\’el’s, returnt‘.(l"lTll€‘ fire, and the man, shot. in nmny ‘places, ‘ full dead. ‘A. lll‘L‘.‘~'.\‘ilg'(', I'(.‘ueivc<il by ~:>'uo‘l".uml 'Yzm’l .<:t:11‘0s that when the man lirsl 8‘.()‘1l"f1‘(l1)t(lEl the L‘OI1Sl.ill)lL‘ he hcm.-‘tucl that he haul shot a g:lnlcl<eepe:‘ and :1 «cum 111310 in B:lnlTshil'(2. (lit \.v:.l.s rop’ll'T€(l tlm pr(rvi<m;s week tiluu :L tnunp .~:’:1.i(l In_‘l'osmnl)lo _'l.‘oplis lizufl shoi uml \.\"(l)'l.lVl'}('lC‘(i EL cons’r:lble' and zmotlwl- mun {»'il_" :1 l'ollcly';m:mr at 'l‘olninroul. B:inl'l'l§'lll1'n:.- \\"ho!"e tin‘ trnnlp \\‘:lS fonnril in :1 If'lf'r‘_‘r)_. "‘ . f“ S’l.‘()RY 011‘ Tl-1E M:t7ln)l~;‘n. 'lTl1{:§‘”1l1L11'('lbI" ’l’6l' which 'l‘op‘li.< ‘\\':ls \\‘-‘&lll;lG’(l‘\\’l‘.‘S (l0'I11Ilill"l.(‘..(l on Apcil 2-I: at 'Jflil‘u:h.'on, on S2}llSl)l11'y 'l‘lzlin_, Sidney e'il;"\\'a':‘<"is“i'io”r7 ;t‘hl'ongh the head, his l)'b'il‘y"\\*as"thrb\&"li'into :1 liedgc, and the ziss:ii.lali_t L‘b'(_'Zll)(.’(_l wifh the ear. .’~\l'7“'l'9l.'..l.l)ll“E).I)1l"011 the night of the li'lul'dé'l' Sp»i.cclr‘pi.cl~:ed. up in 'Salisbul'y nu p'ial'f_\-' composed Lf t-hiiee soldiers and t'\m women, who dfifiiéfed him 1:0 drive fjq Bu]fr_ng'(_l At: ..~\moSbLll'y Station, about. t'\\'lo miles from Bulford village, Spicc-iv: was anxious about his petrol, and s.atc»pped to look at his in‘dicator. One of the p:ll‘t_\' in the car sziid aftm-wax-(ls: _

I “When Spicer pulled up a num came Ehp :iIIG. uéliod ‘if h(s coulEli"}l:¢vo n 1'11}: to Amlmrrr. Spicor pointed out that "the car was I?un,. but. said that after ho.h:ld dropped us at Bult'ol'd he would come back and "pick ‘him up. He then said he would. wait. As far as I cou‘.d sgee in the d:u'klless he wore a Bl'it.ish '\Val-m ovel'cc»a{‘. I _undel'sto»od. him to say he was a‘ sergezun:--1n.:1jox~. “We arrived home at Bulford viU-age at 9.20-, :m(’l Spirrm. after we paid him, left to pick up the man who had [accosted him at Anxcsbury."

Al‘. Bulford village Spicer stopped at :1 small gmnge for petrol. and this was the lust svmx of him alive.

The police "ism-ed :1 <'losol'i]_).*ion of the man whu asked f-v be driven Ito Andovor. Then‘ czuno the finding of Spicel"s mot'ol'-car :It-'Swansen, \\‘llm-(wit h:,\«l boon a.bandonerl. Tnf(»rm:1t?011 supplied to the police 19:}. to :1 hue and cry sor 'l‘op'is in :11] pzmrts of -the (*.ountr_s'. ' He was supposw‘. to have be’6n. seen in Smut}: W:.l‘.<~s. ‘l.onflon. Banffshirc. and other pl-av.e:<, and more than one man was mi.‘<takov for him.