FRAUDS BY VICAR

Wairarapa Times-Age, 17 September 1942, Page 4

FRAUDS BY VICAR

GREAT FORTUNE AMASSED. MISUSE OF PARISH FUNDS. LONDON, June 18. The conviction of the Rev. Harry Clapham, aged 53, vicar of St. Thomas, Lambeth, ends one of the longest and most persistent investigations ever carried out by Scotland Yard. Clapham was found guilty at the Old Bailey on all 21 counts of an indictment alleging misuse of moneys of parish affairs. He was sentenced to three years’ penal servitude and ordered to pay £lOOO toward the costs of the prosecution. The jury of six men and one woman were two hours considering their verdict.

Scotland Yard had been watching Clapham for years. Four successive chief constables directed the inquiries. Detective-Inspector Bray, who eventually brought him to justice, worked on the case for over three years. The vicar covered his frauds so cleverly that only during the past few months was Scotland Yard able to obtain sufficient evidence to bring charges against him. For 14 years he has sent out an average of over 200,000 charity appeals each year. He amassed a considerable fortune.

Some idea of the extent of his appeals may be gathered from the fact that he bought over 1,000,000 envelopes at a time. It is estimated that the vicar received over £200,000 from charity appeals. Police investigations indicate that a very small percentage was spent on charity.