Illustration Christine Fuller
In April 1916, Daisy Florence Dexter found herself ‘on the wrong side of the law’.
News-vendor, Lily Ayton, accused her of stealing 14/- (fourteen shillings) together with a calico bag.
Facts of the Case
The case came before the Magistrates at East Harling. The court heard the circumstances of the case.
Daisy Dexter visited Lily Ayton at her home in Great Ellingham. During the time that Daisy was visiting, Lily put her bag on the table in her sitting room. The bag contained money from her earlier sale of newspapers.
About 7 o’clock in the evening, Lily went to visit her sister who lived nearby. Daisy apparently intended to go home. Daisy left her door unlocked. Having said that, it was not unusual for people not to lock their doors!
However, it seems that Daisy did not go home. Consequently, she was at Lily Ayton’s home until around 10 o’clock that evening.
Nonetheless, Lily did not notice her bag and the money was missing until the following morning. She called in the police.
Later when questioned, Daisy denied knowing anything about the missing money. However, she then told Police Constable Woods that during the previous evening she had met a solider, Samuel Odell. She said that it was Odell who had the money, and that he had put the bag in the hollow of a tree.
Daisy Dexter identified the tree to Police Constable Woods, who subsequently retrieved the bag containing now the sum of 9/8 (nine shillings and eight pence).
Samuel Odell told the court that he was not in the village on the night in question. However, Daisy continued to maintain her innocence. Nonetheless, she could not explain why she had made a statement to the police saying that it was Odell who had placed the money in the tree.
Guilty Verdict
In the event, Daisy Dexter was found guilty. She received a severe caution from the Chairman of the Magistrates, and placed on probation. Her father was bound over as surety. Daisy was also told to pay 20/- (twenty shillings) in respect of costs.
The Magistrates were satisfied that Samuel Odell had nothing at all to do with the theft.
Lily Ayton
I believe Lily may be the 8 year old ‘Lilly Ayton’ found with her parents Harry and Charlotte Ayton, and five siblings, in Attleborough at the time of the 1901 census.
In 1911, 18 year old former general domestic servant Lily Ayton is an inmate at the workhouse in Rocklands. She was then a news-vendor in Great Ellingham in 1916.
Although I cannot find Lily Ayton’s whereabouts in 1921, her 24 year old brother Matthew Theodore Ayton is living in Swamp Lane, Great Ellingham with his wife Jane, and their four year old son Matthew John. At this time, Matthew Ayton has no occupation. However he is receiving a ‘disablement’ pension.
In 1939, Matthew Ayton is living in London Road, Attleborough. He is a newsagent. His son, Matthew John, is a news-vendor.
Daisy Dexter
Daisy was similar in age to Lily.
The 1911 census finds 16 year old Daisy Dexter with her parents, Walter and Lydia Dexter, and sister Beatrice in Town Green. Walter Dexter worked as a groom and gardener.
Both born in Rockland St Peter, Walter Dexter married Lydia Locke Fincham in 1885. Their first child, Violet Lydia was born in Rockland St Peter later that year. John George was born in Attleborough in 1888. The youngest two children, Daisy Florence and Beatrice Mabel were born after the family arrived in Great Ellingham. Daisy in 1894 and Beatrice in 1900.
By 1921, the Dexter family had moved out of Great Ellingham.
Sources:
14 April 1916. Diss Express. Viewed via The British Newspaper Archive
1901 census RG13/1867/48, RG13/1867/68
1911 census RG14/11483/147, RG14/11473/99
1921 census RG15. Registration District 231. Great Ellingham Schedule 35. Viewed via www.findmypast.co.uk.
1939 England & Wales Register. The National Archives; Kew, London, England; 1939 Register; Reference: Rg 101/6590c. Ancestry.com. 1939 England and Wales Register [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2018.
GRO Index. Also available at FreeBMD website.