| Sowan, Paul W (2006). Built to last a thousand years: an addendum on the theft of seven bronze busts on 6/7March 1966, and attempted theft on 1 February 1963, Bull Croydon Nat Hist Sci Soc, 126: 20. |
Built to last a thousand years: an addendum on the theft of seven bronze busts on 6/7March 1966, and attempted theft on 1 February 1963The article 'Built to last a thousand years' in Bulletin 124 (April 2005) describing the history and present state of the Stanley Halls noted that seven bronze busts were stolen from the front of the building 'in the 1960s.' In the course of classifying and filing the Society's voluminous mass of local newscuttings, the report of the theft published in the Croydon Advertiser of 11 March 1966 has come to light, from which it can now be placed on record that the busts of Darwin, Dickens, Disraeli, Gladstone, Stanley, and Tennyson appear to have been stolen during the night of Sunday 6th March, or early morning of Monday 7th March 1966, as they were noticed to have gone by the Monday morning. They have never been recovered, or the thief identified. Interestingly, there had been an unsuccessful attempt to steal the bust of Stanley (more readily accessible than the others) on 1 February 1963. The man responsible was spotted, subsequently identified, and in due course convicted of attempted theft of a statue estimated (then) to be worth £ 5, and fined £ 25 with £ 25 costs in May 1963. The attempted theft and subsequent court proceedings were reported in the Croydon Advertiser of 8 March and 10 May 1963. Paul W Sowan |
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