An Uxbridge “Ghost” and its antics.
The alleged presence of a “ghost” in a house and its vicinity in the Cowley-road has aroused a good deal of interest and controversy in the town during the past few days, and despite the fact that several attempts have been made by amateur devotees to the art of spiritualism, to “lay” it, efforts have so far proved futile, and it is stated that this week-end the aid of more experienced persons in occult science is being obtained with a view to accounting for the presence of this mysterious spirit, which, while it is providing the town with a nine days’ wonder, threatens to play havoc with the nerves of those who experience its periodical visits.
Although many distorted and highly imaginative tales are going the rounds, there appears to be some foundation that something, as yet unexplainable, is in operation. It is difficult to obtain actual facts concerning the affair, because the occupants are naturally reticent in publishing their experiences, presumably in order to prevent public attention being centred upon the premises, but others who have been in close touch with the house, vouch that mysterious and unexplainable things have recently happened within its walls and outbuildings.
Apparently, the house, which is an old one, has been subject to these visits periodically for some time past, but during more recent times “he” has given his almost undivided attention to the scene of what is presumed to have once been his earthly abode. The apparition – for it is vouched that such has been seen – is not in the usual form of a shrouded figure in white, but that of an ordinary man wearing a cap. Neither are his visits confined to the witching hour of midnight, in fact, he is most erratic, appearing any time after dusk.
It was within a few days of Christmas – the season which custom usually associates with the appearance of these characters – that he again thrust his unwelcome presence upon an unthankful host and his family, and the operations which he has since “entertained” them with have aroused hopes that his stay may not be of long duration.
Although the “spirit” appears in divers quarters, its customary entrance is by way of the scullery. A noise as of several tin baths in commotion, it is alleged, usually heralds the hour of his approach, and simultaneously a cold blast passes through the house. Its antics, however, are not confined to this sphere which are so closely in accord with the old-time Christmas story. In one instance horses in an adjoining stable created such discordant noises as to give evidence of something untoward having happened, and although prompt action was taken to ascertain the cause of their restlessness, for some time the stable door would not yield to pressure, but when access was gained the horses were found to be in so nervous a condition that they could not be worked for several days!
It is said that the apparition has been seen by at least three members of the family. It appears to be attracted to one upstairs room in particular, and his attentions to this spot have been so persistent as to render it uninhabitable for a few days.
The fact that the appearance of the apparition was mostly from the scullery, raised the question as to whether the removal of the floor might yield some clue to the cause: either hidden wealth which he was jealously guarding or part of his remains when he was mortal. This procedure (quite in accordance with legendary lore) was adopted, but needless to add, nothing was discovered.
Rumour, of course, is current upon the subject, and allowances have to be made for imaginative details that have been supplied. In another instance, it is asserted, the fire-tongs suddenly changed places without human aid, and shortly afterwards the sound of heavy treading was heard on the stairs above, which had but a short time before been ascended by two females. In proceeding to ascertain the cause of the noise, the man found a door handle on the mat at the foot of the stairs. Prosecuting his enquirings further, he ascended and proceeded to open the door from which the handle was missing. There, it is alleged, he found the two females in a highly excited condition, who stated that the apparition had made its appearance and in quitting the room pulled the handle from the door.
It is asserted (and here rumour cannot be disregarded) that an attempt was made to lay the spirit. It was first located in an outbuilding, but the flash from an electric torch caused it to immediately disappear. It was subsequently traced to an upper chamber of the house and was persuaded to descend to more convenient and comfortable quarters downstairs. It obeyed, but apparently tired of the cross-examination which it was subjected to, disappeared, not before it had been persuaded, by occult means, to record its former Christian name! Gentle and persistent enquiry resulted in its spelling letters G-E-O-Z. Logical reasoning ascribes the meaning of these characters to be none other than George, explaining that the wrong spelling is probably due to ignorance of the fundamental rules of phonetic pronunciation. He, however, could not be persuaded to give a surname, and thus little of importance was gained as a result of the “interview.”
The truth of this story is not vouched for, but exaggerated as some of the other facts probably are, there is little doubt that the uncanny incidents which have happened require an explanation that has as yet not been forthcoming. The result of this week-end’s conference will, therefore, be awaited with interest.
Uxbridge and W. Drayton Gazette, 6th January 1922.
A Vulgar Ghost.
It is reported from Uxbridge that the ghost of a man wearing a cloth cap has been seen in a house in the neighbourhood. This is certainly not in accordance with the best traditions. It is the sort of thing which we hoped was not done even in these levelling days. There should always be a certain dignity about a ghost, and a cloth cap is a painfully common style of headgear. The ghost of a highwayman may wear a three-cornered hat and a really old-fashioned spirit may got to the opposite extreme and dispense with a head. But a cap sticks in the gizzard.
We are told that the advent of the capped ghost is heralded by a noise as of tin baths rattling. It is just what we might have expected. All the best ghosts use chains.
Evening News (London), 7th January 1922.
The Uninvited Ghost.
Chills and thrills in haunted dwelling.
Sleepers driven from their beds.
An uninvited and ghostly guest has been causing considerable annoyance to his host, an Uxbridge man. Most uninvited guests are liable at times to get rather a chilly reception, but apparently this one minds that so little he carries his own cold atmosphere about with him. His appearances are said to be heralded by a wave of cold air.
The ghost is described as resembling an elderly man with a close-fitting cap., and though he has no set time for performance, seems to have the knack of making himself felt. Mr Gilbert Burrows, his unwilling host, his wife, daughter, and three sons, have all found him rather upsetting. Mr Burrows is a jobmaster, and formerly drove the fire engine before the horses were replaced by a motor. He is a practical, common-sense man, hale and hearty, and the last person to be troubled by imagination. With his family he has lived for fifteen years in their present house, but though from time to time they have heard strange noises they have paid little attention to them. During the last few weeks however, it is declared, things have changed. The sounds have become distinctly those of a man climbing the stairs deliberately, the bedrooms have been invaded by a chilly presence, and more than once sleepers have been disturbed and driven from their beds.
“The ghost fairly put me through it,” remarked Mr Bert Burrows, one of the sons, who fought with the Middlesex Regiment during the war. “He bent over me and mesmerised me. I lay there as if paralysed. If you had said anything about ghosts to me two years ago I would have laughed. Now I don’t.” He added that he is quite certain that there is “something there” which prevents him from getting his night’s rest.
With a view to probing the mystery, three friends of the Burrows, interested in matters psychic, arranged to sit up and investigate. The first time they tried was on Christmas Eve. They sat in the stable at the back of the house, which the ghost has frequently visited, from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m, but nothing happened, though all well-conducted ghosts walk on Christmas Eve. Their next effort was made the other night. Again they met in the stable, and waited, one of them perched on a large bin. This time they were not to be disappointed, for suddenly the man sitting on the bin felt a lifting movement, as if someone was trying to raise the lid, and the table began to play pranks. They resorted to table-tapping to try to get a message from the ghost, and after a while they got the letters G E O R G. Then silence. Perhaps that is the way they spell George where the spirits come from, or perhaps the ghost got tired.
A further attempt to probe the mystery is to be made at another sitting, at which it is hoped, the services of an experienced medium will be available. Meanwhile local authorities identify the chilly visitant as one George Barnett, who lived in the house a generation ago, and carrie don the trade of hurdle-making. He was described as a man of sharp temper and eccentric habits.
Dundee Courier, 9th January 1922.
The Uxbridge “Ghost.”
Prolongs its stay.
The Uxbridge “ghost” appears in no wise to have been disturbed by the large crowd of children who have nightly congregated without the entrance gates of the Cowley-road residence where he appears to have taken up his abode. There seems to have been a keen desire to watch and discuss events on the spot, on the off-chance of seeing this interesting visitor, about which so many weird incidents and exaggerated and imaginary tales have recently been in circulation. The crowd has on occasions been so numerous that a couple of policemen have had to be stationed in the vicinity. Latterly, however, the interest has waned again, as is the way with “nine days’ wonders.”
Many people interested in occult science have at various times during the past few weeks assembled within the house, with the grim determination of elucidating the mystery, which is playing havoc with the nerves of the occupants. Up to the present, however, there has been no success in enterprises of this kind, and the “ghost” continues his pranks unmolested, and, despite frequent seances, refuses to account for his return to what is presumed to be the scene of his earthly activities.
To spiritualists, the doors of the house appear to be readily open, the occupants being naturally desirous of adopting any means that will free them from the unwelcome attentions that have been manifested; but those seeking to fathom the mystery for the benefit of a curious and interested public have not met with so ready a reception; in fact, strong measures appear to have been taken to prevent publicity being given to the unexplainable incidents that have undoubtedly happened. This led to a rather interesting experience by a London journalist, who sought information on the subject. Warned of the antipathy in which newspaper reporters and similar curious people were held, and informed of the fact that devotees to the occult science were welcomed, he naturally adopted the role, and by adroit questioning was able to obtain the complete “story” from the unsuspecting occupier. The incident was not discovered until some days later, when, after a period of freedom of “expression”, the person in question saw the humour of the situation.
The facts disclosed in this way seem to show that the apparition is the figure of an elderly man with a close-fitting cap, so far as could be made out, but the “presence” is felt rather than seen. He arrives, as a rule, on a wave of cold air, calculated to freeze the blood and to make even well-brillantined hair emulate the porcupine’s quills.
The present tenants have occupied the house for some fifteen years, and during most of that period strange noises have been heard. But during the past few weeks the sounds have become distinctly those of footsteps, as of a man climbing the stairs with a deliberate tread. The “ghost” also haunts the bedrooms, and on one occasion tried to shake a mattress, causing the occupant to precipitously retreat. One of the members of the family gives an account of a most uncanny happening which he experienced as he lay in bed. The “ghost” is said to have bent over him and mesmerised him, with the result that he laid as if paralysed!
The story is given of a seance that was held in the stable on Christmas Eve, from 9 p.m. until one o’clock in the morning. The long vigil was unrewarded, the “ghost” apparently having chosen to spend the festive season with his relations elsewhere. A similar sitting held on New Year’s Eve was more fruitful. The three enthusiasts in the psychic art sat round a table, one of them mounted on a large bin. Very soon this man felt a lifting movement beneath him, as though something was inside the bin, trying to raise the lid. By means of the table rapping, the circle tried to obtain a message from the “ghost”. Persistent efforts were successful in getting him to spell his Christian name – George, but beyond this he would not go. This caused efforts to be made with a view to tracing whether former occupants of the house bore a similar Christian name, and enquiries have so far been successful that it has been found to have been associated with the name of Barnett, who resided there some fifty or sixty years ago. Older residents recall him as being an experienced hurdle-maker, and they yet retain pleasant memories of how in their youthful days it was their custom to visit his presmises to purchase half-penny fishing rods to catch unsuspecting tiddlers from the stream below.
He closed a life of hard work in the trade to which he had set his hands, in the house, leaving his wife to enjoy many years of widowhood in the same house, before she joined him in the local cemetery. Between that time and the present, the house has had three tenants, all of whom have carried on the business of a carrier. The immediate predecessors of the present occupant resided there for seven years. The old shed in which Barnett plied his handicraft was then, and is now, still in existence. In the time of the former occupier, the shed was in a dilapidated condition, and being open to the garden, as the back fo the house is, it experiences the full velocity of the wind when the direction is westerly. Beyond the noise consequent upon this, and its weird passage through the old and commodious cellars beneath, no special inconvenience was experienced by the former tenants.
The head of the family appears to be the only person within the house who has not seen or been troubled with the “ghost.” Since last week, various stories of the antics have gained currency, many of which are, of course, ridiculous. It was asserted, for instance, that during the week-end the occupants were preceded up the stairs on their way to bed by the “ghost” carrying a light; whilst the mysterious disappearance of ornaments from the mantelboard and their subsequent return have also been accredited to the apparition. On another occasion he is supposed to have fed and groomed the horses!
Generally, the presence of an apparition is not believed, although during the weekend an extraordinary experience was recorded in which an entirely independent witness figures. The person in question was a police-sergeant – whose veracity surely cannot be questioned! It was at two o’clock in the morning that he was passing the premises, when he saw the figure of a man hanging over the gate. He wished him good-night, but getting no reply, turned and found that the figure had vanished. The man, the sergeant said, was wearing a cap, and answered the description of the “ghost” as seen by members of the family!
Is it true that the local spiritualists who took part in the recent seance, at which the “ghost” was persuaded to spell his Christian name, and which, according to their reading, was G-E-O-R-Z, had not sufficiently mastered the difficulties of the psychic alphabet, and that the correct interpretation has since been found to have been D-A-V-E?
Asked his views upon the Uxbridge “ghost”, a local spiritualist said: “I don’t believe there is a ghost, but a spirit – yes.” He went on to express the opinion that this spirit had some grievance, or desired to bring some matter to light, and until he received a “hearing” he would continue to pay these visitations. The only way to get to the bottom of the matter, he maintained, was for a medium to get into communication with the spirit, and ascertain what is wrong. He added that one of the inmates of the house must be clairvoyant, otherwise he would not have had visual evidence of the spirit’s presence, though it was possible for anybody to see the results of such visits. He made the welcome statement that it was not likely the spirit would leave the premises which he had made his home.
Uxbridge and West Drayton Gazette, 13th January 1922.
An Unorthodox Ghost.
The inhabitants of a house in Uxbridge are troubled with a ghost, which appears dressed as a working man wearing a cap. His appearance is preceded by “a noise as of several tin baths being clashed together and at the same moment a cold blast passes through the house.” It looks very much like an attempt to secure “vacant possession” but the people concerned are seeking the assistance of a well-known spiritualist. Why not give the police a chance? It seems to be more in their line.
Lincolnshire Chronicle, 14th January 1922.
Ghost Wears Corduroy Trousers.
Haunts premises and frightens men and horses.
(Exclusive to Weekly News.)
A ghost that wears corduroy trousers, has flaming eyes and an icy presence, and that takes a delight in frightening human beings and horses is at present creating quite a sensation in a hitherto quiet and peaceful countryside. The spectral visitant has established itself on the premises occupied by Mr Albert Burrows, a jobmaster, who resides in the old-world market town of Uxbridge, distant about twelve miles from London.
The story is perhaps better told in the words of Mr Bert Burrows, the eldest son of the bluff job master. “We have lived in this house for just over fifteen years now,” he said, when trying to explain things to me in an interview, “and have been very comfortable. Nothing has ever occurred to disturb our domestic peace until a few weeks ago. We are a family of six – my father, mother, sister, my two brothers, and my self. Often mother and sister are left alone in the house during the day, and latterly both have complained of being nervous. My mother has declared she has heard a man’s footsteps in the upper rooms when she has been in the lower, and vice versa. Of course, we tried to laugh her fears away, believing it to be a case of nerves – the war upset her a good deal. None of us has spiritualistic leanings, and we could not imagine a spectre disturbing our little household.
“Then my sister also began to complain of the same thing, and the climax came on Christmas night. We were a quiet family party seated comfortably around the fire at night, when suddenly there arose a great commotion in the stables. One of the horses screamed out as if terrified. Instantly my brothers, father, and myself jumped up and rushed out, our first thought being fire in the stables. There was no sign or smell of fire, however, and when the stable door refused to budge, despite united efforts, my father voiced his thoughts by saying: – “Boys, I believe we are victims of the maimers. If so, we’ve caught the inhuman devils at their work.”
“Picking up pieces of wood or iron, anything we could lay hands upon, as weapons, we again advanced to the stable door. To our surprise it yielded without effort on our part. No one could have possibly left the stable whilst we were outside the door, and there is no means of fastening the door from the inside, yet when we entered there was no one to be seen. The horses were trembling with fright. We searched every corner, but could find no one. The horses were so nervous that we could work none of them for several days. My father persisted that someone must have got at them. Wycombe, the district where so many horses were maimed during the outrages, is only a few miles west of here. But close examination showed that our horses were unhurt, although they were terribly frightened.
“That was a night of mystery. We had no sooner got back to the sitting room, and were seated around the fire than the tongs actually moved from one side of the fender to the other. We stared at each other stupefied, for none of us had moved a hand. Almost immediately the noise of a man’s heavy tread was heard on the stairs. Then there was a loud bang. Again we ran to investigate. We found no one, but at the foot of the stairs, on a mat lay the handle of my bedroom door, which is directly at the top of the stairs.
“Now, I am not a nervous chap by any means. I went through the war in France with the 10th Middlesex from 1914 to 1918, and if anybody had mentioned Spiritualism to me in those days, I should have pooh-poohed the idea. I pride myself on being a staid, level-headed chap, a materialist, if you like, and the fellow who told me I should be afraid of a ghost would have had a very bad time. However, here it is, I’m ashamed to acknowledge this unwelcome visitor has put the wind up me.
“For some uncanny reason the sportive fellow has taken a fancy to my bedroom. He fairly put me through the hoop one night last week. I awoke in the middle of the night, feeling as if I was lying stark naked in a cold storage chamber. The room seemed as if filled with an icy wind. I opened my eyes, meaning to get out of bed and close the top of the window. But I was frozen stiff with fright, for bending over me was the ghost. His face was quite close to mine, I could have sworn the icy wind was his breath. His cloth cap was pulled well down on his head. He wore a black velvet jacket. There was nothing ghostly – nothing of the gaunt skeleton about him. He appeared almost as a living man, save his eyes. I could not attempt to describe their colour. They seemed to me like flaming coals staring down at me. I was powerless either to move or speak. The vision appeared to grin as it drew back. Then suddenly seizing the corner of the mattress he shook it up vigorously, and me with it. My head hit the wall with a bang, and before I had sufficient courage to turn again to look at my visitor my father, who slept in the adjoining room, had hurried in to see what the noise was. The ghost had gone. The tumbled bed and my bruised head was all the evidence I had to show.
“I don’t know what to make of it all. Several nights I have been awakened by the bedclothes being jerked off me, and this performance is usually followed by a loud clanging from below stairs. Baths and saucepans, which are left safe by hanging in the scullery over night, are found on the floor. If they fell in the ordinary way they would have dents and cracks in them, but they have not. I don’t know if there is anything belonging to our strange friend in the house, especially in my room, but if there is I wish he would take it and let me get a good night’s sleep. As it is, I’m afraid to go to bed, and afraid to close my eyes for fear of what will happen when I do.”
Bert has changed rooms with his brother Ben, aged 19 years, and Ben declares the ghost has visited him also.
“The first night I slept in the room,” he said, “the bedclothes were jerked over the bottom rail of the bed. I looked up, and there stood the ghost. I was afraid he would come closer to me, so tried bluff and said, ‘Look here. When we brought friends to talk to you you refused to talk to them. Now you can go away.’ To my surprise, the fellow disappeared. Immediately he was gone the room again became warm, and but for the bedclothes being over the rail I should have thought I had had a bad dream.”
The reference to the friends who had called to see the ghost was to three residents of Uxbridge who are students of psychic matters, but also hard-headed tradesmen. These three men were invited to try their powers by Mr Burrows, who is determined to lay the ghost. With the male members of the family, these three men seated themselves around a large table in the stable, which the apparition seems to favour as much as the bedroom, and from which the horses have been removed.
There they waited from nine o’clock until 1 a.m. for the visitor to appear. Nothing happened. The next night they again kept vigil. Suddenly one of the number, who was seated on a large corn bin, felt the lid lift as if someone inside the bin was trying to get out. At the same time the heavy deal table seemed to rise in the air. One of the party then tried the effect of table-rapping, an effort which was rewarded by a sound. It was “Gee,” the kind of sound often used towards horses. But the spectral voice went on. There followed the sounds E and O. The ghost was making an attempt to spell out his name. G-E-O-R-G. He got no further. The sounds trailed away on the last G.
So delighted is the Burrows family with the result of this attempt at getting into communication with the disturber of their peace that the Burrows are trying to engage the services of a professional medium in the hope of further solving the mystery. Meanwhile Mr Brooker, a very old inhabitant of the little town, has, from the description given, identified the ghost as one George Burnett, an old hurdle maker, who lived in the house a matter of forty years ago. For some years he lived there with his daughter keeping house for him. Old George was a popular man with the farmers round about, his chief hobby being pig-rearing. No one seems to remember his wife.
“George was a decent enough man until his daughter took ill and died,” says Mr Brooker. “But after that he soured, gave up his pigs and chickens, and let the garden run to waste. He continued living on alone in the old house, and used the shed, which is now the haunted stable, for a workshop, where he made his hurdles. He was the champion hurdle-maker for miles around. Old George was locally supposed to be a miser. I remember the mild sensation in the village when he was found dead in his kitchen one morning. The cause of death was heart failure from cold. Perhaps that is why George now brings an icy coldness with him when he comes. George would go without a fire even in the coldest weather.”
That old George does not only appear to members of the household is proved by the testimony of the sergeant in charge of the local police, a man whose word may be relied upon. He states that when passing the house at two o’clock one morning he saw a man leaning over the gate leading to the stableyard. Thinking he was one of the men employed by Mr Burrows, he wished him good-night as he passed. Receiving no answer, he turned to take a second look at the man. To his surprise he had completely vanished. Being an astute officer, he drew his lantern and made a search, but could observe no one. Neither could he observe foot-prints, although it had been raining heavily for about an hour beforehand. The officer is confident now it was the ghost he saw.
Miss Burrows, whose nerves are on edge through the recent exploits of the ghost, and who is being sent away from home until the affair dies down, told her experience.
“I have never been afraid of ghosts, or, rather, I should say, I have never been a believer in the supernatural until I have had this unwelcome experience thrust upon me. For some time past we have heard noises, which my father laughed aside by saying it was the creaking timbers of the old house. It is only since Christmas that anything has been seen, and on the afternoon following my brother’s experience in his bedroom I went upstairs to change for tea. It was just getting dusk, and the stairs are dimly lighted at the best of times. Just as I reached the top of the first flight I looked up, and there, standing outside my brother’s bedroom door, stood a man. His hand was upon the handle of the door, his back turned towards me, as if he was about to enter the room. I screamed out, as I recognised his dress as that my brother had described.
“Immediately the apparition turned towards me. I had a fleeting glimpse of his burning eyes before I fell fainting upon the landing. There was no one there when my brother rushed to my assistance. It is all very terrible. The strangest thing of all is that Bob, my dear old dog, who has always been my best pal and protector, seems useless to me now. He is more terrified perhaps than any one of us of the ghost.”
Dundee Weekly News, 14th January 1922.
Our “Ghost.”
We learn that since a spiritualistic seance a fortnight ago the Cowley-road “ghost” has not been seen or heard of. One of the many latest rumours is that during the time of the occupancy of the premises by Mr George Barnett, a ghost frequently made its appearance. Mr Barnett was accustomed to stack his hurdles on the site where the stables now stand, and it is said that among other things “invisible hands” occasionally moved these hurdles to the other end of the yard! The question now asked is: “Has the ghost of George arrived to ‘lay’ the ghost of the one who used to cause him so much trouble?”
Uxbridge and W. Drayton Gazette, 20th January 1922.
Uxbridge Ghost Returns.
and breaks a promise.
One was tempted to write at the beginning of this week of “The Passing of George,” for it was stated that the spirit which has for some years past disturbed the peace of residents in a house in Cowley-road, Uxbridge, had, in the course of a recent seance, been persuaded to cease from his earthly vissitations and devote his attention to the spirit world of which he now forms a part.
Recent activities by the spirit led to the suggestion by local spiritualists that the most effective means of removing the disturbance would be to obtain the services of an experienced medium, who would get into touch with the ghost and find from him the cause of his re-appearance, remove it, and allow “him” to return to his ethereal sphere. This suggestion appears to have been followed, for one day last week a lady devotee of the art visited the premises and engaged in conversation with the spirt, “who stood in the corner of the room during the interview.” It is said that not only one ghostly presence made itself felt, but that it was accompanied by a kindred spirit. The conversation, which was rather protracted, it is said, was effective in obtaining the cause of his return, and on the suggestion that the grievance would be removed, he gave his solemn word that he would trouble them no longer.
Various other spirits were called into service to lead their erring brother to the realms of perpetual peace. The seance, therefore, was considered to have been most satisfactory, adn the residents looked forward to a time of peace and quietness. But it would appear that their hopes had been early dispelled, for “George” has returned. Apparently, he broke away from his companions, or lost the way! and so returned to the place where he has now so long been associated.
And it sis further said that his re-appearance has this time taken an entirely different form. The details are, however, being jealously guarded by a party of three, and it has been impossible to glean any information.
One hitch, however, to previous investigations has occurred, and it is probable that another name will have to be provided for the local “ghost.” “One Who Knows” writes: “George Barnett never lived at th ehouse, but his brother James did, carrying on the business of a hurdle-maker and wood dealer, and earning an honest living, doing no one any harm. No ghost ever appeared there in his time.” Therefore it cannot be “George,” and as Dave declines the responsibility, a more exhaustive investigation will have to be made as to his real name, but the fact remains that those immediately concerned are convinced of the spirit’s presence.
Uxbridge and W. Drayton Gazette, 27th January 1922.