HE WOULD not elaborate on whose reputation he was defending. Not even the earnest entreaties of the judge or the jury would persuade him.

“He has done nothing wrong,” the defendant insisted. “It’s a matter of honour.”

But Major John Baillie of the Royal Horse Guards had forged a cheque to cover a sum he had taken from the camp account.

The elaborate fraud began when a smartly dressed individual entered a High Street bank in Southampton, shortly before closing time and cashed a cheque for £370.

But it was a forgery.

Detective Inspector John McCormac was put in charge of the investigation and instituted inquiries at the R P I Aviation Camp at Winchester where the drawer was understood to be stationed He accepted an invitation to lunch in the officers mess and armed with a faint description of the wanted man, simply waited for the suspect to appear.

Sure enough, Baille did.

The following day, with the commanding officer’s approval, McCormac returned to the camp, this time in the company of an official from the Southampton bank.

However, he was to be disappointed.

“He thought it was the man but was not prepared to support his identity,” McCormac later told an Echo reporter.

Frustrated, the detective was forced to bide his time, especially as Baillie went on leave.

However, he knew the suspect would return by train to Winchester some ten days later and duly waited for him on the platform.

This time he was accompanied by another official from the same branch who positively identified him as the cheque presenter.

Baillie was immediately arrested and taken to Southampton for questioning.

Hours later, he was charged with forgery and after a series of remand hearings was committed for trial at Hampshire Assizes where his case opened amid considerab l e public interest on February 12, 1920.

J u r o r s heard the cheque was drawn on Lloyds Bank in Winchester on behalf of the Aviation Camp and the only person with the right to draw on it was Major Humphr e y , President of the R e gimental Institute of the Right Wing of No.7, Repatriation Camp.

Bank officials in Southampton therefore had to contact colleagues in Winchester before receiving the authorisation to hand over the £370 in Treasury notes.

Baillie then went to another bank and changed the Treasury notes into ordinary currency. He then put £408 17s 6d into the repatriation camp’s funds to meet the account of £452 4s 9d, but within a few days virtually all the cash had gone. Only £43 7s 4d remained.

In his defence, the court heard how, a friend of Baillie was expecting a gratuity and he badly needed money. Baillie lent him the cash which he took from the camp account on the understanding it would be repaid as soon as the gratuity was forthcoming.

The judge, Mr Justice Darling, asked Baillie to divulge his name but he would not, saying he had done nothing wrong.

“Why not give his name then,” the judge argued, with several members of the jury loudly exclaiming, “hear, hear.”

Baillie however refused. “It’s a matter of honour,” he explained.

The only clue he would give was that the officer came from Southsea and he had repaid him the cash as promised.

There followed an extraordinary exchange when the jury foreman without prompting stood up and asked: “I would like to know whether you had any suspicion that anyone had a spite against you.”

After a somewhat dramatic pause, Baillie admitted: “I was not a popular officer. It is difficult to throw mud unless I am absolutely convinced.”

The judge then intervened: “If you can answer it, it is better in your own interests. Did you suspect anyone of having ill-will against you?”

He replied: “Well, My Lord, I did.”

Baillie then hesitated for some time before claiming someone had engineered the circumstances to lay the blame on him.

“It is if a p a per trail has been laid for me.”

Judge: “Did you suspect any par ticular officer or person?”

Baillie: “I cannot go as far as that.”

The foreman then took up the questioning: “Had Mr X, the officer to whom you loaned the money, access to the room of Major Humphrey where the cheque book was kept?” Baillie: “Yes.”

Judge: “Had he any more right to go to the room of Major Humphrey than any other officer in the camp:”

Baillie: “Yes, he could see Major Humphrey’s signature.”

Judge: “Had he any better means than you?” Baillie: “No better, no worse.”

In his speech to the jury, defence counsel Barrington White KC spoke of the defendant’s reputation. He had served with great distinction under Queen Victoria and King Edward V11 and King George V and held the Distinguished Service Order. Moreover, he had been a chief of police and a prison governor.

The judge’s summing up lasted some 90 minutes before the jury retired.

The court reconvened 30 minutes later when they announced they had convicted him of uttering the cheque knowing it to be forged.

The judge jailed Baillie for 12 months.