ESCORTED by two police officers, bewildered Elizabeth Clark took her seat in the dock before the Southampton Borough bench, but how much of the proceedings she understood was open to question.
A respectable-looking woman, Clark had been arrested - probably in her own best interests - following a bizarre encounter with an officer in Stratton Road, Shirley, hours earlier.
She had been swaying across the street, accosting Pc Thomas Devlin who not surprisingly initially suspected she was somewhat inebriated. However, he soon realised it was not the demon drink affecting her coherence and took her to Shirley police station.
Read more: Southampton's ugliest buildings - would you agree? >>>
She told the astonished sergeant Philip Jameson who was on desk duty: “I have come here to be locked up for ever. My husband has gone to France to have his head chopped off. It’s the laws of the country, I suppose.”
The sergeant told the magistrates it was one of a series of long rambling statements. “Her utterances were becoming and more extraordinary. I sat her in a chair behind the counter, leaving her to talk to herself and called the doctor.”
Dr Richard Saunders arrived within minutes and quickly determined Clark had lost her reasoning.” I found she was of unfit mind and she was absolutely not fit to be at large. She would be a danger to herself.”
Clark, who lived in Didcot Road, was charged in 1903 with wandering abroad while in an unfit state of mind.
“There is only one sentence we can make in your case,” the chairman remarked. “We order you to be removed to the workhouse for no more than 14 days,”
An even more bizarre case came before the court a few days when engineer Albert Willis endured the most embarrassing moments of his life - sitting in the dock dressed as women! It was a joke that had badly misfired.
Don't miss out: Get our weekly heritage and nostalgia newsletter >>>
“I had a lot to drink and put on the clothes for devilment,” he explained of his cross-dressing. “They are my wife’s.”
Willis had been arrested in Lyon Street, close to his home, after a passer-by told Pc Alexander Smith of his strange antics. Realising he had been seen - and its inevitable consequences - Willis tried to make off but somewhat hindered by his apparel was soon collared.
“I had some trouble in trying to detain,” said the officer. “The prisoner said he was drunk - and he was. He admitted he was a man and it was only a mad freak.”
However, it transpired Willis had a penchant for using his wife’s clothes.
Chief Constable Berry told the magistrates: “It is the prisoner’s mania to dress up like this. He has done half a dozen times.” leading up Alderman Emanuel quipping: “It certainly doesn’t improve his appearance.”
Willis pleaded guilty to the little preferred charge of ‘masquerading in female attire,’ and was fined five shillings with costs, or seven days in default of payment.
A message from the Editor
Thank you for reading this article - we appreciate your support in reading the Daily Echo.
Subscribing to the Echo means you have unrestricted access to the latest news, features and Saints coverage - all with an advertising-light website.
You will also have full access to Saintsplus, your new home for Southampton FC tactical analysis, features and much, much more.
Don't just take my word for it - subscribe today.
Follow the latest breaking news in the Southampton area by searching Southampton News - Breaking News and Incidents on Facebook
Follow the latest court and crime news on our dedicated group by searching Hampshire Court and Crime News on Facebook
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel