Scottish Crime Fiction is a very successful genre, topping book sales and often leading to TV series. Mostly they involve a grisly murder, drug abuse, and sometimes sex trafficking – even when it is an island location.

A hundred years ago, in Orkney, a crime took place, described at the time as ‘an extremely mean theft’.

What was it? Was the accused guilty?

David John Bews, residing at Una, Stromness, appeared before Sheriff Substitute A. Martin Laing at Orkney Sheriff Court on Tuesday of last week. Bews was charged with having on April 2nd at the stone quarry near the offal factory on the farm of Stairwaddy, Stromness, stolen from the pocket in the inside of the jacket belonging to Henry Stout, Labourer, Outertown, Stromness, £1 in money.

Bews pleaded not guilty and was defended by Mr J.S. Cormack, solicitor, Kirkwall.

Henry Stout in his evidence said that on April 2nd Manson [road contractor] came to the quarry in the evening and gave him £1. He put the £1 in his jacket pocket, which was in a corner of the quarry. His jacket was about 2 yards from where he was working. When he went to the well, about 200 yards away, Bews was left alone in the quarry. He was away for about a quarter of an hour, and when he returned Bews was still there.

He was never away from the quarry again. He stopped work at 5.30pm. He then went for his jacket and put it on. Bews left the quarry at the same time. The quarry was about 100 yards from the road. They jumped on their cycles and each went towards their home. When he got about 200 yards he remembered about the £1. He jumped off his cycle and felt in his pocket for the £1, but it was not there.

He returned to the quarry, but found no trace of it. He spoke to Bews the following day, and told him his £1 was missing. Bews said he had not seen it. He suspected Bews, because he was the only one in the quarry. Later on, Bews told him that he had found the £1 in the ditch at the well. Shown a £1 note, the complainer [Henry Stout] said he could not say if it was the one he had lost or not. It was not, however, in the same fold as the one he got from Manson. When Bews gave him the note he asked him (witness) to say that he found it himself.

Alex. Manson, road contractor, Kirkwall, gave evidence as to paying Stout and Bews £1 each.

James Firth, farmworker, Stromness, said he carted stones for Manson. He remembered Manson coming to the quarry and paying Stout and Bews £1 each. When Stout got his money he put it in his jacket pocket….

Manson left the quarry, then he (witness) went away with a load of stones. He came back in the course of half an hour, and saw Stout coming from the well to the quarry. He heard of the loss of the £1 the next morning. There was nobody else in the quarry that day except Stout and Bews. …

John Firth said… that there were no tinkers about at the time…

Constable Mainland said he received information from Manson about the loss of the £1. Along with Constable Manson made enquiries about it, and got various statements from witnesses…

David Bews was then questioned and gave evidence. He said that Constable Manson said:

“What are we going to do about the complaint of the £1.” They never warned him to be careful what he said. One of them said:

“It must have been you because you were the only other person in the quarry.”

David Bews answered them that he knew nothing about it….That day he was passing the well and he went down for a drink. He noticed something in the shallow water almost underneath a tuft of grass. He did not pay close attention to it but when he picked up a spade he noticed it was a £1. He left it lying because he meant Stout to go and get it for himself.

However, he didn’t tell Stout, but went and got it himself and after he had his dinner he took the £1 round to Stout.

After reviewing the whole evidence the Sheriff said that this was an extremely mean form of theft which Bews had been found guilty of.

Bews was fined £2 or 15 days imprisonment. The fine was paid.

Reference: The Orkney Herald, June 1925

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