Gamekeepers Murder between 1871 and 1881

[Yorkshire Rose]

A family story has just come to light regarding my 2x Gt. Grandfather. Originally from Mildenhall suffolk. It appears that sometime between 1871 and 1881 he had to move from Mildenhall to Leeds to excape capture for shooting a Gamekeeper dead whilst he was poaching.

I am trying to find any reference to this incident in the news papers of the time or anything online but without any success. Would appreciate some help please.

Regards
Pauline

[tony huggins]

It would help if you gave us a name.

[Yorkshire Rose]

Well my ancestor's name was Robert Griggs. As for the Gamekeeper I don't know as it is a story that has come down through the family, and I suspect wasn't discussed in great length.

I was hoping that someone might be able to point me in the direction of possible press cuttings of the era of unsolved murders, in the hope I might be able to link the two.

Regards
Pauline

[tony huggins]

Cant help, the one I had info on was Joe Whistlecraft .You should be able to find details on the Times achives .You could do this through Bedfordshire libraries but they have recently closed on line access.

[AndrewMartin]

hmm.. seems like it was a hobby in the area:

January 7th 1851.

£100 reward for information on the murder of head a gamekeeper named William Napthan who was shot to death at Elveden. The above reward will be paid, 350 by Her Majesty's Government and £50 by William Newton esq. And a grant of a pardon to an accomplice not being the person who actually fired the shot which caused the death.

from:http://www.foxearth.org.uk/1851BuryNorwichPost.html

[Thuggins]

Not sure if this is the right way to post a message relating to a part of the string on this topic. It was a reference to Joe Whistlecraft posted by Tony Huggins and the gamekeeper murder he was charged with that caught my attention, as this was what I was researching when I was taken to RootsChat. Sorry if this is freeloading onto another subject. My great uncle Stanley Huggins was talking to Joe's son Ernie Whistlecraft as they walked home (c.1945) from the White Horse in Rickinghall when Ernie and his bike were hit by an American staff car and killed. I fancifully think that Ernie was about to spill the beans on the true story of Joe Whistlecraft and the Burgate Wood gamekeeper shooting in the 1920s. I'd like to delve more into the history/story so would be grateful for any pointers. Thanks

[Keziah2]

hello Pauline

Your suspicions about him being  a poacher could be true if you use this link and do an exact search 'Robert Griggs' in papers between 1871 & 1881 in East Anglia then you will bring up several reports.

One I found read in part: 14 Jun 1870 Bury & Norwich Post.  Robert Griggs 18 & John Everett 18 of West Row charged with trespassing in search of game. 

West Row is just down the road from Mildenhall.

The first time you register on BNA you get 15 free credits, which will allow you 3 free views. 

K

[Thuggins]

Hi Tony,
I can't reply directly to your message because, I believe, I have insufficient posting credits so can only think to respond via this string and hope it reaches you.

One thought on the Lady Whistlecraft issue is that this may not be a Burke's Peerage type aristocrat. The Whistlecrafts have links with the gypsy community and it occured to me that 'Lady' may be a first name as I think gypsies do sometimes use this.

Yes Stanley is buried in Rickinghall Inferior churchyard, along with my great uncle George, my grandfather and great grandmother amongst a few others. My father was born in Rickinghall 5/12/1924. His aunt Joan (nee Huggins, buried Thelnetham) was born there 1/1/1925 and I'd asked her if farmer David Huggins was related but she thought not. My great grandfather is also on Botesdale war memorial: he was killed near Arras at Easter 1916. Dad's half-sister Paula (nee Huggins) has done some geneological research so I should ask her for information.

[Peter Golding]

Louisa Brundle ( my grandmother)  was an excellent cook and made her own bread, cakes, jams, preserves & pickles mostly from the produce of her garden at Scole. She also bought game from a local poacher Joe Whistlecraft (who was prosecuted (unsuccessfully I might add) for the shooting of a local gamekeeper but the police could not find the murder weapon (allegedly Joe's gun ) My aunt Mary ( a child at the time ) was called as a witness to the  Old Bailey as she had seen Joe entering Burgate Wood with his gun and returning without it. Joe was found not guilty but apparently he did not hold a grudge against the Brundles and took over the role as gamekeeper (thereby literally turning from poacher to gamekeeper) or so my mother said. For years we thought this was a family story but my mother insisted it was all true. One of my brothers was shocked to find the BBC made a docu about famous unsolved murder mysteries and the Burgate Wood was included in it. I did not see that programme but believe this to be true. Moreover another brother tried to find evidence online but couldn’t. He insisted that she must have got the name of the local poacher wrong but one day I did find someone reminiscing about Joe Whistlecraft & he repeated many of the same stories including the allegation that he had got away with murdering the gamekeeper (so it was common knowledge apparently) Of course I can’t find this account no matter how I try but there should be enough places to look given the amount of detail I have supplied. Joe was a recidivist and went to gaol for poaching countless times. The person reminiscing told a story of how on one occasion he escaped from arrest so that he could get a quick drink before going off to prison.  My mother said that when he used to say: time for a haircut, he was off to prison for the umpteenth time. She added he always carried a gun & had two very obedient dogs.