Mexborough and Swinton Times Friday, June 2, 1939

“Dirty Trick”

Goldthorpe Man Admits Mottying

“You know you have done one of the dirtiest tricks which can be done in the mining world,” remarked Mr. Mark Nokes at the Doncaster West Riding Police Court on Friday to William Howson (37), a miner of Goldthorpe, who I admitted attempting to obtain 11s 7 ½ d (58p) by false pretences from the Manvers Main Colliery Co. “Suspicion is thrown on other men and you put everyone wrong.” Howson was sent to prison for two months.

He pleaded guilty to mottying four tubs belonging to other men and Mr. A. S. Furniss, prosecuting, explained that Howson had been employed by the Company for the past two years. The allegation was that on May 14th, he deliberately went away from his place of work and mottied four tubs belonging to other workmates which already bore their numbers. Suspicion was aroused and when defendant was subsequently seen and asked for an explanation in the presence of Mr. Marshall Robson and the men concerned, he admitted the offence. It was a mean trick to do and one which was difficult to detect. There was no dirtier crime a man could commit in the pit as the late Mr. Herbert Smith once said.

“Only the previous week,” Mr. Furniss went on, “another stall lost 30 tubs in this way. Generally when tubs were lost it was the Company who got the blame from the men. One could not speak too strongly about such a practice and he was instructed to press the case on behalf of the men and the Company.

Howson said his mate knew nothing about what he had done.