Mexborough and Swinton Times August 24 1928
The Story.
A Report—and a Hiatus.
A Mexborough Times Exclusive.
The Happenings of July 25th.
The strange disappearance of the Rev. Franklin Isaac Hutchinson, the former Swinton vicar, which we reported exclusively, in this newspaper on 3 August, has this week roused the whole country. Not the least mysterious aspect of an extremely mysterious matter is the lack of interest which as shown in the Rector of Doddingburst’s disappearance till the last few days.
The first alarm of anything amiss was raised nearly a month ago, when the Swinton police received from their divisional head- quarters at Rotherham instructions passed on from the headquarters of the Essex Constabulary, requesting them to make inquiries regarding the whereabouts of Dr. Hutchinson. In our issue of that week we reported, with due reserve and circumspection as befitted a case that was vague and extraordinary in many particulars, the remit of those inquiries, and of those we had been able to make ourselves in addition. The sum of those results was briefly:
Dr. F. I. Hutchinson, who left Swinton in February, 1927, to become principal of St. Peter’s College, Lewisham, and who, some months later, took over in addition the living of Doddinghurst, a little parish in Essex, was reported missing. According to the information which the Swinton police were given, by the Essex police, to work on, he was believed to be in the Rotherham district. The only person in this district who was able to give the slightest assistance was Miss Laura Thickett, who had left her post as manageress of the boot department of the Barnsley British Co-operative Stores at Swinton, to accept an invitation from Dr. Hutchinson to join him at Lewisham as his private secretary, in the summer of 1927. She had returned home on 25 July on a six weeks vacation, to end with the beginning of the new term at the college, on 15 September. She had brought with her Dr. Hutchinson’s Rover saloon car, and the statements she gave to the police, and to us on the night of Thursday, 2 August, just before we went to press, may be summed up as followst,
Miss Thicketts Statement.
Miss Thirkett left London in the car, Miss Thickett driving; he for a fortnight’s holiday to be spent with his mother in Dublin; she for the six weeks vacation already referred to. Dr. Hutchinson left her at Bishop’s Stortford, to take train en route for the west and Ireland, and she continued her journey to Swinton diving the car. She knew nothing of ‘Dr. Hutchinson’s whereabouts or of anything to lead up to his disappearance; but she told the police that a few days before they saw her she had received from Dr. Hutchinson a letter. She declared she had destroyed the letter and envelope and could not tell where it was sent off. Of its contents all she said was that Dr. “Hutchinson wrote stating he must give up his living and the college, thanking her warmly for her services to him, and bidding her goodbye. Of Dr. Hutchinson.’s condition all she said was that he was a little affected by overwork during the past term.
At our request a London agency that night made inquiries at Doddinghurst but the only additional information they could offer press us before we went to was that they had got a report that, the police had broken into the Rectory at Doddinghurst to make investigations to help them in the search; but owing to the late hour the agency were unable to complete the necessary inquiries to confirm that report. Putting aside all other considerations in favour of accuracy we exercised on this part of our information the ‘due reserve’ mentioned above. The reports of course, has since been confirmed.
A Strange Silence.
The strange thing about the whole business is that from that day till this week then has been no further reference to the matter, either by police or press. For our part we, have made regular inquiries at all possible sources of information, including the Essex constabulary, but in face of the absence of reliable information, made no further public reference to the matter. Last week we received, in reply to a letter of inquiry, a note from the Essex police stating that they could give us no information. Yet Dr. Hutchinson had been missing from his place in the pulpit of Doddinghurst for two consecutive Sundays and laymen had to carry on services!
On Tuesday this week came a sudden burst of interest in this weird vanishing of a well-known public man, and police and press of since done their utmost to thrash the matter out arouse every resource of civilisation to solve the problem.
Where is the Reverend F.I.Hutchinson?
Further interview this week Mr Thickett enlarged a little on the information she had previously given us, but not sufficiently to afford any clue to Dr. Hutchinson’s whereabouts. She could merely add that when Dr. Hutchinson left her he was loaded with the usual luggage of a holidaymaker, and that he seemed to be considerably brighter in spirits in anticipation of his holiday. She Professed herself completely bewildered by his disappearance:
“I don’t know what my position is. I was a teacher in the college, as well as Dr. Hutchinson private secretory but I don’t know whether to go back or not now.;” she said.
Doddinghurst Discoveries
But two important pieces of new information have arrived from Chelmsford and Dublin. One, that since his departure on 25th of July Doctor Hutchinson had written the Bishop of Chelmsford resigning the living of Doddinghurst, and saying that he “might end things”; the other from his father, Mr E.M. Hutchinson, of Clontarf, Dublin, that Doctor Hutchinson and not arrived there, and had not, in fact, sent any communication there since Easter. In addition came the confirmation, already referred to, of the report that the police had entered the Rectory at Doddinghurst, without troubling to get the key from a nearby cottage with whom it was left, and found the Rectory in some disorder, with the remains of breakfast still on the table stop further came a significant piece of news; that Doctor Hutchinson given to the village postman at Doddinghurst, is Great Dane, of which he was very fond, and which was valuable enough to be insured for £200, it was stated; and had told the postman that he would not see the dog again. We are also told that Doctor Hutchinson was well liked at Doddinghurst, that nothing had happened to give him cause for worry or depression, and that, among the parishioners, his disappearance goes complete surprise and mystification. 1772 to Mr AJ Bidwell, the organist and a churchwarden at dubbing her is worth noting:
“The rector was well liked in the village. He was of a retiring disposition and did not take much bar in the social activities of the parish, but he was quite popular in spite of that.”
The Second Disappearance
Search for Swinton manservant
Then the mystery deepened: not only deepened, but became a double-barrelled one. Enquiries about the whereabouts of Herbert Straw the Swinton native who was employed at the Rectory as the sole servant, revealed the startling fact that he, too, had disappeared. All kinds of theories, rumours and gossip were dug out, and the whole matter as a result began to take on a really sinister appearance.
The chief focus of public interest and excyou itement yesterday was upon Herbert Straw. ‘This man is a native of Swinton, and formerly lived at 22, Church Street, with his mother. He was employed formerly in the lamp room at the Brodsworth Main Colliery, but left there and was for a time unemployed. While Dr. Hutchinson was vicar at Swinton, he employed Straw to do odd jobs about the Rectory and in the garden there; and Straw also assisted the verger, the late Mr. John Senior.
When Dr. Hutchinson, late on the night of February 3rd, left Swinton for Lewisham, Herbert Straw was the only person who accompanied him. He travelled in the car with Dr. Hutchinson, and the only other passenger was the Great Dane which has innocently played a considerable part to date in this mysterious occurrence. Straw originally went to Lewisham as outdoor and odd job man, but when, after Dr. Hutchinson had taken over the living of Doddinghurst, the former butler at Doddinghurst left, Straw went to the rectory at Doddinghurst to live there and do the house work. He was, as a matter of fact, the only servant employed at the Rectory; though among the items of information that Miss Thickett has given us was the statement that Dr. Hutchinson intended to have more servants next term—another of the many mystifying cross-currents in this story, which give an impression of the normality of the missing rector’s intentions right up to his disappearance.
The First Clue
The latest information about Straw at the time of writing is that he was in Paignton, Devon, on holiday, as late as 25th July. We know from Miss Thickett that he left Doddinghurst at nine a.m. on the morning of July 21st for a two-weeks’ holiday. She did not know where he was bound for. Dr. Hutchinson drove him in the car, she said, to the nearest station (Brentwood), which is five miles away; probably out of consideration for a lameness in the right leg which we understand Straw had from birth. Since then the only trace of Straw’s movements that we have been able to get is the information, which was not gleaned till yesterday, that postcards had been received from him in Swinton bearing the mark, “Paignton, Devon,” and the date July 25th.
It was this information, obtained fairly late yesterday evening,that established one fact: the fact that Straw did go on holiday and did reach Paignton. There were two postcards, and they were addressed to John (16) and Basil (10) Airey, of Church Street, Swinton, who were able definitely to identify the handwriting on the postcards as Straw’s, because during the interval between Herbert Straw’s departure for Lewisham and the death of his mother (which occurred in October, 1927), the Aireys conducted for Mrs.. Straw all her correspondence with her son. The postcards were of the comic variety, and bore no more than the following:—
“Dear Jack,—How are you going on, old lad. Lovely weather in Devon.—H.S.’ “Dear Basil,—Lovely weather in Devon— H.S.”
The only other information we could get about Herbert Straw was obtained from his uncle, William Straw, of Fitzwilliam Street, Swinton, and his twin brother Ernest Straw, of 60, Albert Road, Mexborough. Mr. William Straw was not able to afford much information, and the only suggestion he could make was that possibly Herbert had gone on a visit to another uncle of his, Walter Straw, who left Swinton some thirty years ago and whose present address is 279, Ladbrooke Grove, North Kensington, London
A Mexborough Theory.
We visited Mr. Ernest Straw’s residence yesterday morning, but as he had been on night shift and was sleeping, we interviewed his wife, who added a little fact and a little theory to the story. Her notion was: “They are together.”
She made this statement with absolute conviction, because she said that Herbert was very much attached to Mr. Hutchinson and the friendship was reciprocated. She did not, however, for one moment believe that suicide was the solution of the problem concerning the two men.
In support of this opinion she said that. Herbert was “a very quiet, steady-going young man.” The age of the twin brothers is 57, and their next birthday is in September.
Mrs. Straw was a little annoyed by an item she had seen in newspapers to the effect that Herbert “had plenty of money.” It seems to suggest that he has taken some,” she said. We pointed out that it did not necessarily mean that, but that the importance of the fact was that it meant he was in a position In take a holiday if he desired. She agreed that that was so. The last, letter they had from him, about six or seven weeks ago, may mention of the fact that he had received his share of the settlement made by his mother’s solicitors. The same much contained the statement that he was very happy at the Rectory (that is at Doddinghurst)
Mrs. Straw was very insistent upon this last point, that Straw and the Rector were on the best of terms, and that Straw was perfectly content with his life and work at Doddinghurst.
She had never either in letters or on his last visit to the district (for his mother’s funeral on Octoher 7th last year) heard him make any suggestion of leaving the Rectory or of 1 being other than perfectly happy where he was. She did not entertain for a moment the suggestion made by Mr William Straw and already mentioned, that Herbert might have gone to visit his London uncle.