Birch for Blantyre Boy

Blantyre, Lanarkshire, Scotland

The Glasgow Herald – Feb 16, 1928

Birch for Blantyre Boy

Birch for Blantyre Boy Robert MacFarlane (10), residing with his parents at 8 Hunthill Road, High Blantyre, was ordered to receive four stripes with the birch-rod at Hamilton Sheriff Court yesterday for an amazing series of thefts, eight in all, from children who had been sent messages by their mothers. His method was to offer to get the messages for the children and then decamp with the money with which he bought pocket flash lamps and went to the Dookit picture house. It was said that the boy was known locally as “Rice Reid,” and gave the police a great deal of trouble. When sentencing the boy to be birched, Interim Sheriff Berry fined his father £2. (£112.00 in today’s value)

Note from Bill: For those of you too young to remember what a ‘message’ was, your Mum would often give you a written list and wrap it around some coins and also give you some verbal instructions as to where to go and what to get. This was known as a message or a wee message. E.g, 1/4 of Tea, half stone of potatoes and two carrots from Templeton’s.

Source: http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk

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