Mexborough and Swinton Times September 10, 1937
Safe on Platform
Alarming Happenings at Wombwell
Offices Rifled
This is embankment down which the safe was rolled. Rails at the top of the embankment were smashed down to get the safe through
This picture shows the door of the booking office to which the heavy safe was lifted. Railway employees are engaged repairing the doorpost which the thieves smashed in gaining access.
A daring office breaking episode at the station of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway at Wombwell was being investigated by the police yesterday.
Members of the railway staff arriving for duty early yesterday morning, found that the booking office have been broken open and the office safe was lying on the platform badly battered.
The safe had been rolled up from the booking office down a steep embankment to within a few feet of the permanent way on which trains that pass during the night. As it required six men to lift the safe onto wheelbarrow to take it back to the office it is assumed that a gang of been at work.
Door Smashed Open
To get into the booking office the marauders had smashed open the door, doing damage to the door frame. The staff found that the place had been ransacked and was in a state of great disorder. Parcels consigned to people in Wombwell were broken up and scattered about, a heavy wooden table had been forced from its moorings and turned completely over, and the telephone had been knocked off its stand.
There are indications that the thieves carried out the safe through the doorway. They then smashed down the length of stronger billboard fencing in front of the booking office to get the safe onto the embankment.
Apparently the safe resisted their efforts, or otherwise they were disturbed in getting it away. The door handle of the safe was broken off. It is stated it contained a considerable amount of money. Rifled packages were found on the railway line in the direction of Barnsley.
Cash Taken
Apart from money taken out of the cash drawer the booking office it is not yet known what is missing. A “Times” reporter was informed that the drawer contained 18s 6 ½d.
The ticket rack had not be interfered with and therefore the station staff were able to carry on with the normal booking arrangements.
While investigation were preceding it was discovered that a garage at the rear of the house of Mr Bert Murfin, manufacturing joiner, 30 Hemingfield Rd, Wombwell, some 200 yards from the station, and also been entered. A chest of joiner’s tools weighing about 200 cwt had been carried out and this, together with two sacks of join his tools, not all of which which belonged to Mr Murphy, were found in the undergrowth of Wombwell Wood some distance away. Whether there is any connection between the two occurrences is not known.
“Tapping and Lights”
The amazing feature of the raids is that although the booking office abuts the main road from Wombwell to Highland and ajoins a row of houses in which railway employees live, none appears to have heard or seen the thieves at work.
A schoolgirl living in the row states that she had a tapping noise about 3:30 a.m. but thought it was workmen at Wombwell Foundry across the road. She states, however that the noise was nothing about what she had heard before. Another person is said to have seen lights flickering at the station about the same time.
The goods office at the station, a hundred yards away from the booking office, was also broken open and parcels were rifled.
Skeleton keys must have been used on Mr Murphy’s garage as the building was locked up as usual when he went to the place yesterday morning.