You’ve heard of the movie “Death at a Funeral,” but what about “Arrest at a Funeral?”
While conducting a funeral in Woodgrane Park Cemetery, Joseph Barker, an undertaker, of Shoreditch, was arrested.
Yesterday he was charged at Lambeth with feloniously receiving three pairs of feather plumes and three pairs of horse velvets, well knowing them to be stolen, and John Sigournay, coffin-maker, was charged with stealing twelve pairs of feather plumes and fourteen pairs of horse velvets, of the total value of £100, the property of his employer, Henry Wade Simpson, an undertaker, of Walworth.
At the cemetery Mr. Simpson said to Barker, “You are using some of my plumes and velvets on your horses.”
Barker replied, “Wait till I have finished the job. Then you can have them all back.” He said he bought the articles from Sigournay, who told him he bought them at a sale-room.
The accused were remanded, Mr. Hopkins accepting bail for Barker, who, it was stated, would have a perfect answer to the charge.
I envision “Arrest at a Funeral” as tonally similar to “Ocean’s Eleven,” but instead of infiltrating Las Vegas casinos, our plucky band of rebels and misfits take on the death care industry, one feather plume at a time. If any film producers are reading this and looking for their next blockbuster, I’m accepting investments.
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Disclaimer: The modern era is far from the first to grapple with rampant “fake news.” As I am neither a historian nor journalist, I make no claims about the accuracy or lack thereof of the above sources. I assert only that they make for a good story.
Welcome to Second Glance History! This blog seeks to uncover the people and the stories forgotten by history and give them another read through a modern lens. Join me every week as we examine the differences that divide and the common threads that connect the then to the now.
🤦♂️ I’ve had it wrong all this time – the phrase actually is “Final ARresting Place”
😂 No wonder there are so many ghosts in graveyards! They’re stuck, spiritually and legally. 👻