LOST TREASURE OF KING JOHN

Evening Post, Volume CXIX, Issue 104, 4 May 1935, Page 35

LOST TREASURE OF KING JOHN

•■- : The hunt for King John's treasure,] .lost, according yto tradition, in the ■ Wash in. 1216, was mentioned in an . action, before Mr. Justice Greaves- -- Lord in the King's Bench Division .'...when two men engaged in the search "A claimed for. arrears of salary, reports the "Daily Telegraph." *i\ Mr. Digby Charles Henry .. d'Avigv. dor, an '■■ engineer,', claimed £ 126, and Mir: WillianyMuirhead, a specialist in reclamation work, claimed £200, from Fen Research, Ltd., of Walpole St. P.eter, Wisbech, and Mr. James Rawlirigs Herbert: Boone, of Baltimore, U.S.A., the company's principal share- ... holder. .'•. -The ' defendants admitted' agree- ■ ments,. and that the. sums claimed had 'hdt been' paid, but alleged that,- by breach.,bf. duty and disloyalty, both plaintiffs had disentitled themselves to recover. The defendants counterclaimed damages. ~.. Mr. St. John Field, for the plaintiffs, said, in August, 1933, the two plaintiffs agreed to assist in the search for the lost treasure, Mr. d'Avigdor as deputy general manager at £1000 a year, and JVWirhead as consulting engineer iV\t £8007'ayear.• • . •: ■■• - . .. fe-'^is^iordship suggested that/-as the •J'ig^eihjents-were admitted, 'it rested fcupoft'-tfte' defendants to show how Mr. f d'Avigddr and.Mr.Muirheadhas dis-<-entitled'themselves to recover. * ■■-■ 'fc ; Wynn.Parry, for the defendants, ;' 'apcßpted the position and opened the ■.» ..cage, for.-the'defendants. He said Mr. ■i',Bp'ona:had found £22,000 for the pur- ,(' pose of, furthering the search. ;■;' ' :;• Mr.. .Justice Greaves-Lord: I hope "i^.the:.case does "not involve meOfindihg ,■• "whether there-was any treasure or " vnot.^. ■: (Laughter.) .I".

Mr. Wynn Parry: That is still an unsolved mystery, and that is part of the trouble. If the venture had been successful we should not have been here.

Proceeding, counsel said the company had licences to . dig for the treasure on a£out 500 acres of Crown lands. By the summer of 1933. £22,000 had been spent, and "not a hole had been dug." ;

In these circumstances a Mr. Charles Gladitz was introduced to the project. His test was to be carried put for a maximum of £500.

The licences to dig for treasure were guaranteed by the plaintiffs and a Mr. Churriock. The guarantors said they would withdraw the guarantee if Mr. Gladitz were engaged, and that the licences to dig would thus be automatically terminated.

Mr. St. John Field, in reply, argued that his clients were entitled to take up the attitude they did. Mr. Gladitz claimed that, by a geophysical survey, he had located 680 points where the carts, escorts, and horses employed in the conveyance of King John's treasure were buried. But it would have been fatal to sign the agreement with him. Under it no one was entitled to go on the land to see that he was performing the conditions, of the licence.

Mr. Justice Greaves-Lord, giving judgment, said the defendants could not possibly succeed in this case. Mr. d'Avigdor and Mr. Muirhead were absolutely justified in saying that, if the agreement with Mr. Gladitz were signed, they would withdraw their guarantees... ■ '

Judgment was entered for the plaintiffs for the amounts claimed.