CHARGES OF FRAUD

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21385, 21 April 1944, Page 6

CHARGES OF FRAUD

PEER REMANDED (9 a.m.) LONDON, April 20. Lord Langford was remanded for a week on bail at the Thames Police Court on charges of obtaining by lalst pretences, on April 8, £3O in the form of a banker's cheque or order from the Earl of Normanton, with attempting to obtain, with intent to defraud, on April 11, £l7O sterling from the Earl ot Normanton, with obtaining by false pretences, on January 27, in casn and £G in the form of a banker's cheque or order from Norman Leith Hay Clark, and with attempting to obtain, with intent to defraud, on February 1, £SO and also £5 from Leith Hay Clark. Man-of-all-work and seventh Baron Langford, Clothworthy Wellington Thomas Edward Rowley was born at East Tarnaki, Auckland, in June, 1885. Since then herhas seen the world in capacities ranging from teamster, tc iruit-picker. He is probably the only baron who has had to worn his passage home from Australia to claim his peerage. He inherited the title in 1931. His father was a brother ot the sixth baron. From 1884 until the formation of the Irish Free State the noiders of the title had a seat in trie House of Lords. Before the last war Lord Langford took up sheep farming, but at the outbreak of war he joined the New Zealand Expeditionary Force and served .n Egypt and France. He was wounded and after the Armistice he went with the New Zealand section of tne Army of Occupation to Cologne, where his Jove of music was gratified by association with a number of German musicians. When he was discharged lie settled ni Dublin and in 1922 married a gir. zO years of age. The future baron anc. his young wife took a fiat in Dubhn, but he had no occupation and his money soon ran out. Failing to find work in Dublin he left with a party of harvesters for Canada. When t..ic harvest was over he got a teamster s job 200 miles north of Saskatoon. R came to an end in four months and ht took up singing under the name cu Michael Connelly. He was successful for a time. Taking a job in a cattle ship, lie crossed the Atlantic in a succession ot blizzards and reached England worn out. After a rest he sought fresh fields and worked his passage to Melbourne, arriving there in December, 1920, with £3 in his pocket. In Australia his ■ luck was as varied as his jobs. He was farm labourer, nigtn watchman, land agent and fruit-picker. When, in January, 1931, he succeeded to the title through the death of his uncle, he was cultivating a small farm m Victoria. He said that he would remain there for at least another yeai and would not use the title. It was found that Lady Langford had been earning her living as a waitress in a London tearoom. The heir to the title is Hercules Douglas Edward Rowley, of Dublin.