THE DARTMOOR MUTINY

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXII, Issue 90, 31 March 1932, Page 9

THE DARTMOOR MUTINY

EVIDENCE AT THE TRIAL LOYAL PRISONERS’ BRAVERY London, March 19. During yesterday’s proceeding at the inquiry in the Prineetown Town Hall into the recent mutiny in Dartmoor gaol tho magistrates complimented the accused on their behaviour in court, this drawing a chorus of “thank you’’ from the dock. The chairman of the Bench added that the men had justified the action of the new governor of the gaol in permitting them to be not handcuffed, this enabling them to write and pass notes to their counsel. Officers’ descriptions of the mutiny showed that the prisoners Sparks and Jackson saved the lives of an officer, Milton, and a schoolmaster, Palmer. When a mob, carrying pick-handles nnd led by Jackson with a lighted torch broke the locked doors and burst into the schoolhouse, which was in flames a few minutes afterwards, Sparks exclaimed, “Get out, you two’’ Another of tho accused, Cosgrave, intervened on behalf of an officer, Kelly, when Comniing struck him on the ground after Bullows had felled him. Kelly escaped as the loyalists closed with the rioters, who, instead of attacking Prison Commissioner Turner, whose face was covered with porridge, assaulted the prisoner who was helping Turner to escape. This was George Donovan, whose conduct is to be officially recognised. Bullows, leading a score of prisoners armed with sticks, felled another officer, Bray, with three blows from a pickhandle. Ten prisoners swarmed up a pole leading to a boundary wall, but one looked over and dropped back, exclaiming, “There is a gun out there.’’