Funerals of P.C. Bertram & Sergeant Barton
On 15th April 1913, P.C. George Bertram Mussell (30) Sergeant Andrew Barton (40) and Mrs Sarah Ellen Fenwick Grice (33) were brutally murdered at the Sun Inn public house in Bedlington by John Vickers Amos. A blog written in 2013 on the 100th anniversary of the tragedy looked at the witness statements of some of the people involved. https://northumberlandarchives.com/test/2016/06/09/the-sun-inn-murders/ On the 105th anniversary, this blog looks at the funerals of all three victims.
A report in the Morpeth Herald on Friday 25 April 1913 stated that never in the history of Bedlington was there such an enormous assemblage of all classes of people as those gathered to witness the funeral of Sergeant Andrew Barton and Constable George Bertram Mussell on 18 April 1913. All of the shops in the town were closed and the blinds drawn in respect. The Co-operative Society, of which the deceased officers were members, sent wreaths. People streamed into the town from the outlying villages and Bedlington soon became extremely crowded in the vicinity of the police buildings. It proved a telling public tribute to the memory of two worthy representatives of the county police force. When the coffins were carried out of the residential quarters of the police station, it was seen that they were exactly alike in construction, panelled fumed oak, with brass ornamentations. The inscriptions were simple and concise, and gave only the customary facts regarding name, date of death, and age. Sergt Little, Morpeth; Sergt Anderson, Newsham; Sergt Barrons, Whitley Bay; Sergt Wood, Bedlington Station; Sergt Ormston, Blyth; and Sergt Hill, Blyth; acted as underbearers to Sergt Barton. P.C. Mussell’s coffin was carried by members of the Northumberland county tug-of-war team, of which P.C. Mussell was a leading member. They were P.C. Walker, Seaton Sluice; P.C. Scott, Seghill; P C. Taylor, Westerhope; P.C. Barclay, Kenton; P.C. Middlemiss, Shankhouse; and P.C. Storey, Dinnington.
Supt. James Tough, the superior officer of the deceased men, took charge of the police arrangements. An invitation had been sent out to every officer and member of the force in the county, and about 100 were able to attend the funerals. The representatives of the the County Constabulary included the Chief Constable (Capt. Pullarton James), Supt Taylor, Hexham; Supt Bolton, Alnwick; Supt Marshall, Morpeth; Supt. Metcalfe, Wallsend; Supt. Weddell, Gosforth; Supt Tough, Blyth; Inspector Jackson, Whitley Bay, and Inspector Hutchison, Blyth. Following these were the members of the Northumberland County Police Reserves and members of the Newcastle City, Durham County, South Shields, and Tynemouth Borough Forces. In the first hearse was the body of Sgt Barton followed by two coaches with the chief mourners. The hearse with the body of P.C Mussell came next with four coaches containing the principal mourners. Representatives of the County Justices, the Ashington Ambulance Brigade, the Blyth Fire Brigade, and the Cowpen Colliery Ambulance Brigade came next. The general processsion was made up of the clergy, members of the Bedlington Council, a representative from Blyth Coastguards and the Northumberland Colliery Enginemen’s and Firemen’s Association. At the cemetery the service was taken by the Rev. R. J. Pearse and the Rev. J. H. Davies. The deceased officers were interred in separate graves, side by side. There was a large number of beautiful wreaths, including two from the Blyth Police Division, with deepest sympathy from the officers and constables. The Chief Constable, officers, and constables of the Newcastle Police Force also sent wreaths with a card reading “In for a comrade.”
The Interment of Mrs Grice
Sarah Ellen Fenwick Grice was laid to rest in the Seghill Churchyard on 18 April 1913. Although a large company did not follow the remains, it was evident that her bereaved husband Richard had the sympathy of the whole village. Window blinds were drawn as the procession passed, and many watched the cortege as it made its way to the churchyard. The body was removed from the Sun Inn, Bedlington on the morning of the funeral. It was followed by a single funeral coach and arrived at Seghill Hall Lodge (her home) shortly after one o’clock. The route after leaving Bedlington was along the main road by way of Horton, Shankhouse, Cramlington High Pit, and Annitsford. The progress of the little procession as it passed through the various villages was watched by a large number of people. At Bedlington many of the public, and also a large number of police, including Inspectors Culley and Hutchison, took up a position behind the hearse. The two Inspectors accompanied it to the outskirts of the village. The cortege left the Seghill Hall Lodge shortly before four o’clock. The vicar of Seghill, the Rev. J. H. B. Abbott, conducted the service in the church and also the committal service at the graveside. The coffin containing the remains was of pitch pine with brass mountings and bore the simple inscription: Sarah Ellen Grice, died April 15th, 1913, aged 33. Noticeable among the mourners were the bereaved husband Mr. Richard Grice; Mrs. and Miss Lindsey, mother and sister of the deceased and Mr & Mrs Clark. Amongst the general public were Mr. Leach, agent to the Seghill Coal Company (who had employed Mr. Grice as his chauffeur for about years) and Mrs Wood Irons, wife of the owner of the Sun Inn. Beautiful floral tributes were laid on the newly-formed grave, including wreaths from the members or the Northumberland County Constabulary.
Northumberland Archives have the burial register containing the entry for Sarah Ellen Fenwick Grice. [EP 143/A/22].