Following the passage of legislation relating to the treatment of “delinquents” in 1866, James Hall of Tynemouth and a group of other local philanthropists purchased the training ship Cornwall from the Admiralty in 1868. As the Admiralty wished to retain the name Cornwall the ship was re-named the Wellesley. The ship provided an education for boys who were deemed as being destitute or suffering from parental neglect. The original aims of the training ship were to give shelter for the homeless and provide training and education that would equip the boys for a life at sea.

By 1873 a larger ship was needed – H.M.S. Boscawen was purchased and again re-named Wellesley. This ship continued to serve as a training vessel until 1914 when it was destroyed in a fire. Throughout the duration of First World War the boys were housed in the Tynemouth Palace and when war ended it was agreed that the school would find a permanent shore base. On 18 May 1920 the school moved from Tynemouth to Blyth. At the outbreak of war in 1939, the school was evacuated to Hamsterley, County Durham, and finally returned to Blyth after the war.

Green’s Home Industrial School in South Shields was certified as a branch of H.M.S. Wellesley on 19 December 1884. The school accommodated up to 60 boys up to the age of 12. At the age of 12 the boys were generally transferred to H.M.S. Wellesley for training in seamanship. The Training Ship Minute Books give information about life and practices on board the ship. Discipline was strict and the boys schooling and physical exercise was of prime importance. There were football, cricket, athletics and rugby teams and the boys also did gymnastics, tug of war and rowing. They also learnt life skills such as cooking and sewing.

Local Hero

John Buckley became a trainee on board the Wellesley on 2 August 1894. He appears in the admissions register aged 12 and was sent to the ship due to a refusal to attend school. He  was discharged on 19 July 1898. John became a hero after saving the life of a fellow trainee. At 2.45pm on 1 December 1897, William Linscott fell overboard into the Tyne and was carried away by the current. John Buckley jumped into the river and managed to keep hold of Linscott until a boat came to pick them up. Due to his bravery he was put forward for an award by the captain of the Wellesley. On 22 December the fifteen year old was awarded the Large Bronze Medal by the Royal Humane Society for carrying out a successful rescue involving great personal risk. John Buckley later went on to join the Royal Navy Reserve as a Stoker, qualifying for the First World War British War Medal and Mercantile Marine Medal.

The Captain Superintedent mentioned that some day previously a Wellesley boy, William Linscott fell overboard, when another Wellesley boy, John Buckley, aged 151/2 years , without divesting himself of his clothing jumped overboard, caught hold of Linscott and held him till rescue came, both being then much exhausted. It was agreed to give 5 shilling each to two Watermen whose assistance saved the boys from drowning; and it was understood that Buckley would receive a medal from the Royal Humane Society.

Annie Mable Spencer of Greenhaugh Hall, Bellingham was brutally murdered by her husband John Cuthbert Spencer on 7 June 1897. The body of the 26 year old was found in the wood near the hall covered over with grass and branches from a fir tree. She died from wounds inflicted upon her with an adze [tool with an arched blade used for cutting or shaping large pieces of wood].

On the day of the murder, Mr Spencer had been working in a plantation about 400 yards from the hall. He had been cutting down trees for the purpose of making a new drive. Mr Spencer had asked his Gamekeeper, Mr Foreman, to meet him in the woods at 6pm to discuss the renovations and help with felling the trees. Mrs Spencer was with her husband and after a short while they left the Gamekeeper and went to look at a new pond before returning and informing Mr Foreman that they were going home for dinner. The fact that Mrs Spencer did not appear for dinner at 7.30pm alarmed the servants and by 9pm Sergeant Dobson from Bellingham police station received a telegram asking him to go to Greenhaugh Hall immediately. He was accompanied by P.C. Potts and P.C. Musgrove. When they arrived Mrs Spencer was missing and Mr Spencer was plunging an adze up and down in a bucket of water.

Mr Foreman stated that when he spoke to Mr Spencer he was in an excited state and was talking wildly. He believed that his father was St. Michael and that he was St. John and said that his father had sent him a message telling him to kill his wife. The coroner claimed that the case was one of the most painful and extraordinary ones that he had seen for many years. John Cuthbert Spencer was later committed to trial. He was found to be insane and sent to Broadmoor.

John Peter Elliot – Doctor

Doctor Elliot visited the Spencer house on Monday 7 June about 7pm. He had attended Mr Spencer a few days earlier for insomnia. As neither Mr or Mrs Spencer were at home, the doctor waited about a quarter of an hour and was about to leave when he saw Mr Spencer coming towards the house from the direction of the wood. Dr Elliot waited for him in the smoke room and when he entered he could see that his hands, face and shirt front were wet. After a general conversation regarding his health, the doctor advised him to go away for a change of scene. Mr Spencer claimed that he was going to Newcastle with his wife the next morning and then on to Edinburgh where they intended to stay for two or three weeks. Dr Elliot noticed a large spot of blood on Spencer’s shirt cuff but when he mentioned it he was told that it was from a scratch from his finger. The doctor was aware that Mr Spencer’s mental health had been a concern in the past and judging from his current behaviour, there was a fear that this could be a return of the insanity.

Arthur Patrick Brown – Doctor

Doctor Brown stated that he received a message on the night of 7 June to go to the Spencer house at Greenhaugh. A few minutes after his arrival at 10pm, Mrs Spencer’s dead body was brought to the house. The body was fully clothed and covered in blood. The doctor made an examination of the body and identified five wounds The first wound was on the head above the left ear, wounding the cerebellum. The skull was fractured and all the blood vessels on that side of the neck had been severed. The next wound penetrated the brain and another damaged the frontal bone. There was also a comminuted fracture of the frontal bone. Two wounds were also discovered on the back both running longitudinally on the left of the spine each about 4.5 inches long. Both these wounds penetrated the ribs.