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Vicar drops a Clanger
An elderly clergyman landed himself in trouble with the law in July 1940. In the aftermath of the fall of France the Government had announced that the ringing of church bells would be the signal that the Germans had commenced an invasion, and any clergyman who tolled them in other circumstances could face prosecution for causing unnecessary alarm amongst the public.
In July 1940, Magistrates in the town of Spilsby convicted the Rev. Robert Graham, the rector of Old Bolingbroke, on a charge of ringing his church bells before a service. In his defence the 69-year-old claimed he was not aware of the new law and had not heard about it on the wireless because he was deaf. This excuse did not impress the Magistrates however, and the Reverend Graham received a sentence of four weeks in jail.
In October he successfully appealed against his conviction but by then he had already served 12 days behind bars.
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July 7th, 2006, 04:54 AM
