ID: WW01_141 / Winifred Hone

TitleMock trial. Victory Bar - Winifred Hone memoirs
AbstractStill on the subject of making one's own recreations, Arthur Dale and my husband were about to compete in a Dabchicks race when an unexpected squall overturned the boat, which was named SHRIMP - an International dinghy and very lively in the heavy weather. They had no option but to swim ashore. A local wit thought this a grand idea for a mock trial that took place at a later date. The Judge was the Rev. Young, Commodore of the Dabchicks and he conducted the trial sitting on a high pair of steps in the Victory bar. Learned council visitors to the Victory, complete with wigs, offered their services for and against and it was an hilarious evening with an inexhaustible amount of humour. The exchanges between Judge and learned council had to he heard to be believed, this was an occasion when the law didn't take itself too seriously. However the defendants lost and they decided to lodge an appeal, which did not take place owing to the difficulty of getting witnesses, locals who did not understand the difference between legality and hillarity.

AuthorWinifred Hone
Publishedc1969
SourceMersea Museum / Wendy Brady
IDWW01_141