‘…I am satisfied you are an ingenious liar…’  So stated the Bicester magistrate before sentencing James Hayles, the accused in one of the earliest recorded motor-cycle chases.

The chase began in April 1923, with Inspector Cresswell and P.C. Johnson of Southam police in hot pursuit of a stolen motorcycle/sidecar combination from Bicester. The driver was Harold Merry, with his passenger and wife Gladys; they were aided by their associate James Hayles, who acted as a decoy.

On 17 April Merry stole a Royal Enfield motorcycle belonging to Sidney Gurney at the market square in Bicester. After the theft was reported and some police communication, the machine was spotted in Banbury at seven p.m. It is a measure of the advance in policing methods that contact could be made with Southam police, who were able to set up a possible interception at Fenny Compton. At about nine p.m. the felons approached the canal bridge, and so the chase began.

The Merrys, riding the Royal Enfield, were in front of their accomplice Hayles, who rode a Douglas Combination motorbike. He began weaving across the road to ensure the police could not intercept his friends. As they approached Ladbroke, Inspector Cresswell drove into the side of the Douglas, forcing it into a hedge. However, Hayles was able to pick himself up, jump over a fence and disappear. He was not to be seen again until his arrest in October of that year.

The Merrys experienced mechanical problems and abandoned their stolen machine in Ladbroke, where, with the help of some local people, Inspector Cresswell was able to apprehend them and take them back to Southam police station. At the subsequent assizes Harold Merry was charged with ‘stealing a motorcycle, valued £120’ and, although he pleaded guilty, he claimed: ‘…I never intentionally stole the machine …I thought it had been hired in Bicester…’  He took the blame for his wife’s part in the robbery and her case was dismissed on grounds of coercion. He was sentenced to nine months imprisonment.

As for Hayles, his case was more complicated. The Douglas machine he was riding had been stolen from London, and after some determined policework he was arrested. However, at his trial he made some rather elaborate statements in his defence: ‘…I did not ride a Douglas in front of Cresswell…left Merry and his wife in Banbury to return to London…it was Merry or his wife who rode the Douglas…’ He also produced a testimony from his doctor claiming he had a smashed kneecap and could not possibly have run away. However, it was revealed that Hayles had just been convicted of receiving stolen goods (a car chassis that he was carrying on the motorcycle combination that he was planning to sell in Coventry) and had been sentenced to nine months imprisonment – a conviction which was under appeal.

Hayles related all sorts of personal details including his war service and how in 1918 he was court marshalled and imprisoned in Winchester for stealing a motor car, before claiming he was not guilty. The jury disagreed; the judge added ‘…you have told a mass of lies and it is impossible to believe a word you say…’

Southam Heritage Collection is located in the atrium of Tithe Place opposite the Library entrance.  Opening times Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday mornings from 10am to 12 noon. To find out more about Southam’s history, visit our website www.southamheritage.org  telephone 07710 012052 or email  southamheritage@hotmail.com  You can also follow us on Facebook.