October 16, 1917...
A 17-year- old post woman pretended she had drowned herself to conceal her theft of £3,000 of Treasury Notes, according to the October 16, 1917, edition of the Market Harborough Advertiser.
Private Geo Arkinstall
The report says the girl, from the coastal Pembrokeshire town of Milford Haven, covered her escape by leaving ‘her tunic, boots and hat with a note suggesting that she had committed suicide’ by the town’s dockside.
The teenager, who was named by the paper as Elizabeth Orchard, was discovered four days later ‘in lodgings in Plymouth’ where nearly all the £1 Treasury Notes were found.
She had spent just £14. The story takes pride of place on the front page of this week’s Advertiser and is a clear indicator that the paper has increased its size from four to six pages.