On Monday 29 October 1917 a woman called Mrs Thomas Franklin left her house on Ash Street, Sheffield to undertaken some business in the town centre. In her absence she left her eleven-year old daughter Gladys in charge. She made sure that her daughter locked and bolted the back door first and then listened carefully from outside whilst she heard her lock and bolt the front door too. Secure that the house was safe, Mrs Franklin carried on with her business. She had trained her daughter well in what she had to do. The arrangement was that when her daughter needed to go out herself, the child would leave the key on a mangle in the back yard.
She had carefully instructed her daughter to place it on the mangle in the back yard, under a cloth and then to put a large stone over it. Consequently when Gladys needed to do some shopping herself, she accordingly left the key on the mangle. However when the girl returned from her shopping she went into the back yard and lifted the stone and the cloth, only to find the key missing. For a moment or two the girl remained stunned, as she knew she had left it there just a short time before. Still puzzling over what had gone wrong she went to the back door and was even more surprised when a strange woman opened the door.
The woman, who was later identified as Mary Ann Cowl, was almost as surprised as Gladys had been. Gladys in fright, shouted at the woman and demanded to know what she was doing inside her mother’s house. Thankfully a neighbour heard the girl shouting and he intervened. He caught hold of the woman and took her next door to his own house, whilst the police were summoned. Once a constable arrived, the woman gave her name and admitted that she was a munitions worker who lived on Kenyon Street, Sheffield. Mary Ann was searched and several items were found on her.
When Mrs Franklin returned home later, she identified the items as being the property of her husband and daughter. Mary Ann Cowl was arrested but by the time she appeared in the Sheffield Police Court on Thursday 1 November, she was charged with a second count of housebreaking.
The second charge was that of breaking into a house belonging to a Private Pickard of the Royal Engineers, who was at the time away serving in the war. He and his wife lived on Oxford Street, Sheffield and on the same day as Mary Ann Cowl had broken into Mrs Franklin’s house, she had also stolen money and cigars from the house on Oxford Street.
The first witness was the eleven year old girl Gladys Franklin and she described being very careful at leaving the house secure in her mothers absence. After she had given her evidence in a clear and concise manner, she was complimented by the Lord Mayor, Counsellor Appleyard and Counsellor Blanchard. The girl was told that she should be very proud of herself, in the way she had made her statement and thanked for her help in catching the prisoner. The second witness was the wife of Private Pickard and she told the court that on the same day she had missed £6.18s from a cash box which had been in a drawer in her bedroom.
She had also missed some cigars of her husbands. She too told the bench that she had locked up the house carefully before leaving, but on her return found the door unlocked. However the chief evidence against the prisoner was the testimony of her own eight year old daughter. She told the court how her mother had visited both houses on the day in question. When Counsellor Blanchard asked the prisoner if she had anything to say in her own defence, she blamed it on ‘taking drink, which had been the ruin of me.’ The Lord Mayor told the court that the prisoner had a record of many such offences and consequently Mary Ann Cowl was ordered to take her trial at the next assizes. However before the prisoner could be sent to take her trial, just two days on Saturday 3 November she was to appear once again in court for an incredible third housebreaking offence.
Mary Ann was charged once more with breaking and entering a house belonging to Thomas Hudson of Sutton Street, Sheffield. His wife, Mrs Annie Hudson was the first witness and she told the court that on the afternoon of 16 June around 2.30 pm she left the house, making sure that everywhere was secure. As usual she had locked the door and put the key inside a window before pulling the window closed as she left. Upon her return around 5 pm she found the window open. The key was still in its usual place and she picked it up only to find that the door was already open. Mrs Hudson was completely dumbfounded when a strange woman walked downstairs.
The woman asked her ‘you’re Mrs Hudson aren’t you?’ The witness replied ‘yes’ before asking the prisoner ‘who are you and what are you doing up my stairs.’ At that time the firm of Cammells in Sheffield were collecting money for the families of serving soldiers, so the woman told her that she had been awarded 6s 5d from that fund. When Mrs Hudson pointed out that she did not work for Cammells, the prisoner apologised before making some excuse and left. Only after she had gone did the witness make a search of the house and found that a cash box she had kept in one of the bedrooms had been broken open and the money was gone.
After hearing this evidence, once again Mary Ann asked if she had anything to say. Once again the prisoner blamed it on her love of alcohol. Subsequently Mary Ann Cowl was brought before the judge at the Autumn Assizes at York on Thursday 29 November 1917. She pleaded guilty to the three charges of breaking and entering and stealing a total of £6.18s in money, two cigars, a pair of woollen gloves and a rolled gold bangle. An unnamed Detective officer told the judge, Mr Justice Roche that every opportunity to change had been given to the prisoner, who was a confirmed thief. He said that after a previous trial at the Assizes in York a local clergyman had taken an interest in her.
He had found her a situation, and Mary Ann had gone straight for a while, but then she was arrested again on a housebreaking charge. Once more the same clergyman found her yet another position after she had been discharged from prison. This time it was in London in the expectation of getting her away from Sheffield and her former associates. Once again the clergyman had hoped that it would help Mary Ann to stay on the straight and narrow. However as soon as she could, the woman returned back to Sheffield and carried on with her nefarious career. Mary Ann’s husband, Mr John Cowl was called and he confirmed that his wife was virtually an alcoholic.
He said that since she had an accident at the Admiralty Testing Works in Sheffield, where she had been employed a few years previously ‘she could not leave the drink alone.’ Mr Justice Roche heard all the evidence, before telling Mary Ann Cowl that he was determined to put an end to her criminal career. He ordered that she serve fifteen months imprisonment with hard labour for the three charges before him. After that he warned her, that she would be subject to careful police supervision for three years afterwards.