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The Trial

Crime Files

The Trial

GBH

Twenty six of those arrested in the George and Dragon pub stood trial at the Guildford Assizes. They were so boisterous they had to be shackled, wrist and ankle and to each other as well. This didn’t stop them issuing threats to everybody in the court.Their threats didn’t stop 23 of the gang being convicted of grievous bodily harm.The trial Judge, Mr Justice Rowlatt, specially commended the plucky Sergeant Dawson as did his police commissioner. Sergeant Dawson was rewarded with an extra week’s wages.The Brummagems all received sentences of between nine months hard labour and three years imprisonment.

Prison wasn’t necessarily the end of the story for some of the racetrack gangs. Some thought themselves so above and beyond the law that they simply tried to bribe a prison warder to release them early. In one recorded case, however, the prisoner concerned ended up losing remission on his remaining sentence.And once their sentence had been served, they would soon be back to their old tricks. Race track violence would reach such a pitch that the authorities had no choice but to drive the gangs out of horse racing for good.