George Bentley POPE (General)

by Paul Andrews , Shropshire, England, Monday, January 26, 2015, 23:19 (3581 days ago) @ Mike Pinchin

The Bristol Mercury, Thursday, March 12, 1896

In April, 1894, Mr George Bentley Pope, assistant overseer of the parish of Lydney, disappeared, and with him went the whole of the rate books and other parish documents dealing with the rates. An accountant was employed to square matters, which cost the parish about £75, and one result was that many ratepayers, in spite of protestations that they had paid, failing the production of the receipt, had to pay again. The whereabouts of the official and his books remained a mystery. A few days ago it transpired that the books had been found. At the monthly meeting of the Parish Council at Lydney, held on Tuesday evening, Mr E. Loves, the chairman, read a letter from the Great Western Railway Company, who said there was a parcel of ratebooks lying at Paddington Station since April 30, 1894, and that the books could be handed over to the local authorities on payment of £2, dues accruing. This unexpected recovery of the books excited great interest in the Council and in the town, and it was mentioned that the overseers had determined to possess themselves of the missing books.