Theft from Steel, Peech and Tozer

This document is a file of correspondence from 442-B British Steel collection concerning the theft of £760 by Richard James Buttenshaw from Steel, Peech and Tozer where he worked as a cashier.

Richard James Buttenshaw had worked at Steel, Peech and Tozer in Templeborough for the previous 18 years as a cashier and clerk, carried out his weekly task of collecting the money used for the payment of wages.

On the morning of September 22 1893, Buttenshaw went to the Sheffield and Rotherham Bank on High Street and withdrew £760 in gold, but on this particular occasion he failed to return to work. It was not until the afternoon that his absence was noticed and a warrant was put out for his arrest.

Almost overnight rumours of Buttenshaw’s destination started circulating, with reports of him fleeing to Doncaster, London, Southampton and even on a boat to America. Steel, Peech and Tozer, incensed by the slight, sprang into action and telegrammed contacts in New York to ensure the errant thief was arrested when he arrived, sparking something of an international man-hunt.

Unfortunately all of these sightings were wrong. Buttenshaw was finally arrested in Ely, Cambridgeshire after a commercial traveller overheard him boasting about the large amount of money he had. At his trial it was revealed Buttenshaw had been stealing from his employers for the full 18 years of his employment and received a 6 year sentence.

Image Transcript and History of the Steel Peech and Tozer Theft (519 Kb)