Another peep into the pages of The Salford City Reporter from November 1923 brings us the following story of Charles Walsh and his encounter with the Salford Police Force. Walsh, a Hawker of no fixed abode appeared at the Salford Quarter Sessions charged with unlawfully and maliciously wounding P.C. Henry Parker and P.C. Bainbridge on October 11th, 1923. Mr Bennett for the prosecution told the Court that P.C. Bainbridge saw Walsh lying on the ground in a passage at the rear of Lower Broughton Road surrounded by a group of women, the Constable guessed that Walsh was pretending to be ill in the hope of obtaining money from them. They watched Walsh go into a chip shop and then go into a workshop at the rear of the shop, they followed him and found him sat on a pile of wood, when asked to stand up he said . "If you want me you'll have to carry me". P.C. Parker went to pull him to his feet, when Walsh struck out at him with an open razor causing a superficial wound on his neck, P.C. Bainbridge came to his aid and was struck on the knuckles with the razor causing a minor injury, two more Constables appeared and managed to restrain Walsh/ As he was on the floor, Walsh said to P.C. Parker "You lucky… meant to do you in, but it won't be too late when I come out" when charged with the offences he claimed he was acting in self defence. P.C. Parker told the Court that when they followed Walsh into the workshop they had no idea that he had only one leg and had come out of hospital that day, he also denied that they twisted his wrists and dragged him along by his left foot. P.C. Bainbridge said that he spoke to Walsh when they saw him on the floor but he refused hospital treatment and went into a chip shop on nearby George Street and said he could corroborate P.C. Parker's evidence. Doctor H, Hughes the House Surgeon at Salford Royal Hospital told the Court that both of the P.C.s injuries were superficial and that the razor was as hardly sharp as a knife. The Recorder then reduced the charges to Common Assault. Finally Walsh was allowed to give his side of the story and told the Court that he refused to plead guilty to anything and no intention of harming the policemen and had only pushed them away, he then added that he had only come out of the prison hospital on that morning, he had been in the army and lost his leg through his own fault and received no pension. The Recorder told him that he should have gone peacefully with the police constables and had no right to strike them even with a blunt razor. The Jury found him guilty of Common Assault and the Recorder bound him over to keep the peace for 12 months. Reading between the lines it looks as if the police were a little heavy handed arresting him and their injuries were only superficial as the Doctor said, add in the fact that Walsh had only, one leg weakened the prosecutions case and hopefully this was the correct sentence.
