On this day in Yorkshire 1953: £400 armed raid at Dewsbury post office

Masked men tie Dewsbury couple to chairs

POLICE dogs early today were taking part in a widespread hunt for two men who, with their faces masked and carrying what appeared to be sawn-off shotguns, raided a sub-post office in a residential district of Dewsbury last night and escaped with £4OO.

In a statement at 2 a.m., the Chief Constable of Dewsbury, Mr. R. W. Walker, said that after threatening Mr. and Mrs. Peace with guns the men took the key of the safe from Mr. Peace. In addition to money, they took from the safe a number of postal orders, the details of which were not available.

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Finally, said the Chief Constable, they tied Mr. and Mrs. Peace to chairs and pulled down the telephone wiring before leaving the house.

The post office, known as Edge Top, Thornhill, is run in conjunction with a bakery and confectionery business by Mr. Ronald Peace and his wife, Mrs. Audrey Peace.

The raid took place shortly after 9.30, when Mr. and Mrs. Peace heard some scuffling outside the shop. They opened the door of the house which, with the shop forms a modern, detached block, and almost immediately two men forced their way inside.

It is thought the men escaped over some fields which lead to Ings Colliery, although the actual direction they took was not clear.

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Mr. and Mrs. Peace got free and ran for assistance to a detached house near by, from which the police were called. Dewsbury Borough Police were assisted by patrols from the West Riding Police in scouring the district.

Police dogs were used in the immediate area of the post office, which is on the road leading to Whitley, close to one of the new housing estates erected by Dewsbury Corporation, about three miles from the centre of the town.

Conditions were difficult, the searchers having make their way through heavy, driving rain. Mr. Peace, who is about 30, is well known as a speedway rider.

The Chief Constable of Dewsbury visited the post office late last night.

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Later, Mr. and Mrs. Peace were taken in a police car to the police headquarters in Dewsbury. They left their small child with neighbours.

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