By Colin Smeeton
It is just over 112 years ago that a popular store and bakery in Lamlash was the subject of a murder investigation.
This little-known story was reignited 20 years ago when relatives of the people involved in the investigation visited the Banner office with newspaper clippings and photographs taken at the time.
The story involves McNeish’s store and bakery – now the Lamlash Co-op – which was owned by Donald McKelvie, the same man whose name is on a plaque near the store in recognition of his potato cultivation accomplishments, including the Arran Banner variety, after which this newspaper is named.
It was on April 29, 1911 that Donald McKelvie received a phone call from Brodick saying that people had taken ill after eating scones from his bakery. It also came to his attention that the two-year-old son of James Gordon, foreman in the grocery department at his store, had died in the early hours of the morning after eating one of his scones.
Mr McKelvie contacted Mr Crockett, sanitary inspector at Lamlash, also Dr Rutherford, medical officer for the county. Mr Crockett visited the site and took samples which showed large quantities of arsenic in a batch of scones.
Before Sheriff Martin and a jury at Rothesay an inquiry was held into the circumstances that resulted in the death of young Graham Gordon. James Gordon told the jury that on the morning of Friday, January 28, he went to his home in Lamlash for breakfast, taking with him two milk scones and two rolls. He ate one scone and gave half of the other to his son who was one year and seven months old.
About 20 minutes later his son started vomiting, but he thought no more of it as there was plenty of it going around. He headed off to return to work, but while walking he also started to feel ill and started to vomit. He barely made it back to work and once there he had to be sent home. He went to bed and felt better by that evening.
During the night he attended to his son and since he was also feeling better he gave him the other half of the scone. He immediately started vomiting. At five o’clock in the morning Dr Murdoch was called for, but by the time he arrived at half past six, the boy had died. The cause of death was given as gastroenteritis.
John McColl, baker with the firm for 37 years, also gave evidence at the inquiry, saying how he mixed the ingredients for the scones overnight and doughed it in the morning. He did not recollect any foreign substances in the dough.
John Owen, foreman baker with Messrs McNeish, told the jury that he had also been ill for four or five days after he ate a milk scone, as had the store owner Mr McKelvie.
Donald McKelvie’s brother, Neil McKelvie, told the jury that he had not seen anyone about the bakery who should not have been there.
A bag of flour which was used to make the milk scones and which was finished on the day of making the milk scones was suspected as being poisoned. A scone from the batch was tested and was found to contain enough arsenic to kill three people.
The child’s body was disinterred and examined and found to contain quantities of arsenic in the liver, stomach and the large intestine – enough to be fatal.
Following all of the witnesses statements the sheriff said the circumstances surrounding the death of the little boy had been as fully disclosed as humanly possible for them to be and that there was regret that the inquiry could not be carried any further,
The conclusion was that the child met his death by arsenic poisoning, but they did not know how it found its way into the scone which the child ate. He was convinced though, that the arsenic did not find its way into the scones accidentally.
He advised the jury to return a verdict that would leave everything open so that proceedings could take place in the future if further evidence was found.
Sheriff Martin wanted it to be made clear that McNeish’s store and bakery had done everything in its power to aid the Crown in its investigations. The following day the jury declared its verdict: “The jury unanimously return their verdict on the particulars proved, that Graham Gordon, son of and residing with James Gordon, grocer, Glenaray, Lamlash, died on 29th April 1911, at Glenaray, aforesaid, from poisoning by arsenic partaken on 28th April 1911. The jury desire to express their opinion that Messrs McNeish and Son, bakers, Lamlash, are entirely free from blame in the matter.”
In the Saturday May 24, 2003 edition of the Arran Banner, it was reported that Rosemary Walker of Lamlash supplied newspaper clippings of the incident, and that she was the niece of the baby who died. Another lady from Lamlash, who wished to remain anonymous, but who was the granddaughter of John McColl, baker with the firm, also supplied photographs from the period.
The cause of the renewed interest in the subject 20 years ago came about after the Banner published a photograph of staff at McNeish’s store and bakery the week prior, with some of the key witnesses from the inquiry featured in it.
Most bizarrely though, the two relations, said that it was known by some in the community, who the poisoner was, but that it was never revealed to the authorities or made public.
The bakers of McNeish’s bakery, circa 1911, pictured in front of Lamlash Church. The numbers were swelled by a few extra to cater for the summer trade. No_B22McNeish01_1911_McNeish_bakers
The bakers boy, Campbell McColl outside the Ship Hotel, now Gordon Brothers Ship House. No_B22McNeish02_1911_bakers_boy_McColl
A photograph of the staff at McNeish’s store and bakery dressed in 1890s attire from the collection of the late Mrs Ban Turner (nee MacNeish). Of the nine people in the photograph five are identified. Back row, left to right, is Mr John McNeil, Mr Gordon the manager, unidentified lady, and Donald McKelvie. Jessie Briggs is on the right in the middle row and Dolly Briggs is front left. No_B22McNeish03_1911_McNeish_staff_dress