Robbery
& Thievery
Loaded revolvers
and buglar tools
Probably
one of the worst years for robberies in this area
was 1928. The Seagrave store was robbed as was the
Greenbank store and a number of cars were stolen
in the region.
Alix
Gilboord's clothing and drygoods store on Queen
Street in Port Perry was robbed in 1926 and 1927.
In December of 1928 he suffered his third robbery,
losing over $500 worth of merchandise.
In
the same week, Smallman's blacksmith shop was broken
into and tools stolen, and Brock's store was robbed
of $300 of merchandise. When the thieves were caught
in Scarborough, they were in possession of loaded
revolvers and a "full kit of burglar's tools
including skeleton keys and jimmies."
One
of the thieves was a Port Perry resident. He and
his accomplice confessed to having carried out a
number of robberies in Pickering, Whitby, Trenton
and Brighton as well as some vacant summer cottages
throughout the area. They were each given six year
sentences.
Harold Archer
shot
During
the night of Sunday, August 29, 1926, thieves broke
into the garage of Harold Archer and stole a number
of tires and some gasoline. The car used in the
robbery was seen by a number of residents.
Encouraged
by the success of their first haul, the thieves
decided to return the following Tuesday. Their vehicle
was recognized as they approached the garage. Harold
Archer and his friend, Art Knight jumped onto the
running boards of the car.
It
sped away and the villains shot Mr. Archer in the
thigh as he attempted to hang on. The thieves were
later apprehended and sentenced
.
Boyd Gang robs
local bank
 The
Bank of Commerce at 165 Queen Street was subjected
to three major robberies. The first occurred in
June, 1934 when, at closing time two robbers entered
and tied up the manager and a clerk at gunpoint
and drove away with $200. They were later apprehended
after they had stopped at the Superior store to
get gas.
In a 1945 robbery, the manager, Ernie Hayes was
left locked in the vault after thieves absconded
with a large quantity of cash. Mr. Hayes managed
to escape by opening the vault from the inside with
a screwdriver.
 In
August that same year it was robbed again. This
time three employees were locked in the vault. This
robbery was conducted by the infamous Boyd gang.
One of the three employees was Margaret Day. Margaret
reported that the Boyd gang members were very polite,
but the employees were scared.
In December, 1951, Mr. Helm, the bank manager,
his wife, his son Robert and the caretaker, Mr T.
Asher were all bound and gagged in the apartment
above the bank while the robbers attempted to blow
up the safe. Fortunately, the telephone rang and
the would-be robbers fled.
The Helms at that time lived above the bank. In
all three cases of robbery, the robbers were eventually
apprehended and sentenced.
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Personalities
