Mid Sussex Times, Wednesday February 3 1943

BURGLARY AT HAYWARDS HEATH

THIEVES STEAL TWO SUITS OF CLOTHES.

Premises of the Fifty Shilling Tailors in South Road, Haywards Heath, were forcibly entered during Wednesday night by two burglars, and there was a distinctly professional air about the methods used by them to effect an entry to the shop.

Borrowing a neighbour’s steel bar, they gained access to the shop from the rear through the back door. The outer door was of glass and was quickly smashed, while the inner door, although padlocked, offered little resistance.

Inside the shop the burglars, it is gathered, displayed much deliberation. They entered the showroom, and, acting almost like customers, appeared to have injected a touch of grim humour to the proceedings, for they went through the stock of clothes with fastidious care before finally choosing two suits, two ties, a rain-coat and an overcoat.

They were real customers, for they not only made a fairly complete survey of the premises, but turned their attention to the show windows. Here they removed a model, but, having taken off its shoes, laid it down upon the scrap on the floor. But the shoes would not fit, and so these left at Heaths while they smoked several cigarettes whilst at work in the windows, and they finally left by the way they came. They left the outer doors securely locked, so that detection from outside was not an easy matter.

Mr. R. W. Dixon, the manager, who lives over the shop, heard no noises in the night, and neither, apparently, did his dog, for it gave no alarm.

Mr. Dixon told a representative of the Mid-Sussex Times that there were clear indications that two men were concerned and that they were wearing rubber shoes. The pane of glass removed from the fanlight was carefully placed on the ground outside and was unbroken.

The burglary was discovered on Thursday morning when the shop was opened for business. The police were notified at once.

Articles of clothing, including grey trousers, were subsequently found near St. Wilfrid’s Club, and are presumed to have been thrown away by the burglars. They may have left the shop wearing the stolen suits.

Footnotes:

1. Fifty Shilling Tailors – A popular British tailoring chain in the early-to-mid 20th century, known for offering affordable made-to-measure suits (the name comes from the original price point of 50 shillings, about £2.50 in pre-decimal currency).

2. Rubber shoes – Likely worn to deaden footsteps and reduce noise while moving inside the premises.

3. Fanlight – A small semicircular or rectangular window, typically above a door, often hinged to allow ventilation. Removing the glass carefully shows the burglars’ professionalism.