Stories
- There is a story that as a result of a fight between the Gang members one night, one of the smugglers number was murdered and the body disposed of down a well at the side of the Inn. It is said that on some nights the sounds of scuffling and a body being dragged outside can still be heard.
- Although the Gang had a brutal reputation, they were not without a sense of humour. One officer who was blindfolded and had his legs bound was told he was to be thrown over a cliff. He managed to cling on to tufts of grass as he fell and hung with his legs dangling for some time. It was not until his blindfold slipped that he realised his feet were a matter of inches above the ground. The 'cliff' was only seven feet (2 m) high.
- Ransley lived at a The Bourne Tap and stories were circulated about there being a ghost which manifested itself as a floating severed head in the old building which served well to keep the curious away.
- Ransley was known for his organisational abilities but stories differ about the man. Some said he was a giant of over six feet, others said he was hardly more than five feet tall, some said he was a likeable rogue, others lived in absolute fear of him. Whatever was the truth, there was no doubt that he could be as ruthless as the situation demanded.
Read more about this topic: The Aldington Gang
Famous quotes containing the word stories:
“I found that they knew but little of the history of their race, and could be entertained by stories about their ancestors as readily as any way.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Young man, there is America, which at this day serves for little more than to amuse you with stories of savage men and uncouth manners.”
—Edmund Burke (1729–1797)
“Wags try to invent new stories to tell about the legislature, and end by telling the old one about the senator who explained his unaccustomed possession of a large roll of bills by saying that someone pushed it over the transom while he slept. The expression “It came over the transom,” to explain any unusual good fortune, is part of local folklore.”
—For the State of Montana, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)