PC George Mussell

The Sun Inn at Bedlington was the site of an infamous event in 1913. The pub manager John Amos went berserk when he was about to be evicted with his family. He shot and killed the wife of the new pub manager, Mrs Sara Grice, in a row over stocktaking, and he also killed two police officers who went to the scene, PC George Mussell and Sergeant Andrew Barton. There was a great deal of public support and sympathy for all involved, including a petition asking for clemency for Amos who submitted a plea of temporary insanity at his trial, but he was sentenced to death and hanged at Newcastle Goal. Thousands of people turned out for the funerals of the police officers. There was a public subscription, and these photographs of the officers were sold to raise funds for their families. Many of the older residents in and around Bedlington had copies of these photographs and told the story about the murders