The “Pittenweem Mystery”: The Disappearance of Helen Jack, 1914

Included in our collections are the records of Grampian Police and predecessor forces (https://archives.aberdeencity.gov.uk/CalmView/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=POL&pos=1). These contain an incredible set of Police Information Request Notices (also described as ‘Wanted Posters’), retained by Dufftown Police Station of Banffshire Constabulary. There are 797 posters that date from 1881 – 1940, offering a fantastic insight into crime in Scotland and sometimes the wider United Kingdom.

Whilst retrieving material for a researcher, I (Kim, Archivist) spotted a familiar place name amongst these posters – ‘Pittenweem, Fife’, a village near my own family home. The notice details a missing person, Miss Helen Jack, absent from Pittenweem since Tuesday 21^st April 1914. 

[Reference POL/B/9/4/368]

It reads:

‘About 30 years of age, about 5 feet 4 inches in height, medium build, fresh complexion, sharp features, fair hair.

Dressed in a light blue costume, biscuit coloured hat, with flowers and green leaves on the crown and three yellow ribbon bows at the back. Also wore a pair of thick black buttoned shoes with three straps, a pair of brown kid gloves, and carried an umbrella.

On the date in question she went from Pittenweem to Anstruther by the 6.54pm train, but was seen to leave Anstruther for the West again with the 8.22pm train, going in the direction of Thornton.

Her relatives are very anxious about her, especially as it is said she has been in ill-health for some time, and any information as to her whereabouts will be gratefully received by them.’

Intrigued, I used Scotland’s People, Ancestry and the British Newspaper Archive to research further, building a wider picture of the life of Helen Jack and discovering whether she was found!

Helen was born in Pittenweem, Fife on 22 December 1884 to David Jack (Fishmonger) and Euphemia Jack (nee Ogilvie), who were married on the 26 Sept 1873. Helen was Euphemia and David’s 4^th child (2^nd daughter). We can find Helen on various census’ through Ancestry and Scotland’s People:

• 1891 Census – Helen (6), is living with her mother Euphemia (38) at Still Park. Her siblings Ann (14), David (12), Christine (10), Robert (8) and Thomas (4) are also recorded in this household.

[Helen’s father David Jack died 31^st March 1887 aged 37, hence why is not on any of records for the family. David was one of the crewmembers found dead in cabin of the ‘Sisters’ boat when the fishing smack capsized during a gale off the Scottish coast. The crew were engaged in ‘great line fishing’.]

• 1901 Census – Helen (16) is living with her mother (49) and siblings David, Christina, Robert and Thomas at 54 High Street. Helen’s occupation is given as Dressmaker.

• 1911 Census – Helen (26) is living with her mother (59) and siblings David and Robert at 30 Charles Street. Occupation given as shop-assistant. David is a clerk for the Railway Co. and Robert is a watchmaker & jeweller.

• 1921 Census – Helen (age given as 34, but this must have been a discrepancy as, given her birth date and the other census information, she would have been 36) is living with her mother (69) at 30 Charles Street. There is also a granddaughter (niece to Helen) Florence Peebles aged 13 and a grandson (Helen’s nephew) George Peebles aged 6. Both children are marked as ‘scholars’. Occupation given as ‘H. D.’ (household duties) for Helen and her mother.

The census is a fantastic resource for tracing individuals and their family members, and from it we can see the various roles Helen played in the village and the living circumstances she found herself in from 1891-1921. Unfortunately, it does not provide the tale of Helen’s disappearance in 1914. The police information poster does not give an update on Helen’s fate either. For this, we can turn to the British Newspaper Archive and search the local newspapers that reported on the incident.

An article in the Courier dated 25 April 1914 provides us with some information. Helen travelled from Pittenweem to Anstruther on night of Tuesday 21^st April to purchase a hat. She travelled by train using a single ticket. The article claims she overpaid for her ticket (unusual for one travelling a route often?) and spoke in a ‘severe manner’ to a local postman. Apparently, Helen told someone in Anstruther she was looking for her “Aunt Teenie”. The source claims this was to throw her of the scent of Helen’s real motives for the evening, as her aunt was known to be in Pittenweem with her mother. Helen got on the 7.27pm train to Thornton / Edinburgh without a ticket. At this point, Helen disappears.

This newspaper article places a lot of emphasis on Helen’s mental health and hypothesises on the reasons behind Helen’s disappearance. It describes a ‘touching story’:

‘Miss Jack, who is a smart-looking, fair-haired young woman of about thirty years of age, has lived all her days at Pittenweem. Her place has ever been at home, assisting in the house hold duties, being what is described as a “real comfort to her mother”. She was of a quiet and gentle disposition, and for some time past was not quite her usual self. Indeed, her demeanour caused her mother and friends a good deal of anxiety, and fears were entertained that her health would break down’.

The newspapers also note concern for Helen due to the sudden ending of a relationship. The heading for this paragraph is titled ‘Sweetheart Thrown Over’ and describes how Helen summoned a gentleman to her sister’s house (Cellardyke), where their courtship was abruptly ended. According to the article the man was ‘notified that the home he was preparing for her [Helen] would have to be occupied by himself alone, as she was not to marry him’. A harsh conclusion, we thought!

'The Courier' 25 April 1914, copyright D. C. Thomson, via the British Newspaper Archive

Another article records information from a woman called Mrs Morton. She tried to speak to Helen on the train to Thornton, but found Helen ‘disinclined to speak’ and thought she ‘apparently wanted to be left alone’. Sometimes a little peace during a journey isn’t too much to ask? Mrs Morton continued to recall that she ‘should not be at all surprised if the disappearance were due to loss of memory, for, recalling that look on her face, I must say that she seemed to be quite uninterested in her surroundings’.

All of this seems like a lot of speculation to us…

'The Courier' 27 April 1914,  copyright D. C. Thompson Ltd. via British Newspaper Archive

So, where did Helen go, and why?

A week after Helen’s disappearance, another article on the case is printed in the East of Fife Record (30 April 1914). 

'East of Fife Record' 30 April 1914, Copyright British Library Board, via British Newspaper Archive

Fantastic, Helen has been found!

Following her train journey on Tuesday night, it is rumoured that Helen was seen in a restaurant in Edinburgh and by the Thursday night, she has been spotted in Glasgow Cross. The latter sighting is never verified but seems plausible given where Helen was eventually found. Helen’s siblings are recorded as travelling to Glasgow to search for Helen. The following Sunday, it appears that Helen applied to one of the Christian Endeavour establishments, before being referred to a refuge for the homeless in Frederick Street. Through word of mouth and some additional sightings, Helen is finally reunited with her siblings and returned home.

‘Miss Jack it is understood was unaware of the search for her, or of the publicity which her disappearance had occasioned’.

Various newspaper articles detail Helen’s return, whereby she went unnoticed by other passengers on the train home. Although Helen has been found, there is no information on why Helen ‘disappeared’ that day, as one article concludes:

‘General satisfaction has been expressed that the mystery has been solved. There are many versions of the reason of the disappearance, but that aspect of the question is a purely personal matter which is the private concern of the parties interested’.

Was she unwell, as Mrs Morton suggests? Had the breakdown of her relationship encouraged Helen to take some time to herself? We will probably never know, but we think, or hope, that she was well and just wanted to enjoy a jaunt away from her family and Fife!

I can't find much else about Helen's life between her disappearance in 1914 and her death in 1944. Helen died young, at the age of 58/59 on 15 May 1944. Her death certificate gives her status as ‘single’ and her usual residence as 30 Charles Street, Pittenweem, evidencing that Helen remained in the family home after the death of her mother in 1926. 

30 Charles Street, Pittenweem 2023

The cause of Helen's death is shown as ‘Chronic Myocarditis’ and ‘Cardiac Syncope’. There is a gravestone in Pittenweem Churchyard, where Helen is buried alongside her parents.

Jack family gravestone, Pittenweem Churchyard, 2023

Are you interested in seeing this collection and delving into an individual case further? Our catalogue of posters from Dufftown Police Station can be seen here: Police Information Notice Requests. Clicking on each record entry will provide additional information on the individual in the poster, or you can use the search page and the ‘any text’ field to look for a specific name or place. There are also posters in the Aberdeenshire Constabulary collections [see examples below]. We have access to Ancestry and the British Newspaper Archive on site in our Archives search rooms, and they are also available in libraries across Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire. Both resources provide a fantastic opportunity to create a wider picture on the people found in these records.

POL/A/8/38

POL/A/8/38

Banff Constabulary:

Banffshire Constabulary was formed in 1840 as a constabulary for the county of Banff by the county's Commissioners of Supply under the Rural Police (Scotland) Act 1839. It was initially administered by a Police Committee made up of the Commissioners of Supply, Lord Lieutenant and Sheriff of Banff County. In 1889 administrative control of the constabulary was transferred to the Banff County Standing Joint Committee, made up equally of County Councillors from Banff County Council and the county's Commissioners of Supply, along with the Sheriff Principal. In 1929 the Standing Joint Committees were abolished and Banff County Council Police Committee supervised the force.

Banffshire Constabulary was abolished in 1949, succeeded by the amalgamated Scottish North East Counties Constabulary (see POL/S).

Banffshire Constabulary absorbed the Macduff Burgh Police in 1870, and the Banff Burgh Police in 1886.

[Kim Smith, Archivist]