Christmas morning - Blisworth 1940 - War Time, and stories of German parachutists abounded, so the local policeman was not exactly concerned when his dream of a quiet Christmas was rudely shattered with a message coming in that a house had been broken into in Blisworth. He rallied a partner and proceeded to the case. Seemingly a neighbour next to the house in question had been asked to keep an eye on it while the owners were away for Christmas, and it was he who had noticed a broken window and notified the police. The cottage was in fact Victoria House in Stoke Road.

Two policemen soon arrived and were met by the informant who has set himself up with a large axe. He showed to them the broken window in true Sherlock Holmes style then explored the garden and found 'large' footprints leading to the house. Looking through a window they saw the footprints again - wet and muddy. "Ah Ha" they said, and with a key provided by the helper they entered the house and followed the footstep marks up the stairs, peeping into a bedroom from which issued sounds of heavy breathing. The three wise men withdrew to hold a conference to determine the method of attack.

They had seen that the intruder was dressed in a uniform and that his face and hands were covered in cuts and scratches and abrasions. In the words of the Constable they decided to take no chances - so they rushed the bed and handcuffed the man before he was aware of what was happening. The helpful neighbour stood at the door with the axe raised, holding the line of retreat. The prisoner now awake muttered words which the police thought could be French or English - even noting a slight accent.

Their hopes of a medal each were soon dashed when the man recognised the police uniforms and announced that he was an Officer in the Canadian Air Force. The foursome then withdrew to the neighbour's house where they partook of strong hot tea liberally laced with precious war time Scotch. The Officer, fully recovered then told his remarkable story. He had, he said, well and truly celebrated Christmas with friends in London on Christmas Eve and was very much "Under the Weather". His friends knowing that he had to report North bundled him into the "Night Scot" at Euston Station and the guard was asked to put him off, whatever his state, at Crewe. Sleep soon came to the traveller and he did not awake until he was needing a toilet. At this time he was approaching Blisworth at 80mph and when on the high embankment between the Northampton Road arch and the canal, he opened the carriage door instead of the toilet door. He was literally flung out into the night, crashing down the embankment in fog and wartime blackout. When he regained his feet, he plodded in the direction of the canal, climbed the railway boundary fence, took two or three steps and fell into the canal. He blindly struck out and found again the towpath which he followed southwards with little idea where he was and where he was going. He must have got as far as near the tunnel, for he climbed up the bank and found himself in the garden of Victoria House. He said that he knocked gently on the house door but as no one answered he broke a window and put himself to bed. He slept and slept until he was rudely awakened by the Policeman. His story was believed.

To confirm his story they all went up to Blisworth Station where the night staff had noticed that as the 'Night Scot' roared through the Station it had a door swinging open. Rugby was notified and the train was stopped. The poor puzzled guard had to report that his "charge" was missing, so a search was made at Blisworth in the darkness but no body was found. With daylight the search was resumed and they were able to see the bashed path through the undergrowth where the body had travelled. They thought that no one could have survived such a fall but it was later rightly surmised that, with the speed of the train, the angle of which he met the ground allowed him to roll rather than crash - and that had saved his life.

The Railway Staff were able to put him on another north bound train, but before departing, the Officer insisted that he left ten shillings to pay for the broken window and the mess in the house! The occupants came home after Christmas and were amused to hear the story and so, like the true Christmas bed time stories, "they all lived happily ever after".