It was the third robbery of the year at Birkenhead post office, near Liverpool, and this time resulted in murder. On Sunday, September 9th, 1900, auxiliary postman George Fell failed to answer the gate when the other postmen arrived for the evening shift.
They forced the door, saw a pool of blood in the doorway, and found Fell in the postmasters room. A postbag covered his face and a broken poker lay on the floor. It seemed that Fell had used a coal shovel as a shield from the blows of the poker.
Around £70 was missing from the premises. The numbers of the banknotes were published in the national press, but not one was ever tendered.
On the two previous occasions when the post office was robbed the staff were made to make good the loss. Every employee had a sum of money stopped from his weekly pay until all the money was repaid. There is no evidence that this happened as a result of George Fells death.