it was known that the wheeldon family was sheltering young men "on the run" from conscription. in december 1916 alexander gordon, a secret agent from the ministry of munitions (mi5), arrived at the wheeldon home, claiming to be a conscientious objector on the run. alice wheeldon took him in for the night and confided in him. he invented the fiction that the work camps for conscientious objectors provided under the home office scheme were guarded by dogs. gordon called his immediate superior, herbert booth, introducing him to alice as an army deserter. a package containing two vials of curare and two of strychnine was sent to her. the package was intercepted and it was claimed that these chemicals were intended to kill guard dogs at a work camp. this claim formed the basis of the case against the family when the family were arrested on 30 january 1917. alice, hettie, winnie and winnie's husband, alfred mason, were all charged with conspiracy to murder the liberal prime minister david lloyd george and labour party cabinet minister arthur henderson.