a6 murder

[jimarilyn]

Hi Steve,

Just had a look on the Ancestry.co.uk site. No births registered under the name Rouch in the whole of England and Wales for 1961 (it really is an uncommon name). As you rightly suggest the birth may well have been registered under the father's surname. I wonder (if she was a genuine caller) if she was hinting that her partner was the killer ?

[Steve]

Hi jimarilyn

In all probability she was just a crank caller. I believe the police do get lots of false leads, hoax callers and fake confessions in high profile investigations like this one. This was possibly one of many similar calls and the police likely as not didn't take it seriously at the time. Still very interesting though, along with the woman in the court who called out from the public gallery, it all adds to the fascination with this case.

Kind regards,
Steve

[jimarilyn]

Hi Steve,

It certainly does add to the endless fascination of this very mysterious case. To quote the title of one of Johnny Nash's most popular songs "There are more questions than answers" (incidentally a very good song, IMHO).

Do you know who Valerie Perkins is by any chance ? There's a photo of her (in Woffinden's book) seated between Peter Alphon and Jeremy Fox having what looks like a glass of red wine. However there is no mention of her elsewhere in the book.

[Steve]

Justice had a chauffer and I believe his name was Gordon Perkins - could have been his wife, perhaps.

[Steve]

Unless, of course, the chauffer batted for the oppostion like his boss did!

[jimarilyn]

One thing that surprises me about this famous murder case is that in the almost 47 years since, no one has attempted to make a movie about it. I wonder if the reason for this is that there is so much uncertainty about what happened. There have been films made on the John Christie, Ruth Ellis and Derek Bentley cases. Even allowing for all the uncertainty, there is definitely enough material there for some brave film-maker to seriously consider dramatising what remains one of the most intriguing murder mysteries in British 20th Century history.

[Steve]

Agree 100%!

Jude Law to play Hanratty?

[jimarilyn]

Not a bad choice at all. Perhaps Vic Reeves as William Ewer. Sidney Tafler's grandson as PLA.

[P.L.A]

Valerie Perkins

Greetings one and all.

She was the chauffer's daughter.

Peter

[Steve]

Hello Peter

What a memory! All those years ago and you still remember who you were sat next to in that photograph. Was it red wine she was drinking as jimarilyn thought?

(Now I know what PLA stands for!)

[jimarilyn]

Hi Peter,

Thanks for filling in that detail. I had often wondered who she was. Interesting to note that three different Valeries crop up in some way or another in Woffinden's book. Perhaps Valerie was a more common name in those days than it is today.

[P.L.A]

Valerie Perkins

Greetings one and all

She was the chauffer's daughter.

Peter

[Steve]

Valerie

I don't think it has ever been an especially popular name in this country, possibly more popular in the USA, but it doesn't appear very high in any of the most popular female names in any of the decades from 1900 onwards.

Maybe yet another coincidence in this case 'sagging with coincidences.'

[jimarilyn]

Interestingly enough another Perkins crops up in this case, namely a Mary Perkins who stayed in the room next to PLA at the Alexandra Court Hotel. In her description of PLA she said he was "about 30 years, 5 ft 6in tall, medium build, fresh complexion, dark hair, with either a cockney or south country accent." Do some females have a problem gauging heights of people as I've always been under the impression that PLA was 5ft 9in tall. JH was an inch smaller than PLA I have been given to understand.

[Steve]

Greetings one and all

She was the chauffer's daughter.

Peter

Hi Peter

You have already told us. (Funny thing, this was the kind of thing that technophobe Bob from the old threads would have done ....)

KR
Steve