a6 murder

[Steve]

Hi

Here's the entrance to that cornfield at Dorney Reach. From the look of it it's quite muddy. You would have thought the soles of the murderer's shoes would have accumulated some mud (apparently it had been raining heavily that day) and left prints inside the Morris Minor.

The cornfield entrance has been transformed in recent years. When I get chance I'll post some recent photographs.

The lack of evidence such as mud in the car has always been a puzzle. There must have been SOME evidence. You have to wonder just how well the police did their job, or if evidence was never used at the trial.

[Steve]

Hi

And just a mile or so away was The Old Station Inn at Taplow where Gregsten and Miss Storie had been shortly before heading for the cornfield. Mary Lanz said later on that Alphon had also been in the pub the same evening. If not true why would she lie ?

Mary Lanz was working in the bar at The Old Station Inn at this time, her husband was the landlord for a brief period including the time of the murder and the trial.

We only have heresay evidence that she positively identified Alphon as having been in the pub previously. I have always thought that her involvement was a little questionable.

It's always worth bearing in mind that people like Justice, who took Alphon to the pub and lingered behind for a word with Mary, had a definite axe to grind.

[Steve]

Hi, Sorry for hogging the last few posts. Just thought these scanned photos would be of interest to those not familiar with these images.

Again, this area has changed beyond recognition since this picture was taken in August 1961 - almost 50 years ago! On the old thread I posted some contemporary images of the lay-by.

[P.L.A]

The Cornfield

Greetings one and all

I’m not too sure about what is being said about the location of the cornfield.

The recent picture shows one of the two bungalows at the southern end of Marsh Lane, numbers 1 (Elm View) and 3 (Dawn Cottage).

The historical picture is almost identical to the current view of the field just to the south of number 5 Marsh Lane, which is a two storey terrace house. This is about 450 yards north of the cottages at the end of the lane. The bulge into the field of the northern border hedge is quite distinctive.

Historical footage (e.g. as shown on the Channel 5 famous crimes series) shows a house remarkably like number 5 adjacent to the spot.

Nellie Climmo, who lived at number 3 at the time of the crime tried to get in on the action and liked talking to the press. She reported a Morris Minor being parked just south of her cottage at about 7pm on the night in question. For obvious reasons, the police discounted this.

Nevertheless, the current owners of number 3 are convinced that the crime started close to their property.

Careful reading of accounts such as Miss Storie’s do not suggest that the field was at the end of the lane. If this was so, she and Mike would have travelled along Court Lane and gone almost straight into the cornfield, and not turned into Marsh Lane.

Peter

[jimarilyn]

Another view of murder scene at Deadman's Hill

Police standing guard. Those houses don't look that far away do they ?

[Steve]

I’m not too sure about what is being said about the location of the cornfield.

Where do you believe the cornfield entrance was in 1961?

[P.L.A]

The Cornfield

Greetings one and all

Just to the south of number 5 Marsh Lane. The kerb stones that are still there give a clue.

Can't see that anyone banging on the door of number 1 would be heard at number 3. Numbers 5 and 7 however are part of a terrace.

The current hedges forming the northern and western borders of the field by number 5 are almost identical to those in 1961 pictures. The most distinctive feature is the bulge into the field about half way along the northern hedge.

Nellie Climmo was regarded by the local Slough reporters as a publicity seeker.


Peter.

[Steve]

Where Was The Cornfield Entrance?

Peter

I hear what you are saying, and I have tried very hard to pinpoint the exact spot where the cornfield entrance was located in 1961, including speaking to some of today's local residents. Everyone I have spoken to has told me the entrance is where I believe it to be. One of the current residents has lived in the same property since the early 1970s and tells me the cornfield entrance is at the end of Marsh Lane, where today's entrance to the rowing lake is situation.

If I have the location wrong I would like to know, but the options for the cornfield entrance are quite limited. As far as I can see there are only two possibilities.

Kind regards
Steve

[jimarilyn]

Hi Peter,

Thank you for all the interesting information and insight you have provided. You obviously are very knowledgable on the subject. I've never been to Slough, so I'm more than a little in the dark regarding this area where the cornfield is. Am I correct in presuming that the entrance (the historical photo I downloaded) is on Marsh Lane ? Is Marsh Lane a long road and roughly how far from the Old Station Inn is the entrance to the cornfield ?

[Steve]

It's 2.5 miles by road from the Inn to the bottom of Marsh Lane, less if you walk across the fields!

Yes, Marsh Lane is quite a long road.

[jimarilyn]

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the info. One of these days I intend to travel down from Liverpool to Taplow/Dorney Reach and also to Deadman's Hill near Ampthill to familiarise myself with these locations. It would be good I think to try and get a feel for these important locations. From material I've read over the years I get the impression that Deadman's Hill in particular has a spooky/eerie atmosphere surrounding it.

[Steve]

Deadman's Hill

It's probably just me, but I certainly get an eerie feeling at Deadman's Hill. I think it's more to do with the overgrown trees and shrubbery, and also some of the rather dubious goings-on one can witness there in the evenings, rather than the A6 murder connection.

Dorney, on the other hand, feels quite differently to me. Again, possibly just a personal perspective because there are always smiling people walking along the paths, on sunny days.

[Steve]

Greetings one and all

I’m not too sure about what is being said about the location of the cornfield.

The recent picture shows one of the two bungalows at the southern end of Marsh Lane, numbers 1 (Elm View) and 3 (Dawn Cottage).

The historical picture is almost identical to the current view of the field just to the south of number 5 Marsh Lane, which is a two storey terrace house. This is about 450 yards north of the cottages at the end of the lane. The bulge into the field of the northern border hedge is quite distinctive.

Historical footage (e.g. as shown on the Channel 5 famous crimes series) shows a house remarkably like number 5 adjacent to the spot.

Nellie Climmo, who lived at number 3 at the time of the crime tried to get in on the action and liked talking to the press. She reported a Morris Minor being parked just south of her cottage at about 7pm on the night in question. For obvious reasons, the police discounted this.

Nevertheless, the current owners of number 3 are convinced that the crime started close to their property.

Careful reading of accounts such as Miss Storie’s do not suggest that the field was at the end of the lane. If this was so, she and Mike would have travelled along Court Lane and gone almost straight into the cornfield, and not turned into Marsh Lane.

Peter

Someone was doing some research into the Marsh Lane residents last year:

http://www.maidenhead-advertiser.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?p=12150

[P.L.A]

The Entrance

Greetings one and all

I am not 100% certain of where the entrance to the cornfield was. I have only pieced together the available information and drawn my conclusion. You may well be right.

I have also spoken to the locals, including the resident of number 3, who has been there since 1970. And yes, I agree with you that the common belief in the area is that the abduction took place just south of number 1.

Problem is that it doesn’t add up. Reading the accounts of such people as Miss Storie and Foggerty Waul (or whatever his name is) does not suggest that the entrance was a continuation of Court Lane.

One thing is certain, contemporary pictures of the scene show a two storey white house just to the north of the entrance. Number 5 is such a house and numbers 1 and 3 are bungalows. It is possible that the press of the day were misdirected to the wrong place.

At the back of my mind I seem to remember visiting Marsh Lane in the nineties just after Woffinden’s book was published. His description of who owned the field then and what it was being used for helped to convince me that I had correctly identified the spot some time previous. I must admit that I didn’t go down to number 1 to see if it also fitted the bill. That has all changed now.

If the entrance was at the southern end of the lane, then the transformation has been huge, with whole hedgerows being moved. If it was close to number 5, then there has been virtually no change in the landscape. It’s possible that the two places were very similar in 1961, and the one has changed out of all recognition.

Peter

[jimarilyn]

Hi Steve,

I can go along with you on the Dorney aspect, even though I've never been there. Visited Krakow for 3 or 4 days in early March (cheap EasyJet flight) with my ex-girlfriend and while there we went on a coach trip to Auschwitz which is only an hour or so away. It was a very sunny day in Auschwitz and a very, very moving, powerful and unforgettable experience but because it was such a warm sunny day the impact was much less than if it had been a grey, cold and overcast day. What atrocious conditions, torture and treatment those concentration camp victims at Auschwitz and nearby Birkenau must have endured did not hit home fully simply because it was sunny. So yes, sunny weather does bring out smiling faces.