a6 murder

[P.L.A]

Avondale Crescent

Greetings one and all

The place where the car was found is one of the more straightforward A6 sites to locate.

On the lefthand side as the road slopes upwards from Redbridge Lane East. The apple tree is still there, as are the 1961 kerbstones. The kerb drop on the bottom righthand corner of the front on picture is a good reference point.

The windows of the house in the background are still exactly the same shape and positions, but have been replaced with double glazing - but even this is the same design as the 1961 windows.

Peter

[jimarilyn]

Hi Peter,

It's obvious that you're very well acquainted with locations having a direct connection to the A6 case. I'm very unfamiliar with any of these locations (living about 200 miles away) so I've been trying to orientate myself a little regarding such. I've just been on Google Earth and homed in on Avondale Crescent in Ilford IG4 but it looks nothing like a crescent shape. It looks much more like a right angled road, are my observations correct ?

[jimarilyn]

Aerial view of Avondale Crescent

Hi,

Hope I've got the right area.

[Steve]

Avondale Crescent in Ilford IG4 but it looks nothing like a crescent shape. It looks much more like a right angled road, are my observations correct ?

Yes, Avondale Crescent isn't really a 'crescent' but it does have two entrances and so probably qualifies for a 'Crescent' name in that respect at least.

[Steve]

This was the route thought to have been taken by Michael Gregsten and then the murderer, but it only accounts for about half of the approximate 200 miles covered by the car on the 22nd/23rd of August 1961. Dr. Keith Simpson, who carried out the post-mortem on Gregsten, estimated that death occurred between 3 and 4 am. On that basis, and if the murder car was in Redbridge just after 7am, it had taken the driver of the car well over 3 hours (probably closer to 4 hours) to cover about 50 miles. Maybe he was in reverse gear.

No-one knows for sure what exact route the killer took back to London but this map (which was published on page 692 of Murder Casebook The Mystery of Deadman’s Hill) is completely incorrect in the way it illustrates the journey from Dorney to Deadmans Hill. It shows the route heading towards Maida Vale; the journey actually went around the north-western suburbs in the general areas of Greenford and Wembley, and also passed very close to Kingsbury which is where the Hanratty family home was at that time.

[Steve]

Reversing Skills

One thing that I have always thought is that it is more likely for one of the suspects to have reversed than the other.

The killer was given a driving lesson with special attention to reversing by Miss Storie before he drove away .... perhaps he decided to practice his new reversing skills when he got to Redbridge ....

[jimarilyn]

Aerial view of Marsh Lane, Dorney

Hi

Are these the houses on Marsh Lane that have been referred to in earlier postings ?

[Steve]

Marsh Lane

These are the last two houses at the bottom of Marsh Lane. The tree-lined drive at the very bottom of the image is the entrance to the rowing lake.

[jimarilyn]

Hi

Is the (in)famous cornfield entrance anywhere on this particular view ?

[Steve]

I believe the cornfield entrance to be where the rowing lake drive starts, just off the bend at the bottom of the image. Other posters, including PLA, believe it to have been further up Marsh Lane above the houses. Either way, the image you have posted does show the cornfield where the abduction happened in 1961.

[P.L.A]

Marsh Lane Google

Greetings one and all

On the Google picture of the area, the road going north-west is Marsh Lane. Court Lane is the one going north-east, with the entrance to the rowing club going south-west (well sort of).

The picture clearly shows that if the entrance in question to the cornfield had been at what is now the rowing club gateway, then it is an extension of Court Lane. Storie's account tells of turning into Marsh Lane from Court Lane (the long way round from the Old Station Inn). Others' descriptions of going down Marsh Lane never say that they went to the end .

The picture also shows the area to the north of the bungalows, showing there is no hedge now, but there was one to the north of the entrance in 1961. This is rather a large thing to disappear for no apparent reason.

Peter

[Steve]

There was an entrance to the cornfield at the point where the rowing lake drive starts. Talking to local people, some who have lived in the area for many years, the belief is that that was the entrance where the Morris Minor was parked. That section of Marsh Lane has obviously been very much altered in recent years with the building of that very wide and tree-lined drive leading to the rowing lake.

It could be that the photographs which appeared in the press were taken at the wrong place, or it could be that local views are wrong and the entrance where the Morris Minor was parked was further north in Marsh Lane.

Are you able to post (upload) the photos you took recently? If not, if you would like to email them to me I’ll post them on your behalf.

[jimarilyn]

Greetings one and all

On the Google picture of the area, the road going north-west is Marsh Lane. Court Lane is the one going north-east, with the entrance to the rowing club going south-west (well sort of).

The picture clearly shows that if the entrance in question to the cornfield had been at what is now the rowing club gateway, then it is an extension of Court Lane. Storie's account tells of turning into Marsh Lane from Court Lane (the long way round from the Old Station Inn). Others' descriptions of going down Marsh Lane never say that they went to the end .

The picture also shows the area to the north of the bungalows, showing there is no hedge now, but there was one to the north of the entrance in 1961. This is rather a large thing to disappear for no apparent reason.

Peter

Hi


Here is another view of the cornfield entrance further to the one I added a week or so ago. In the Murder Casebook magazine it states (erroneously I'd guess) that it's a picture taken at Deadman's Hill. Does the pylon help to orientate things any ?

[jimarilyn]

Slightly higher aerial view of cornfield

Hi once again,


There's more of Marsh Lane and Court Lane on view in this image. Can either Steve or Peter enlighten as to which is nearer to the cornfield entrance of the Morris Minor, circle 1 or circle 2. Or am I way off ?

[P.L.A]

Avondale Crescent

Greetings one and all

Don’t know whether it is a crescent or not, but it is highly unlikely that there would be any through traffic turning left off Redbridge Lane East into Avondale Crescent (This corner is shown on posting 606). Such traffic would have turned left at the previous road, Roding Lane South. This road runs parallel with part of Avondale Crescent, before the latter turns back onto the former.

The view shown on posting 607 is close to Green’s Stores at 220 Redbridge Lane East, which is 34 yards from the corner of Avondale Crescent. It is from outside number 220 that James Trower said he saw a car pass him and turn into Avondale Crescent.

Number 220 only changed from being Green’s Stores quite recently.

Peter