A6 Rebooted

[Pcdunn]

Hi djw - many thanks for flagging.

I'll definitely watch with interest and hope but doubt that it will be a very deep delve. I note the other case to be featured is that of George Davis. I had never thought of grouping his case with that of James Hanratty. I suppose the most common feature is (or was) the belief in their innocence and the campaigning, particularly by family members, to try and establish that.

Such belief and campaigning was also a prominent feature of the Derek Bentley case and it was in the role of the condemned teenager in the 1991 film Let Him Have It that Christopher Eccleston, the presenter of this series, first came to public attention. Eccleston even attended Bentley's memorial service when he was posthumously acquitted several years after the film's release.

I suspect Eccleston's connection with the Bentley case has resulted in him fronting this short series and that there will be a significant acknowledgement of the impact upon the respective families. If so, that's understandable although I would prefer a detailed probe into the crimes themselves.

Best regards,
OneRound

The announcement about this series which I saw had Eccleston saying these two cases were selected because he had a "personal connection to one" and because of the great publicity of the other. I suppose they are, respectively, Bentley and Hanratty.
(Thanks for the mention of Eccleston's role as Bentley in the 1991 film, I didn't know that credit.)

[Sherlock Houses]

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8 888 8 *

[cobalt]

I find Hawser's command of language less than overwhelming.

[16] ''They left the Inn at about 8.45 pm and drove some 1.5 miles into a cornfield near Dorney Reach.''
That is ambiguous and might confuse anyone not familiar with the Case.

(76) ''The consistency of the description of Mr. Hanratty's driving given by witnesses who had seen him drive with the driving described by Mr. Skillet, Mr. Blackhall and Mr. Trower.''
Not only is this rather verbose it is misleading. Mr. Blackhall did not identify James Hanratty as the driver of the car as is suggested here.

[Sherlock Houses]

Many thanks, Sherlock. If you are are able to supply the rest of Hawser's Report, it would be much appreciated.
Best regards,
OneRound

Can do OneRound but pages 16-17 and 20-23 are missing for some reason or other.

[OneRound]

Many thanks, Sherlock. If you are are able to supply the rest of Hawser's Report, it would be much appreciated.
Best regards,
OneRound

[Sherlock Houses]

*****

[Sherlock Houses]

Thanks for pointing out Ecclestons role as Derek Bentley.

If you search for the Hawser report it appears to be in various libraries and even for sale online. At nearly £300 though (assuming they wouldn't just try and source it then cancel the sale when they couldn't) I would rather access it in a library. That is of course, if it is indeed public.

Hi,

Back in October 2015 I scanned Hawser's 1975 whitewash of a report. Attached are the first 10 pages....

[djw]

Also in May (and June elsewhere) is a talk about the A6 murder by Paul Stickler. I think I will go to this.

U3A Thame

THE A6 MURDER

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Thu 2 May 2024, 2:00 PM

Barns Centre, Church Road, Thame OX9 3AJ

[djw]

Thanks for pointing out Ecclestons role as Derek Bentley.

If you search for the Hawser report it appears to be in various libraries and even for sale online. At nearly £300 though (assuming they wouldn't just try and source it then cancel the sale when they couldn't) I would rather access it in a library. That is of course, if it is indeed public.

[OneRound]

Is it odd that last March The Times referred to the case as a miscarriage of justice (https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/s...tice-rf0t0ht2b) and now Murdoch's Sky wish to reexamine the case? It is almost like there is a section of the establishment who believe Hanratty should not have been convicted. Is Christopher Eccleston establishment? Perhaps not.

^{How deep will he delve? Will it be just Gregsten, Storie, Alphon and Hanratty level of analysis? Or will he go deeper and cover Ewer, France, Nudds? Or even deeper into Nimmo, Hawser, Matthews}?

Hi djw - many thanks for flagging.

I'll definitely watch with interest and hope but doubt that it will be a very deep delve. I note the other case to be featured is that of George Davis. I had never thought of grouping his case with that of James Hanratty. I suppose the most common feature is (or was) the belief in their innocence and the campaigning, particularly by family members, to try and establish that.

Such belief and campaigning was also a prominent feature of the Derek Bentley case and it was in the role of the condemned teenager in the 1991 film Let Him Have It that Christopher Eccleston, the presenter of this series, first came to public attention. Eccleston even attended Bentley's memorial service when he was posthumously acquitted several years after the film's release.

I suspect Eccleston's connection with the Bentley case has resulted in him fronting this short series and that there will be a significant acknowledgement of the impact upon the respective families. If so, that's understandable although I would prefer a detailed probe into the crimes themselves.

Best regards,
OneRound

[cobalt]

Correct me if I am wrong, but Nimmo, Hawser and Matthews reports are not in the public domain?

The same is true for the George Davis case from 1975, part of the series, the papers of which are still not available until 2026. So I don't see how far Ecclestone can go really bar what we have done here.

[djw]

Looking forward to that then

Is it odd that last March The Times referred to the case as a miscarriage of justice (https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/s...tice-rf0t0ht2b) and now Murdoch's Sky wish to reexamine the case? It is almost like there is a section of the establishment who believe Hanratty should not have been convicted. Is Christopher Eccleston establishment? Perhaps not.

How deep will he delve? Will it be just Gregsten, Storie, Alphon and Hanratty level of analysis? Or will he go deeper and cover Ewer, France, Nudds? Or even deeper into Nimmo, Hawser, Matthews?