A6 Murder who wrote the letter to Gregsten's boss complaining of the relationship?

[Limehouse]

Hi all,

I would think that whoever wrote the letter may have been the same person who approached the landlord. It is likely that whoever did this knew that MG was in a realtionship outside his marriage and that his marriage was at risk. The people most likely to be aware of this and concerned about it are the people closest to MG, JG and VS.

So, I would conclude that the people most likely are close friends of Janet and MG, members of Janet's family (she was closest to her half sister and her brother-in-law, the Ewers), members of MG's family (his mother and aunt) and members of VS's family (her parents).

I am wondering how much VS's parents knew about her relationship with MG? If VS went on holiday with him, her parents either knew about the relationship, or believed she was on holiday with a girlfriend. If they subsequently found out that she was in this relationship, they may have acted to protect their daughter and to avoid the shame of her possibly moving in with a married man.

On the other hand, with a small son and a new baby to cope with, JG's family may have been outraged at MG's treatment of her and attempted to avoid a marriage break up.

Incidently, employer interference in 'office' relationships extended right into the 1970s. I met my husband at work (first in 1976 but we didn't get together until a couple of years later) and we were both single. He was quite a bit senior to me and we had to keep our relationship secret because it was frowned upon. When we married, I had to resign!

[Natalie Severn]

If you are going to rule out Janet as being the person who visited the landlord on the grounds that she was eight months pregnant at the time, then it clearly DOES matter which year she gave birth to her second child.

It cannot be right to say "...by all accounts it was not Janet nor was it Janet who warned off the Windsor landlord." because the account of Paul Foot in his book clearly indicates his belief that it was Janet or her family who visited the landlord and wrote the letter. Foot does NOT exclude Janet.

Simon Gregston was born on 12th October 1959.Valerie Storie and Michael Gregsten took a week's holiday together in Devon in the late Summer of 1959-Michael left Janet Gregsten shortly after to live in Windsor where Gregsten's landlord was visited and advised not to let the flat ' as Gregsten [I]was a married man[/I]'.My question is :

Who was it who visited Gregsten's landlord in Windsor? Gregsten moved back to Janet soon after their son Simon was born in October 1959......so Janet would have been 6 or 7 or even 8 months pregnant -since he was there for only a short time see above.Paul Foot does not suggest it was Janet btw---nowhere in the book does he suggest this.
I have tried to post a copy of the birth registration but so far haven't been able to ---will try again tomorrow or Sunday.

[EddieX]

But my inference isn't that Janet Gregsten wrote to her husband's boss-and certainly not that it was she who 'visited' the landlord of Gregsten's digs in Windsor---after all she was something like 8 months pregnant when whoever made the visit did so---Gregsten had been in digs in Slough for a few months before and it was when he was in digs in Windsor it happened -
It doesn't matter which year the 2nd son was born really [1959 or 1960], the point is that Gregsten had moved out at the time -and had been away on holiday with Valerie Storie for a week too -all while Janet Gregsten was pregnant- and that it was during her pregnancy that someone from her family made the 'visit'.Its worth bearing in mind that the only people who helped Janet after the murder were Bill Ewer and his wife, ie Janet's half sister -also named Valerie-who took her and her two sons to live with them after the murder.
So I wonder who wrote the letter because by all accounts it was not Janet nor was it Janet who warned off the Windsor landlord.

If you are going to rule out Janet as being the person who visited the landlord on the grounds that she was eight months pregnant at the time, then it clearly DOES matter which year she gave birth to her second child.

It cannot be right to say "...by all accounts it was not Janet nor was it Janet who warned off the Windsor landlord." because the account of Paul Foot in his book clearly indicates his belief that it was Janet or her family who visited the landlord and wrote the letter. Foot does NOT exclude Janet.

[Natalie Severn]

I don't think I can answer either question. Paul Foot in his book clearly implies that the letter and the visit were the result of the actions of Janet Gregsten and her family "...doing everything in their power to discourage the relationship."

I am not sure how valid the inference is that if you would be desperate enough to write to your husband's boss and to visit your husband's landlord then you would certainly be desperate enough have him abducted at gunpoint.

By the way, Foot has Anthony Gregsten being born in 1959.

But my inference isn't that Janet Gregsten wrote to her husband's boss-and certainly not that it was she who 'visited' the landlord of Gregsten's digs in Windsor---after all she was something like 8 months pregnant when whoever made the visit did so---Gregsten had been in digs in Slough for a few months before and it was when he was in digs in Windsor it happened -
It doesn't matter which year the 2nd son was born really [1959 or 1960], the point is that Gregsten had moved out at the time -and had been away on holiday with Valerie Storie for a week too -all while Janet Gregsten was pregnant- and that it was during her pregnancy that someone from her family made the 'visit'.Its worth bearing in mind that the only people who helped Janet after the murder were Bill Ewer and his wife, ie Janet's half sister -also named Valerie-who took her and her two sons to live with them after the murder.
So I wonder who wrote the letter because by all accounts it was not Janet nor was it Janet who warned off the Windsor landlord.

[EddieX]

By August 22nd 1961 the marriage of Michael and Janet Gregsten had been in difficulties for some time.The 3 year love affair between Valerie Storie and Gregsten had intensified and on 1st August 1961 Gregsten had taken what seemed like an irrevocable step to end his marriage.He took a flat in Maidenhead and told his wife he would be moving in on 27th August 1961.
Gregsten had taken 'digs' before [though not his own flat] both in Slough and in Windsor which he had stayed in during the week returning to the family home in Abbot's Langley every weekend.This was in 1960.He had returned to live at home shortly before the birth of his second son who was born on 12th October 1960 .
However it was while he was lodging in Windsor in 1960 that Gregsten's landlord was visited and advised not to let the flat as Gregsten was a married man.

QUESTION i]: Who was it who visited Gregsten's landlord?[/I]

Meanwhile the Director of the Road Research Laboratory where Gregsten worked received a letter complaining of the relationship which he acted upon by calling the couple in to advise against the liaison.

QUESTION ii]: Who wrote the letter?

There is evidence that this was not Janet Gregsten ---though she may have been behind both events.

I don't think I can answer either question. Paul Foot in his book clearly implies that the letter and the visit were the result of the actions of Janet Gregsten and her family "...doing everything in their power to discourage the relationship."

I am not sure how valid the inference is that if you would be desperate enough to write to your husband's boss and to visit your husband's landlord then you would certainly be desperate enough have him abducted at gunpoint.

By the way, Foot has Anthony Gregsten being born in 1959.

[Natalie Severn]

By August 22nd 1961 the marriage of Michael and Janet Gregsten had been in difficulties for some time.The 3 year love affair between Valerie Storie and Gregsten had intensified and on 1st August 1961 Gregsten had taken what seemed like an irrevocable step to end his marriage.He took a flat in Maidenhead and told his wife he would be moving in on 27th August 1961.
Gregsten had taken 'digs' before [though not his own flat] both in Slough and in Windsor which he had stayed in during the week returning to the family home in Abbot's Langley every weekend.This was in 1960.He had returned to live at home shortly before the birth of his second son who was born on 12th October 1960 .
However it was while he was lodging in Windsor in 1960 that Gregsten's landlord was visited and advised not to let the flat as Gregsten was a married man.

QUESTION i]: Who was it who visited Gregsten's landlord?[/I]

Meanwhile the Director of the Road Research Laboratory where Gregsten worked received a letter complaining of the relationship which he acted upon by calling the couple in to advise against the liaison.

QUESTION ii]: Who wrote the letter?

There is evidence that this was not Janet Gregsten ---though she may have been behind both events.