The 60 Minutes video segment on the Somerton Man has just gone live, but you’ll have to navigate down the thumbnails on the right hand side of that page to find it – alternatively, this direct link to the video might possibly work for you.
Though it’s always nice to see Gerry Feltus and Derek Abbott on screen 🙂 , the whole point of the programme was that it also included a series of on-screen interviews with Jestyn’s direct family members (daughter Kate Thomson, daughter-in-law Roma Egan, granddaughter Rachel Egan) that revealed some new titbits of information – though (as is normally the case with cipher mysteries) only really enough to tantalize rather than definitively prove or disprove.
As a result, the things we now know are:-
* That Jessica Thomson lied to the police (as just about everyone suspected), i.e. that she did indeed know who the Somerton Man was;
* That Jessica Thomson told her daughter that the whole mystery wasn’t “at a State Police level”;
* That Jessica Thomson told her daughter that she “was teaching English to migrants”, and could speak Russian (if a bit rustily);
* That Jessica Thomson’s daughter now believes that her mother was linked in some way to Soviet spying; and
* That Jessica Thomson’s granddaughter now suspects that the Unknown Man might well have been her actual grandfather.
The first bit of good news is that if (as claimed) Jessica did know the Somerton Man, then we can’t really call him the “Unknown Man” any more, because he was manifestly “The Known Man”. Having said that, I somehow doubt that Gerry Feltus will be changing his book’s title any time soon, though. 😉
As far as the whole Soviet spy scenario goes: ASIO (Australian Secret Intelligence Organization) had an office in Adelaide, and I expect that there is a huge amount of stuff in the archives relating to Russian spies in Australia during that edgy post-WW2 period. Of course, it may be many years yet before anything in such grey archives get declassified… but if this side of the story is even partially right, then that could – much to my surprise – well be where any kind of genuine historical answer will lie.
But all the same… if Jessica Thomson was indeed a Soviet spy, it still makes no sense that she would silently poison another Soviet spy visiting her, even if she were a double agent (other countries’ spies were often far more useful alive-and-known-about than dead-and-buried). Personally, I still think it far more likely that the Somerton Man died by accident or by someone else’s hand than by Jessica’s hand – though I really wouldn’t be at all surprised if it was she who meticulously cleaned and polished his shoes after his demise. Shame the hat was too far gone, though. 😐
Moreover, the notion that the Somerton Man was Robin Thomson’s father (and Rachel Egan’s grandfather) is still a little bit hard for me to digest. Before anything so radical as an exhumation could take place, the simplest explanation of all – that Prosper McTaggart Thomson was the biological parent of both Robin Thomson and Kate Thomson, as you’d basically expect – would surely need to be eliminated first.
Even though Y-DNA testing is not possible here (because it only works for two direct male descendants of a single male ancestor), I would be pretty sure that there must be some other DNA test that could look for some kind of shared allele pattern between Kate Thomson and Rachel Egan that would indicate whether or not they were related (or very probably related) via a shared male ancestor. (I’m not an expert on genetics, though, so please tell me if this is just plain wrong.)
Only if it could be shown beyond reasonable doubt that the two did not share such a male ancestor would it make any obvious sense to push for exhumation – so, has this kind of testing already been done? The programme was silent… but maybe such tests have already been done, who knows?
Nick see the link attached (especially the third diagram). If I am reading it corectly, Rachel should have slightly <25% of SM's DNA? So, with reasonable samples from Rachel and the remains of SM, geneticists would be able to tell if SM was Rachel’s grandfather, great uncle, great-grandfather, second cousin once removed etc, or completely unrelated.
I have a theory .. a thesis, an hypothesis, a proposition, a notion .. Spies to the right, and all else to the left. There we can talk.
Pete you seem to have nothing except advertisement
Nick, You are correct about the DNA test. Basically ANY autosomal DNA test currently in use would instantly tell you. I’ve personally used the services of 23andme, they’ve gotten their price down to a hundred dollars. Even this personal test could give you the answer. My hundred dollar test correctly predicts my relation to my first cousin once removed and numerous distant cousins as well. Literally one positively known relative of Prosper and 200 USD (possibly slightly more due to shipping)
The weakest point in my mind is that if she admitted in so many words that she had national security information(implied if you are saying “not at state police level”), why didn’t she divulge what she knew about the man? Not even a codename? Or why he died? Something is off, what that something is?? Up in the air
Yeah I agree Helen. Pete goes on like this all the time.
T Anderson: I see the logic now, so the correct DNA test to be doing isn’t between Jessica’s granddaughter and Jessica’s daughter (because Jessica’s DNA contribution gets in the way), but between Jessica’s granddaughter and someone known to be a (preferably close) relative of Prosper Thomson but unrelated to Jessica. If that test produces no shared DNA, then it’s unlikely that Prosper was the granddaughter’s grandfather.
I’ll ask Derek Abbott about this, he must surely have gone through this already.
Is this a mystery about who he is, or is it a mystery about why he died?
– and who may have been complicit in his murder?
Is this the problem you are having Helen, Dude? Are you unable to pick your direction?
“He is seen knocking on the door …” By whom? Should that be “Someone was seen knocking on the door…”?
“… he leaves the house in the direction of Somerton Beach.” At what time? What is the source? If the knocker was SM, it constrains scenarios. What else has been held back?
I am 100% Rachel Egan is from New Zealand and her name is actually Jenny. But I saw on another forum that she was known in Townsville as Rebecca/Becky. Why so many names?
While you’re chatting to the Professor Nick, ask him to correct the thesis. His boys got Tom Read mixed up with T Keane. Sloppy work, and picked up by thousands.
Rachel looks like Prospers mother Alice . I’m not saying DNA testing wouldn’t be a good idea. I’m all for it. Infact I’m for exhumation of Sm DNA in a non invasive manner , perhaps a special drill probe could be used to collect it without disturbing the poor soul. I am family also. And I think the more likely answer is that the somerton man is Rachel’s great grandfather , her actual biological grandfather is prosper T. Even though she doesn’t want to believe it. In a recent television interview the reporter takes the viewers in a direction of Russian spies. There was no mention of this theory from Kate . The only Russian story she mentions is that J could understand the Russian language. If she was working for the Kremlin I doubt very much that she would have settled in Australia. More likely worked for The Circus. Or Australia.
Pingback: TV-Dokumentation über den Somerton-Mann – Klausis Krypto Kolumne
Miss Bogotyreva
Roma only slept with Prosper a few times that doesn’t make Prosper the father of Rachel. When Prosper slept with Roma it was a comfort thing as Robin was in hospital and Roma was distraught.
R
………. WHAAAAAAAAATTTT??????!!!!!
Thanks for clearing that up R. I agree a couple of nights sleeping with your father in law doesn’t constitute paternity. Its life and things like that happen all the time. Prosper Thomson was a good looking man and Roma was really attractive in her younger days so I can see where the attraction came from. We are all human beings at the end of the day. If Rachel is Prosper’s daughter it might explain why Roma put her up for adoption etc. But there could be other reasons?.. Does anyone know?
That’s really interesting to know R. I remember last year Derek Abbott saying in his group that Jessica and Prosper slept in separate beds etc. At the time I was horrified because it was such an invasion of privacy but as things have progressed with interviews etc more things make sense. I really enjoyed seeing Kate on television she was kind and blatantly honest. I did feel slightly that the interviewer took advantage of her good nature. Also Derek Abbott said in his group that Kate was not Prospers daughter from seeing Kate is is obvious that she is. She has the same facial structure as Prosper same mouth, same eyes. There is no doubt that she is. I think they should have focused more on Kate and her story. Gerry and Derek should have not got involved it was Kate’s chance to express her views. Also it would have been great to hear about Prospers daughter with his first wife Queenie. Little Elizabeth didn’t make it but Derek Abbott was going around saying Prosper was sterile. It all makes sense now as Derek and Rachel are in a relationship and Prosper could be Rachel’s father of course they are going to put around Prosper was sterile. Everything in the story is really making sense now.
Nick: Thank you for posting these comments for our entertainment. It is like a cross between ‘Days of our Lives’ and ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ – the comedy version.
Debra: I do my best, sure, but even I would struggle to achieve the lofty cultural ideal you describe. 😉
That is just nasty. What a horrible person they both are. Fathers in laws are not meant to do things like that. I’ve just read the article on their affair. Horrible!
Вы из Америки Дебре?
очень хорошая история ник я нашел рассказ 60 минут очень интересно
Ha ha was thinking along those lines too Debra!
Surely the docos mentioning of SM knocking on Jessicas door was speculative? I thought that was pretty loose from 60 mins.
Again, Jestyn is painted as the mysterious “spy”, as per some of the excellent theories on this site, i think the torch should be shined more on PT.
Nick, autosomal tests also generally include a form of BGA(biogeographical analysis) in the results. This means that questions about Eastern European lineage could be answered at the same time. That is assuming it’s even an issue.
What article on their affair? It’s a lie. All of it is lies.
Contrary to a popular misconception, advance in genetic science mean that if a woman has a comprehensive autosomal DNA test, it will reveal markers she shares with relatives of her father and paternal grandfather (in addition to her mother’s family). (See attached link to the blog Dna-Explained.)
What’s more the ongoing boom in DNA testing for genealogical research means that organisations/companies testing have access to databases containing millions of DNA profiles that enable them to determine markers for hundreds of surnames. (Police around the world now routinely use this technique to identify suspects.)
Therefore, if Rachel _alone_ has a full autosomal DNA profile it should reveal one of three things. Rachel will find one of the following about the DNA she has inherited from her paternal grandfather:
(1) it matches an established marker for the surname “Thomson” or;
(2) it matches people with another surname, e.g. “Kean(e)”, “Ivanov” etc or;
(3) in the unlikely event that Rachel has a rare DNA profile, which does not (yet) have any exact matches in the existing surname databases, she would get some excellent clues to her paternal grandfather’s identity, such as the geographical location of “near misses” e.g. Moscow or Glasgow (which is apparently the world’s epicentre of clan Thomson 😉
It is therefore highly likely that autosomal DNA profile of Rachel would reveal SM’s surname (or at least the surname most commonly used by his relatives).
Приятно видеть, соотечественников, комментируя шифров тайн. я прочитал на многочисленных форумах и сайтах о романе между Roma Иган и процветать Thomson. Так или иначе назад к тайне в руке. у меня есть доступ к Miltary записей в России, так что если кто-то хочет дать мне несколько имен я могу посмотреть их, чтобы увидеть, если они являются Somerton человек.доступ в Интернет предоставляется только в Россию. спасибо Вениамин
Veniamin: thanks very much for the offer – we’re still a little way off from having a name, but the minute that we do, I’ll be sure to pass it on for checking. 🙂
I just read somewhere on Facebook that Jessica Thomson’s brother Thomas Harkness was married to Jim Beaumont’s first cousin Clarice (Pegg). Jim was the father of the three children that were abducted in 1966.
Is that true? It just gets weirder by the minute!
I do not think a car thief or wool classer would read or study a book like the Rubaiyat. My feeling is with the connection between Jestyn and The Beaumonts and the SM death and the Magnoson boy’s death that SM may have been involved or knew of a paedophile/ child abduction ring in Adelaide and was killed as a warning to anyone else. The Russian spy rumour may have been to throw everyone off and prevent the police following up too closely. The alleged romance between Roma Egan and Prosper Thomson may have been part of the pattern.
Sorry to spam(!) but the Beaumont children lived in Harding Street, Somerton Park!!
It has also been suggested on another board that someone search the names of inmates at the Crippled Children’s Home from 1948 . Apparently they are illuminating.
I found that Roma Egan has a Wikipedia page and she is listed as being Cousin to Patti Newton. Patti is wife to Australian entertainer Bert Newton. Patti (Patricia McGrath) is a well known Australian Icon as well. I wonder if Patti is aware of what is going on?
Interesting theory RE: Roma Egan. Nobody suspected woman in murder and child abuse cases. Myra Hindley was a good example. The moors murderer from the UK.
The interviewer should have said to everyone did you know about Jessica Thomson’s brother being married to the Beaumonts. It is a fact and it is true. I wish people would stick to the facts.
Sydney & Samuel Zamiteas: the alleged link between Thomas Harkness and the Beaumonts was suggested by a commenter here a fair while back, but turned out to be completely untrue. Please try not to rely on “Facebook facts” too much, the actual facts are strange enough as it is. 🙂
No, that link is true. The Charters Towers Beaumont link is not. Tom Harkness did indeed marry Peggy Beaumont; both families were from nearby to Geelong
Jessie: but were the two completely different Beaumont families connected at all? No, not as far as I know. So… what are you claiming, exactly?
Lets check the story and see if there is any truth to it. I have found the Beaumont Family and the details are the following:
Jim BEAUMONT AKA Grant Alfred BEAUMONT born 1925
Grant Alfred Beaumont’s parents were William Grant BEAUMONT and Florence Muriel WINTER.
Source: Genealogy SA.
Can anyone expand on this please. I am looking for the parents of Clarice (Peg) Beaumont.
I did remember reading about the Beaumont and Harkness connection in a Family History group on facebook. The posters were Trish Jamieson and Cathy Carly. I believe Trish Jamieson organised a talk at the library she manages at Seaford in SA for Gerry Feltus. She has no reason to lie and she is highly regarded in family history matters.
I don’t want to disagree with you Nick but the I am sure the connection between Thomas Harkness and Jim Beaumont’s cousin is true. It was first mentioned 18 months ago.
Samuel: being mentioned is one thing, having proof or disproof is quite another. 😉 Here are some Cipher Mysteries pages you might have missed:-
http://ciphermysteries.com/2013/10/01/new-somerton-man-identification-claim where Debra commented on Thomas Lawrence Keane:-
“His mother Isabella [Beaumont] was a shopkeeper at 58 Musgrave Road, South Brisbane before she died in 1909. I think she probably arrived alone into Queensland on the ‘Waroonga’ in 1887. She was born in Chelsea, Middlesex and her father and brother were also named ‘Thomas Lawrence’. She only had one brother and he lived and died in the UK, so there were none of her immediate Beaumont family in Australia.”
http://ciphermysteries.com/2013/10/05/revised-somerton-man-id-claim-thomas-lawrence-keane
http://ciphermysteries.com/2013/10/14/tamam-shud-curiouser-curiouser
http://ciphermysteries.com/2013/10/23/thomas-lawrence-keane-plague-tamam-trolls
I have managed to find the Beaumont family on Ancestry.com
The details are the following:
Jim Beaumont’s father was William Samuel Beaumont (1887 – 1947) and William Samuel Beaumont’s parents were William Grant Beaumont (b1856) and Sarah Berryman (b1858)
William Samuel Beaumont (father of Jim) has the following siblings:
Arthur Beaumont 1879 – 1924
Alice Beaumont 1881
Esther Helen Beaumont 1884
Sydney Newport Beaumont 1889 – 1954
Florence Mary Beaumont 1892 – 1892
Albert Edward Beaumont 1893
Eva Daisy Beaumont 1895
Ida Victoria Beaumont 1897
I don’t know the parents name of Clarice (Peg) Beaumont. If anyone has this information it should match up to one of the siblings I have mentioned above. This would then back up the rumours.
(Source TROVE)
Friday 4 September 1942
WEDDING BELLS HARKNESS-BEAUMONT The wedding took place on August 25, at 2.30 p.m., at the Frankston Presbyterian Church (the Rev. H. A. Harris officiating), of Clarice Isobel (Peg) youngest daughter of Mrs. M. Beaumont, 32 Davey Street, Frankston and Private Thomas Lawson Harkness, A.M.F., elder son of Mr. and Mrs. T. Harkness, Mentone. The charming auburn-haired bride looked sweet indeed in her gown of ivory moire taffeta, hand-embroidered, with beads and sequins at the neck, and falling full from a tight-fitting waistline. It was buttoned up the back and extended into a long train. The long sleeves came to a peak over the wrist. She wore an embroidered net veil flowing from a top-knot of double white violets. The veil was loaned by a Geelong friend .The bride carried a sheaf of white heather and double violets. She was at- tended by her cousin, Flora Clark, from Tasmania, and the, bridegroom’s sister, Jean Harkness. They wore individual frocks of sky blue taffetas, featuring full- swing skirts and high puff sleeves, and blue tulle shoulder-length veils with a top- knot of pink violets. They carried pink bouquets. Each wore a gold pendant. The bride was given away by Mr. F.A. Kingsbury. Ted Harkness, brother of the bridegroom, was best man, and Lindsay McLeod, groomsman. The Church was tastefully deco- rated by Mesdames McLeod, Hinds and Runge. The main features were archways of pink peach blossom and fern hung with dainty bells. A reception was held at Frankston House, which was beautifully deco- rated with peach blossom and daffodils. Many congratulatory telegrams from all parts were read at the re- cepti0n. The bride’s mother looked charming in a jacket suit of blue with navy accessories. She wore a shoulder spray of white heather and fern. The bridegroom’s mother wore a navy and white frock with navy accessories and a shoulder spray of pink carnations. The lovely wedding cake was a gift from the bride’s Tasmanian sister (Mrs. Clark). While the register was being signed Mr. Eadie, accompanied by Miss Cowan at the organ, gave a delightful rendering of the song, “I’ll Walk Be side you.” The happy couple left by car for a brief honeymoon. As they left the church, many horse-shoes were hung on the bride’s arm.
My interest is not in the claim that one of your readers made about a Beaumont and a Keen.
Its about the information that has been going around for years that Thomas Harkness married Clarice (Peg) Beaumont.
Clarice Beaumont’s first cousin was Jim Beaumont.
Jim Beaumont had his 3 children abducted in 1966.
They are known as the Beaumont Children.
Its has been proven over and over again.
But for some reason people ignore this. Is it because it wrecks the spy fantasy?. What are the chances of two major cold cases being linked like this.
There seems to be some brilliant researchers on here:
Byron, Debra, Nick!!!!
What are the names of Clarice (Peg) Beaumont’s Parents!!!!!!
Samuel: OK, my apologies, it is (as you point out) obvious what happened here.
Yes, Thomas Lawson Harkness Jr’s did indeed marry Clarice Isobel (“Peg”) Beaumont (I mentioned and quoted the same Trove reference here: http://ciphermysteries.com/2013/10/01/new-somerton-man-identification-claim ), and they are indeed both unconnected to the whole Thomas Lawrence Keane troll claim Beaumont thing – two quite separate sets of Beaumonts.
But to whom was Peg Beaumont’s related via her mother (“Mrs M Beaumont”)? While I remember seeing the claim to which you refer, I’ve never seen any evidence linking the Harkness-linked Beaumonts with the Beaumont children’s family. I’d always assumed this link to be an urban legend, no matter how many times it was repeated on the Internet… but if anyone has archival evidence that proves or (more likely) disproves it, please step forward! 😉
Sydney, Prosper doesn’t seem her type to me. Then again he doesn’t really seem like Jessie’s either.And it’s beginning to seem like _anything_ is possible in the darker recesses of Glenelg.
Anyway, regarding your other assertion – about readership of the _Rubaiyat_ – don’t trust stereotypes. It and poetry were very popular back in the day. And I’ve encountered some very well-read wool classers, woolsorts (as classers’ assistants are called), shearers, rouseabouts, farm labourers, drovers etc. I’m sure the same goes for car thieves – and for that matter woodcutters and third officers on merchant ships too.
GAB, Grant A Beaumont
I can’t help thinking that SM was killed as a warning. It was done publicly and no attempt made to hide the body. Over the years in SA there has been a culture of dark secrets re child abuse, paedophilia etc. The Beaumonts disappeared and lived a few km from Jestyn’s home and SM’s body.
I clearly remember Byron Deveson making a reference on this forum about Clarice Beaumont and Thomas Harkness. I have seen how extensive Byron’s research is on forums. So if Byron is reading this please can you post the name of Clarice Beaumont’s mother.
Sydney who knows? Are you referring to the home in Glenelg that Jessica and Prosper lived in? From my friends research they had moved well away from that address and were living somewhere else in 1966.
I have found a property Prosper Thomson had under a special title arrangement over the Policeman’s Point direction. It’s just past Coorong National Park. Does anyone know how long Prosper and Jessica Thomson lived out there for?
Also I looked up the link to Rachel Egans’s facebook that someone posted on here and there are pictures of Rachel Egan and Derek Abbott on their page. They have just had a child together called Giselle.
Also on Rachel Egan’s page its says her name is ‘Rachel Rebecca Egan’ and then as an alternative names its ‘Jenny O’Neill’.
Does anyone know why Rachel Egan is also known as Jenny O’Neill?
So is Derek Abbott wanting the exhumation for family reasons ??
Samuel: I (and I’m sure others here) would be extremely interested to know about Prosper Thomson’s special title arrangement past Coorong National Park. I recently had a commenter here (“Maria”) who asserted that Prosper had a hunting lodge over near Coorong as well as an entire second family (mistress and four children, as I recall), but neither I nor others were able to substantiate any of the details of her claim. May I ask what property / title database were you looking at?
The reason this is relevant to the Unknown Man is that none (I’m pretty sure) of Prosper’s siblings had any children: and if we can track down Prosper’s children via a different relationship, then we have a much wider range of DNA tests and comparisons that can be made with living relatives, that will let us understand the Thomson/Harkness genetic family tree far more exactly than would be otherwise possible.
As for why Rachel Egan is also known as Jenny O’Neill, errmm…. no idea. You’d have to ask her. 🙂
Could SM’s death be made to copy Joseph Marshall’s death in some way? Maybe it was meant to look like a suicide? Surely Jestyn would have known a lot about the Marshall death.
I am searching through record to locate the parents of Clarice (Peg) Beaumont and I did find the following:
ENGAGEMENT. Clarice (Peg), ‘youngest daughter of Mrs. M. Beaumont,. Cranbourne Road, Frankston, to John, only son of Mrs. L. Smale, “Terrapee,” “Melbourne Road, Frankston.
This advertisement is dated 3rd February 1939
Looks like ‘Peg’ was engaged of even married to someone else before Thomas Harkness.
Looks like Mrs Beaumont lost a gold watch too!
LOST Lady’s Gold Wristlet Watch inFix this text Davey Street, near school. Reward. Mrs. Beaumont,. 32 Davey Street, Frankston.
8th March 1945
I really thought there must be a mistake to this. Rachel Egan is smoking hot and a babe and Derek Abbott is unique!
Just checked out the facebook and there are pictures of Derek and Rachel with a baby called Giselle. Rachel refers to Derek as ‘daddy’.
Each to their own I suppose! I am very surprised though considering Rachel has dated Rugby Players in the past.
She is gorgeous! 😉
With reference to the Jenny O’Neill / Rachel Egan thing it very simple. Roma gave Rachel up for adoption and she was raised by her adoptive family in New Zealand. Roma did this because she wanted to pursue her Ballet career. Roma and her daughter reunited later on in life. She is known by both names to avoid confusion.
Samuel, can you please help me out, I can’t find the fb link people are discussing anywhere on here? thanks 🙂
www (dot) facebook (dot) com/rachelre1
You need to logged into facebook then input the above address.
Let me get this straight. Roma Egan is married to Robin Thomson and conceives a child with him. She then delivers the child but gives it up for adoption in New Zealand? Sorry, am I missing something??
Samuel, Clarice’s grand-father was Arthur Beaumont, butcher at Horsham, Victoria. She was born illegitimate. The tale is a bit convoluted and I am away from my records at present, but I will post the evidence in the next couple of days.
B Deveson: That is sufficient information and anything further is neither relevant nor appropriate.
Regarding the connection between the “Harkness” Beaumont and “Jim” Beaumont, the situation is somewhat complicated because of the lack of some records, but I think the following archival material does establish the connection. Where I have given a Registration Number the record is taken from the Births, Deaths and Marriage records, both State and Church.
Clarice Isobel (Peg) Beaumont married Thomas Lawson Harkness (Standard. Frankston Victoria. 4th September 1942, page 1.
“WEDDING BELLS — HARKNESS-BEAUMONT The wedding took place on August 25, at 2.30 p.m., at the Frankston Presbyterian Church (the Rev. H. A. Harris officiating), of Clarice Isobel (Peg) youngest daughter of Mrs. M. Beaumont, 32 Davey Street, Frankston and Private Thomas Lawson Harkness, A.M.F., elder son of Mr. and Mrs. T. Harkness, Mentone. ……. She was attended by her cousin, Flora Clark, from Tasmania, and the bridegroom’s sister, Jean Harkness. ……. The bride was given away by Mr. F.A. Kingsbury. Ted Harkness, brother of the bridegroom, was best man, and Lindsay McLeod, groomsman. …… The lovely wedding cake was a gift from the bride’s Tasmanian sister (Mrs. Clark).” Reg. No: 17535.
Flora Beaumont married Ralph Clark 1920 and this couple were living (1945) at Sidmouth, Tasmania. See: Examiner (Launceston, Tasmania) 24th July 1945 page 6. “25th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY Recently- Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Clark, Sidmouth, celebrated the 25th anniversary of their wedding. Members of their family, including Mrs. Clark’s mother, Mrs. Beaumont, of Frankston, their sons John and Leslie, and their daughter Flora …….”
Flora Isabella Vict(oria) Beaumont was born 1904 in Victoria. Father: Arth(ur) and mother Istella Mary nee Bowers. Reg. No: 4344
Thomas Lawson Harkness married Clarice Isobella Victoria Beaumont 1942. Reg. No: 17535
Claras Isabel Beaumont born Brunswick, Victoria, 1919. Reg. No: 25079. Mother: Evelyn Mary Beaumont. Father: not given.
Evelyn May Beaumont born 1900 at Horsham, Victoria. Reg. No: 27214. Mother: Isabella Bower. Father: Arthur (Beaumont)
Evelyn Mary Beaumont born 27th August 1900 at Horsham. Died 1st December 1993 Victoria aged 93. Married Henry (Harry) Clyde Hinds 2nd September 1921 aged 21. Reg. No: 8515.
Evelyn Mary Beaumont, spinster aged 21 of Brighton Beach, Domestic duties, married Henry Clyde Hinds, bachelor aged 22 of Tyrong, Victoria, orchard worker. The marriage was conducted under Free Presbyterian rites by minister William Cox at 18 Carnarvon Street, Brunswick on 2nd September 1921. Evelyn was born at Horsham, Victoria and Henry was born at Beaconsfield, Tasmania. Evelyn’s parents were given as Arthur Beaumont, butcher, and Isabella Mary nee Bower. Henry’s parents were given as John Thomas Hinds, blacksmith, and Mabel Elizabeth nee Westwood. (Cert. No: 219 for year 1921, Parish of East Brunswick. Presbyterian).
Marriage: BEAUMONT Flor Irene Clara to CLARK Ralph Thos Garnet 1920 Reg. No: 5841
Marriage: 15th May 1920 at the Presbyterian church, East Brunswick. Church District Murrumbeena.
Florence Irene Clara Beaumont, spinster, saleswoman aged 21 of 51 St Phillip Street, East Brunswick (Victoria). POB Horsham, Victoria. Father: Arthur Beaumont, butcher. Mother: Mary nee Bower. Ralph Thomas Garnet Clark, bachelor aged 29, orchard hand of 51 St Phillip Street East Brunswick. POB Sidmouth, West Tamar, Tasmania. Father: John Redman Clark, labourer. Mother: Emma nee Wright.
Marriage 25th August 1942, Church District: Frankston (Victoria), Presbyterian Church. Church Register number 25. Thomas Lawson Harkness, bachelor aged 25, soldier. Born Malvern, Victoria. Father: Thomas Lawson Harkness, electrical engineer of 82 Como Parade, Mentone, Victoria. Mother: Ellen nee Lee.
Clarice Isobella Victoria Beaumont, spinster aged 22, shop assistant. Born Brunswick, Victoria. Address: 32 Davey Street, Frankston. Father: not given. Mother: Isobella Mary Beaumont, guardian. Reg. No: 17535
1925 Reg. No: 158A/258 BEAUMONT Grant Alfred. Father: William Grant BEAUMONT Mother: Florence Muriel nee WINTER. Born at Adelaide 1930 (GenealogySA)
1921 Reg. No: 75A/235 BEAUMONT Joyce Muriel Father: William Grant BEAUMONT Mother: Florence Muriel nee WINTER Born Adelaide 1921 (GenealogySA)
The Advertiser (Adelaide) 24th September 1919 Page 6
“ENGAGEMENT. WINTER-BEAUMONT.-The engagement is announced of Florence Muriel. the eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Winter, of 113. Carrington Street. Adelaide, to William Grant, second son of Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Beaumont. of “Rushville,” Fullarton, late of Western Australia.”
Canberra Times 3rd July 1978 Page 9
“Before Mr Dobson, SM. Mr Maxwell Beaumont, 48, security guard, of Willis Street, Evatt, pleaded guilty to an offence in East Row and Mort Street on May 26, Breathalyzer 0.275 per cent. $300 bond to be of good behaviour, two years, ordered to accept treatment at a referral centre, fined $1,000 to be paid in instalments, licence cancelled.”
This establishes that Mr Maxwell Beaumont of Willis Street, Evatt was aged 48 at 3/7/1978. ie he was born 1929-1930.
Canberra Times. 7th April 1976 page 10.
COURT REPORTS Bond over toy-gun incident. Mr Maxwell Beaumont, uncle of the missing
Beaumont children, pleaded guilty in Canberra Petty Sessions yesterday to having threatened a man with a toy gun after an other man had accused him of having been involved in the disappearance of the children in 1966. Mr Nicholl, SM, was told that on July 10, 1975, a man had made remarks about the childrens’ disappearance which Mr Beaumont, self-employed, of Willis Street, Evatt, had regarded as slanderous. Mr Charles Bros, of Ainslie, had also heard the remarks and Mr Beaumont had asked him to be a witness in the matter. Mr Bros had refused, saying it was better forgotten as they had all had a bit to much to drink. Mr Bros said that Mr Beaumont had told him he would make him change his mind. He had gone away and come back with a gun and aimed it at Mr Bros’s head, saying “Will this make you change your mind?” Believing the gun to be real, Mr Bros had grabbed Mr Beaumont around the neck and a scuffle had followed. Mr Beaumont said the gun, which was a plastic cap pistol, was kept in the glove-box of his car. He used it to frighten dogs.
He told the court that he had been very upset by the original remarks about the disappearance of his brother’s children. He had two young children himself and had .been disabled in an accident in 1971. Mr Nicholls imposed a $100 bond for Mr Beaumont to be of good behaviour for 12 months.”
Note: This establishes that Maxwell and “Jim” Beaumont were brothers. Also, the address of Maxwell is the same (Willis Street, Evatt) as the previous report of drink driving. ie Maxwell Beaumont born 1929-1930.
The News (Adelaide) 25th March 1947 Page 6
“DEATHS BEAUMONT.–On March 24 at hospital, William Grant Beaumont, beloved, husband of Florence Muriel and loving father of Joyce, Grant (B.C.O.P.) and Maxwell, loved second son of Sarah and the late William Beaumont, of Prospect; aged 59 years.”
Note: This establishes that the sons of William Grant Beaumont (c1888-1947) were Grant, a member of the occupying forces in Japan, and Maxwell, aged 16 (ie born about 1930-31).
The News (Adelaide) 23rd April 1947 Page 3.
HAPPY ENDING TO WOMAN’S STATION VIGIL For six days a quiet little woman, dressed in black, went to platform 8 at the Adelaide Railway Station to meet the Melbourne express, searched anxiously through the crowds, and walked away alone. Today her search had a happy ending. Her 22 year-old son, Private Grant Beaumont. arrived back from Japan. She had not seen him for four years. He was wounded at Tarakan before going to Japan. But his homecoming was a sad one, because his father, Mr. F. M. Beaumont, of Lambert road, Joslin, died a month ago. Mr. Beaumont had been looking forward to his son’s return, but Private Beaumont could not get home in time to see him. Mrs. Beaumont kept meeting the express because she was not sure which day he would manage to get on board. Private Beaumont will be discharged here, and will return to his work as a motor mechanic. He has a sister, Miss Joyce Beaumont, and a 16-year-old brother, Maxwell.”
Australian Archives.
Grant Alfred Beaumont S/N SX31773 DOB 3/1/1925 Adelaide POE Bathurst, NSW. NOK Grant Beaumont.
Maxwell Beaumont S/N SX500603 DOB unknown Adelaide POE Hampstead, SA. NOK Grant Beaumont.
William Grant Beaumont S/N S212204 DOB 11/2/1888 Broadmeadows, Victoria. POE Adelaide. NOK Florence Beaumont.
William Samuel Grant Beaumont b 1888 Victoria Father: William Beaumont. Mother: Sarah nee Berryman. (Victorian BD&M)
The News (Adelaide) 19th March 1924 Page 7
“BEFORE THE PUBLIC. Mr. William Newport Grant Beaumont, who died at his residence at Gloucester street, Prospect, yesterday, was a prominent member of the Master Butchers’ Association and was widely known, not only in this State, but in Western Australia and Victoria. Mr. Beaumont, who was 75 years of age, was a native of Bembridge, Isle of Wight, and came to Australia at the age of 18. He was in business as a butcher in various suburbs of Melbourne, and later removed to Horsham. He subsequently started butchering in Western Australia, where he operated for many years. In 1912 he came to this State, and inaugurated several suburban businesses, which are conducted by his sons. Mr. Beaumont had been connected with the Methodist Church for many years, and had been a prominent Rechabite. Until the time of his death he kept up a correspondence with his nephew, the Rev. Pennington Bickford, rector of St. Clement Dane’s Church, London. He has left a widow, four sons, and three daughters – Messrs. William Grant Beaumont, Lighbury street, Prospect; Albert Edward Beaumont, Fullarton road, Fullarton; Arthur Beaumont, Osborne. Western Australia; Sidney Beaumont, Western Australia; Mesdames W. Devereux, Prospect; T. Taylor. Tranmere; and C. B. Colgate, Exeter. There are 14 grand-children and two great grand children. Members of the Master Butchers Association will be pallbearers at the funeral.”
Debra likes shutting down discussion about this but thankyiu Byron. Most informative
All false
Some interesting entries in the Kingston/Glenelg electoral rolls.
1949: 8295 Jessie Ellen Thomson Home duties 90A Moseley Street Glenelg (no mention of Prosper)
1958: 10004 Jessie Muir Thomson 9 Wallace St Dunleath. Home duties. (no mention of Prosper in this roll)
1970: 14564 Jessie Muir Thomson Home duties 9 Wallace Street Glenelg (no mention of Prosper).
Also at this address Janet Elizabeth Thomson, Clerk
1970: 968 Grant Alfred Beaumont Taxi driver 109 Harding
Street Somerton Park
969 Nancy Helen Beaumont Home duties at same address.
I have looked at various electoral rolls for the Adelaide area and I have not found any mention of Prosper, which is a bit strange.
B Deveson: very interesting stuff from the electoral rolls! Have you considered going over the electoral rolls closer to Coorong and Policeman’s Point, places to which Prosper is (supposedly but not yet provably) connected? Or was that all part of the same roll?
Nick, it is on my list. Policeman’s Point/Coorong is in different electorate.
BD: Prosper liked to be known as George, if you didn’t already know –
B Deveson, anecdotal evidence from acquaintances around Australia (including some who have worked in electoral commissions) causes me to think that the rolls have always been more haphazard than we might think.
For instance, I am told that if one never registers to vote, or does not re-register after changing address, it is possible to stay off the rolls forever and never be detected. (Conversely, Frank Hardy noted the old saying about voting “early and often”. Frank also suggested that legions of dead people used to vote, before cross-checking against death records for zombie voters came in.)
So the most likely scenarios in the case of Prosper a.k.a. George are: (1) he never registered to vote anywhere, or; (2) because he moved around a bit, he slipped off the rolls before 1949.
Agreement with Furphy it is easy to dodge, deliberately or otherwise, the electoral rolls.
Still a great place to look for info, I just don’t think it indicates anything much if he isnt found.
Niki and Furphy,
I agree with what you say. I think we should explain to non-Australian readers that voting in Australia is compulsory for all citizens. Except that the citizens living in the two Territory “non-states”, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory, did not get the vote until the 1970’s (something to do with the 1901 Constitution). So, in theory at least, every Australian citizen should be enrolled. In practice about 2% are not enrolled (Dr Amy McGrath’s book that I refer to below).
A couple of decades ago I did some research for an author/BBC journalist who was writing a book about the criminal milieu of Sydney in the 1930s and 1940s (mainly the group known as the “forty thieves”) and I naturally did a lot of checking in the electoral rolls. I don’t remember finding a single member who was registered, or at least registered under their real name, or the name that they were generally known by (usually not the same thing). Since then I have formed the opinion that while some people who are not enrolled are not crooks, many are. From the beginning I have assumed that Prosper did not want people to find him – perhaps aggrieved customers to whom he had sold dodgy cars; maybe. That might also explain why he swapped the name Prosper for George.
If you want to know just how rorted the electoral system in Australia is, get a copy of Dr Amy McGrath’s book, “The frauding of votes”, 1995. It makes for very uncomfortable reading.
BD Prosper was known as George since a schoolboy.
My parents were married in 1950. My mother changed her name in Perth to Thomson following the birth of my brother. give alot of the shit u write a rest
I read about this case earlier this year and have become completely absorbed in the case. Surely some DNA testing must exist that can be first used on surviving relatives that would either prove that exhumation was not necessary or failing any answers to the relevant families something that should be considered. I am only very recently reading about this case so forgive me if this has already been covered .
A Soviet spy, Harry Dexter White died on Aug 13 1948 from digitalis poisoning. Are we looking at a serial killer?
There’s no need to be so rude. BD is actually very well versed in all aspects of this case and quite likely knows more about it than you! When we dig up Somerton Man we will know the full story. Credit to Derek Abbott for being so persistent. Maybe Miss Egan will find out who her granddaddy really is. Ten to one it ain’t Prosper McTaggart Thomson!
“Dear love, couldst thou and I with fate conspire
To grasp this sorry scheme of things entire,
Would we not shatter it to bits,
And then remold it nearer to the heart’s desire!”
Kate, leave off. Your mother was a crook – she should be exposed. Sad for you but true
The nurse was said to be a ‘spy’ – though nobody knows what side she spied for.
Would that make a difference?
So, “daughter of Jestyn”, between 1945 and 1948, Jessie and Prosper resided in Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide…?! Well, I guess Agents 99 and 86 also did a lot of travelling. As did Natasha and Boris.
Marshallfiles site owner from South Aftica is now claiming to be SM’s grandson.
I know more than any of u will ever know
So helen don’t tell me to leave off
OMG if there are genuinely family members on here I feel desperately sorry for them . Whatever is the truth behind the matter the surviving family members are innocent parties in all this and surely must be sensitive to what appear to be nothing but unevidenced slurs on their families characters. Surely rather than going round in circles throwing insults ( which gets the investigation nowhere) it would be better to compare knowledge and listen to family members inputs which probably are the best information you will get regarding the deceased persons involved. No wonder it has never been solved if the interests of people are only in order to upset others and not look at the hard facts .
Rebecca: oddly, it would appear that it is some of the family members who have been causing the worst trouble online, both here and elsewhere. Make of that what you will.
NIck it could be people pretending to be family
Daughter of Jestyn: the core problem is that we have few facts about the Somerton Man strong enough to help us eliminate bad theories. This leaves the door wide open for (a) anyone to say anything for any reason, and/or (b) anyone to start from an individual observation or suggestion or notion and run with it for a while. I’m sorry, but this will remain true until such time as we can say with confidence “that entire notion is demonstrably false because of X/Y/Z” etc.
Yet even small factual details might well help us build up a workable framework for understanding what happened. For example, if Jessica was indeed “teaching English to migrants” (presumably in Adelaide), I would predict that her efforts were coordinated or backed or arranged by a charity or group or foundation. And if we knew that organization’s name, we might be able to find accounts, interviews, books, analyses, histories, or even people still alive who can tell us how it worked; which in turn might well give us far more context as to what was going on in her life in 1948 than anything else we have so far managed to find.
You may indeed know more than anyone else here: but how can we translate that into a set of openly-known (and indisputable) facts that let us differentiate reasonable hypotheses from mere trollery? There are enough people here that are part of the problem, how can we make ourselves part of the solution?
daughter of Jestyn: there are also plenty of trolls pretending to be people. 🙂
So what’s the big secret, Kate?
How much money did 60 minutes pay you Kate?
I’m Australian and regret that I’d not heard of this case before today. Fascinating.
Regarding electoral rolls (somebody mentioned a search of them), there is a problem. Although being enrolled to vote in Australia is mandatory, I know from personal experience that many (Australian born and current residents) are not enrolled. Perhaps in the 1940s it was easier to keep track of things but I suspect that’s not the case; although not enrolling to vote is a crime I suspect that it’s a difficult law to effectively police and prosecute. Along that same vein of thought I doubt that electoral rolls would provide much insight. My opinion is purely anecdotal of course.
Marshall is a fraud!! Won’t give out any info. Must not have any!!!
Go away Helen Foxton. Your not even a real person. I saw that there was a note that your emails bounce. Why is this? You are the fraud!
RT: errm… the way it works here is that everyone is considered a probable ‘fraud’ until such time as they post a comment that genuinely moves our knowledge forward. But hardly anybody manages this!
It seems people are continually trying to discredit anyone that has some information or research. The question is why is this happening? The individual / s behind the trolling must have something to hide or an agenda. I noticed there was a surge in ‘Taman Trolls’ before the 60 Minutes show.
I think the SM was married to Jessica.
Has anyone thought that she could have been Mrs J E Styn. Or Van Styn?
The descendents of the South African surname Steyn / Styn have Dutch and German roots. The surname Steyn has different spellings in historical records. The Dutch surname was commonly spelt Steijn and the German was spelt Stein. It is also possible that the surname Steen was written as Steyn.
There were no common spelling conventions established by Academies as we have today, so spelling variations were common. What contributed to this is the high rate of illiteracy. Official scribes wrote most of the records such as the registration of new citizens.
These scribes often wrote names as they heard them in their own language. For example, at the Cape of Good Hope the French name Couchy was spelt Coetzee by the scribe who entered this name in the records. He thus wrote the name phonetically in his own language.
The same could have happened to the variations of Steyn.
A matter which complicates tracing the origins of surnames is that the use of a surname is a relatively recent social development. In ancient times people with the same names were distinguished by referring to their parents (most often the father) such as Xyz, son of Abc (eg. Isaac, son of John or Jan, which became Johnson, or in Dutch, Janzoon, shortened to Jansen ), or to their place of origen, such as Xyz, from Abc (eg. Maria von Diemer).
RT: I’ve considered this interesting idea before, but haven’t yet blogged about it… I’ll try to put that right in the next few days. 🙂
Hi Nick.. I along with others have always thought she was married to him. I think that for some reason she did a runner from him met Prosper and changed her name. He tracked her down and things went sour. That is only my opinion but you need proof. I also am very certain that Robin is the SM’s son. I think that Prosper was aware of this and accepted it. It worked well for him as his parents were very wealthy and a son would enable him to collect an increased inheritance.
The Marshall Files promises much and delivers little. Now, after months of innuendo, it’s being made members-only. So here’s my question to those who actually seek to make the truth known – who is this Marshall guy and what has he apparently discovered?
Helen Foxton it is probably being made private because people like you under false names and emails cause havoc all the time. Who are you? Helen Foxton, Helena and a long list of names.
Why do all your emails bounce Helen Foxton? And why do you go from website to website posting under false names?
jessica was not married to SM
helen u seem to have a strong personal dislike for my mother and called her a crook. Please take your own personal anger issues to a psychiatrist.l As if I would disclose any secrets on this site. many of u are a bunch of loons
The funny thing is Robin could not care who is father was .he lived for the present and his family.
The Marshall files guy is telling the truth.
Helen as much as Nick has been critisised for letting the trolls run free on this site I actually think its the only site with genuine credibility. The bloggers on the other sites act more like trolls than the trolls do. They try to bully anyone who disagrees with their point of view and if that doesnt work they just delete them.
Hardly genuine forums, more platforms for those individuals.
Pete throws out his little teasers on the other sites and as someone said on this site hes all advertising, style over substance.
The whole Marshall thing going on at the moment looks like a beat up.
The J E Styn thing looks like the most interesting lead for some time which has come out here.
The dude: well, at least it’s a testable suggestion, unlike almost everything else that gets put forward. 🙂
Jessica wasn’t married to Prosper Thomson either when Robin was born.
Again the trolls and ‘diverters’ have come out! Running scared are we?
DNA never lies Daughter of Jestyn!
Lets just say the Troll .
The problem with you “McMeowz” is that if anyone was interested in your music you would be too busy with a career to be Trolling around here.
Perhaps this is an outlet for you to spew out all of the frustration of failure and rejection. If this is cathartic for you then Im glad for you.
The dude I thinkest you are transferring your own psychopathology of failure and rejection.
Any way i’m happy to provide some information, not that you will believe the truth. here goes
Jestyn: My mother was known as jess by her old friends before starting her nursing career at The Royal North Shore Hospital.
When nursing, all the other nursing pals in her year called her tina because she was only 4ft 11inch and slim.
Xmas cards sent to her in her later years from her nursing pals either said dear tina or dear tyna.Seen it as they were put on display at home. mum said its an easy explanation put jess together with tyna and u have Jestyn.
No worries Mcmeowz!! put it into a nice doof doof rhyme and see if it sells.
Daughter of Jestyn, ‘tiny’ does not abbreviate to ‘tyna’. Tina maybe, Tyna is rather a stupidly long bow. And then, why not Jestyna? Sorry babe.
Marshall is the son of Robin Thomson by his second wife. He married a coloured South African woman and emigrated there. He believes that Somerton Man is his paternal grandfather and was having an affair with SM. He is also Jewish, and it is known Jestyn had an affair with a Jewish doctor for about twenty years after she had her second child. This affair was conducted openly and with the full knowledge of Prosper, who as we know had his own family in the Mallee, Theirs was a marriage purely of convenience.
Celestine: it’s a tidily romantic story… but would you agree that no evidence has yet been put forward to support any part of it at all?
While I support your right to say (pretty much) what you want, I also feel you have a matching responsibility to at least try to back it up and/or test it, rather than just take stuff you hear on face value.
Whats his first name Celestine? Marshall that is.
[Troll Probability: High]
Sorry for naming you mcmeowz. As you can see. I’m not totally with it most of the time. I am Incoherent with the truth. I lie. And I falsify information because I’m vengeful , spiteful and a pure camel shmeckle.
[Troll Probability: High]
Celestine. Shouldn’t you be looking after a new born ?
[Troll Probability: High]
Your right nick p. I have no proof or evidence to back up my crazy hypotheses far fetched defaming stories. I’m just angry. And I need a Chanel to vent this pain. I guess my knowledge and skills might be wanted some where else for the time being. Bye.
You can’t defame the dead. Sigh.
Sorry to interrupt here – it’s one thing to use a nom-de-plume, but quite another to use someone else’s. It’s not fair to write unpleasant things using someone else’s name. If the gripe is yours, the name ought to be.
What makes me very cross is that it’s bad enough when Australians are ill-mannered in their own name, but when American phrasing, tone and spelling all turn up in a post supposedly by an Australian it’s a case of too much Brasso on the gladioli.
Does anyone have any theories as to why the suitcase contained an electricians screwdriver , modified table knife and scissors plus a stencil brush ?
@ “Probably-not-the-Dude”
fyi, Yiddish terms are more common in New York than in Adelaide or New Zealand; America is not the world.
Both Rubaiyat editions found after deaths (1945 and 1948) are reported to be of otherwise unknown editions. Now – assume they were specially produced in pairs by a hostile country with minor differences in the translation from the edition it mimicked… and used as one-time pads. If found, it would not attract any attention – there were hundreds of editions floating around the world. The torn-off endwords identify the pad, and the spy hides it in a hidden pocket. But he gets bumped off before he escapes. Then – without that specific book, conveniently lost in the 1950s, nobody has a hope of deciphering the message. Were all the pages photographed before it disappeared ?
Rod, all you are doing is perpetuating the myth of “The Hidden Pocket”
The trousers were made of Crusader cloth and were made in their thousands (refer inquest papers) – every Tom, Dick and Rod had a pair in their wardrobe.
A fob pocket is a fob pocket, most trousers still have them. Other than that the theory is good to go
I have the book. The Police returned it to me
Hi Smerdon, Well, if you have “the book” perhaps you could enlighten us all?
Greetings Clive 🙂
Why did the guy that left his car unlocked and found the book then hand it into police but want to be anonymous?
the book was then lost!
if someone wanted to conceal the book they would have burned it
derek abbott says he commissioned an artist impression of the somerton man as its hard to tell what someone looks like from a autopsy when on the internet there is a police photo of the corpse which looks clear and kind of ALIVE
i no who Rachel /Rebecca / jennifer egan /onell is she is not who she says she is
Prosper Thomson was having an affair with the Somerton Man’s daughter. He got her pregnant! So that makes Prosper Thomson and The Somerton Man my grandfather. 😉
Mystery: *sigh*
Nick – I’ve tried posting information a few times and the spam filter keeps blocking it???
I hadn’t the book in to the police. And wanted to stay anonymous due myself having a family and a professional career at the time of all this.
We would love to hear your story mystery.
mystery are you rachel if so you need to tell the truth who you where in newzealand and what names you had over there .
You have so many names rachel and you will have many more. As that’s the person. You are. You say you just want to no the truth so to all off us
mystery that he may be . lets see
Prosper and Jessie seem to have become wealthy very quickly.
News (Adelaide) 17th December 1951 page 18
New S.A. firms.
Century Motors Ltd. £25,000. P. M. Thomson and Mrs. J. E. Thomson.
B Deveson: congratulations on a very good find… and I suspect there’s a lot more to uncover just yet.
BD, that is a very big number (£25,000) for our man, is there anything else close to it? I can see him 12 months earlier, sunning himself, maybe running, on the beach after an earlier deal. He had the old suntan. These scenarios, Nick – how can I stop them from popping up?
Pete – “TORN BOOK MAY BE CLUE TO SOMERTON BODY MYSTERY” (The Argus, July 22, 1949). The day before Wytkin first appeared.
Prospers Clinical Services. Peter Nunn Chemist …. What’s the connection? Has anybody drifted down that road?
Fush und chupz
The Advertiser 29th November 1948 page 9
“A Nursery-housemald. for 4 weeks. From Dec. 6, at Somerton. Ring McTaggart. X 1863. after Dec. 2.”
Perhaps Jessie was about to give birth? But why was Prosper using an alias of sorts? Because he was still married?
The Advertiser 15th March 1947 page 19
“PARTNER for used car business, active or silent, good returns assured. £500 to £1,000, money under own control. I have city premises and 10 years experience in motor trade, stocks assured. Thomson. Box 1009J, G.P.O.”
This strengthens the association of Prosper with the PO Box number.
The Advertiser 26th March 1947 page 16
“WANTED urgently, tourer or roadster, by ex-serviceman, commencing business, utility will do, cash £75 to £150. Will inspect. McTaggart, Box 1009J. G.P.O.”
Prosper using the alias McTaggart again. And calling himself an ex-serviceman. In other advertisements he claimed to be an “ex-AIF man”, which he wasn’t.
Pete,
it turns out that “clinic services” was a euphemism for a VD clinic in the 1940s.
BD, anything happening in November 1948 is valued, thanks. That particular item is a little ripper.
Misca, imagine George Clooney blowing you a kiss, or Marlon Brando, I can do both.
Pete – The very combination sounds divine. I’ll close my eyes…
eat your heart out Nick …
It would seem that Clinical Services refers to the practice of procuring cars to certain specifications, or acting as a business broker. This was evident from the man’s ads. How in the heck can this be interpreted as referring to a VD clinic?
Nancy Helen Beaumont nee Ellis died on 16 September 2019.
Terribly saddened to know she has died without knowing what happened to her children in 1966.
Nancy was born on 5 August 1927.
Here is the rootsweb link to her Ellis family information
https://worldconnect.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=sabmd&id=I497265
@Byron (I know your comment was 4 years ago, and I have an idea that this has been covered)…..
McTaggart @ X1863 is an Archie McTaggart. Multiple adverts for governess, and although the number seems related to Somerton/Glenelg (in 1928 a music teacher on teh High St, in 1933 a cafe in Glenelg, and at least one of the McTaggart ads (as you point out) refers to Somerton), the ads are often for a station near Port Augusta
Interestingly in 1947 it’s “2 small children” and by 1950 it’s “3 toddlers” (and Companion, rather than Governess).
I would’ve thought the eldest child in ’47 would be older than a toddler in ’50 (I’d expect them to be about 5 by then), but I guess we put that down to limited space in the advert….and it’s sort of ‘close enough’
after 11:15 am: Buys a bus ticket on a bus that departed at 11:15 a.m. from the south side of North Tce (in front of the Strathmore Hotel) opposite the railway station. He may have boarded at a later time elsewhere in the city as his ticket was the sixth of nine sold between the railway station and South Tce ; however, he only had a 15-minute window from the earliest time he could have checked his suitcase (the luggage room was around 60 metres from the bus stop). It is not known which stop he alighted at; the bus terminated at Somerton at 11:44 am and enquiries indicated that he “must have” alighted at Glenelg, a short distance from the St. Leonard’s hotel.
oxana 22880: You’re probably right, however that would depend upon Ted Hall’s accuracy of the bus ticket route detail, not forgetting that it was forgetful Arthur Holdernesse who sold the ticket, both the outbound routes to St. Leonards or 30 minute alternate to Somerton, turning off Anzac Hwy. left/right at Taplins Hill Rd., or Partridge St. intersection to their respective destinations. I worry that Ted may have been trying his best to fit his evidence to the Henley Beach rail departure times which he refers to at the inquest, possibly getting the two destinations mixed up. Where then would that leave our man; up the beach without his pasty, thats where, unless of course he called in at the Somerton Sailing Club dining room near the park for a meal.
NickP and I have had some monstrous online battles over the past few years, particularly concerning his obstinacy when it comes to considering if espionage was part of the Somerton Body case .. he won’t have it.
Then I found this, up ^ there.
“As far as the whole Soviet spy scenario goes: ASIO (Australian Secret Intelligence Organization) had an office in Adelaide, and I expect that there is a huge amount of stuff in the archives relating to Russian spies (rocketry technicians?*) in Australia during that edgy post-WW2 period. Of course, it may be many years yet before anything in such grey archives get declassified… but if this side of the story is even partially right, then that could – much to my surprise – well be where any kind of genuine historical answer will lie.”
What can I say old bean? Looks we’ve been on the same page all this time.
*mine – given the recent developments.
Pete: ah, the balmy optimistic days of 2013, before I realised that ASIO didn’t exist in any meaningful sense before 01 Dec 1948.
But feel free to keep dreaming the dream, if that makes you feel better.
I’m trying to make you feel better, Dome, it’s one of my many late-in-life objectives.
As, buried men once, Men wan’t dug up again…The sod now parched and barren where they’ve lain…Should they be let arise though long forgot?…Or should we let the selfish bastards rot?……Thanks to Gordon Cramer an alternate Omar gem.
Peteb: the sooner SAPOL and FSSA tell us who the dead bloke on the beach was, the happier I’ll be. Everything else now is just a bunch of hands in socks going bla bla bla.
Nick: The the best SAPOL and FSSA can tell us for sure is that the bloke was dead. Then it’s back to the usual SM ‘hands of cocks on with socks’ drill for us punters.
NickP: we’ll, I don’t know about that, brother – when it comes to tangibles you have the original Voynich Manuscript to examine but have yet to make sense of and we who have no such advantage with regard to the Freeman Rubaiyat appear to be making better progress.
How’s the irony?
john sanders: let’s just hope for the best on that one.
Peteb: you already know what I’m hearing right now.
The breeze rustling an odd leaf, but mostly the sound of crickets?
Or, the thwack of willow on leather, so sweet to the ear, big cymba or nay.
john sanders: I thought Cymba was a Disney movie hero, I must have misheard.
I’ve been hooked on this mystery for a few months now and have discovered the following;
– Roma Egan is not Robin Thomson’s ‘Widow’; they divorced in the early 70s
– Robin married another fellow ballet dancer named Dellice Brady in the mid 70s and fathered another three children;
– Gina Thomson – ABC Editor Sydney
– Robbie Thomson
– Lizzie Thomson – Dancer/Choreographer
Funeral Notice: https://www.ryersonindex.org/documents/sh090321.pdf
Vide 20/2/20 re Somerton Sailing Club. I’m thinking that after a pleasant respite on the beach a short stroll from Whyte St. bus turn.about, Jerry may have been directed to the sailing club at Miller Reserve, known to boast the best nosh on the coast, just a rew hundred yards further on, whence he ordered a serving of fish & potato pie, cooked by newly hired Chinee chef Billy Chow who used fish he’d bought freshly caught on the beach that morn. After enjoying the fare and knocking down a jug of Coopers to aid digestion, Jerry Somerton set off along in the general direction of his outward route intent on getting a bus back to his digs in town….but somehow his coordination was off and he never got further than Alvington beach steps. With faltering gait it seems he may have tried to get down to the beach for a smoke and failed, instead falling to a spot marked X alongside the seawall where, having lost all control over his limbs, bodily functions, speech, vision and ability to swallow. Jerry Somerton’s vital signs shut down altogether sometime around midnight and he was no more. Moral to the story being, you wanna eat prepared Fugu, best oversee the removal of it’s skin liver, ovaries and all traces of viscera before cooking and eating but, only if you must. Follow my advice and you’ll be feeling fine; don’t heed what I say and you’ll be dead on time..
Walter Wallace, address unknown died today while being taken by police from Glenelg to hospital. Deceased caught a toadfish (Fugu) at Glenelg which he cooked and ate. Symtoms of poisoning soon set in, emetics were administered with some effect but, poison had already permeated the whole system death taking place en route..(Mt. Gambier press 28/3/94)…Tetrodotoxin is some heavy shit and is indiscriminate, is fast acting leaving prepared chemical poisons in it’s wake but, good thing about it there’s usually no purging, no undue suffering and it leaves the system clean and clear a Dixie whistle. Cop that young Harry!
JS: Not much fishing off the beach in Adelaide (maybe off the jetties, but rarely the beach itself). Not sure you get pufferfish in metro Adelaide either.
Walter Wallace was “Glenelg River” rather than “Glenelg”. Not sure where Glenelg River is – Googlemaps comes up with one in the Grampians (about 2 hours from Mt Gambier, which is the hospital he was being taken to when he died – would have taken even longer in 1894 you’d imagine). That said, not sure I have the right Glenelg River – would have expected a copper to take a poisoning case to the nearest hospital not interstate (and I’d imagine Hamilton, Horsham, Stawell and Ararat are closer than Mt Gambier and would be likely to have hospitals). The fact they mention “Milicent” implies Wallace is a South Aussie….
OOPS! The actual Glenelg River (as opposed to the location in the Grampians) is quite long, and briefly flows through Donovans in SA (and much closer to Mt Gambier). Just need to confirm “Glenelg Punt” might be a reference to something down that way….
Addendum
Found an older article talking about transport from Portland (Vic) to Mt Gambier crossing the border near Glenelg Punt (which would be consistent with where Donovans is)
There is a McLennan Punt crossing the Glenelg river at Nelson (a few km Vic side of the border).
In any case as per my previous, Wallace wasn’t Metro Adelaide…..it was out in the boondocks.
J.S. Ciguatera poisoning is another possibility. It does occur in SA and can be fatal.
https://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/public+content/sa+health+internet/conditions/infectious+diseases/fish+poisoning/fish+poisoning+-+including+symptoms+treatment+and+prevention
Byron: No way known, look at the symptoms including violent purging and time for progression to a life threatening stage. We’re talking about a bloke alive and alert one minute, in a coma two hours later and dead of asphyxiation not long thereafter.
milongal: mention of Glenelg re Walter was using license to accentuate my previous post so as to interest negative punters likely to be dismissive otherwise. As for there being little fishing off Adelaide beaches, some of the best salmon and King Georges sound whiting to be had anywhere in S.A. and especially off Glenelg/Somerton where fisherfolk netted and holed up in the dugouts during poor weather. Huge toadies would have abounded in the shallower sand rifts off Somerton beach, nuicance small fry being caught, mainly by youngster around the jetty piers & pylons.
milongal: plenty of fishing off Somerton beach start of summer and just the chap has landed two decent KG whiting, coupla mannas, one a catch and release plus a toady which he threw back as well. Shortly with tide coming up and dead calm he’s gonna work the shallows without weight and baiting local beach worms right there at X mts. Better things to do but I’ll get back and see what gives later and keep you posted.
JS, not necessarily so. Even now not much is known about ciguatera poisoning in Australia. There could be more than one toxin to complicate matter. An older friend of mine nearly died on a remote island in the far South Pacific. No purging. One guy had to be kept alive for many hours by artificial respiration (still the old Holger-Neilson method. Spelling? Time was 1968). They only recovered because one guy managed to get the short wave radio working and started broadcasting distress calls. These were picked up by the US Coast Guard in Honolulu who send a Hercules with parachute para medics. There was an old WW2 airstrip on the island. So, everyone was flown back to Honolulu. Everyone was incapable in the space of an hour. One guy never fully recovered. Death by respiratory failure.
Byron: I think it most unlikely that ciguatura was likely to be prevalant at beaches near Adelaide or anywhere else in southern cold current waters; Especially since fish species found for most part in tropical and subtropical waters like coral trout, grouper, spanish mackeral and other ciguatura affected species don’t tolerate the conditions that far south. Not denying the possibility but suspect chances of SM succumbing to it, unless he brought to Adelaide from the tropics, be pretty remote on ballance of probability.
@JS: I’d be interested to see that. Metro Adelaide tends to fish off jetties or breakwaters (or out of boats) – because you catch too many people swimming on the beach itself. I can maybe imagine people fishing North of Glenelg (or much, much further South) – because there’s less swimming there. But as I say, seeing someone with a fishing rod on the beach is (in my experience) quite rare in Adelaide.
That said, you’re right about whiting. Visit a metro jetty and you’ll see several clusters of fisherman. The ones closest the beach (in the surf) are fishing for whiting** (and possibly flathead); closer to the middle there’ll often be younger groups – good fishing if you’re happy with Tommy Ruff (Australian Herring) or Salmon Trout (not to be confused with Salmon or Trout (although Sometimes called Australian Salmon, but it’s still a white-flesh fish)). Further at the end you might have people fishing for surface fish (ie using floats not sinkers) like Garfish. There’s also a few other fish types that might be caught off jetties in Adelaide, most commonly Mullet, Bream and Shitties (Trumpeters) – but I’ve known people to catch Leather Jackets and others as well…..
In between all of them you’ll see people with crabnets or trying to hook a squid…..
Granted most of my comments are based on much more recent beach experience….maybe things were very different in the late 1940s.
I am a little intrigued that there’s a youtube from a couple weeks ago showing someone fishing at Somerton (I would say somewhere around Repton Rd – ie in front of the Somerton SLSC) – I’m assuming that’s your earlier reference about a chap catching a couple of whiting? Caught a nice Bluey too….). In fact there’s a couple of similar vids – I’m very intrigued by that, because I’ve never noticed people fishing there (I have friends who would consider roughly that beach as their local (they’re actually a lot further inland – Colonel Light Gardens), but whenever we’ve caught up with them at the beach it’s been in that area……and don’t ever remember seeing fisherman there – but I guess that would more often be afternoon than morning).
**According to tackleworldadelaide (website) King George Whiting is often caught off the END of Brighton jetty after rough weather. I was initially surprised at this, because I would associate whiting more with the shallows, but one of the features of Adelaide’s beaches is that the Gulf of St Vincent is (relatively) shallow and there’s often sandbars at low tide (which means an inconsistent depth at high tide).
In any case, we’re probably a bit off track (so maybe I missed your point). It’s not like we think SM was out there in fancy duds dangling a line in…so who caught a fish and where probably isn’t all that relevant (other than your point that toadies exist in those parts)
milongal: Might be mentioned that the only reference to dining at the sailing club in 1948 that I could find was made by it’s then Commodore, who gave later testimonal that Somerton club facilities were second to none anywhere on the Adelaide coast. If need be we could just as easily substitute the Silver Wings restaurant in Jetty Rd. right next door to Freeman’s chemist for Jerry’s fatal
Fugu (toad) fish feast. In which case we’ve even got that confounded ROK/Minx deal covered admirably.
Some years ago there was some talk about the National Fish Cafe too (next to St Vincent Hotel) – I can’t remember the context (I think it was sort-of Polites related)
oops – my bad – that’s what you’re talking about.
According to Kate Thomson, her brother Robin Thomson was born on 10th June, 1947. If true, that doesn’t seem to tally with the time frame given in Pete Einstein’s latest list of known Feltus/Abbott facts pertaining to their mother Jessica’s movements from late ’46 to the time of his birth…fuck knows where!
Geez Fluffy, go and hump your Master Nick’s leg will you .. you are one tiresome puppy.
PB: According to your latest bid for attention on the websleuth’s site, ‘puppy’ be the pet name for your plagiarised TSM character…Advice from a tired old suit would be, when all else fails, try stepping outside the box for a change and see where it leads.
Wonder if it be of any interest to Abbott planted F(i)B()ers that Jessica Ellen Thomson’s present day relatives, namely daughter Kate, grandson Joel and other not so well known family, have ducked for cover since Derek’s breaking news of July 26 ’22. They had always been rather vocal especially Julia and older brother Joel under various ndps, being quite active across the SM board apart of course from GC’s deep fake BS side show that doesn’t tollerate alternate viewpoints for fear of exposure. It had been suggested that Joel Leahy was James McMahon an alleged troll linked to the Marshall Files which went private and has not been from in years.