Apologies again for previously repeating the incorrect identification of “Ronald Francis” as Dr Douglas Buxton Hendrickson. However I can fully rectify that in the best way possible, by passing on today’s announcement courtesy of Gerry Feltus: from which we can say (hopefully definitively) that “Ronald Francis” – in whose car the Rubaiyat was found – was in fact chemist John Freeman of 24A Jetty Road, Glenelg.
I have established that the person who owned the car in which the relevant copy of the Rubaiyat was located and his wife are both deceased. Their next of kin have recently given me permission to release identities and details relevant to the ‘Unknown Man’ investigation. John Freeman, in December, 1948, was a Chemist, and resided with his wife in premises attached to their Chemist shop, at 24A Jetty Road, Glenelg. Their family car, a small Hillman Minx was more often than not parked in Jetty Road, outside their shop/residence.
Gerry Feltus goes on to say that he will soon be releasing more details about the interviews he carried out, which I (unsurprisingly) very much look forward to reading.
Trove had no obvious reference to John Freeman: but in January 1945, a Colin Charles Freeman did have a thief in his Jetty Road flat stealing a purse containing four pounds and six shillings. This leads us to an announcement dated 11 Sep 1945:
To whom it may concern. Declaration is hereby made that on August 20, 1945, Colin Charles Freeman and John Christian Freeman, chemists, of Adelaide, disposed of all interest and share in, and connection with, Howard Products. Aust.
With this, plus a little help from a long-running Somerton Man thread on Reddit, we can see that the two Freeman chemists were both cremated in Centennial Park:
* Colin Charles Freeman died on 23 March 1985. (Last abode: Somerton Park)
* John Christian Freeman died on 20 January 2014. (Last abode: Belair)
Both brothers are also listed as associates of the University of Adelaide in the 1955 Calendar (p.140):
* Freeman, Colin Charles…..1944
* Freeman, John Christian….1943
Beyond that, however, there seems to be little in Trove or elsewhere about either of them. Though I suspect this may improve before very long…
John Christian Freeman
According to Rootsweb:
Birth: 10 Jul 1922 in Parkside, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Note: Born: John Christian FREEMAN. Father : Charles Herbert FREEMAN. Mother : Doris Sylvia BERNAN.
Source : South Australian Births 1907 – 1928. Book : 98A Page : 358 District : Ade.
Colin Charles Freeman
According to Rootsweb:
Birth: 11 Dec 1920 in Unley, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Note: Born: Colin Charles FREEMAN. Father : Charles Herbert FREEMAN. Mother: Doris Sylvia BERNAN.
Source : South Australian Births 1907 – 1928. Book : 67A Page : 109 District : Ade.
According to the MyHeritage site:
Colin Charles Freeman was born in 1922, to Charles Herbert Freeman and Doris Sylvia Freeman [nee Bernau]
Charles was born on May 4 1897, in West Thebarton, South Australia, Australia.
Doris was born on July 18 1898, in Eaglehawk, Victoria, Australia.
Colin had 2 siblings.
Colin married Margaret Cynthia Freeman (born Grasby) on [– –] 1944, at age 22 at [——].
Margaret was born on September 25 1922, in “Xarma” Nursing Home, South Terrace, South Australia, Australia.
They had 2 children.
Colin passed away on [March 23] 1985, at age 63.
While at the University of Adelaide, he passed his Practical Inorganic Chemistry examination in 1940.
Finally: for those interested in car-related stories, Colin Charles Freeman appeared in court in regard to a driving incident in 1941:
At an Inquest yesterday into the death of Elizabeth Matthew Harrod, 71, pensioner of Milner street, Prospect, the Acting city Coroner (Mr. G. Ziesing) found that she died at the Royal Adelaide Hospital on May 24 from multiple injuries received when she was struck by a motor car on the Main North road Enfield, on the same day.
Mr. Ziesing found that the negligence of the driver, Colin Charles Freeman, chemist, of Nottage terrace, Medindle Gardens, was not sufficiently culpable to warrant his taking further action.
Well, after all this time GF has finally decided to come clean and give a definite name, just a pity it’s taken all this time, and the question is why?
Hopefully we’re back on track after the ‘jive’ distraction…So now we have young John Freeman, who at just twenty six, comes forward full of self worth, tomake a deal with the fawning cops, to hand over his coveted ROK in exchange for eternal anonymity. The wiley old detective Lionel Leane accedes to these reasonable terms unconditionally, the lad walks off into the wild blue, never to be seen or heard from, only resurfacing six plus decades on, for a chat with Gerry, thence off to Centenial Park in 2014. Like everyone else including Clive and the rest, I’m chafing at bit to get into the reasoning behind of his life of obscurity. To start with neither he, his brother Colin or father Charles come up in military archives, which may hint at some religious objections for not stepping up to the plate. Could the name Freeman have masonic lodge associations by any chance?
Jack Freeman and Effie (nee Collyer) got hitched 25/8/44 and were blessed with their little ray of sunshine 27/9/46. Mrs. Freeman snr. was a socialite and the family appear to have their methodist roots in uppity suburban Medindie. As Nick suggests, the trove trickle should turn to a torrent by day’s end, now that we have JACK not John as our target Minxman..ps Brother Col and Marge had a son on 21/18/48?
Jack’s wife Effie 23/4/2016 died a Freeman at Belair (Cent. Park cemetery). Her Dad William Thomas Collyer was very handy with a ‘gun’ as competition rifle shooter (cyclists) Malvern S.A. Wife Ethel May…Looking now for Ron’s potential brother-in-law but nothing on Nominal Rolls or Archives showing colour. Not many Collyers loose in S.A, maybe old Bill was a blow-in from T’other side, Blighty or Ireland perhaps.
Clive: …and Well may we ask?…Looks a fair bet that Effie Freeman bn. 23/4/16 had a brother Norman Franklin Collyer bn. 29/9/24, who, if I’m correct will have been the elusive brother-in-law on the wife’s side. He has a son Dennis Norman bn. 12/7/49 that we can track down if he’s still with us. So now we should catch up with sister’s man and then get the irons hot.
Please help me understand: On his website Abbott states: “A further detail is that Len was adamant that the owner of the car the Rubiayat was a chemist by trade, however, this is apparently at odds with the testimony of Gerry Feltus.” Wasn’t it Abbott who mentioned Hendrickson (no chemist) and Feltus who revealed Freeman (a chemist).
Norman Franklin Collyer 10/9/2011 (Hove) Centenial Park. Reginald Charles Collyer (Sth Brighton) wildcard too old?
Sorry Effie Freeman bn. 28/7/23.
Norman Franklin Freeman wasn’t Effie’s (b. 18. Jul 1923) brother, his father was Percival Charles Collyer. Rootsweb has only two sisters: Mary Collyer, b. 7. Dec 1913, and Joan Collyer, b. 17. Jun 1920.
In Effie’s engagement announcement he is named “John Christian” (instead of “Jack”) Freeman, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/92711745
Colin Charles Freeman’s wife, Margaret Cynthia, was, according to rootsweb and myheritage, the only child of William Wallace Grasby.
Thomas: There you go, my Norm looked OK due to the Collyer surname (not Freeman), his abode near Glenelg and his recent demise, but as stated, it was a wildcard…From here, I think that we should await directions from the powers, as it now seems that there may be a ‘greatcoats on greatcoats off ‘ situation developing.
Flashman: “Wonder is only the beginning of philosophy”, or in simple terminology, “Wonders will never cease”. That, as you will be aware, is what your man Socrates quoted to Plato some time ago. So being, I am obliged somewhat hesitantly to concur with your newfound interest in Dr. Graeme Alvin Robson. You will no doubt be aware that the ex naval man has been of great interest to me from my recent posts about him. Now that Jack Freeman has been reluctantly put forward as the ubiqitous Ronald Francis by Gerry Feltus no less, I’m a deal more confident now in the good Professor’s alternative view. Without going into boring details, I think I may have some logical answers to support Robson’s involvement with the ROK in ‘49 and his somewhat undignified debaring soon after. This will depend on some rather complicated investigative measures, of which I am most modestly confident of pursuing. I shall keep interested parties up to speed and call for back-up if necessary. js
Effie Freeman at Centennial Park:
John Christian Freeman passed away on 10th January 2014, https://www.centennialpark.org/memorial-search/john-christian-freeman-10259545/
For what it’s worth (not that it means anything), I think John Freeman fits the Ron Francis bill more how I would have expected (after Tessie/Jessie Johnson/Thomson anonymisation)
John for Ron, and then surname begins with same ‘FR’.
@JS: You say ol’ man Freeman was into rifles….like Pruzsinski, perhaps? Also you mentioned they seem to have come from Medindie and surrounds, weren’t you poking into a little dead-end st in Medindie a little while back on another thread?
Whether JF himself was directly involved, you’d certainly have to consider the possibility that an associate of his had dropped the book in his car (rather than it having been thrown there), and then didn’t want to own up to it once it was found because of the connection.
How about a variation on the Pruzinski scenario, with Pruzinski being an intermediary in a deal to sell a gun between Papa Freeman and SM (or something). Rubaiyat is proof of identity, but the book slips out of Papa Freeman’s pocket while attending the Airshow, and is subsequently found by his JF’s BiL. Papa F is not too keen to associate himself with it, and as the book is handed in is able to muddy the waters a bit by convincing everyone it must have been found some days later than it actually was (on the 30th).
The “code” is (relatively easily) dismissed as chicken scratchings, possibly from someone having had the Rubaiyat underneath paper they were writing on at some time and an overzealous analyst has managed to turn that into something that looks ordered/structured (It would actually be interesting to know whether the same was attempted of other pages).
It’s as bad an idea as any….
Re the cyclist who doesn’t backpedal….
Abbott’s identity (Hendrickson) is a theory. GF’s (Freeman) presumably is based on police records (not publicly available). It’s hard to see them as equivalent possibilities.
As GF came up with Ronald Francis, then Ronald Francis is the person he says he is, I would have thought. While there may be some possibility that there were multiple Rubaiyat’s (personally that to me relies on articles at the time that were in such a hurry to write news they occasionally heard similar news through multiple sources and mistook them for different news), and while in such a multiple Rubaiyat scenario it;s _possible_ that the one from the car wasn’t the one with the ‘code’, the story of the car itself can only be about the person GF says is Ronald Francis – ie, John Freeman.
You can have your theories about different Rubaiyat’s; and even that the ‘code’ Rubaiyat came from somewhere else – but surely it’s a bit hard to dispute (short of claiming we’re being misled) that Ronald Francis as we know him can only be John Freeman – because that comes from the same person who told us the Ronald Francis story in the first place.
NB: I find it a little bit interesting (if ironic) that there was a recent suggestion I’d challenged GF’s credibility (which I have never intended to do, and don’t recall ever doing)…
An etymological pseudonym?: Francis from Franciscus from Francia, inhabited by the Franks (free men)
milongal: Meningie not Menindie my error. W.T. Collyer the rifle shooter had a competition shooting career at local intrastate, interstate, national and international levels spanning a half century. There is record of him in Broken Hill but that would be expected and so a connection with Pruszinski might not mean much more than of note at this stage…It may have been me that was meant re credabilty and I’ll own to it without reservation.
milongal: The P. Thomson’s were living in Meningie, S.A. on return from the UK….Dr.Graeme Robson’s dad, a Captain of Engineers, was another shooting man, who petishioned Fitzroy council in 1914 for a mini range land allocation. After the war in ‘21 there was a similar (successful) petn. made to release discounted war surplus .303 ammo for the rifle associations. If one wanted to common denominate with poor Fred Pruszinski of West Broken Hill mini rifle club, then prior to WW2, Ret. Maj. O.W.E. Robson was the acting town engineer for Broken Hill Shire, which also included Menindee Lakes, where poor Fred drowned in ’53? He was always listed by his inits. O.W.E. in the numerous news accounts and even on his Military Archives file, which is quite frustrating. I’m trying to fit him with Mrs. J.B. (Isabel) Cleland’s Scottish born mum Isabella Robson (see Rev. J. Robson Adl.). I think O.W.E. must have passed on in the early ’40s and widow Elsie A. is thought to have then moved from Mosman NSW to Hindmarsh Island, off Goolwa on the Coorong S.A., if that makes sense.
Belay the last part of my previous and substitute Mrs. J.B. (Isabel) Cleland, for O.W.E. Robson, who we need to tie up with Izzy and her Adelaide based Jock (Dumfries) immigrant parents, The Rev. David Paton and his wife Isabella nee Robson 1847/1933…I think?..
Freeman devotees in the Feltus camp might not be attentive to the following but each to their own, but for those out there with doubts, this is for consideration. I’m reasonably sure that the various SM blog mods. and others with a modicum of sensibility, would be aware that the addresses 13 Pier Street and 51 Moseley St. do just conveniently, happen to occupy the same original plot of rateable real estate. It would almost certainly have consisted of one large dwelling originally and maybe that was still the case in 1948. Dr. Hendrickson would almost certainly have had on site parking for his vehicle, though being parked on the street during daylight hours might have been more convenient for house or hospital visits.
@JS – Love your information, but sometimes I get overloaded or miss the point.
What was Effie’s middle name? Not another E was it?
No chance she was managing a guest house at 47 Moseley (2 doors up from the other good doctor)?
Not sure how the married name protocols worked then (hell, I struggle with them now), but there was a Mrs E E Freeman at 47 Moseley…..
Also Freeman’s DO appear to have lived at Medinidie at some stage (it says Medindie Gardens in the engagement notice).
Freeman’s work appears to have been in the city – in James Place, somewhere near where Spendless Shoes is (or I think more likely behoind that where City Cross Arcade is) – at least in ’48. At that time, 24 Jetty Rd is the St Vincent Hotel, and 30 is the NAtional Fish Cafe. In ’49 Freeman is at 24a (the St V bottleo is at 24) and there’s a beautician at 26 with the St V hotel being listed as 28.
Everything is connected. Even the irrelevant.
milongal: it seems likely to me that Freemans Chemists was located in Prospect Road on the North side of Adelaide – 24a Jetty Road was the flat where Charles and/or John Freeman lived. As I’m sure you already know, their father was also a chemist (on the committee of the local Master Chemists’ Association), so I expect that was the family shop.
Milongal: Had effie’s parents been tempted to give the poor kid a name to hang with that monster, you’d have to punt on her mum’s names Ethel May. If so, then perhaps your Mrs. E.E. Freeman of 47 Moseley could be on the mark.
milongal: If you could tie Your (Mrs.) E.E. Freeman into 47 Moseley, that would put her next door but one to the dual plot of the Hendricksons at 51 Moseley/13 Pier Street. Maybe we would then have a Freeman/Hendrickson connection which could make both Feltus and Abbott camps compatable afterall.
milongal: You may have missed it, like everyone else I’m almost certain, but our own Dr. J.M.Dwyer lived ten doors down and opposite, at 24 Moseley during the war, if that’s any help.
@NP: Where does Prospect come from?
Realising that S&M could be out of date/wrong….
1948 S&M has the following Freeman’s of interest:
Freeman, J. C., 2a Palmer av, Myrtle Bank
Freeman-Chemist, 136 Fullarton rd, Rosefield
Freeman’s Chemist, Bank st, Adelaide
Evans Building, GF, 14 James Place: Freeman, J. C., chmst
Freeman J, 23 Bundarra Ave, Kilburn
There’s 2 J.C in that lot, which I assume is his home (Myrtle Bank) and his work (James Place).
I’ve included the Kilburn one because Kilburn is a neighbouring suburb to Prospect (or it might be 2 suburbs away, but it’s sort of close).
1949 has:
Bank St Adelaide, 5 Freeman—Chemists (with a Freeman C. C apparently manager – Colin Charles, perhaps?)
Evans Building, GF, 14 James Place – Freeman, J. C., chmst
(Freeman C H in Grassmere (never heard of this suburb, seems to have been near Glandore, possibly what is now called Kurralta Park – up the Anzac Highway between Glenelg and the City)
Jetty Rd, Glenelg – 24a Freeman Chemist
Palmer Ave, Myrtle Bank – 2a Freeman, J. C.
Cross Rd, Kingswood – 5 Freeman, J. C., chmt
(Seventh St, Gawler – Freeman, E. E.)
Bundarra Ave, Klburn – 32 Freeman, J
NOTE: I DID find a J Freeman in Prospect (5 Gordon Rd), but he’s listed as an Engine Driver (suitably named Thomas the Tank Road, eh?).
So….naively ignoring inaccuracies and slow updates in S&M, either there’s multiple J.C Freemans who are chemists (quite possible, given how common the surname is, and how common those initials would be), or JC ran (or perhaps owned) quite a few pharmacies (but as far as I can tell, not one in Prospect).
OOP, sorry NP – you’re right, his dad had a shop in Prospect in the early 40s.
HC had the shop later than that too…
Main North Road, Prospect the chemist shop was burgled in 1949 (C H Freeman, #280) – Which these days is a largish shopping centre at the corner of Regency and Main North (the Prospect side of Main North road is Northpark Shopping Centre, while across the road is Sefton Plaza)
24 March 1950:
Mr J- Physick, of Julia terrace. Kadina, who has been manager of J.White & Sons, Ltd, chemists, Kadina for the past 13 years, has resigned to accept the management of Freeman’s Pharmacy, Glenelg,. Mr Physick has purchased a home at Glenelg and….
Make that 3 robberies :
Main North Rd, 6/8/49
3 cameras stolen
Jemmylng open the front door of Freeman Chemists, Main North road, Prospect, last night, thieves stole three cameras and three dozen razor blades, valued together at £21.
this time at home 14/01/1947:
Climbing through a side window at the home of Colin Charles Freeman, chemist. Jetty road, Glenelg, between 6 and 7 o’clock last night, a thief ransacked the ‘
bedroom and stole a purse containing articles valued at £4.’6/.
and the Prospect Rd one 14/03/1943
Safe Blown Open At Prospect
Detective R. L. Leane is investigating the blowing open of a sate at the chemist
shop of Mr. Charles Herbert Freeman, Prospect road, Prospect, between 5 p.m.
Prospect road. Prospect, between 5 p.m. on Friday and 8 am on Saturday. The
thieves obtained e46 In cash also a kitbag valued at 30/. and C1 from the cash register. Entrance was gained by breaking the class In the front door.
(Trove has adverts for Freeman’s Pharmacy at 210 Prospect Road, Prospect which S&M also has as C H Freeman – clearly the guy owned a lot of pharmacies)
Should we be concerned about Jack Freeman’s old folks, Charles and Doris, who don’t seem to have booked in with the rest of the family out at Centenial Park in later years. We know that they were living at 31 High Street, Glenelg, with son Colin’s family in the ‘50s; Young John (Jack), Effie and the the kids) were apparently domiciled at the pharmacy, a half mile away down Jetty Road at 24A, outside which the “little” Hillman Minx was presumably parked.
Coventry Motors of Adelaide was a new car dealership that belonged to Colin Freeman’s inlaws, the very well heeled Grasbys. Perhaps they were Hillman auto agents, making clever use of the ‘Coventry’ monicker, though it didn’t show up in my mildly inquisitive search. They did promote the Armstrong Siddley range in the early days and of course we all recall seeing Prosper Thomson standing proudly alongside his A.S. Saphire? In the mid fifties. I can imagine old W. Wilson G. giving the kids a nice little blue Minx drop head coupe as wedding gift in ’44, or for when their first youngun came along in ’48, just a month before SM dropped dead.
milongal: Come on, what’s this guy Physick doing working in a pharmacy of all places. Makes me wanna puke and by the way, if J. Sicko took over the only shop in Glenelg ie. 24A, then where did the brothers gravitate to I wonder….I note the address 136 Fullerton Rd. Rosefield was another of the Freeman chemists; Two doors up from there a German mate of mine died on 1st December, 1948 and got himself a slot right next to SM patiently awaiting his turn with old saw bones Dwyer. God I hope the pair weren’t mixed up, what with old Clelend sticking his beak in, along with mounted Const. ‘Silence‘ Knight, Pcc.’Scan’ Sutherland and Jimmy ‘Pix’ Durham waiting to get their chance at the spoils…Now with your land lady Mrs Freeman at 47 Moseley; I’ve checked with all the dead drops and not a single E.E. to be found. As you pointed out, it could well be that being our thoroughly modern Effie, chose to dispense with protocols and adopt her maiden christian initials as in Effie Edith for her rentals.
Here’s a fellow getting off the bus at Henley Beach, he travels the 7.7 ks to 24 Jetty road where he tosses a copy of the Rubaiyat into the back of a car after ripping out a section of the last page and stuffing it deep into his fob pocket, he then continues on past 90a Mosely Street, home of the subscriber whose phone number he’d written on the back of the dumped book, turns right and right again, reaches Bickford Terrace, crosses the road, takes the steps down to the beach, lies down and eventually dies.
Is that what we’re working with?
I forgot. He ate a pasty and punched someone on the way (abrasions on his right knuckle, food in his stomach)
Peteb: errrm…
* he never went to Henley Beach?
* the address of the Freemans’ flat was 24A Jetty Road, not 24
* we don’t know anywhere he went before died, apart from “on the bus”
* we don’t even know if he had the Rubaiyat that day (it might just as well have been from the day of the Parafield air show)
* we don’t know if he went knowingly to the beach (there’s testimony that he was dropped there)
* etc
But apart from all the actual details, yeah, you nailed it there.
Nick:
Q: he never went to Henley Beach? A: He had a ticket to Henley Beach in his pocket.
* the address of the Freemans’ flat was 24A Jetty Road, not 24 / You got me there old boy.
* we don’t know anywhere he went before died, apart from “on the bus”/ We know he started at Henley and ended at Somerton.
* we don’t even know if he had the Rubaiyat that day (it might just as well have been from the day of the Parafield air show) / His luggage ticket suggested otherwise.
* we don’t know if he went knowingly to the beach (there’s testimony that he was dropped there) / Do you want to talk about that?
* etc / what etc?
or try this:
Here’s a fellow getting off the bus at Glenelg, he walks past 24A Jetty road where he tosses a copy of the Rubaiyat into the back of a car after ripping out a section of the last page and stuffing it deep into his fob pocket, he continues on past 90a Mosely Street, home of the subscriber whose phone number he’d written on the back of the dumped book, turns right and right again, reaches Bickford Terrace, crosses the road, takes the steps down to the beach, lies down and eventually dies.
Or doesn’t.
If he didn’t go knowingly to the beach and was carried then we have a conspiracy … which means you might have nailed it.
Nick: Of course we would need to get the good oil from your main man Gerry on the not so little Hillman Minx and whether or not it had an after market glove box fitted in order for the ROK to have remained incognito from some time in late November ‘48 until it’s handover the following July!…
Nick: As for the bus, I’m thinking His nibs may be suffering from a information overload. A bus connection from Henley Beach through to Glenelg commeced operating in 1939 from memory. But also the bus from town to St. Leonards was also re-routed as a one to one alternate Somerton run, in the early 40s by incoming Glenelg counsilor Hendrickson, if I’m not mistaken.
peteb: errrm…
* the rail ticket to Henley Beach had been bought *but not used*, so it would seem that Henley Beach may well have been the place the Somerton Man didn’t go that day
* his luggage ticket and indeed his suitcase both have no obvious connection to the Rubaiyat
* we don’t yet know for sure when the Rubaiyat appeared in the chemist’s car (a number of the newspaper reports mentioned the Parafield air display)
* you’ve read Gerry Feltus’ final chapter, so you know as much as I do on that last bit.
john sanders: the first Aussie Hillman Minx was assembled by Rootes Australia in Victoria in 1946. There can’t have been many variants built before 1 Dec 1948, glove box or no glove box.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rootes_Australia
http://www.sa.hillman.org.au/RootesFactory.htm
I’m sure I’ve said a variant of this several times re the bus….
Modern ‘sleuths’ seem to assume he got off the bus at the corner of Anzac Highway and Adelphi St. I’m 99% sure this is n assumption, based on the fact that St Leonards was NORTH of Glenelg, and the bus turns and heads away from Somerton there. But that assumes the bus was going to St Leonards.
I can hear people mumbling (as my kids do) “He’s gone Cray-cray….how can the St Leonards’ Bus not be going to St Leonards?”
If you dig through trove, I forget the exact date, but I think it was in the late 30s (I’d try early 1939 if I were a betting man) there’s an article about modifications to “The St Leonard’s route”. Specifically, it talks about alternate buses travelling to Somerton rather than St Leonards (and it outlines the exact route – which I think was (among other things) up Moseley St. In the original article I read, it infers that it would still be referred to as the St Leonard’s route (although other articles call it some variation of St Leonard’s/Somerton.
I assert that although all popular literature refers to the “St Leonards Bus”, it may actually have been a “Somerton Bus”. For mine, this clears up a few inconveniences, not least his nice neat shoes. This (in theory) should be relatively easy to confirm. Since we know what time the bus ran, all we need is a 1948 timetable (which I think PB tried to chase on busaustralia before with no luck (those bus geeks didn’t seem to reach quite that far back, although I’d be surprised if among them somewhere there isn’t a timetable collector)?).
That said, once he got on the bus, all bets are off. There is absolutely nothing to suggest where he actually got off, and what he did after that (and obviously there’s still the idea I’ve often floated before that the ticket wasn’t even his). But there would be a near-infinite amount of explanations that could have him alighting the bus before Glenelg, and still ending up in Somerton. All we really know, is that the ticket found on him was used to board the bus on either North Tce (between King William St and West Tce) or West Tce (between North Tce and the Elephant and Castle).
I sort of groan whenever we start getting into “All we know….”. Fundamentally, all we know is that a body was found 1 Dec 1948. From there we have inferred a lot from his possessions (to the point where the Railway Station and the baths are often cited as fact). There is nothing to suggest the clothes he was wearing were his own. There’s nothing to say that the contents of the pockets were his. There’s nothing to suggest the Tamam Shud slip was his. There’s no guarantee that the suitcase was his. Even if the TS slip came from the Rubaiyat that was handed in (and I’ve always been a fraction skeptical on that front), there’s nothing to say the code was related to him, written by him, or even ever seen by him.
On the balance of probability, some of these things are more likely that others, but when it really comes down to it we know SFA about who he was, where he came from, what he was doing in Somerton – let alone what he was doing that morning (or any time before that).
As a side, re Jestyn and the bust. At the time she saw it, had Boxall been found alive and well (and did she know that)?. I think there’s a plausible resemblence if you take into account she hadn’t seen him for some time…
OOPs, sorry JS – you already had the bus covered 🙂
Might be wrong, but I think there was a trial Glenelg-Somerton service (before the re-routing), but not sure about Henley->Somerton. That said, the bus ticket wouldn’t make sense in that latter context anyway. It was confirmed to have a serial number that was one of several sold on a bus in the city.
The book could have been in the car for yonks. If shipping people about was relatively rare, and it was indeed in the back (where the owner has little reason ever to go) then there’s no knowing how long it had been there (or when/where it appeared there). If you chuck in a few passengers over time who don’t notice/care what’s on the floor of the car, then the possibilities are more endless again.
Incidentally, there’s actually an SA Hillman club:
https://www.sa.hillman.org.au/
https://i0.wp.com/www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/1946-hillman-minx-ad.jpg
https://www.sa.hillman.org.au/ID_Minx1948.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8snqkSSI-1M
Last pair of Minx linx:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/10711624?q&versionId=12497515
https://geraldton-wa.australialisted.com/cars/hillman-minx-1948_17266714.html
In my experience, when I buy a ticket to go to a certain place I buy one that takes me there. He bought a ticket to Henley Beach. He didn’t go there. Instead he lodged his case, unlocked, left the station and went to Glenelg, 7.7 kms distant. The rest we know. Pasty, cut knuckles. Book in car. Death.
You proposed he was in town for black market reasons … are you sticking with it?
Nick: Then again, it depends on what rag you chose to believe about whether the Henley Beach ticket was used or not. The Adelaide News says it was chopped and if so where did that come from. Besides we have covered the possibility of the one in his duds, perhaps being purchased at the city booth early in the morning or even the day before (it was 29th issue) actually being used unchopped for an inbound journey mid morning. For that matter I don’t go with Gerry’s ‘Tiny’ talking about railway heavies stopping unticketed interlopers from boarding the trains in any case…Milongal: The Somerton bus terminated about fifty yards left up Whyte St. (Named after a Brighton shark attack victim?) .
Doug Townsend was alone that day, according to his inquest testimony, selling fares on the usually busy Henley Beach line. He managed to offload two or three tickets during the eight hours between 6.3am and 2.30pm. including one with an ink mark from the previous day’s batch that was produced as an exhibit and which he readily identified. Even though he remembered nothing of the transaction, he was nonetheless able to tell the Coroner that he must have issued that ticket to SM, simply because no other people were on duty. No questions were asked of the poor 22 year casual employee, ie. “Didn’t you have a lunch or toilet break my boy”? or “How can you be sure it wasn’t sold the day before”? or better still “Sounds like a real easy job, only a few fares for the whole shift. Do you intend making a career out of it”?. Something seems a little off with that young country lad even though he was ex airforce and was apparently working his way through college…On a related matter; We have discussed this particular four station rail link off the Grange line before and you’ll be aware that neither Kirkaldy ot Marlborough stations were likely to have been manned then. As it turns out, passengers city bound from these stops were either obliged to pay their fare upon arrival, or better still, make arrangements to pre purchase tickets (through a surrogate) in order to avoid a fare evasion brief. I think SM’s un-punched? ticket could be thus explained, by either having used his the evening before, or sometime during the next morning ie. 30th November 1948. That would make sense and it might also excuse young Doug Townsend’s inattentiveness towards his customers.
peteb: I don’t necessarily propose anything as to his motive for coming to Glenelg / Somerton that particular day, I’m just trying to hypothesize a connection between the slip and the Rubaiyat and the car, some or all of which could very easily have been set up on (or intended for) a different day.
Milongal, you’re the man on the ground, could our man have scored a pasty about 6pm in the shopping strip near Freeman’s pharmacy.
Fair enough,NP, that’s just what I’m doing … hypothesise but with the lowest Occam score I can.
Peteb: Occam’s Razor is for medieval theologians and conspiracy theorists, Frater Petrus.
… as averse to those who propose a black market conspiracy that avoids government regulations?
Peteb: the Price Commission pegging car prices in the war years and in the years after, Melbourne car gangs, these are all known historical facts. There’s tons of it in Trove, I’ve talked about it a lot (perhaps even too much) on Cipher Mysteries, it’s hardly a conspiracy theory.
And the black market for cars was something that all car owners – and car dealers, however small – were aware of. The whole crux of the Daphne Page case was a dodgy Melbourne car thug you wouldn’t want to cross, or indeed to name in court.
It’s surely not Asimovian to wonder whether cars – and the middle class lies that supported the whole Australian black market car industry circa 1948 – might somehow sit at the heart of this cold case.
It’s surely not Asimovian (bless him) to wonder whether weapons construction – and the scientific class that supported the whole Australian atomic weapons industry circa 1948 – might somehow sit at the heart of this cold case.
Check.
Nick: Your “At the heart”, might be a little too bold, for mine. The very heart of the matter was the all powerful Ndrangheta crime family based in Melbourne from 1930. Their main business by 1948, would have been extortion, mixed market supply operations (all states), vendetta hits, immigration rorting (inc. Identity theft), and infiltrating government at all levels. The auto rackets along with related debt collection, was a traditional bread and butter earner, usually handled by local hoods or farmed out interstate to folks such as Prosper and police from the auto & dealers squads, on a commission (now we own you) basis. Sometimes the various levels of involvement could intermingle, wherein we find things so difficult to piece together seventy years down the road.
Correction: Prospers car in the 1956 rally was a Stellite, not a Saphire. Same company origins but different marque and era. His buddy Frank Kennedy, the name behind the origins of Tamam Shud, was driving his Damlier, I think.
Peteb: there was no Australian atomic weapons industry circa 1948, there was a tiny bit of experimental stuff in Port Pirie.
As far as cars go, I think the figure was that 75% of cars in Australia were – thanks to the Price Commission’s price pegging efforts – sold on the black market circa 1948. Now, that’s not just an industry, that’s an entire social phenomenon.
You may be right, the story underneath all this may turn out to be spycraft and Soviet meddling la-la-la. But that was at best a handful of people, plus an Intelligence Agency that hadn’t even employed anyone yet: I’m talking about something that affected all Australian car owners at that time, binding well-to-do car buyers and sellers with shifty, shady sorts in transactions that the newspapers were keen to demonize and sensationalize.
Elvis has left the building, after wishing you good luck with your endeavours.
VENONA – ANONEV – Quote: “Reverse it and use’ll see what the fuss is about” ie… A NON EV ent…This was circa 1954 and maybe attributable to H.V. ‘Doc’ Evatt, Aust. Govt. Opposition Leader at the time of a Royal Commission into espionage. Although embarrassed by the production of a letter denied Soviet involvement from Marshall Molotov, his assertions were somewhat vindicated, by there being no charges of spying brought against the the five main nominated culprits.
@PB: I’ve often wondered where the pasty came from. While I’m originally Adelaidean (and reasonably familiar with the bits in question (I even drove buses through there at one stage), I’m from a very different era, and not sure on where a pasty would be available that time of night (and my understanding is it must’ve been at night if the Time of Death is about right). I think JS has discussed possibly pasty origins in thepast….
@JS: not sure on the possiilities of the ticket coming the other way (GF seemed quite adamant he’d followed up on the processes of the time), but…..
as you say that, it does sort of occur to me that perhaps some conscientious soul, having boarded in an un-monitored part of the line and reaching the city without being challenged by an inspector buys a ticket to make things right (although not certain how possible that scenario is), so the ticket is bought, but never used. That said, the confusion around it includes strange ideas about the ticket being punched, but not used (which I think is speculative – if it’s punched, it’s not used, so I assume that the assumption of it not being used is because the St Leonard’s bus ticket WAS – and they couldn’t really oth have been used simultaneously). So the theory it wasn’t issued in the city is possible in that light , but there seems to be a paper trail that it was.
At the same time, the idea that the ticket seller was having a nice cushy day (having sold only 3 Henley tickets) seems a bit misled too – because they presumably sold tickets on other routes, even if Henley was quiet….no?
milongal: I guess I’m being a bit harsh on poor Doug. He did tell the inquest that he was also selling tickets for the Northline as well, so in that case he’s doubly excused and I do hope he’s still with us at 93…Let’s check.
The aforementioned pastie was more likely to have been a potato babka, reason being that no trace of carrots, peas or the good old Cornish swede was recorded as having been spotted by Doc Dwyer in SM‘s intestinal tract. That would surely hold sway with Flashman’s assertion that he was a Ruskie insurgent.
You make an interesting point, JS. IIRC (and I might not), the pasty was assumed because ‘something containing potato’. I’m not even real sure whether Pasties have potato in them (or whether they would have then). Of course, as someone (possibly you) mentioned some time ago, if it was ‘potato and what looks like other vegetables’ then a minestrone soup might fit the bill.
There’s also the problem that food in the stomach questions the time of death. That aspect of Science isn’t really my strong suite, so I’m not sure whether it’s possible that potato would take longer to digest than other veg (although I’d expect pastry to take a while too) whoch could explain it’s presence without carrots (Say), and (cynically) there’s always the possibility all the carrots were part of any technicolour yawn (there are always carrots in vomit, no?)…..
(I’m also not sure how well/easily you can identify semi-digested as food as ‘ooh, look, a potato’).
But even with that being said, where would he get a babka in the late evening? did Jessie make him one, or was there a local Ruski delicatess nearby?
That part of the world also likes ‘Potato Panacakes’ (some call it ‘Mock Fish’) which can sort of be approximated to a Hash Brown (basically potato, egg, flour and spices flattened and pan fried – and variants that might have onion, bacon or other tricks – google “Kartupelu Pankukas” for examples of the Latvian variety – but I’m pretty sure it’s similar through most of Eastern Europe, I’ve had a Czeck variety before (but they put some strong spice like Aniseed or Fennel in it which I found difficult)).
For what it might be worth, I believe that John/Jack Christian Freeman’s uncle was Francis Bell Freeman.
Misca: Yes, I just picked up on him to-day on one of your old posts I think. Some thing to do with the price of cars in post war Adelaide. So?…
john sanders: missed that comment of Misca’s, can you give me a link, please? Ta! 🙂
Nick: I’m mistaken. It was S.W.G. Freeman, Pres. Chamber of Automotive Industries S.A. discussing the ridiculous post war price control situation effecting the ligitimate used car industry…Oh, now he comes up everwear from early thiries to at least ‘52 as managing director of Freeman Motors and you now know as much as I do….I think Misca’s link may have been either SMs suitcase or the first 2009 SM thread.
Nick: For what it’s worth, maybe nothing, though who knows. Francis Bell Freeman bn. 30/9/01 Adelaide, Father John Row Freeman (Syd.). Wife Mary Augusta and residing Mile End 1948?. Described himself as Chemical student at age fifteen, served as a Lieutenant in 5th Ambulance with R.N. Bickford (bro.of Francis) and may have some sort of background in bread baking (rings a SM bell). Couple of military convictions for ‘breaking camp‘ (awol on act. serv.) and court marshall for ‘false stat dec’ on enlistment age 15.
Weird coincidences: I have a fascination with unsolved mysteries and first became aware of the story of the ‘Somerton man’ relatively recently (within the last year or two). Scroll forward to the last couple of weeks. I visit Australia (from the UK) on business for 2 conferences in Melbourne with a four day gap between the two. I decide to make use of my days off by visiting a friend near Adelaide. The Somerton Man / Tamam Shud mystery is not exactly at the forefront of my mind at the time. First coincidence: the date of my arrival in Adelaide is 1st December 2018, 70 years to the day after the body of the mystery man was found on Somerton beach. Second coinidence: the identity of the friend I was visiting. She’s a daughter-in-law of the late John (a.k.a. Jack) and Effy Freeman.
Chris King: a very timely coincidence indeed! May I ask: was the Somerton Man and his mysterious Rubaiyat something that the family talk about? And might it be possible to (cheekily) ask if they still have any photographs of Jack Freeman’s car?
Needless to say we’re still awaiting news of the ‘soon to be released’ Jack Freeman interview details that Detective Feltus promised. I’m thinking that with his known shyness in the past, we might now concede that we may have gotten as much as we’re likely to get. Whilst some devotees may choose to remain under Gerry’s mystical spell, we the lonely few ‘once bitten’…,might be thus moved to get back on the trail of J.C.’s brother-in-law, who seems to have given our favourite policeman the slip.
Hi nickpelling. Unfortunately, my friend’s late husband (Jack & Effie’s son) died more than 20 years ago, and my friend hasn’t had contact with the remaining members of the Freeman family since Effie’s death. I can ask her about the Somerton Man and the Rubaiyat, but I suspect the answer will be negative. As for the car, I suspect that Jack and Effie may have move on to bigger and better cars in later life (and the old Hillman may have been somewhat forgotten). Jack may have started out as a chemist but he ended up accumulating a signficant commercial property portfolio in central Adelaide, as a result of which he and Effie became very wealthy.
Nick: If we’re going to return to the Freeman camp, there are a couple or three things that were left unresolved from the last go around that ended in a fizzle. We would need to know if Colin was born in ’20 (RW) or ’22 (MH), the latter of which would have been a bit of a squeeze for mum considering Jack (john), was also ’22. Secondly we are still at a loss for an (MH) nominated, but as yet un-named sibling (sister) upon which we depend for the brother-in-law. The third question, since partly answered by our most welcome Brexit friend, would have been related to Jack (john Christian) Freeman’s post ROK life, which seems to have turned out OK, no doubt due in part to Det. L. Leane’s discretion all those years ago.
Milongal: Back in early October, you detailed a number of break-in thefts from Freeman premises at Prospect and Glenelg between 1943/49, at least one of which was investigated by Det. R.L.Leane. Such being the case and in knowledge that the Freemans had quite a number of pharmacies around suburban Adelaide, it would come as no surprise that (call me Lionel) such an officer could be trusted to keep a secret like the ROK’s finding. I can also read into this another less commenable scenario, but there doesn’t really seem to be a case for such a deceptive cover-up scheme. I could well imagine that old Charles was more likely to have come forward with the prize, young Colin and Jack, the apparent discoverers, remaining respectfully at a distance. Not saying that I agree necessarilly, though it does seem to lie within the realms of credibility, don’t you think?…..
Was it only October, it already seems so long ago…
The Freeman’s seemed to have their fingers in quite a few pharmacies (or at least there were several Freeman pharmacies that on the surface seem to link back to Charles (or occasionally John)). It is interesting to consider that this is consistent with the notion that this is consistent with both ‘Chemist’ and ‘Business Man’ – especially if in later years (ie when GF came to talk to him) he managed property rather than pharmacy (presumably to begin with the properties that had been pharmacies, and based on Chris’ comments about a healthy commercial portfolio, perhaps expanded that somewhat too).
I sort of think that his prominence may have been a reasonable reason to keep him out the spotlight – especially since, as far as the plods were concerned, the discovery of the Rubaiyat in a car in Glenelg had a fairly innocuous explanation. I can’t help but wonder, however, how they ‘knew’ it had appeared while parked in Jetty Rd. Presumably being in charge of several pharmacies would see you travelling all over the suburbs. To me the Jetty Road stuff seems to be a bit of accidental assumption, e.g.:
LL: “So you say you found this book in your car, eh?”
JF: “That’s right, I was picking up my BiL from a Christmas Party, and he later mentioned he’d put it in the Glove Compartment where I later found it.”
LL: “So where abouts did you pick him up from?”
JF: “Oh, the do was at the Pier Hotel, and I was lucky enough to find a park on Jetty Rd”
@JS re trains…..
West’s testimony doesn’t mention an inbound Henley train, although having a look at the ones he does list, they all appear to be from the country (the two from Angaston might be metro lines these days (i.e what today is ‘Gawler Central’ (If Marshall hasn’t cut that yet) – although I think that was elsewhere in language of the time simply described as ‘Northern Line’)). Might have to dig into whether those were the ONLY trains arriving before 11, or whether those were the only COUNTRY routes arriving (might have to see if I can remember my username/password on busaustralia and ask some of the gunzels there).
I don’t know the history of the trains quite as well as the buses, so I don’t know when SAR became separate from the Metropolitan lines (wiki suggests the Glenelg Trainline (now tramway) was transferred to MTT in the 30’s, and then skips to 1978 by which time MTT has become STA and runs the metro trains, and SAR is doing deals with AN for country and interstate routes…I have sent a request for some information from the National Railway Museum in Port Adelaide – about this, and timetables, and ticketing and a few other things, so we’ll see whether we get some juicy tidbits from them.
While I wait on my responses from NRA….
I realised after I wrote the last, that metropolitan services MUST have been arriving at the same time, but were simply not mentioned by West. Presumably this means that he wasn’t asked – all of which implies that there was always in implicit assumption he had arrived from country or interstate.
I wonder what the Henley track used to look like. These days it branches from the Outer Harbor (sic) Line at Woodville, and there’s a single track through to Grange. Trains are timetabled for 6 minutes to travel from Woodville to Grange, and their entire journey from Adelaide Railway station should take 23 minutes. Although Adelaide trains are sluggish by metropolitan standards (they’re Diesel-Electric, so they’re heavy and have relatively low acceleration compared to say the Electric trains on Melbourne’s network), I’d imagine the Steamies of the 1940s would have been more sluggish again. So at an absolute minimum I would imagine the entire Adelaide->Henley journey would be somewhere around 35 minutes (or somewhere between 10 and 15 minutes for the Woodville->Henley stretch….if that was the route it took – Admittedly fewer stations back then might offset sluggish starts, I suppose).
Somewhere along the line, there must have at some stage been duplicated track, or SAR had a way to hold multiple trains at the Henley Beach end. Of the trains reported to have departed for Henley, 4 if them depart 20 minutes or less after the preceding service (And 1 more is 21 minutes).
According to Mr West of the SAR, the outbound Henely Beach trains that morning (bar the last one) ran on time, and left at the (somewhat irregular) times: 5:13, 5:23, 6:03, 6:38, 6:59, 7:11, 7:27, 8:02, 8:15,,8:53, 9:30, 10:50, 11:51
These days the first inbound train leaves Grange at about 6AM, so if we assume a running time of 35 minutes, plus a run-around time of 5 minutes (and enough track infrastructure to host 2 trains side by side at Henley), I’d imagine the 5:13 train arrived in Henley around 5:48 and was run around by 5:53. Meanwhile the 5:23 arrived at 5:58** freeing up the track for a 6AM departure for the waiting train that could be back in the city by 6:35 (it’s sort of interesting that several trains are 35 min apart – 6:03, 6:38 then 7:27, 8:02 and almost 8:15, 8:53, 9:30 (which might have the extra couple of minutes to take into account peak operating times, or delays waiting for switching at Woodville if the OH train is at higher frequency at that time). To me this suggests that 35 minutes was enough time for a train to fully complete the Grange Branch, so I’d be leaning toward my earlier assumption of less than 15 minutes one way on the branch + 5 min run around.
Hope I’ll be able to find out what time inbound Henley services were that day. Perhaps SM had recently arrived from out of town but was staying with an acquaintance somewhere down Henley way (perhaps he’d come in on a late train the day before, been picked up by his mate at Henley), etc, etc….
Although part of me still has a suspicion the train ticket might have been the night before….
(**Actually, there’s a possibility the first outbound services ran express, I suppose – until recently some Adelaide lines would do that to get a train out to the terminus).
Glenelg commercial hub along busy Jetty Road, with its transit terminus, beach side pleasure grounds and public houses must have been considered a high risk area for robberies in late 1948. It does seem rather strange that John Freeman would leave his vehicle unsecured in the street outside his pharmacy/residence at 24A, which had fairly recently been broken into and ransacked by thieves. Being located virtually next door to St.Vincent Hotel, a rough house pub if ever one was needed, I really have my doubts about contentions that the ‘little’ Hillman Minx was left there in an unlocked, state. Not to mention the possibility of there having been youngsters playing within, identities of whom would also need elaborating upon, as neither John nor brother Colin had children aged over four in 1948, from what Trove tells us.
Here’s a fun new twist…Effie’s sister (Mary) married Walter Perce Colyer. His father was Walter Bishop Colyer and his mother was Mabel Ethel DOOLETTE. Mabel’s father Abraham was John Buzzard Doolette’s brother.
Are you still with me?
John Buzzard Doolette was none other than Edith Jessie Middleton’s Grandfather. Edith Jessie was married to Leslie Francis Wytkin.
Edith and Walter’s mothers were cousins.
Hmmm…
In that there would seem to be at least the genetically acceptable, six degrees of separation between the Freeman, Colyer, Doolette, Middleton, Angus and Wytkin families, I can’t see how any scandal mongering over a backyard fence would be appropriate; Apart of course from the other Edith (May) stealing Les and taking him far out to Swan Reach and way out of Sgt. Leane’s reach accordingly.
Incredible isn’t it…to have two Edith May’s in there!
Most certainly, nothing I point out is likely to be relevant but I did want to place it on the record for consideration for those that might be inclined to consider it.
Unfortunately, as much of what we find leads to nowhere, this tidbit probably doesn’t either.
It’s even more incredible, that one of the two Edith May’s wasn’t even introduced, in order that we might consider the issue of relevancy. All things being said, I guess we must agree after due consideration, that the post was intended to be a mere distraction rather than a tidbit and therefore of equal irrelevance. PS: As for Effie; she appears to have been Alf Boxall’s better half Suzie; that’s what I’d call a fun twist!….
It does almost beggar belief, does it not?, that one of the pharmacies, run by the Freeman family, situated at 136/138 Fullerton Road, Rosefield in ’48, just happened to occupy premises next door to a butchery at 140, recently occupied by an alien German, who died suddenly and ended up sharing a booth for twelve days with SM at West Terrace morgue. I did mention this before, though it didn’t receive any response. Feltus advised that he would get back with further details on his Jack Freeman disclosure, alas we remain in limbo, waiting to go with any scraps that he might feel inclined to toss in our direction.
Even as far back as ’48, Fullerton road would have carried a deal of vehicular traffic in and out of Adelaide city proper. However Hewitt Ave., running off between the kosher butchery on the corner at 140, up from the great sinagogue and Freeman’s pharmacy at 138 on the opposite side, would have enabled convenient parking closeby. We can’t be at all sure, outside which of the family businesses, Jack may have had his Hillman Minx parked when the ROK was planted, because that was never really clarified. Freemans had stores in the city, Glenelg and Rosefield, not to forget another at Prospect, known well to Det. Sgt. Leane, which sold patent balms and certain preparations available without prescription. We are now getting into the realm of old news though..
I’m almost certain that it must have been my omission, having rehashed the single Freeman thread (which promised so much and gave so little), only to find not a mention of the all important brother-in-law figure, for which only one solitary incorrect contender surfaced which I got wrong. The truth is that there was no brother-in-law according to my old rough notes on the Freeman, Grasby and Collyer families ie. Jack’s wife Effie had two sisters, Mary & Joan with no brothers at all and likewise for Colin’s wife Margaret, two sisters Judith and Carlien. We might also bare in mind that Charles and Doris only appear to have had their two sons. By most accounts hat would leave very little lee way for Gerry’s explanation to hold any water, though I guess there may be certain variables that achieve a make a non bloodline connection.
In light of the foregoing, there could only ever have been two plausable candidates for Ronald Francis circa. 1948, that pair being John Frederick Hurst, who married Cynthia Hendrickson and Graeme Alvin Robson who did something similar with her sister Lyndall. Main reason being, that there were no other elligible male offspring in either the Freeman, Hendrickson or Schurgott families to be a brother in law to chemist John Freeman or Dr. Doug Hendrickson. I guess you could throw Howard Edelman, the Jewish doctor from Broken Hill into the ring by default; only because he became Eileen Hendrickson’s second spouse, but that would be cheating in my book. Bearing in mind that these worthies had all passed on before Jerry’s 2003? cut off year for the Ron Francis factor to be valid, he must now be taken to task about his stated claims and/or come clean as to why he took his readers for a ride.
Just to come back and re visit a couple of contentios oints: Firstly to Colin Charles Freeman’s two assumed sisters-in-law, Judith and Carlien Grasby, which Pete/Misca erronously didn’t refer to in his/her post of 9/10/18. Being younger siblings of Maragaret Hendrickson nee Grasby, we should now include them as potential brother-in-laws, in as much as they are both of undetermined gender. I can only find vague reference to their births in ’25 & ’26 but nothing more, other than the middle names of Grant in both cases. Going back to the name game sites for confirmation, we find that at least Judith and Grant are known to be gender interchangeable, so we can keep that in mind..Howard John Edelman who married the Hendrickson divorcee Eileen nee Schurgott, is listed on geni sites as having died 31/7/01, yet page 8 of his NAA army file clearly records his D of D as being 16/2/82 which is somewhat difficult to fathom.
A little follow-up through the usual trap search indices seems to have resolved the Grasby gender issue, in favour of femininity for both Judith Grant and Carlien Grant Grasby, which should put to rest any further Freeman brother-in-law claims …Lt.Graeme Robson, the Hendrickson b-in-law actually appeared with the girls quite coincidentally, whilst paying a visit with Lyndall’s parents, before heading back to his naval duties in Sydney. In hindsight the poor bugger might have been better off staying in the smoke and getting the cheese to move up with him.
Could it be that the ripping of Tamam Shud from Rubaiyat and concealing it in such a way as not it to be easily found is a way the somerton man thought could leave a lead to his killers. We know he tried to defend him self by the abrasions on his knuckles. If he was beaten would that have shown immediately in the autopsy Also isn’t it strange that we have chemists and there is a link to possible poisoning? So we have a guy who was abucted, he tried to defend himself but repeatedly punched to the point of bleading, robbed og his wallet and money, he rips out piece of the Rubaiyat pertaining to his impending demise. Could it be that perhaps the Somerton man was a communist and this was a lynching instigated by Prosper after Jestyn informed him if the connection. There is a man seen dropping him off, could that be the chemist hence that is RUBAIYAT why is found in his car. I acscertain time of death would be between 7 pm and 730 pm and not 1 am as the pathologist reported. In conclusion this could have been murder culpraits…, Prosper, the chemist and his brother in law with help from Jo Thomson hence the wall of silence. there is still a wallet to be found. The code is nothing more that directions to Jo Thomsons house. In my opinion the detrctuves in this case in 1948 were really rubbish, sorry truth be said.
Incidentally, just noticed this on GF’s post about Freeman (nothing new, the one linked in the original post above):
“I will assess and later supply further relevant details gained as a result of my contacts and conversations with John Freeman.” (I’m guessing that might be around the kids having found the booklet, or someit?)
(we might have debated this before as a printing error or someit) there was talk about 13 Pier St and 51 Moseley being the same block…they appear (in S&M) to be opposite sides of the road (and in different Suburbs – although that might be that Pier St is the boundary – Pier is in “New Glenelg”, Moseley to 51 is in “Glenelg”. In fact, 13 doesn’t appear to exist, so perhaps it was the side to 51 poorly recorded
milongal: The modern day glenelg map block number configurations certainly have 13 Pier and 51 Moseley as being the same structure, though I’ll concede that back in ’48 the numbering, which I’m unable to find, may well have been different as you so politely suggest.
Nick: A decent interval having passed since Feltus gave us the ground breaking Francis equals Freeman ‘F’ word, promising to get back soonest with answers to some partcularly perplexing questions. Including where to find a suitable brother-in-law to cover the ROK finding; Who was living at 24a Jetty Rd., if such an address existed in 1948; What sort of vehicle was involved if not a Hillman Minx (Cleland J B says utility truck) and what sort contact the family had with Det. A/Sgt. R L Leane since he satisfactorily attended to their safe break at Prospect in 1943.
It must be apparent to all but the easily led, that the Feltus Freeman deal never quite lived up to promises of full disclosure with due dilligence back in October 2018 and for more reasons than should be tolllerated. Suffice to mention a couple, such as his long delayed identification of Det. Leane’s informant chemist Freeman who lived in a little flat above his shop at 24A Jetty Rd. Glenelg, non existant in 1948. Also the false claim of said chemist’s parked car, the yet to be identified ROK retreiving brother-in-law, all calculated to satisfy doubters and enhansed with the promise òf updates which we still await. All this imo to divert attention away from more pertinent aspects of the case like the amassed physical evidence and files, disappearance of which he puts down to ‘fits of spring cleaning’ ie., the Keane suitcase & contents and excusable passage of time destruction as if this were part of general police practice.
By non-existent you mean “not in 1948 S&M”? 1949 has it – so I’m not quite willing to agree it was definitely non-existent in ’48.
milongal: If there had been some better search format than S&Mc I’d have gone for it. No real need to repeat myself on my last, although for your benefit I’ll reiterate 1947/50’s period the residential addresses (I have them) given for John Christian, Colin Charles and dad Charles Herbert were far afield and nowhere near Glenelg*. The Freeman outlets including those in Jetty Rd., up til at least the sixties were always under supervision of managers including chemists Lean, Manning, Physick and others…*I reported a while back that there was record of Freeman’s in Verco’s house at 31 High St. Glenelg but can’t recall the source off hand. Likewise when Colin became a company director in the immediate post SM era he moved into his chalet at 2a Bickford Tce. as you’ll no doubt be aware and at which time was on the corner of Sth. Esp. near Alvington steps.
A small point of order: does anyone have an image of the Freeman Rubaiyat?
No?
Would that be because there isn’t one?
….or more likely because the Freeman attribution came through the auspises of a most unreliable informant and covered claims about his having interviewed then failing Ronald Francis in 2003. Failing alright the man was long dead, so it was conveniently changed to a relative as some will recall. Other doubts concerning the Feltus assertion arise from the Freeman family having had prior business with Detective Lionel Leane not so long prior to the million to one aquisition etc. In fact I’d be more inclined to accept Leslie Wytkin’s book as being the one we’re now so familiar with from photo assimilies, even if I have problems with a bus conductor handing in a scrappy dog eared presumably discarded ROK copy to the Tramways Authority lost property office.
Peteb: How many times you gotta be told….? Regarding your most recent thread line vis. Littlemore ’78 interview with Det. R.L. Leane in the office with the suitcase, clothing etc.. The interviewee was Superintendent Len Brown not poor Lionel who gets blamed for all and sundry these days it seems.
All coppers look the same when you turn them upside down, and I’ll check on that.
Peteb: Well rearranged my man, you can never be taken to task with a two bob each way proposition even with Leane taking precedence over Brown in brackets. In this case I’ll see your two bob and raise you London to a brick with Brown by a Somerton mile.
If we are considering John Christian Freeman as the chemist, aren’t his wife’s sisters husbands considered to be brothers-in-law? She had two sisters and both were married.
misca: Mary and Joan Colyer (Collyer?) Effie’s older sisters were married to Walter and Stewart? from memory. Of course both were legitimate in laws to John (Jack) Freeman according to proper British custom, but not so Wally and Stew whom as I’ve often been at pains to explain were out in the cold, leaving both our young male sibling Freeman chemists totally devoid of (sans) brothers’ in law as I’m sure I mentioned several times before.
I have Joan’s husband Stewart Stevenson Burgher (20 September 1909 – 4 Nov 2008) and Mary’s husband Walter Percy Colyer (1911 – 7 August 1994). Both are buried at Pasadena, Mitcham City, South Australia, Australia, Centennial Park Cemetery.
I guess brother’s-in-law are no longer of interest?
Your Goddam right they’re not mate. Leastwise not the ones you base your arcaic definition of relativety upon and not in this camp. If such were to apply, as a fair comparison, any old West Terrace subteranean warted crypt dwelling crapaud might pass for being next of kin to a smiling jolly green River Torrens weir swamp l’grenouille. Defintately not though you might put the idea across to Tbt or BS/TS blogs who are not fussed as to levels of correctness or SM case knowledge.
Peteb: You refer on your site, to two posts above, as an “unanswered challenge”. I’d respectfully beg to differ, same being more of a request for help from a lazy duffer who typically relies on others to do his SM case research. Lack of initial response from this side simply means that we’re onto your lurks; there being no grounds at all for claiming any coup from our noncompliance.
…And some devestating news for you old man, offset onoy by something similiar for “Good on you Gordon”. I’ll let you go ahead with what you’re on present so’s you can get you squared away with the ROK settler before I drop the clanger. I have tried to politely remind you on the need for thorough research and to affirm the factual basis upon which you are prepared to publish…Eric Beaume’s words of advice for his young night beat hacks was, “Always be mindful as to the amount of unvetted news tip offs that your readership is prepared to let you get away with”
Richard Frankel (Ron Francis?) was/is the brother in law of Peter Alfred Freeman who married his (Miss S.A. ’52) sister Marg. in ’54. Peter being the teenaged brother of Colin and John Freeman in 1948, lived in Somerton 50s. So related unless by misca’s rules though who knows what Jerry Feltus was up to in his book, bugger promised to get back soonest following his Oct. 2018 false claims re the 24A jetty Rd. address. Since then not a word.
… not related, sorry. While we’re here, Collin partnered up in a dressmaking mis adventure with an ex RAAF pilot John Jones in ’45 and latter declare insolvency by ’47, obtaining his discharge in 1950. Getting the feeling that freres Freeman were not too much into their trade and calling as chemists by Somerton Man time.
Just to remind folks not up to speed, of two substantially different versions the ROK story; The one given given to the press by police? as a consequence of an Adelaide businessman finding a rubaiyyat with a torn page, that had been thrown into his parked car and his handing it to CIB with a pledge of anonymity finis. That opposed to the more entertaining one designed by Gerry Feltus especially to suit readers of his Unknown Man. With a degree more intrigue and inset with a few details of the key players such as a mysterious professional man, chemist or doctor named Ron Francis, a brother in law as witness plus details of a likely non existant Hillman Minx auto and a mystery business premises, pharmacy or surgery in Jetty Road Glenelg. No further identiying details were provided for these extras which resulted in years of wild speculation making Unknown Man a must read for cold case sleuths and on line bloggers intent on cracking the Tamam Shud case. The more sensible ones have long since found more worthwhile diversions.
In Derek Abbott’s site’s ‘Useful Maps’ section, vide Jetty Road,1948 with occupants taken from the S & Mc. directory according to the stated accreditation, we see his listing of Freeman Chemists as occupants of 24a next to St. Vincents bottle shop at 24 and t’other side of Jasmine at 22. This is bollocks and deliberate as I’ve been saying without it having had any effect since this thread started. Yes, we know the following year does have it so listed but, 1949 is a year too late for our strict time line of events, right?
Feltus’ Ron Francis @ Freeman Chemist fable isn’t likely to be corrected due to lack of interest or respect for the old suit’s good name &c., it seems. Gets in my craw and makes me wanna throw up with every boring repetition of the lie by people what can’t be bothered back checking related threads. Feltus never lived up to his promise to get back soonest following the ‘missing pieces’ con job; it won’t likely happen now that he’s become a ‘city business man’ in his own right. Even Gerry’s target for divulging all Jestn’s personal information Derek Abbott tried to get in on the fake history act, posting an alleged excerpt from S.A. Sands & Mc. perportedly showing details of a Freeman Chemist at 24A Jetty Rd. in 1948 which predictably fooled most punters.
S&M has always been problematic because we don’t know how efficiently it was kept up to date. That said, it’s reactionary rather than pre-emptive, so I’m not overly uncomfortable with 1949 edition being assumed to reflect the state of (late-)1948 (short of any evidence to the contrary)
The information-gathering probably took up much of the year, so no matter the actual publish date it probably reflects the state of play in the preceding 12 months (and as we have seen before, is not necessarily the most accurate resource).
milongal: all well and good with S & Mac coming out too late for ’48 but how’s about a JCF getting residential mention elsewhere and Gerry having John and Effie living in accommodation attached to the shop, difficult seeing that that 24 was on street level of the St. Vincent’s hotel block. They also had a two year old bub and a mid size/large car (Gerry says small) to park which is always going to be a problem. There’s still the missing brother in law to fit in to Gerry’s synopsis as well as the known fact that the couple didn’t pass until around 2014 and 2017 respectively? which does not fit so well with his explanation of tracking John down in 2003 but he not being fit to interrogate. Notwithstanding, despite your contention of the mix up, that doesn’t give Derik a pass for his own on line deceptive 1948 Jetty Rd. diagram based on the Sands & Mac. edition soecifically.
….contrary evidence obtained from S & Mc. advertisers suggests likely annual publication date being post October ’48 (same as phone book) which tends to support suspicions of deliberate missleading testimony from our to SM experts Messrs. Feltus, Abbott and their support base.
Specifically re your last (and not so much re your second-last)
Previous reliability concerns notwithstanding….
1) Is the post-October publication date when the ’48 or ’49 came out? Seems more likely you’d release next year early, rather this year at the end of the year
2) Publication date doesn’t really mean anything about the currency of the data. I’d imagine it takes much of the year to collate all the detail, and while I don’t know when (or how long, if I’m honest) the data is actually collected (or whether it is a ‘live’ record that is updated with house sales and development applications). Add to that that publication isn’t instant, so with a release date after October we’d still need to consider when (or how) the Glenelg data was collected, and when it was sent to the publisher.
Even if the data is “live” (or as close to live as it can be) even today house sales data can take time to become available (although I can’t remember if we ever agreed whether S&M lists owners or tenants) – I know because I’ve tried to find information about houses that get sold nearby and sometimes it takes weeks if not months for the information to appear…..and that’s in 2022 with online tools that (theoretically at least) should make everything propogate more efficiently.
milongal: me thinks you’re trying a tad too hard to derail the plain facts. Yair sure we can never be too sure on credability of the S& McD. Information though it’s all we have to go on and a useful tool for all that. So here’s the best evidence of dual deceit by our friends at the top; If you go to Dereks old site and check on his stated S & McD. based 1948 Jetty Rd. shop owners register diagram, you’ll see amongst them the Freeman details for No. 24a. That chart was posted years before Gerry ever got wind of the Freeman lurk and it was a slam dunk for him to convert it to his own use for ‘missing pieces’ in 2018. Don’t ask me why Derek decided on Dr. Hendrickson although, he was by far the better candidate for Ron Francis in my opinion, but each to their own.
Sometimes I could almost scream when Clive & Peteb go through their A & C routine trying to convince each other and the SM fraternity at large about the existance or non existance of certain evidentiary facts of which they know nothing about. Take the ROK in it’s many wide and varied various forms, most notably the Feltus Freeman version is which currently under threat of being
being denied plausabilty and it’s proposer thereby. Good on you fellas I’m for once agreement with you, well in so far as Sapol’s version of that particilar ROK’s miracle happenstance goes.
On a Wednesday 21st July 1949, quite out of the blue, Leane goes to the News and tell them about his million to one shot quest for a ’59 Fitzgerald sans it’s by then ubiquetous TS slip. The move was pre planned and so when the long shot came off the following evening with shy young city businessman John Freeman making his ‘Special D’ to Angus St, all was put in motion to announce the coupe in Friday’s early Advertiser. Of couse if there had been a handover, and why not (Freeman had known Leane since ’43 at least), it would help to cover the ROK’s actual police custody all along. The next set piece chain of events involved a ficticious positive comparison of the book and it’s alleged missing TS slip over the weekend which wound up Len Brown’s involvement. Monday 25th and take over by new OIC Sgt. Canney, giving him little time to rehearse for Tuesday’s co main event with ID witness Sister J.E.Thomson of Glenelg which went down like fine port. Early next morn, Wednesday 27th July the much awaited end game played out culminating in Sydney cops calling on a very much alive Alfred Boxall at Randwick bus yards, no surprise at all to special operations coordinator G .M. Leane and all sweet, up until Feltus & co. that is.
I Knew 31 High St. it would bob-up again which is why I marked it with a double star above on 23/1/21; Well, it just did while I was processing some thoughts on the mysterious Alison Martha Bean/Jessica Thomson letters. From what I can make out from the original thread notes, the as yet unexamined stuck together collection was eventually passed on to Katherine Thomson’s first born and co-conspirator Joel Leahy. What I found fairly interesting some time back is that baby Joel was sired to Kate & Bob Leahy (St.Vincent’s Hotel 24 Jetty Rd. Owners) shortly after the couple had moved in next door to the Freemans at 31 High St. Glenelg. What I found to be particularly interesting was revelation that back in early ’48, an apparently then ailing Alison Bean had stayed at that very same address with her older sister Hazel McLachlan nee Verco which was just before Chemist Charles Freeman moved in. In view of this latest information and it’s obvious link possibilities, I’m thinking the passed over Bean thread notes might need to be reviewed in a little more depth….I’m not in the least bit disposed towards Jessica Thomsons ever having had any connections to the passing of poor Jerry Somerton or knowledge of his identity, otherwise I’d jump right on the coming band wagon to help.
Peteb: to make it easier for your entrusted reseachers, and less taxing on your own valuable time, the more recent comments above should set you straight on the 24a Jetty Rd. address conundrum … Also take note that a Peter Alfred Freeman, brother of Colin & John, a city businessman who married Miss S.A. ’52, should also have been privy to the Ronald Francis/Rubaiyat secret up until his sudden demise in 2012 . So why didn’t Feltus swing by and get the good oil from him if brother Colin was dead John had lost his marbles?
Peteb: this is not meant to be a critique on your latest very timely Tbt Freeman thread. Of course I can hardly complain after seeing my name in big print which would not be likely to happen here. So for that I extend humble thanks old boy.
Seems John Freeman was living at 2a Palmer St. Myrtle Bank in 1948 and moved to 5 Cross St. Kingswood in ’49 where he stayed put til beyond ’55. As for Clive’s info. re 14 James Place Adelaide (not Brighton), which refers to a J. E. Freeman and our Glenelg chemist (Feltus) J. C. Freeman, so we can forget about Clive’s unforced error shall we?
….no actually we can’t fault Clive as there is certainly a listing for J. C. Freeman Chemist at 14 James place (White Bld.) Adelaide in the ’48 street index of Sands & McD. However it’s a different story for the same edition under Alphabetical where J. E. Freeman is below the two J. C Freeman entries. Their SNAFU, sorry Clive you’re in the clear and I’m left with egg on my face.
Anytime Johnno, bore it up ‘em I say.
End of the day Peteb, we got four Freeman chemists all in one family to play with. Whether they had any involvement with handing over of the ROK to an old friend of the family in Det. A/Sgt Leane is most doubtful. Not much use calling out Feltus on the original lie which we’re stuck with as being long accepted; as an old suit he would simply tell us to go suck an arse and jump back into his Jason Recliner.
So Johnno, you believe that the police had the ROK all along, and that it was in the suitcase? On what basis?
Jo: on the basis of logic and intuition which be lost on most SM punters, given the multitude of disambiguous detail pertaining to the life and times of Ronald Francis, his successor Jack Freeman and accompanying disinformation spread by those with their own self serving aims in mind. If need be I can give a few examples for you to compare and see how they stack up against my solid case for the ROK in SM’s checked in little port at the Adelaide station rest..er ah (Brown) left baggage room theory?
Johnno; Where would Ciphermysteries be without your logic and intuition?!
Jo: right back where the rot set in at 63 Bribey St. That’s based on plain common sense and a touch of feminine sensibilty.
Christmas bells and bar-bells.
Time, gentlemen – and peace to all those of good will.
Some time ago a Jewish journo said to me he believed the SM code was a wiring scheme. So it was funny to find my friend Mitting – Sidney – Trans – Mitting… was up his telephone/telegraph poles and in the wiring cabinet connecting phones. Perhaps even the early dot-dot-dash machines.
I need to find out more…
D. N. O’Donovan,
Gentleman aside, how’s about our ladies of good will who are also deserving of some festive cheer with jingle bells especially now that imposter Charlie has been caught with his left hand in Somerton Man’s Xmas stocking. Merry Christmas All.
DM: some time ago a Yiddish jehovah said to me he believed that Santa Clause was full of shtuyot. I up and told the farshtunkener he aught to be crusified and burnt.
As for Sid Mitting. Assumed he was an engineer like son Kevin, not up a PMG pole; come to think of it he did live close to Telecom tower HQ in North Sydney