Somerton Man Mystery: Small Truths, Big Lies... (DOWNLOADS)

How Small Truths Become

Big Lies...

As most followers would know, in the world of cold cases, few are as intriguing as the 1948 Somerton Man mystery. In this post, we'll explore a fascinating aspect of the case that involves concealed codes, espionage techniques, and the art of deception.

BRIEF OVERVIEW

On December 1, 1948, an unidentified man was found dead on Somerton Beach in Adelaide; he had no means of identification on him, and even labels had been removed from his clothing. Despite extensive investigations, his identity remained a mystery. The case took an unexpected turn following an inquest in 1949 when a copy of the "Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam" was discovered in a car parked in Glenelg, just about 2 kilometers from where the body was found.

This common and popular book at the time proved to be a crucial piece of evidence. It contained what became known as the "Somerton Man Code" - a series of indented letters on one of its pages. The book also held at least one telephone number; it belonged to a nurse living just a short walk from Somerton Beach.

The nurse, initially known as 'Jestyn', told police she had given a copy of the Rubaiyat to an army lieutenant named Alf Boxall in 1945 when she was in training to be a nurse. Police followed up and, being very much alive, Boxall was quickly ruled out as the Somerton Man, the connection, however, raised more questions than answers.

Here's where things get really interesting: examination of high-resolution images of Boxall's book under infrared light revealed something extraordinary - tiny letters and numbers hidden within the book's binding, illustrations, and even within the handwritten inscription itself.

This concealment technique matches methods used by the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) during World War II, specifically a technique called "INK H". Similar methods of concealment are also described in early American military intelligence documents. These hidden messages suggest a level of espionage involvement that was previously unknown in this case.

Let's take a step back and consider another intriguing element. After the discovery of the body but before finding the book, police had a plaster bust made of the Somerton Man. When Jestyn was shown this bust during questioning, she reportedly appeared shocked and nervous, though she repeatedly denied recognizing the man.

Tried, Tested, But Was It The Truth?

But was her reaction real, or was it contrived? Combined with the hidden messages in the book, this thought leads us to an interesting possibility. Could Jestyn have been employing a technique known in espionage circles as "Small truths big lies"? This method, described in Wolfgang Lotz's "A Handbook for Spies", involves weaving small elements of truth into a larger false narrative to mislead interrogators. Would the Detectives involved in this investigation have known of this technique? One would have thought it likely, but we do not have documented evidence of that.

It's worth noting that the only non-police officer present during Jestyn's questioning was Mr. Lawson, who likely wouldn't have been familiar with such techniques. This raises questions about the depth of the police's understanding of these espionage methods at the time.

Peeling back the layers of the case, we're left with more questions than answers. Was the Somerton Man involved in espionage? Was Jestyn more than just a nurse who happened to live nearby? What secrets lie hidden in the tiny writing concealed within Boxall's book?

The Somerton Man case continues to be a source of fascination for all who come across it because it combines the elements of mystery, potential espionage, and human intrigue. As we uncover more details, we're reminded that sometimes the truth is stranger - and more complex - than fiction.

This case serves as a testament to the persistence of researchers and investigators and the public's enduring fascination with unsolved mysteries. It also highlights the sophisticated methods of deception used in the world of espionage, methods that can obscure the truth for decades, as it has done in the Somerton Man case.

We must always remain open to new evidence and interpretations. Many have attempted to bend the evidence to fit their favourite theories, sadly, they always fail. However, as they all eventually discover, the one thing you cannot change is the truth.
Sometimes, the key to unlocking a mystery lies not in what we can see plainly, but in what has been carefully and deliberately concealed and hidden from view.

SOURCES:

The Small Truths Technique is described in the following book:
'A Handbook for Spies By Wolfgang Lotz, published 1980 Page 122.: https://archive.org/details/handbookforspies0000lotz/page/122/mode/2up
This book can only be read online

The Ink H technique can be found here:
SOE Manual 'How To Be An Agent in Occupied Europe' Page 135: https://archive.org/details/SOEManual
This book can be downloaded

Of note is that this book is an official SOE manual and is published by the UK National Archives.

For those interested, INK H is effectively an ink and pencil sandwich!

Step 1. Write an outline of a larger letter in pencil. Step 2. Write in your smaller letters using the initial outline of the letter as a template of sorts. Step 3. Take a pen and ink over the smaller writing.

The challenging bit is how to recover or develop the concealed letters. In active service days, all they did was to immerse the complete document in a strong household bleach solution (14% sodium hypochlorite solution). This had the effect of removing the ink but leaving the pencil. Of course, if we find an example of what we think is the use of INK H today, that Sodium Hypochlorite issue would be a problem because it necessarily destroys the original. With a little lateral thinking, I developed a simple method to achieve a similar result which didn't mean the destruction of the original, examples below. Here are some real examples of how the INK H technique is used. I created the image normally and then turned it negative:

First image shows the test items having been written over in ink and the view is a 'psotive' image:

1.  The first image below shows the microcode as 'INK OVER PENCIL'. The code was handwritten in pencil and then covered with a layer of ink. You can see the code in a grey colour within the marked area. It is confusing at first, but once you see it as grey, it is easy to see; you can't unsee it. The numbers are 123419 :

2. The second image below is a variation on the theme, the difference being that when creating this example, instead of going over the tiny numbers in back ink, I used blue, the trick being that the colour blue I used turns yellow when the image is turned negative:

These two images came from a post first published in February 2024:

https://tamamshud.blogspot.com/2024/02/the-somerton-man-tamam-shud-microcode.html

The last item, number 5 in the black/white version, is named Ink on Ink. That is the most difficult one but it can be retrieved with some adjustments.

On that topic, the UK Archives are currently holding an exhibition on the History of MI5, which is open until September this year.

Here's the link:link:https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/mi5-official-secrets/