Unpacking the Testimony of Gordon Strapps
The story of the Somerton Man, found slumped against the sea wall on December 1, 1948, relies heavily on key eyewitness accounts. Among the most cited is the testimony of Gordon Strapps (accompanied by Olive Neill).
What I will do is to run a Photogrametry exercise based in the known width of steps in thise days beug 2 feet witd or 600 mm
While Strapps's presence establishes a timeline, a close examination of his observation reveals critical inconsistencies that challenge the known physical facts of the scene.
The Testimony vs. The Physical Evidence
Strapps and Neill recalled seeing the man near the steps. Strapps estimated his distance from the man to be approximately 10 yards in his Statemnt to the Coroner (or 30 feet). He offered two specific, unusual details about the seemingly sleeping man:
Mosquitoes were buzzing around his head.
He was wearing striped trousers.
These two observations, the stripes and the buzzing, are problematic given the scene and the evidence.
Discrepancy 1: The Stripes and the Clothing Contradiction
Crucially, police photographs of the recovered jacket and trousers confirm the suit was mid-to-dark brown, with no discernible stripes. Even if the suit had a very fine pattern, the low light conditions at dusk (or evening) would have caused any subtle stripes to merge into a single dark tone, making the observation at 30 feet highly questionable.
The Question: If the Somerton Man was not wearing visibly striped trousers, the inclusion of this specific detail by Strapps is a major error. Was this detail contaminated, perhaps added after Strapps saw a subsequent newspaper description of the clothing, or does this contradiction suggest that Strapps and Neill were never on the beach that night at all? Bear in mind that in the records we have, no one actually saw them that evenining
Discrepancy 2: The Buzzing Mosquitoes
Mosquitoes are small, and their motion is difficult to track against the darkening backdrop of the sea wall. To definitively identify them as mosquitoes and confirm their "buzzing" at 30 feet in low light is improbable.
If Strapps's observation of the stripes is false, the detail about the mosquitoes also comes into question. Could the entire testimony be a fabrication or a complete misremembering?
The Distance Problem
This leads to the question of distance. The geometric evidence from the beach scene photo suggests Strapps would have been much closer—closer to 15 feet from the Somerton Man—not the reported 30 feet.
This "30-foot problem" is a crucial pivot point: it forces us to choose between two unacceptable conclusions:
The Testimony is Flawed: Strapps saw stripes that did not exist, or could not be seen, making his account unreliable.
The Witnesses Were Not There: The entire sighting may be a contaminated or false memory, brought forward to fill a critical gap in the timeline.
We must always separate genuine observation from post-event rationalization. The testimony of Gordon Strapps and Olive Neill is less a fixed statement of fact and more a puzzle that needs careful photogrammetric and psychological unpacking to uncover the true sequence of events.
All in all, there's something amiss in the statements of Strapps and Neil
This is a small glimpse into the critical, evidence-based research that underpins The Somerton Secret, coming soon from C. Gordon Cramer. Be sure to subscribe to the exclusive email list for more details on the groundbreaking evidence.
How do you conflate Strapps’ statement with your claim that the couple may not have been there at all?
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment. In the first instance it’s not a claim. It’s highlighting some anomalies and questioning the evidence. How are they linked to the possibility that they weren’t there? Because if Strapps had been there wouldn’t he have known the distance from the bench to where the man was lying?Further, what if he was 10yards away, wouldn’t that mean that the body had been moved closer to the steps? It’s all a matter of questioning the evidence. In the end if the court reporters notes are made available, we might find that the coroner addressed those matters.
ReplyDeleteHi, I have always been puzzled by the reference to mosquitos. If the man was alive, I assume he would have been bitten many times, but there is no reference to that in any autopsy, I think. Do mosquitos bite dead people - guess there is still blood but not being pumped? If they don’t bite dead people then perhaps the body was already deceased.
ReplyDeleteGood question, the ensure is no mosquitoes don’t bite deceased persons. By that same token, neither do they swarm around a deceased person. Mosquitoes are attracted by heat and human aromas so from that and given that it correct, the man as still alive. The question remains in relation to the supposed 10 yard distance, interesting.
DeleteAn Update. I have completed the Photogrammetry exercise with the following result:
ReplyDeleteDistance from second seated position on the bench at head height to the body of the man on the beach was:
14 feet 7 inches, + or - 18 inches as a margin for error, at its peak the distance would be 16 feet 3 inches and at its minimum that distance would be 13 feet 1 inch.
That puts Gordon Strapps evidence of 10 yards/ 30 feet, a long way of the mark.
Note that Gordon and Olive were seated on the bench which was on the landing as you can see in the image and as described in the inquest evidence.
Thanks I'd been waiting for that. I noticed the embankment behind the seat/landing area as well. If the Strapps evidence was wrong, does that mean they definitley weren't ther that evening and the man with the hast was an invention as well?
ReplyDeleteJust read the Advertsier piece, it says that Constable Moss found the matches when he searched the man’s clothing. He, he. No striped pants and Moss says he found the matches.
ReplyDelete