Mention the words ‘the Somerton Man’ and it instantly conjures up images of intrigue, spies, mistaken identities, police cover-ups, and wild conspiracy theories.
But it’s only when you stop listening to the noise and start examining the evidence forensically that a totally different picture begins to emerge. And this picture has some startling implications for the foundation of the case.
We have almost always relied on the accounts of the witnesses on the beach that evening of 30 November 1948 to act as the publicly acknowledged starting point of the timeline.
The story begins with John Lyons and his good lady going for their regular evening stroll. They walked North toward the Broadway and returned. Of note is the fact that they only noticed the man lying with his head propped against the low sea wall, (Marked 1 in the top photograph) on the return leg of their walk. Crucially, they specifically stated they did not see the other two witnesses who eventually came forward.
These two other witnesses were a young couple, Gordon Strapps and Olive Neill. They claimed to have been sitting on the bench (Marked 2 in the top photograph) near the man to watch the sunset.
In their statements, they also provided a discrepancy regarding the man’s clothing—their descriptions of the trousers differed slightly.
For decades, these accounts have been accepted without question. Gerry Feltus, in his exhaustive work The Unknown Man, recorded the witness information faithfully.
A Critical Anomaly
I decided to go back and take a real close look at each of the witnesses. Was it possible that in their backgrounds, there might just be something that could alter our view of them and their evidence?
Both Mr. and Mrs. Lyons were fine upstanding citizens, Mr. Lyons having served as an ambulance driver in WW1 and later volunteered in a CMF Artillery coastal defence unit during WW2. There was nothing untoward about their backgrounds.
But a forensic review of the background of Gordon Strapps and Olive Neill revealed an anomaly that could change everything:
Gordon Strapps and Olive Neill were both members of the Eureka Youth League.
In 1948, the Eureka Youth League was the youth wing of the Communist Party of Australia (CPA).
And just like that, the context changes. At a time of intense surveillance, public demonstrations, and fevered rumours of Soviet espionage, we have two young members of a communist organization who just happened to be key witnesses in the Somerton Man case, a man we now suspect was involved in a high-level Soviet intelligence operation.
Here is where the long-believed official story cracks.
Mr. John Lyons, the independent witness, in his statement said that he saw the man’s arm move as he walked past on his return journey. And, oddly, also in his statement, Mr. Lyons specifically said he did not see Strapps and Neill sitting on the bench just meters away.
Strapps and Neill further complicated the scene by introducing a "Mystery Man" whom they claimed they saw standing at the top of the steps (Marked 3 in the top photograph), looking down at the body. This man never came forward.
Coincidentally and somewaht oddly, the police did not record the time of the Lyons’ evening stroll, yet they did record the times of Gordon and Olive’s arrival.
The critical puzzle
Was the "man on the steps" a real figure? Or was he part of a "story" given to two ideologically compromised young witnesses to add a layer of mystery and misdirection? Is it possible that our two young witnesses only arrived after the Lyons’ had passed by for the second time? The failure to record the time of the Lyons' visit makes resolving this discrepancy impossible with the available evidence.
The context of 1948 demands we ask: Were Strapps and Neill simply witnesses to a crime, or were they unwitting participants in the careful staging of a high-level counter-intelligence event?
Whichever way we look at it, this connection to the EYL and the resulting timeline conflict is new evidence of the most startling kind.
The book, due very soon, explores this and numerous other 'connections' in detail…
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Hard to say really, images are fickle things, the trousers look identical in colour and there are markings on them but not evenly spaced. Somewhere I have a close up image of the coat, that would help. I'll find that and post it when I find it.
Regarding the coat and trousers, I have included the image of the inside of the man's coat in the post above, You can see that there is a lining inside the coat and you can also see where the label had been removed. The colour of the other material in the image approximates the outer colour of the jacket but it does not appear to be striped. Having said that it is possible that the plain material that we see is not the same as the outer colour of the coat. In the absence of any other photos of the jacket nd trousers, we will have to stick with the witness statements such as they are. They didn't agree and in the distant past there was a comment that Gordon Strapps had poor eyesight. If I were to choose between Olives version and Gordon's recollection I would choose Olives because in her statement she had more of an eye for detail. That's if they were actually there of course!
MickeyM, I guess you could say that, the research behind the book has taken years. With respect, it’s not a matter of capturing a few web pages and a wiki or two and turning out another run of the mill book or podcast about the Somerton Man. So while the launch plan is in place, it won’t happen until everything has been nailed down tight. It will be soon but I’m sure you’ll understand that the timing is something that needs to carefully managed. I will share this with you, Our research has taken years, there are literally thousands of documents, mountains of evidence and millions of words behind this book. It will be a book that breaks new ground in so many ways and it will be a book like no other with more than a few surprises.
No other witnesses that gave statements, I am sure there would have been others around. Somemay even have approached the Police and offered but, being just a man on the beach with no apparent signs of violence, no other statements were recorded. That's not to say that there wasn't a record of other people volunteering to give a statement, just that any other records have as yet, not been publicly released.
In their statements, they also provided a discrepancy regarding the man’s clothing—their descriptions of the trousers differed slightly. 
For those interested there's an image of the jacket and the trousers worn by the Somerton Man when he was found found included in this post.
ReplyDeleteDoes that solve the issue of the striped trousers?
ReplyDeleteHard to say really, images are fickle things, the trousers look identical in colour and there are markings on them but not evenly spaced. Somewhere I have a close up image of the coat, that would help. I'll find that and post it when I find it.
DeleteRegarding the coat and trousers, I have included the image of the inside of the man's coat in the post above, You can see that there is a lining inside the coat and you can also see where the label had been removed. The colour of the other material in the image approximates the outer colour of the jacket but it does not appear to be striped. Having said that it is possible that the plain material that we see is not the same as the outer colour of the coat. In the absence of any other photos of the jacket nd trousers, we will have to stick with the witness statements such as they are. They didn't agree and in the distant past there was a comment that Gordon Strapps had poor eyesight. If I were to choose between Olives version and Gordon's recollection I would choose Olives because in her statement she had more of an eye for detail. That's if they were actually there of course!
ReplyDeleteStretching this book out a bit Gordon, where are you up to with it? Got a launch date yet?
ReplyDeleteMickeyM, I guess you could say that, the research behind the book has taken years. With respect, it’s not a matter of capturing a few web pages and a wiki or two and turning out another run of the mill book or podcast about the Somerton Man. So while the launch plan is in place, it won’t happen until everything has been nailed down tight. It will be soon but I’m sure you’ll understand that the timing is something that needs to carefully managed. I will share this with you, Our research has taken years, there are literally thousands of documents, mountains of evidence and millions of words behind this book. It will be a book that breaks new ground in so many ways and it will be a book like no other with more than a few surprises.
ReplyDeleteWhere their eny other witnesses on the beach that night?
ReplyDeleteNo other witnesses that gave statements, I am sure there would have been others around. Somemay even have approached the Police and offered but, being just a man on the beach with no apparent signs of violence, no other statements were recorded. That's not to say that there wasn't a record of other people volunteering to give a statement, just that any other records have as yet, not been publicly released.
Delete