POOR GWYNETH
A CENTURY OF COVER UP
Today, in 1925
A Body!
100 years ago today, on 25th May 1925, around 6am, about half a mile from London’s Tower Bridge, a routine police boat was patrolling the River Thames. In the very same spot, the lifeless body of young boy who had fallen from off a barge was recovered a few hours before.
Towards Pocock Wharf at Wapping, the tidal displacement brought another body to the surface. The object was moving with the action of the waves. After some delicate manoeuvring, it was brought on board. At first, the officers believed it was the corpse of a man for the hair had been rotted away by its long submersion in the water. The clothing, a mackintosh coat was saturated with mud and disintegrated when touched. Some underwear was discernible as was a shoe attached to one foot. It was the body of a woman. Another report mentions that it had been lying in only five feet of water. It was in an advanced state of decomposition. The facial features were unrecognisable.
During the day, this part of the Thames was one of the nosiest and busiest channels on the River. Here several large steamers were anchored, along with numerous barges. At night time and in the early dawn it was quieter stretch with only the gentle tapping of the waves to be heard as the occasional tug passed along.
Sergeant William Mathers took charge of the body and the boat made for the riverfront.
The rotting remains were taken to Old Church Stairs and then onto the mortuary at Rotherhithe. Here they were later examined by a police surgeon, Dr Fox at 7.45am. Into the afternoon and the evening of the same day, the attachments to the body were studied closely. These particulars were to form part of the crucial evidence leading to putting a name to the corpse.
The garments were fragile the fragments of clothing, were considerably decayed. The first clue as to identity was that one of the under-garments. This had a laundry tag bearing the name of G.E.Morgan; the second clue was a brown shoe, and the third clue was some jewellery around the victim’s neck, two chains, one silver, one gold, the first of these a turquoise pendant, in the form of a bird, which had been broken in several places and mended, the gold chain had a small cross.
For five months, the name of Hon Gwyneth Morgan had been in newspaper headlines across Britain and overseas. There had been a widespread search for her, and when it was apparent that the disappearance was not one of Gwyneth’s pranks, including earlier disappearances when she had informed no one of her plans, her father, Lord Tredegar offered a reward for any information.
Was the mystery of Gwyneth Morgan who had disappeared on 11 December 1924 from a house in Wimbledon, now solved?
The newspapers reported it was. But what is the truth?
Welsh writers, Monty Dart and Will Cross spent 7 years reconstructing the events that led to the discovery of the body - assumed to be Gwyneth's- in the process they were warned to leave matters alone. The terrifying truth was plain, Gwyneth's death - whenever it took place- was a crime, a crime that even now 100 years on remains covered up.
Poor Gwyneth!
Monty and Will's book " A BEAUTIFUL NUISANCE" : THE LIFE AND DEATH OF THE HONOURABLE GWYNETH ERICKA MORGAN" is still available.
CONTACT THE AUTHOR WILL CROSS
