Australia Australia - Tamam Shud Case - Male, Dec 1948

[Triss]

I think that maybe I have found the identity of The Somerton Man. So many physical similarities. This man was a cyclist in australia in 1935 till 1938 which could explain the high calf muscles the tanned legs due to wearing shorts wedge toes from the pointed cycling shoes. He was from Coburg Australia and traveled to the areas where the Somerton man was located. I can't find any info after he retired from cycling in 1938. His age would be plausible with the Somerton man.

<modsnip: Please do not post pictures and name individuals who have not been reported missing, and remember that ALL images require links>

Yup, I saw his Wikipedia page and I do think it is him.

 

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This case has been resolved last year by Eammon on the Cypher Mysteries website.

On 23 July 2017, Eammon posted to that site that the purported code serves as a MacGuffin to this case.

Feltus' book (page 114)...

"On 25 August [1949] the Navy Office responded to Leane: Somerton Beach Mystery. <<snip>> The frequency of the occurrence of letters whilst inconclusive, corresponds more favourably with the table of frequencies of initial letters of words in English than with any other table; accordingly a reasonable explanation would be that the lines are the initial letters of words of a verse of poetry or such like. Copy of Omar Khayyam's Rubaiyat is returned herewith."

I posted as Eammon last year to the Cypher Mysteries website. The purported code is not a spy agency cypher <snip>

Since then I've settled on this. That the purported code I proposed as being a MacGuffin to this case is actually solvable. Here. It is indeed an acrostic. Navy Office (1949, see above) explained that the letters resembling...

WRGOABABD
MLIAOI (line through letters)
WTBIMPANETP
MLIABOAIAQC
ITTMTSAMSTGAB

...indented at the back of the Rubaiyat copy handed them are likely first letters, in English, of poetry. Navy Office was assigned the task of identifying letters resembling a code at the back of a book. A book of poetry. Navy Office didn't run the above letters through the actual Rubaiyat poetry book copy handed to them... because... they weren't asked to.

The Rubaiyat in question (of Omar Khayyam) is a book of poetry in quatrains. Quatrains being four lines. The second line of indented letters had been erroneously recorded out of order on the back of that particular Rubaiyat by "Jestyn" aka: Jessica nee Harkness. Keep in mind Jestyn is a boy's name which s/he signed inside of another Rubaiyat and gave to one Alfred Boxall.

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam is originally in the Persian language. I now refer to Feltus' book page 170. "The saki - the cup bearer - of Persian poetry can be of either sex, and the fact that Persian does not distinguish the gender of pronouns leaves the ambiguity unresolved."

Jestyn, I say, had a condition referred to as gender dysphoria.

 

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Navy Office didn't run the above letters through the actual Rubaiyat poetry book copy handed to them... because... they weren't asked to.

This actual Rubaiyat was lost sometime in the 1950s according to current Tamam Shud case Wikipedia entry.

Finding an exact identical copy will be a chore but not as much these days as it was back then. I posted the following last year (elsewhere) about the time I began to suspect the purported code is not a code at all.

The following two books...

Romance of the Rubaiyat: (A comprehensive directory to the myriad editions of the Rubaiyat, the Ephemeron, Edward Fitzgerald, Omar Khayyam and the lesser Persian poets: indexed by Illustrator, Publisher and Translator.) Halbach. California. 1975. 300 editions. "An unusual listing of [Ambrose George] Potter and post-Potter Bibliography Rubaiyats and related items. Shortcomings include lack of an all-inclusive index, outdated price guide and eccentric format; but valuable for listings not in Potter, and listing post-Potter items, with annotations not available elsewhere."

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam: an updated bibliography. Coumans. Leiden. 2010. "This book fills a gap by providing a new selection and description of almost 900 editions of the world-famous Persian quatrains: The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam." "It has been published in numerous editions: precious volumes with jeweled bindings, artist’s books, scholarly and critical editions, forgeries and fake editions, making The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam a perfect object for book collectors and lovers of poetry."

(my bolding of the font)

...may list the sought after "lost" edition as illustrated in Feltus' book.

 

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Re: the Tamam Shud case (aka: Mystery of the Somerton Man) entry on Wikipedia. Current entry, "known to a level higher than the police force" quote ascribed to Jestyn. That higher level, I say, is Jestyn's spiritual realm. Jestyn perceived herself as anointed. She gained a cult following of one husband.

 

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The Unknown Man by GM Feltus. 2011 reprint. Page 54.


On 12 December, 1948, A lady from Salisbury (South Australia* or Victoria*) stated the deceased Somerton Man looked like her husband. They were married 7 years earlier in Sydney.

Another correction after follow-up. Likely, married in Goulburn area.

 

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A woo-woo magazine for people who don't mind entertaining dangerous delusions such as locating missing persons via a dream.

The Advertiser (Adelaide, South Australia) 22 June 1949. Page 2.


Curious Aspects of Unsolved Beach Mystery


The other event, which has been advanced as having a possible association with the Somerton mystery, was the report that Mrs Roma Mangnoson, of Largs Bay North, mother of the two-year-old boy whose tragic death in the sandhills near Largs a fortnight ago shocked Adelaide, had been the victim of terrorisation by a masked man. <snip>

The Advertiser (Adelaide, South Australia) Tuesday 07 June 1949. Page 1.

Front page cover reported...

Son Found Dead In Sack Beside Father

and

Dream Led Him To Child's Body

...that Mr. Neil McRae discovered Keith Mangnoson (barely alive) and infant Clive Mangnoson (deceased) in sand-hills near Fort Largs... after Mangnoson and son had been missing for days.

Report of hundreds of locals, including police, were involved in search.

Apparently, Neil McRae ("trimmer") dreamed of the Mangnosons' whereabouts during a two hour rest period on Sunday night whilst at work at Osborne Powerhouse where he was employed, before following a police car headed in the direction of Fort Largs. Following their direction, McRae, by chance, meets the missing Keith Mangnoson before asking a householder to contact the police.

McRae didn't dream the Mangnoson's exact location at the outset of when they went missing? He's a "trimmer" at a Powerhouse? Yet, he publicly admits to falling asleep on the job? And, there's a seemingly two-hour official rest period at a Powerhouse... at night? What's a "trimmer" going to see to trim at night?

K.W. Mangnoson, Neil McRae and Jestyn can all be pinpointed to Heidelberg Military Hospital.

I say, the local police liaised with McRae and local newspaper to concoct an explanation about the finding of K.W. Mangnoson and son, Clive.

They all did so to draw Jestyn into the fray.

 

[petedavo.au]

Another infamous T. Keane
War Memorial Thomas Keane Memorial in Limerick, Sarsfield Barracks, Limerick City
http://www.limerickcity.ie/media/olj%202011%20p056%20to%20060.pdf

 

[HardBoiled]

An absolutely fascinating case.

I've not much to add except one thing. The cigarettes bother me, I don't know why. They found seven cigarettes of a different brand in an Army Club packet on the decedent. Don't smokers usually smoke the same brand if possible? Why swap cigarettes into a differently branded packet?

It feels as if this was very close to being solved but was only one or two pieces of information away from being so...

 

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I'm still not convinced that Somerton Man fathered Jessica Thomson's son Robin. This theory seems to have grown from suggestions that SM was visiting Jessica because she had given birth to his child. A child that had similar distinguishing features to that of SM, mainly the unusual ears.

Jessica Thomson (nee Harkness) was born in Sydney in 1921. She graduated as a nurse at the Royal North Shore Hospital in 1946. Soon after she discovered she was pregnant and moved to Mentone in Melbourne to live with her parents until the baby was born in 1947. By 1948 Jessica was living in Adelaide as Jessica (or Jo Thomson) with Prosper Thomson, a car salesman. Prosper was often in trouble with the law, mainly through his shonky deals with various vehicles. Prosper was still a married man with a small child in 1948 but the marriage had broken down and in 1950 Prosper was divorced and he and Jessica married the same year. Their daughter Katherine was born soon after.

Click image to enlarge.

Jessica and Robin Thomson.
View attachment 39123

Proper Thomson enlisted in the Australian Army in December 1941 and was discharged as unfit in September 1943. His medical condition was described as Post Concussion Syndrome. He'd also suffered from recurring bouts of sinusitis, bronchitis and asthma. Prosper's Army record describes him as being 6' 1" tall, with fair hair and complexion and blue eyes. At the time of his enlistment he was living in Mentone, Melbourne.

Search the collection – National Archives of Australia, Australian Government

Click image to enlarge.

Prosper Thomson.
View attachment 39120 View attachment 39121

Thanks to the recent 60 Minutes segment we now know what Jessica's son Robin looked like and I've used a screencap to compare Robin and Prosper Thomson.

Click image to enlarge.

Prosper and Robin Thomson.
View attachment 39122

I can see a distinct similarity between the two. The shape of the face, the eyes and the nose. IMO they could certainly pass for father and son. I just don't see any similarity between Robin Thomson and the photo we've seen of SM. Admittedly that photo was taken when he was deceased and after the autopsy.

So did Jessica leave Sydney after she graduated and was not pregnant, moved to Mentone with her parents and met Prosper who was also living at Mentone at that time? She conceived in Melbourne and after the baby was born all three moved to Adelaide where they weren't known and could live together as husband and wife until Prosper's divorce was final?

Facial Recognition Technology (Wikipedia: Facial Recognition System) could be used rather than exhume the deceased (at Somerton) to establish possible/probable genetic correlations between Prosper Thomson and Robin Thomson.

I say this based on experience, having had my security pass updated when employed at a major international airport. (Whilst unobtrusive, cameras were about positioned at seated to standing height level, recording my personal physical data without informing nor requesting permission from me - mind you.) Certain law enforcement agencies might also use such technology as they would with digital fingerprint matching.

There's may be more photos of Prosper and Robin Thomson that could be compared, digitally. And, who's to say Jestyn herself didn't pass on the distinctive ear (cymba/cavum) characteristic and dental (hypodontia) condition through dominant or recessive genes?

 

[flute4peace]

Prof Abbott is married to Robin's daughter, right? And it's pretty much known that Robin is the son of SM and Jestyn. So why can't they just use her DNA to look for heritage, etc?

 

[GirlMarlowe]

Maybe they just don't have the funds...

 

[petedavo.au]

An absolutely fascinating case.

I've not much to add except one thing. The cigarettes bother me, I don't know why. They found seven cigarettes of a different brand in an Army Club packet on the decedent. Don't smokers usually smoke the same brand if possible? Why swap cigarettes into a differently branded packet?

It feels as if this was very close to being solved but was only one or two pieces of information away from being so...

From experience, this usually happens when someone pays back in cigarettes, what they had "borrowed" from you before. This would lead me to believe that someone had spent at least half a day in his company sometime prior. That person would've familiarized themselves with the unknown deceased. Even if their acquaintance was only transient they must of had some discussion. Some of that discussion might of had clues to establishing his identity. I would further suggest that such a scenario could've occurred on a train journey from Melbourne to Adelaide. The borrower having purchased cigarettes upon arrival at Adelaide to replace those he or she borrowed.

 

[petedavo.au]

From experience, this usually happens when someone pays back in cigarettes, what they had "borrowed" from you before. This would lead me to believe that someone had spent at least half a day in his company sometime prior. That person would've familiarized themselves with the unknown deceased. Even if their acquaintance was only transient they must of had some discussion. Some of that discussion might of had clues to establishing his identity. I would further suggest that such a scenario could've occurred on a train journey from Melbourne to Adelaide. The borrower having purchased cigarettes upon arrival at Adelaide to replace those he or she borrowed.

The name of the train was The Overland. In 1948 it would've been an overnight service, 3 days a week, taking 11hrs, 40 minutes by steam locomotive, terminating at Adelaide Central. I'll see if I can find a timetable from that era to work out which train he was on and when it debated Melbourne and arrived at Adelaide.
The Overland - Wikipedia

 

[petedavo.au]

The name of the train was The Overland. In 1948 it would've been an overnight service, 3 days a week, taking 11hrs, 40 minutes by steam locomotive, terminating at Adelaide Central. I'll see if I can find a timetable from that era to work out which train he was on and when it departed Melbourne and arrived at Adelaide.
The Overland - Wikipedia

Almost every article I can find from 1948 mentioning The Overland is mainly about timetable disruptions due to coal shortages, strikes, or the weather in Melbourne. The service arriving in Adelaide at 6:30am Wednesdays seems to be the only regular service that never appeared to be affected. This might be a good start to an FOI request to discover passenger lists, conductor incident reports, and names and addressing of ticket sales.

 

[HardBoiled]

Almost every article I can find from 1948 mentioning The Overland is mainly about timetable disruptions due to coal shortages, strikes, or the weather in Melbourne. The service arriving in Adelaide at 6:30am Wednesdays seems to be the only regular service that never appeared to be affected. This might be a good start to an FOI request to discover passenger lists, conductor incident reports, and names and addressing of ticket sales.

Terrific work there! I only ever discovered the cigarettes were a "different" brand to Army Club, a long shot does anyone know what brand the substituted cigarettes actually were? Smoking in 1948 was not the same as smoking today, cigarettes were obviously much cheaper back then and more or less every man smoked. The only logical reason to have different cigarettes in your packet would be because you were unable to buy any, like if you were stuck on a long train ride. Brilliant work Petedavo.au, outstanding.

 

[petedavo.au]

Army Club cigarettes were being made in Melbourne by Godfrey's
Trove - 26 Oct 1930 - NEW MELBOURNE INDUSTRY - Sunday Times (Perth, WA : 1902 - 1954) NEW MELBOURNE INDUSTRY - Army Club, De Reszke and Grey's Cigarettes - Sunday Times (Perth, WA : 1902 - 1954) - 26 Oct 1930 via @TroveAustralia

 

[petedavo.au]

Terrific work there! I only ever discovered the cigarettes were a "different" brand to Army Club, a long shot does anyone know what brand the substituted cigarettes actually were? Smoking in 1948 was not the same as smoking today, cigarettes were obviously much cheaper back then and more or less every man smoked. The only logical reason to have different cigarettes in your packet would be because you were unable to buy any, like if you were stuck on a long train ride. Brilliant work Petedavo.au, outstanding.

 

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Terrific work there! I only ever discovered the cigarettes were a "different" brand to Army Club, a long shot does anyone know what brand the substituted cigarettes actually were? Smoking in 1948 was not the same as smoking today, cigarettes were obviously much cheaper back then and more or less every man smoked. The only logical reason to have different cigarettes in your packet would be because you were unable to buy any, like if you were stuck on a long train ride. Brilliant work Petedavo.au, outstanding.

The brand cigarettes were a more expensive brand than Army Club.

The brand is identified in Feltus' book which is now available for purchase as an e-read.

According to Feltus' book, it was practice of the post-War day there to put cheaper cigarettes into a more expensive packet. Yet, the Somerton Man had the opposite. What's quite likely, as I've pointed out up-thread, is that Somerton Man was disguising his identity to downplay his wealth. Thus, he had the expensive cigarettes in a cheaper brand packet.

Keep in mind, it was only a signature (genuine or otherwise) that was separating Someton Man from the small fortune in his passbook savings account.

Prosper Thomson, being ex-army like Somerton Man, could talk-the-talk and walk-the-walk. I say he's conspired with Jestyn to clear out and close Somerton Man's passbook savings account.

The delay in identifying the body would have given Prosper Thomson time to travel to Somerton Man's home branch where he opened the account. Generally, that's how it worked back then. Passbook savings accounts could only be closed in person at the same home branch that they were opened at. Really, all one needed was the correct signature and to memorise a date of birth (assuming one was also of the around about the same age) as proof of identity. At least, that's how I recall it.

 

[petedavo.au]

I noticed on the price list of tobacco products for 1947 that some brands came only in tins of 100. Totally impracticable for taking with you about town. I used to have a pewter cigarette tin once that held 100. After filling it, I would take a few and fill an old cigarette packet for going out, until I bought a pocket tin that could fit 10 down at the boot menders. Army Club only came in packets of 10. It may of been a convenient size for someone who's cigarettes usually only came in tins.

 

[Bohemian]

Australia's most bafflying mystery 70 years on