Germany Germany- Heligoland, MaleWht, 45-50, 6'5'', "The Gentleman'', Marks & Spencer tie, 11 July 1994

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April 28 2022
M&S tie and metal shoe lasts: new clues in cold case of ‘the Gentleman’ | Germany | The Guardian
''The man sported a stripy Marks & Spencer tie, expensively made but possibly secondhand shoes – and 6 kg of cast-iron weights tied around his body, designed to drag him to the bottom of the North Sea.

Almost three decades after finding the body of what appeared to be a murder victim in the waters off the island of Heligoland, German police have released new information and a first photofit in order to establish the identity of the man who was dubbed “the Gentleman” for his smart attire.''

''The body was recovered from the sea by a border guard boat on 11 July 1994, 20 km off Heligoland, but police believe it is possible that the body had travelled in the water for some distance.

“He could have drifted from a ship or even as far as [from] Great Britain, that’s certainly possible,” said Karsten Bettels, of the Lower Saxony Police Academy.

An autopsy at the time showed signs of exposure to blunt violence on the almost 2 metre-tall (6ft 5in) man’s head and upper body, which he had suffered while still alive.

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Each of the cast-iron shoe lasts weighed 3 kg, police said. Photograph: Police Inspectorate Wilhelmshaven
A further telling sign of a criminal act were the two cast-iron shoe lasts, each weighing 3 kg, which had been fixed to the man’s body to weigh him down, as police have revealed for the first time.''
''Made in the 1920s or 30s, the two female shoe lasts were embossed with the initials AJK, the trademark of Bristol-based company AJ Jackson.

Police have also for the first time released the make of the man’s tie, saying it was produced by Marks & Spencer for the English- and French-language market, which at the time of the man’s disappearance stretched all the way to Canada.

''After exhuming the man’s body last December, they have managed to isolate the complete DNA profile of the 45- to 50-year-old male and are currently checking it against international DNA databases, police in Wilhelmshaven in northern Germany announced on Thursday.

An ongoing isotope analysis could eventually confirm whether the man had lived on the British Isles before his body was dumped in the North Sea, as investigators suspect.''
 
North Sea Case - Locate International
''physical description
At the time of his death, the man was probably about 45-50 years old. This means he was likely born during the mid to late 1940s. If he was alive now, he would be in his early 70s.
The man was tall [6 foot, 5 inches; 197cm] and slim in build (estimated 11-12 stone; 70-75kg). Based upon the work of facial reconstruction experts, we have created a likeness of the man.
Please note that it is impossible for us to estimate hair colour and length, eye colour, etc., and so the image above might not exactly match what the man looked like in real life.

Clothing description
The man was wearing some memorable clothing:
Tie: basic colour dark blue, with different coloured diagonal stripes (silver-grey, brown, orange, green). 100% wool.

Basic colour dark blue, with different coloured diagonal stripes. Specifically about the colour order: • Dark blue (or navy blue) – wide stripes,
Silver-grey (or light grey) – narrow stripes,
Brown – thin strips,
Yellow-orange – thin strips,
Green – narrow stripes
and again dark blue (or navy blue) – wide stripes.

Label: “060 T 09 0235/3107 NAVY; PROFESSIONAL DRY CLEAN CONFIER A UN TEINURIER H
2674 CA 01295 “- back:“ 100% WOOL / LAINE 7311 321.

Shoes: leather loafers, black or navy blue, UK size 11. These were relatively expensive shoes, made for the English shoe manufacturer Church & Co Ltd. The shoes had been re-soled with Phillips soles and had replacement heels manufactured by Dinkie Heel PLC, Bristol with the inscription
I.T.S. Jubilee and a stylized crown''
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Investigation
Do you know this person?
We estimate that the man went missing somewhere between the end of 1993 and the first six months of 1994. It is possible that you knew the man at this time, and so we want to help you remember back to this period of time in case it jogs any memories that might be relevant for our investigation.
Please read through the list of news and events that happened in 1993/1994. We are asking you to do this because activating memories from a particular period can help you remember more information from that particular time. After reading through the list, take a while to think where you were and who you knew at this time. Do you think you might know the man we are seeking to identify?

1993:
The Maastricht treaty took effect, formally forming the European Union (November)
Pablo Escobar was killed by police (December)
The first images from the Hubble telescope were taken (December)
The following songs were in the charts;
I would do anything for love (but I won’t do that), by Meatloaf
All That She Wants, by Ace of Base
No Limit, by 2 Unlimited
Dreams, by Gabrielle
1994:
IRA bombings at Heathrow (March)
Kurt Cobain committed suicide (April)
Release of ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’ (May)
Nelson Mandela inaugurated as South Africa’s first Black president (May)
O.J. Simpson flees (in a low-speed car chase) and surrenders to police (June)
The following songs were in the charts;
Love Is All Around, by Wet Wet Wet
Saturday Night, by Whigfield

Do you have any information about the crime?
We are aware that many years have passed since the man’s body was recovered from the North Sea, and that people who might not have wanted to report information to the police at the time might now feel more comfortable to do so.
Do you have any idea of who the person or people responsible might be, and do you feel safe to share any information?
Loyalties change.
Do you ever wonder what it would be like to be free of this heavy burden? You can talk to us and relieve yourself of this secret that has been with you for all these years.
Please remember that this is an active murder investigation. Renewed efforts to solve the crime have already resulted in new leads.

Please help us solve this. #SomebodyKnows''
 
April 29 2022
Who was 'the gentleman' thrown into the sea weighed down with iron shoes? Cops issue new image | Daily Mail Online
''Who was 'the gentleman' thrown into the sea weighed down with IRON SHOES? Mystery murder victim was found floating in the North Sea wearing luxury loafers and a club tie
  • Unidentified British murder victim pulled out of sea off North Sea island in 1994
  • German cops exhume body of 6ft 5in 'the gentleman' found in handmade shoes
  • Thought to be between 45 and 50, he suffered blows to the head and upper body
  • He died up to seven months before discovery and may have floated out to island
  • The man's DNA profile is being probed by forensic experts and global databases''
Nicknamed 'the gentleman', the 6ft 5in, 11st victim was found wearing a tie with a club design and handmade luxury loafers.

He had suffered violent blows to his head and upper body, The Mirror reported.''
'Our research shows that activating memories from a particular period can help individuals remember more information from that particular time so we’re asking you to read through a list of news and events that happened in 1993/1994

''Ms Gabbert pointed out the most noteworthy events of the day include the killing of Pablo Escobar, the March 1994 IRA Heathrow bombings, the death of Kurt Cobain and the arrest of OJ Simpson.

Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as president of South Africa, 'Love Is All Around' by Wet Wet Wet was released and 'Four Weddings and a Funeral' entered cinemas''
 
Cricket colours?
www.wollondillyadvertiser.com.au

Aussies shine new light on German mystery

Perth scientists have breathed life into a decades-old German mystery of an unknown man's body found floating in...
www.wollondillyadvertiser.com.au www.wollondillyadvertiser.com.au
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Aug 6 2022 rbbm.
www.theguardian.com

Mystery man dubbed ‘The Gentleman’ found in North Sea may have spent most of his life in Australia

Breakthrough in the decades-old cold case comes after scientists conducted an isotope ratio analysis of the man’s bones
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
''They found the man spent most of his life in Australia. Investigators in the 1990s determined he was 45 to 50 years old.''


''Scientists made the discovery by conducting an isotope ratio analysis of The Gentleman’s bones.

Differences in climate, soil and human activity across the globe change the isotopic compositions of food, water and even dust – reflected in the isotopic compositions of human tissue.

Analysis showed the man likely spent most of his life in Australia.

Researchers from overseas universities were recently also able to get a DNA profile of the man.''

''There’s hope it could match with DNA being collected as part of Missing Persons Week, where authorities have been calling on Australians to come forward for testing to help solve some of the nation’s cold cases.''

''The iron tools he was weighed down with were only recently disclosed by police, his shoes were expensive and his distinctive green, yellow and blue striped tie may have signalled he belonged to a specific organisation.''
 
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www.theguardian.com

Mystery man dubbed ‘The Gentleman’ found in North Sea may have spent most of his life in Australia

Breakthrough in the decades-old cold case comes after scientists conducted an isotope ratio analysis of the man’s bones
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com

Mystery man dubbed ‘The Gentleman’ found in North Sea may have spent most of his life in Australia​


Perth scientists have breathed life into a decades-old German mystery of an unknown man’s body found floating in the North Sea, by using a new forensic technique that revealed he may have spent most of his life in Australia.

The man, dubbed “The Gentleman” by investigators in 1994 after his body was found by police off the coast of Helgoland, a German archipelago, was weighed down by cast iron cobbler’s feet.

He earned “The Gentleman” nickname due to his smart clothing; a wool tie, British-made shoes, French-made trousers and a long-sleeve blue dress shirt.

The case has baffled German police for 28 years, but criminologists and forensic scientists from Murdoch University may have helped to unravel the mystery after they ran new tests.

They found the man spent most of his life in Australia. Investigators in the 1990s determined he was 45 to 50 years old.

The announcement marks the last day of Australia’s National Missing Persons Week on Saturday.
 
www.abc.net.au

Who is 'The Gentleman'? Murdoch University students are one step closer to finding out

Twenty-eight years after German police found the brutalised body of 'The Gentleman' in the North Sea, Murdoch University students are unravelling the mystery around his identity.
www.abc.net.au www.abc.net.au

Analysis showed the man likely spent most of his life in Australia.

Researchers from overseas universities were also able to get a DNA profile of the man.

There is hope it could match DNA being collected as part of Missing Persons Week, which has rallied Australians to come forward for testing to help solve some of the nation's cold cases.

Brendan Chapman, one of the directors of Murdoch University's Cold Case Review team, said it was an unbelievable discovery.

"What are the chances that from this small collection of universities working on this case, one would be from the country where the man originated?" he said.
He said police had not previously looked in that direction.

"Without that they didn't know where to direct their inquires and in fact they were probably looking mostly around Europe because that's obviously where he went missing," he said.

"What that can now allow the German investigators to do is to focus their further efforts on Australia and they're able to now use their international networks to work with Australian law enforcement."

Investigators have been slowly piecing together The Gentleman's past for years.

The iron tools he was weighed down with were only recently disclosed by police.

Investigators have speculated whether his distinctive green, yellow and blue-striped tie could signal he belonged to a specific organisation.
 
On 11 July, 1994, German police pulled the brutalised body of a man from the sea about 20km west of the German Island of Heligoland.
The body showed signs of trauma and it had been weighed down with cast iron cobbler’s feet, a shoemaker’s tool. Each "foot" weighed 3 kilograms (6.6 lb), and were based on female feet. They bore the initials AJK, the trademark of AJ Jackson in Bristol.
The man's body was taken to the city of Wilhelmshaven in Germany for a post-mortem examination. Investigators determined the man was between 45 and 50 years old and 6ft 5" tall. The autopsy showed that the deceased had suffered blunt violence to his head and upper body while he was still alive. The man was then buried. However, the man’s identity remains unknown.
The man became known as "The Gentleman" or the "The Gentleman of Heligoland" because of his apparent middle-class clothing: his blue-green-yellow striped wool tie, expensive British-made shoes, French-made trousers and a long-sleeve blue dress shirt. However, Police wished to dispel the notion that the man was wealthy. The tie had been manufactured in large numbers and the shoes, size 11 black or navy leather loafers he was found wearing, were made by the relatively expensive English shoe manufacturer Church & Co Ltd. However, they had been re-soled with Philipps soles. The shoes also had replacement heels manufactured by Dinky Heel PLC, Bristol, with the inscription ITS Jubilee and a stylised crown. This led investigators to conjecture that the shoes may have been secondhand.
Even so, the cobbler's feet and the shoes being resoled both link the man to Bristol.
In December 2021 the body was exhumed and DNA extracted to compare against databases of known samples.
Criminologists and forensic scientists from Murdoch University, Australia, analysed bone samples taken from the exhumed remains. Differences in climate, soil and human activity across the globe change the isotopic compositions of food, water and even dust and are reflected in the isotopic compositions of human tissue and bones. The isotopic composition of the man's bones revealed a profile that is consistent with him spending most of his life life in Australia.
Researchers from overseas universities were recently also able to get a DNA profile of the man from the exhumed remains. The next step is to see whether the "Gentleman's" DNA profile links to that given by relations to various DNA databases in Australia or elsewhere.
The "Gentleman of Heligoland" has been subject of a pod cast, which can be found here.
 
locate.international

North Sea Man — Locate International

locate.international locate.international

Screenshot 2022-09-04 at 00.31.05.png

On 11th July 1994, a male body was found by a Police boat in the North Sea, West of the Island of Helgoland. He was brought to the city of Wilhelmshaven in Germany, where he was later buried.

There were injuries on the side of his head and upper body, and his body was weighted down with iron ‘cobblers feet’, tied to the belt of his trousers. The two iron cobblers feet are not identical, but both weigh 3kg and are stamped with manufacturers name AJK (a manufacturer in Bristol). The makers stamp on the lasts is AJK – A.J Jackson Ltd, Kingswood, Bristol. The AJK mark was the trademark of AJ Jackson of Kingswood, Bristol. The company existed from the late 19th century to the mid-1960s. Around 1964/65 Jackson was taken over by the Cheaney’s company (address: Nelson Street, Kettering, UK), but these have since gone out of business. The lasts possibly date from the 1920s or 1930s

Initial forensic analysis suggest he has spent time in Australia and/or Northern Europe. The clothing provides a link to the United Kingdom through the brand of shoes. These were relatively expensive shoes, made for the English shoe manufacturer Church & Co Ltd. The shoes had been re-soled with Phillips soles and had replacement heels manufactured by Dinkie Heel PLC, Bristol with the inscription I.T.S. Jubilee and a stylized crown.
Click to expand...
 
www.bristolpost.co.uk

Appeal for info on cold case of man with Bristol links found in North Sea

The case dates back to 1994, but could still be solved with the right help
www.bristolpost.co.uk www.bristolpost.co.uk
Sept 18 2022
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'''A cold case charity is appealing for information about a man who was found in the North Sea 28 years ago. The body of “North Sea Man”, discovered off the coast of Germany in 1994, has never been identified – but several clues suggest a Bristol connection.

Locate International believes the man was aged between 45 and 50 at the time of his death, having suffered a “catastrophic blow to the side of the head and rib cage”. The charity lends specialist assistance to searches for missing and unidentified people and produces award-winning podcast The Missing.


''The body of the unidentified male, who is thought to have stood at between 187cm and 197cm tall, was found weighed down by two 3kg iron cobblers feet – tools used by cobblers in the repair of shoes – which were tied to the belt of his trousers.'''

''Found around seven months after he died, the apparent murder victim was too badly decomposed for investigators to say conclusively what colour his hair or eyes were. But his navy-coloured trousers and perhaps his blue-and-green tie were made in France.''

Charity CEO Dave Grimstead said: “At this point in time there are seemingly lots of disparate threads linking this unique case to many countries and cities around the world. We want to try and jog the memory of anyone who might know something or have even the smallest bit of information, no matter how insignificant it may seem.''

podcasts.apple.com

‎The Missing: The Gentleman on Apple Podcasts

‎Show The Missing, Ep The Gentleman - 16 Jun 2022
podcasts.apple.com
''This extraordinary story is a current live investigation. When a body was found floating in the North Sea in July 1994, it was German police who began an investigation – they learned that the man was in his 40’s or 50’s, smartly dressed, and he became known as ‘The Gentleman’. But despite extensive investigations, they couldn’t identify him, and the man was buried in a un-named grave. Now – working with Locate International, the German Police are re-investigating. They believe that the clothes the man was wearing indicate he’s likely to be British. This podcast is part of a major publicity drive to try and shed new light on the identity of The Gentleman'.
 
This is just me, having just woken up and looking at the reconstruction one more time, but I believe he looks very British.

I'm not as great at sleuthing as many WS members but I am quite often pretty good at guessing where someone comes from, from their facial features.
 
TootsieFootsie said:
This is just me, having just woken up and looking at the reconstruction one more time, but I believe he looks very British.

I'm not as great at sleuthing as many WS members but I am quite often pretty good at guessing where someone comes from, from their facial features.
Click to expand...

He resembles a Floridian friend of mine who has British ancestry on his father side and, coincidentally, is also 6 feet 5 inches tall.
I agree with you, this JD looks very British.

MOO JMO
 
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