SATURDAY SHARE- MARIA BERNADETTE ALDRIDGE
Maria Bernadette Aldridge was born on 2 October 1950 and was brought up in Stourport, Worcestershire. At 17yrs old she was in her first year of nursing training at the Dudley Road Hospital, Birmingham now known as City Hospital. Between the 21 to 24 of May 1968 she went missing from the nursing quarters. Sadly, nobody from the hospital bothered to phone the police, nor did they search the hospital grounds for Maria.
The family were only alerted that Maria was missing when Paul Gough arrived at their home in Stourport looking for her. He was believed to have been her boyfriend at the time. Maria’s mum was told the matron wanted to see her, so Mary O’Sullivan along with her other daughter Cathy travelled to the hospital to make enquiries about her mysterious disappearance. Cathy sat in the car while her mum went in to see the matron. It was thought Maria was a runaway, so after handing over her belongings in two cardboard boxes, the matron told Mary to let her know when Maria showed up.
Records show Maria was working until at least May and police think she may have gone missing around that time. Her mother worked tirelessly to keep her daughter’s name in the media over the years and even put Maria’s name forward to the investigation team dealing with the heinous crimes of Fred & Rose West. Checks were made, but again no connection was found. Mrs O’Sullivan spent 40yrs desperately searching for Maria, but tragically passed away without knowing what happened to her beloved daughter.
After their mother died, Cathy Phillips, Maria’s sister, with great determination took up the reins and managed to get detectives to launch an investigation, because nothing had been done for 40yrs. When a headless female body was found in Norfolk, a new CID team reviewed Maria’s case and tests were proved negative on the corpse found.
With fresh eyes, the team found a letter from Maria to her mother dated 28 February 1968. She spoke fondly of her friend at the hospital and enjoyed nights out at the Locarno Nightclub in Hurst Street in the city centre. The names she mentioned were Sue and Evelyn who were doing their training with her plus Dave Olfrey (maybe spelt Allfrey or Allfree), Patrick McGill, Christopher Fair and Jim Taylor. Jim Taylor is thought to be from the Kidderminster area. Police appealed for them, and the teenager’s former boyfriend, to come forward in the hope that they might be able to shed some light on her disappearance.
Detectives also uncovered an advert in the Mail dated 1 June 1968 which read “Nurse M – Meet 7pm, 63 bus, Monday 3 June, hope to see you, Simon”. It has never been corroborated whether this was meant for Maria but continue to appeal to the person who placed the advert.
Maria featured in season three of The Missing Podcast, where her sister, Cathy spoke to Pandora Sykes about her disappearance (link below).
A note from Cathy Phillips (sister)
“When my sister, Maria disappeared, we did not have the advantage of computerised police records or social media, snail mail was our only form of communication. From the outset, the word ‘missing’ was never used because Matron Clews told us she was a runaway. There was no panic and we were told to contact the hospital once she returned. For this reason, there were no searches or appeals in the newspaper.
Despite the general consensus Maria had ran away, it didn’t make any sense because she didn’t take her clothes, paperwork, wages (which were in cash). She also left behind her half-finished knitting.
In 1994, our mom wrote to Gloucester Police and asked if Maria was one of Fred and Rosemary West victims. They said no, they were all accounted for and her disappearance didn’t fit his modus operandi (MO). This still plays heavily on my mind, because according to court proceedings and news reports he was known to meet young girls off a bus, offer them a place to stay, then rape and murder them. I also fail to understand why the only scrap of evidence they have is Mr Gough visiting our home.
I do not feel Maria’s disappearance has been investigated thoroughly, if at all. Since mom and her friend Mrs Chell passed away, I don’t know who would have any pieces of the puzzle. I was kept updated by Ian the detective until he retired, but since then I haven’t had any communication from the police.
Maria is very much loved and missed dearly, she is a human being who deserves to be found. If she came to harm, which I believe she did, my ultimate wish is to be able to give her a lawful, dignified burial. For this to be realised, I would really like a thorough search of the hospital grounds and area.
In the meantime, if anyone who went to Kidderminster High School has any photos from 1967 graduating class, or the previous 4 years, I would love to see them”.
If you have information about Maria or know the circumstances of her disappearance, please contact West Midlands Police, Rose Road, Birmingham B17 9LL on 0121 626 5967 quoting reference number #0209 WMID 1496. If you prefer to remain anonymous, please call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or use their online reporting service. Alternatively phone/text Missing People charity on 116 000 or email
[email protected] quoting reference 03-000658.
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Were you in Birmingham, England, in 1968? If so, or you know anyone who was, you may be able to help us. Maria Bernadette Aldridge – DOB 02/10/1950 Maria lived with her family in Stourport. She...
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Between the 21st and 24th of May 1968 Maria Aldridge went missing from her dorm in Dudley Road Hospital. Maria was 17 year old Nursing Student, no one at the Hospital searched the grounds or called...
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