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William Dalziel

Age: 61

Sex: male

Date: 19 Jan 1990

Place: Harleyford Manor, Edgecote Close, Acton

William Dalziel was attacked and robbed outside the Harleyford Manor old person's home in Edgecote Close, Acton, between midnight and 2.30am on 15 January 1990 and later died in Charing Cross Hospital on 19 January 1990.

He was attacked outside Harleyford Manor, an old person’s home in Edgecote Close, and died from severe head injuries. He had been beaten about the head with a heavy object, such as a piece of wood, seven or eight times

He never regained consciousness. He was initially taken to the Central Middlesex Hospital in Park Royal by ambulance, but was then transferred to Charing Cross Hospital where he was treated in the hospital's neurological ward after undergoing vital surgery.

He died from severe head injuries, including a fractured skull. It was noted that his skull had also been punctured by what was probably a sharp edge on the weapon used to attack him with. The police initially said that they thought that he had been attacked with a piece of wood with nails sticking out of it, but later said that they thought that that was unlikely.

The police were called to the scene by an anonymous passer-by.

He was a security guard and porter, and had lived on Uxbridge Road, Shepherds Bush. He worked for the CIBA scientific foundation in the West End.

The police said that when he was found his fur hat was missing and appealed for anyone that might know where it was. They said that they had determined that William Dalziel always used to wear a Russian-type fur hat but that when he was found it wasn't anywhere near him, nor was it found at his flat. The police said that they thought that his fur hat might have had ear-flaps.

They added that some other things were also missing from his person when he was found, including:

  • Bus pass.
  • Ox-blood coloured wallet.

The police said that they could only surmise that robbery was the motive, noting that they were told however that he didn't usually carry much money on him.

He was single, and it was reported that his main interests were classical music and swimming. He was also said to have been a tea-totaller and to have rarely gone out in the evenings.

He was 5ft 5in and when he was last seen, he had been wearing a brown sheepskin jacket with a dark fur lining, brown trousers and was thought to have been wearing his Russian style wool cap with possible earflaps.

However, the police said that because he was a private man they were having difficulty in tracing his movements. The police said, 'So far we have had very few leads and are relying on anyone who knows something about his movements, or the man himself, to get in touch with us. We would also be interested in hearing from anyone who has noticed blood-stained clothing'.

The police also said, 'Mr Dalziel was a very individual man who kept himself to himself and we are now looking for anybody who knew him and can throw some light on why he should be in Acton after midnight'.

However, they later found out that he was a homosexual and appealed to the gay community for anyone that knew him to come forward.

The police said that they were interested in speaking to anyone that had been out in the area between midnight and 2.30am on Monday 15 January 1990.

They also later put an appeal in an early February edition of London's homosexual magazine, Capital Gay.

The police said that the last person to speak to him was his sister who he telephoned on the Sunday before his murder for a usual chat. The sister said that he seemed fine and that everything seemed normal. As such, the police said that they thought that William Dalziel might have had a pre-arranged meeting or possibly couldn't sleep and had gone out for a walk.

Later in the enquiry three witnesses came forward to say that they had previously seen William Dalziel loitering about on a number of occasions in the public toilets on King Street in Acton.

The police said that William Dalziel might have been cutting through the estate from Acton Lane to the High Street on his way home from somewhere.


*map pointers are rough estimates based on known location details as per Place field above.

see www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk

see Hammersmith & Shepherds Bush Gazette - Friday 19 October 1990

see Hammersmith & Shepherds Bush Gazette - Friday 26 January 1990

see Hammersmith & Shepherds Bush Gazette - Friday 19 October 1990

see Hammersmith & Shepherds Bush Gazette - Friday 19 January 1990

see Hammersmith & Shepherds Bush Gazette - Friday 16 February 1990