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Bones

Age: unknown

Sex: male

Date: 6 Oct 1957

Place: West Wittering, Chichester

Bones were found on the foreshore at West Wittering in Chichester on 6 October 1957 by an 18-year-old student.

The bones included nine ribs, two scapulae, one vertebra and some other bones. Further bones were also found on two subsequent visits.

When they were examined by a pathologist he said that he had no doubt that they were human and male. He said that from the markings on the left humerus that the person that they had belonged to was obviously a muscular man who was clearly an adult.

He said that he thought that the man was probably about 5ft 10in tall and that it was quite impossible to determine the cause of death.

He said that the remains had quite clearly been in the water for some time noting that there was sea-weed and barnacles on the remains that were from three to six months in age and thought that the remains were those of a man that had been lost about a year earlier. He added that he would be surprised if they were more than two years old but that he thought that they were a year old at the minimum.

After hearing the evidence the Coroner said, 'There is no evidence with regard to age, rank or profession or cause, place or date of death'.

No reference was made in the report at the time, but the remains were not far from where Lionel Crabb, a notable diver that had carried out secret underwater spying missions for the government, went missing earlier the previous year in April 1956 in Portsmouth Harbour. Other bones were also found at The Kench on Hayling Sandbank in September 1956 which were determined not to have been those of Lionel Crabb. Lionel Crabb's body was said to have been found on 9 June 1957 near Chichester although it was suggested that his wife had not thought that the remains found were his.


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

see www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk

see West Sussex Gazette - Thursday 31 October 1957