Welcome to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio from Boise, Idaho. This
is your host, Adam Graham. If you have a comment, email it
to me Box thirteen at Great Detectives dot net. Follow us on Twitter at
Radio Detectives, and check us out on Instagram, Instagram, dot com,
slash Great Detectives and if you're enjoying this podcast, please follow us using your
favorite podcast software. Today is our four thousand, two hundred and fiftieth episode
special Now You're a Call. A few weeks back that a listener sent me
an email and asked me how I found the programs that I used for the
podcast, and I decided it would be interesting to play something that kind of
came about as a result of digging through the Internet. In this case,
this is from a program I found at the Internet Archive while going through something
like one hundred different posts containing Australian old time radio programs. Today, we're
going to bring you an episode of an Australian crime anthology program. Now,
there were a variety of Australian crime anthology shows. Now, some might have
been similar to US programs, which often told imaginative recreations of the activities of
criminals, And what I mean by imaginative recreations is that you will have crime
stories that were dramatized for radio, and all of the criminals died before any
one of them could talk to the police. Yet the radio program will write
dialogue and write things in detail on how these criminals were, what their personalities
were, and how they related to each other. Well, that's what I
mean by imaginative recreations. That's not what we're getting today because other anthology programs
would kind of mix things up as to whose perspective they were looking at a
case from and what type of story they were telling. And that brought me
to Police File. Police File was a series that focused on the work of
the Commonwealth Investigative Branch or CIB. Australia's police forces have undergone some reorganizations,
so I don't believe you would actually find a modern agency called the CIB,
but it was I think somewhat current in the mid nineteen five fifties. The
episode I'm going to play today is the only one that I think is really
a good fit for our podcast, and I will say I don't have a
date for this episode, but based on internal evidence, I think it was
probably from nineteen fifty five or fifty six, sometime in the mid fifties.
The series originated in Sydney where it was broadcast at seven pm on Sunday night
over radio station two GB, and then there was also a broadcast in Adelaide,
Australia at nine pm on Sunday nights on station five AD, which is
now known by the call signed five ADD. The series was sponsored by Colder
Refrigeration Company and in nineteen fifty five the series would be renamed The Colder Police
Report. With that said, let's bring you today's episode of Police Files are
one by one police file true crime stories which made banner headlines in your newspapers,
stories as in the files of your police department, and gathered from the
records of one of the largest newspaper organizations in the Southern Hemisphere. Tonight,
if we glanced at the file on Edward Charles Wilson. As usual, all
names used are fictitious, but the facts are true. In this story of
how your CIB trapped the man who was probably the most accomplished counterfeater in the
history of crime. They called him mister one by one and he walked alone
down the broad Highway of Crime. Like most counterfeiters, he was a quiet
man, studious, thoughtful. He carried his capital equipment under his hat,
and his tools of trade could be fitted into a small suit case. And
then he would stop and consider a purchase. His hand would go to his
wallets and he would extract one banknote, a bank note for ten pounds.
As he looked at it, his eyes were not covetous, but admiring,
proud. After all, hadn't he made it himself? Then he would look
up and say, who'd changed this? I'd like it in singles, if
you don't mind. The bank manager waited for one of his senior officials.
As he waited, he stared thoughtfully at the piece of paper that lay on
the disk in front of him. The bank manager was a very worried man.
Come ooh, isn't it come in? Is it about the Williams and
the council? No, sit down, Bennett, look at this, hm,
perfectly ordinary? Tennor is it? Hmm? Well, well I'll take
it over to the window if you don't mind. Yes, yes, very
odd serial numbers write it. It looks perfect good crackle. Only one thing
I can see wrong. There's a very small floor here on the coat of
arms on the left hand side. Exactly. Try it on all our taillers,
if you will, mister Burnett, be casual about it. While you're
away, I shall bring the sea I b Yes. Detectives Benson and Riley
came post haste at the bank manager's call, and they sat with the manager
in his office. When they'd examined the note, they looked at each other.
What do you think, Ranie, I've never seen anything like it.
I don't not admitting I have passed it same here. You're in good company.
It's been tried on all our taillers. Not one of them hesitated to
change it. Who stopped it? I did? I suppose it's because I've
a lot more experienced than some of them. In Ah, this isn't going
to be easy cracking this one. You're telling us the man who did this
is an absolute past master in the art of photo engraving, ma Ryan,
and thinking that the only real floor is on this coat of arms. Yes,
mister Rading. Beyond that, it's perfect. It's the paper. I
can't understand. It's so good. Listen to that crackles. Of course,
I don't need to tell you that feel has a lot to do with detecting
forgeries. It doesn't take long to sense automatically that crispness of a genuine bankment,
and yet your teller has passed it, every one of them. Mister
Benson, well it looks like a long road ahead. What do you think
of this? For start with the public award? I think it'd be a
very good idea. You see the serial number V one six, et cetera,
is quite in order. That's current. Yes to the ordinary person,
gentlemen, there's only one thing wrong with this tenant. It wasn't made at
the government mint. They WI should thanks. You'll let us know as soon
as we cite another one. Of course, about that morning through the newspapers,
I suggest as soon as possible today, Come on, Riley, the
weights are up and so the public was worn. Isn't everyday of the week,
of course, that we handled ten pound notes? Would we get a
bit of a shock if we did try to change of forge one? Meanwhile,
the long job of tracking down the forger started. The detectives Benson and
Ryley soon had their first report to work on. Read what the boys in
the back room said about our Yeah, the work of a past master.
All right, now to pin down who it could be, Let's look at
that list of names, Ronnie, any favorites I've noticed you've marked your Yes,
I agree with that these three fellow Engravers are of Middle European nationality.
Yeah, it's quite reasonable, Speck. I don't think one of our local
boys could turn up with a job like that. Odds are some gang as
one of these Engravers on his payroll they could afford to paying well, considering
the work he's turning up, big stuff. No fiddling about with Florin's with
this mob by Heck, it's going to be tough trying to fit this one.
Riley, where do we start keeping these three merchants under observation? Let's
go and see the chief keeping tabs on these boys. Is going to be
around the club job for somebody. Well, looks like it's a washout,
Riley. On those engravers, chiefs called the watchdogs offer, Yes, took
them off this morning. What they've learned by following them would fill a book,
but it isn't very interesting. No clue to the forgery. Yeah,
well what we do now? Excuse me Benson speaking, Hey, Yes,
here, Oh pretty Martin? No, hello, oh yes, when was
this? Yes, we'll be right down. Thanks, all right, what's
that? Nothing so far? But what you that might help us? We'll
be there in ten minutes, our friend, the bank manager. Another pony
tenor reported from Melbourne, one from Brisbane. They're starting to move. Eh,
Capital city is easier to pass. This looks like a big organization right
here. What about the serial numbers? All in order, right down to
the watermark. Now, who but the best forger in the world would try
to reproduce a watermark? Come on, let's go. The new forgers were
well nigh perfect. The same slight floor in the coat of arms was the
only identification without careful expert examination that the note hadn't been made at the mint.
That was in November. In December, the chief of the CIB rang
down to Detective Benson. Yes, sir, Yes, how many? Yes,
you're right, we'll get onto it right away. What did the chief
want me to take charge of? Five more phony tennors? Looks as if
somebody's going to have a merry Christmas. It's good money. It's our best
break to date, though, our only break. I don't say it Christmas
time the game will want to spend freely. They start tossing them about too
freely, and that's when we walk in and grab them. Now, let's
make the list of likely places where they be chained. Banks, obviously,
I don't know risky. I put race courses first, book Makers always in
a honey departmental stores, big merchants. No, we get onto the mall.
What we need here is cooperation, and a lot of it. If
once we can get hold of somebody passing one, he might spill the bead
on the whole gang. I'll take the bookies. They're going to hand out
a lot of tennis. Benson speaking now, Yes, yeah, yes,
yes, coming right up to gee, yes, reckons. I'm slow and
he's sitting waiting for me to take off the five phone. There's two more
of coming. Looks like they're going to be as common as tot tickets before
it's all over. They were discovered in a small but steady stream. Just
when it seemed that perhaps the gang was lying low, another one would appear.
The men of the CIV had their hands full of keeping the accurate tally
of appearances. Now look at this, Well, just when we've decided the
basis in Sydney. We've got a small crop in Newcastle. Happened last week.
We're going to ask them down in Melbourne to move in on Sutter.
And we've got three in Brisbane and one in Bathurst. Yes, aren't you
know what's the deduction? I know no gang could be that thing. It
wouldn't pay. I'll go that far with you. They need to many paid
helpers to pass them off. By this time we should have grabbed one of
them. Hm. We've checked on every known further engraver that there is right
through the country. We've examined every possible system are or set up that we've
ever known or heard of in this records or nothing. There's any one answer
there the way I see it, what imported stuff? It must be imported
Europe. Yeah. Now you remember that big report we read way back about
Hitler in his forgery gang. Oh yes, I remember he had currency of
every country made ready so that when he invaded he could knock the currency for
loop with his Finney stuff that was it had some of his best I'm just
working on it too. Ah he wait a while, that doesn't end up?
Why not? Or serial numbers on these fannies. How could Hitler or
anybody, how could they have done ten years ago? What numbers would be
comeing today in Australia? Or maybe somebody out here as a suitcase full of
this stuff and has been waiting for just this time to release. I don't
make it too. I would never catch him at that right, And doesn't
seem like now that's a cold what you said? Never catch him? Now?
Why shouldn't this be the work of only one man? Why does it
have to be a game? Well, doesn't have to be again, that
ends up the way they've been pulling one here, two there, another one
a thousand miles away, and then a couple a few miles off. It's
one man riding mister one by one? Eh, eh, yes, mister
one by one by What a hunt is going to be? Well, this
is a shot as a barrel full of monkeys, That's all I can say.
He's going to be down to a fine art. They manufacturing and distributed.
Oh, he could push out one a week for the rest of his
life. And we were we get outbreak nowhere, come on, we'll see
the chief and Benson. Yes, yes, where where was this? All
right? We're on our way, Jack, Thanks, thanks for the one
real break we've had. That was Jack Courtney. They discovered a whole of
phony tenors down in Gleeb, one hundred and eighty five of them. Now
we're really on the trail of mister one by One. The horde of forged
tenors had been found by two council employees. It was purely an accident,
but the men of the CIV knew how to capitalize on chance happenings like that,
and that's the way it was. Really. The council employee saw this
nut here protruding from this iron air vent, gave it a pull, and
out came the airvent and the sock, and in the sock one hundred and
eighty five tenors. Yes, it's not a bad haul if they've been genuine.
Listen, you are setting a watch on this secret hoarde. Ah,
Yes, constant watch, night and day. And if I've missed a one
by one comes back, well that's when we move in. But mister one
by One did not come back. The CIV watched the secret Horde for nearly
three weeks. Nobody was seen coming near the event or tampering with it in
any way. Meanwhile, detectives Benson and Riley had not been idle. Our
fellow must be weary, Rannie, I don't think he'll go near that hiding
plaze now, maybe reckons he can afford to let them go anyhow, as
he probably can, and the Rady's turning them out and the protection of the
job. What's the tally now? Now, let's see two months ago it
was one hundred and fourteen passed in twenty nine. But in the last two
months we've seen the average go up. He's past seventy and eight weeks.
Well, that's nearly ninety pounds a week. That's good money earned or not
good money or that. What I'm trying to make out is how I can
change them in such a weird spots here, there, and everywhere. He
must travel around like a salesman, risky too, carrying so many on him.
Anyhow, let's look at this before. What is it? Well?
I asked the oddice to make out the complete list of known forges, whether
in jail or not, anything of interest in just a moment. Oh,
now here here is the list of forges not at present in jail. M
hm, Well, what do we do with this? Check through and find
well there are anything for it. One of them must be a mad or
should be anyhow, or unless there's a newcomer, must say it couldn't be.
Who is the chance of a newcomer? I suppose no, But the
work is so good it's probably an old hand. Don't forget there's a class
master, so I wouldn't be surprised if he's done this sort of thing,
and maybe time out of the bay. Before the detectives checked through the list,
it was a long job. Finally they came to one name they couldn't
check on. The name was Edward Charles Wilson. No Sonaman, I couldn't
get a lead anywhere on Wilson. You couldn't. Well, let's look at
his file. We got two years in nineteen forty nine for forteen tote tickets.
What a bad job done of them? Either? Were you in on
that? Oh no, no, no, I was on leave at the
time. I remember, all right, he's the only need to have,
the only chance we've got. Correct, You always acount for everybody else.
It's either Wilson or a newcomer. We'll forget the newcomer. We all look
for Wilson, and I think the logical place is around the neighborhood of the
hiding place at Glebe m The detectives started their patrol of the Glebe district.
It was efficient and unobtrusive, and finally it got results. Benson, he's
right across the street at dun'd look on your right, coming this way,
turning down on a wattle street. Mum, hum, well, which one
the old dark Lucian? Right? You go after? I'll tail behind you,
And I hope he just in the right direction to the hiding place.
And doubt if he'll do that, but maybe he lives in that house anyway.
Edward Charles Wilson was as followed as he went about Lee, peacefully attending
to his personal affairs. Finally he turned in at an old house the house
will he live? Ah the wrong place? Not so far from the hiding
place, Sir. He could easily be the man who a plant of the
stuff there. Yes, true enough, Well least the only need we've got
to be better years him another round the clock tail man. Yes, and
if we follow him long enough, he may lead us somewhere. Not the
rate he's putting the tenors on the market now, it may not be so
long at that Edward Charles Wilson had no knowledge that his every move was watched
by the men of the CIB. He had only to set foot outside his
door, and they knew exactly what he did until the time he got back
again. And the report that detectives Benson And'syler were making started to make interesting
reading. What do you make of it, Benson? This uh constant visiting
the post officers? I think what you think? That the letters he picks
up contained the forged tenant? Am? I right? So? Ye?
Cleverly? Un h. It means too that he never has more than one
on him at a time. Mum, No good trying to catch him with
a lot of the stuff. We've found out that the names he uses are
false names. That means organization making notes of the post office, and the
name he's put on the letter that he picked up. How do we move
in yet? We'll get a couple of those envelopes firs. Nothing like a
bit of evidence to wave in his face if it eventually comes to that.
Can you see him, Yes, he's at the counter now another packet,
Yes, similar type to the others. Which way is he coming out?
The other door? We lamble along behind, and if he throws the wrappings
away, we're not too proud to pick it up opening it now? Yes,
look out, he's stopping into this doorway to open the packet. Yes,
moving on, now, come on and listen. If he doesn't throw
the wrapping away, I'll move in any there it goes, look in the
gutter, pick it up as we go past Rady right into this doorway with
it. That's what we want to right. Uh. Addressed to mister E.
C. Morgan, I want to lay a bet that this package contained
phony tenners. Yeah, and I'll pay you Infernie tenners do. Come on,
let's get back to headquarters. Now we can move in on him and
Lysia. Mister Wilson's a bit shy of visitors. He's here all right,
can't hear him thinking? Man, not a sound? Come on inside?
Open this door? Who is it right the other side of the door,
Wilson? Open this door? I'm busy. What do you want? Are
you went with Charles Wilson? Don't you remember me? Wilson? You're Riley?
Detective Riley. That's right? What do you want? Were coming in?
We have a warrant here a warrant for your arrest. Come in then,
that nice little place you have here? Why have you come to arrest
me? We believe you're responsible for the counterfeit tenors that are being pushed out.
Oh yeah, can't eat tenors. That's silly. Yes it might be,
and we might have made a mistake. We're going to search this space.
Whistle. I can't stop you if you can't, No, you can't,
All right, Riley, Let's see what we can find. You want
any help, you can sit there on that chair over there. You won't
find anything in this place to connect me with forged tenors. I know nothing
about it. We'll soon find out. Why do you pick on me?
It could be anybody true? Anything in there? Riley? Nothing no equipment
of any kind. Benson, and there's nothing in here. I are wasting
your time. I don't know why you should, why you should have got
a warrant out for a risk. Maybe we thought we had something to go
on. There's the books too, Uh, what's the spot? Lay that
alarm? Sit down? Sit down? Well? Well well tennis, beautiful
new phony tennis. How many here, Wilson, over four hundred? They
got the right sound too. You know you don't know just how good you
are, Wilson, Yes, I do, all right, where's the equipment
above you? What? Oh, there's an attic up there. Yeah,
I see the way. I'm gonna have a look. They're good, aren't
they very good? Why did you do it? Wilson? I wanted money,
I suppose we all do. I wanted money for a special purpose.
I haven't wasted one penny of what I got. What special purpose? I'm
working on? Some inventions? They cost money to finance. What sort of
inventions are all sorts? Work on cosmic rays to rain making experiments. It's
expensive. It costs money to experiment having any success. Who knows? Experiments
are never ended? No, you just keep going, And meanwhile you we're
making our currency look silly. You mean to say this was more or less
a spare time occupation while you carried on with your experiments. Yes, I
didn't need a huge fortune. That's enough to finance the things I had to
buy from time to time. Well, I'll be done. What's funny about
it? We had you taped as a huge gang international crooks, the works,
and all the time you just wanted a steady income so you could carry
out a few experiments. To me, they were important experiments. I'm glad
you said were because those days are over. Ley will not there a perfect
coming might stop up there. Stop. He's been turning out tennis with stuff
that you could fit into a small suitcase. It was true. Cheap enameled
dishes, special developing paper, cameras, ink flets, acids, and mirrors
seemed to be practically all that Edward Charles Wilson needed. Wilson, how did
you do it? I studied, studied for six months, first at the
public library. I know as much about this game as any master engraver.
In fact, when you come to consider it, I am a master engraver.
And I and so the master engraver was brought to justice. The Crown
Prosecutor joined with Wilson's defense counsel in agreeing that Wilson was a frustrated scientist who
had a natural fare for invention in other fields. Edward Charles Wilson could have
gone a long way, as it was. The men of your CIB had
brought him to court to hear from the judge that he was to serve seven
years jail. And that was the end of mister One by one Welcome Back.
The title of this episode and the criminal's nickname was inspired by nineteen forty
two novelty song hit Mister five by five, with the famous chorus mister five
by five, he's five feet tall and he's five feet Why he don't measure
no more from head to toe than he do from side to side. The
episode had a somewhat Dragnet ask feel. An Australian version of Dragnet was produced
by Grace Gibson Production with an Australian cast and aired in nineteen fifty two.
In addition, Dragnet newspaper strips made their way to Australia from the US and
were reprinted as comic books, so the overall feel approach of Dragnet would have
been familiar to Australian audiences. It was an interesting investigation and all thanks to
the narrator, we knew what they'd find eventually, it was interesting to see
how the process played out for them to solve the case. I was initially
confused by the use of pounds in the episode, but I found out that
Australia had its own pound until nineteen sixty six, when it changed to the
current Australian dollar. So I hope you enjoyed this little random obscurity. It
was I think a really entertaining listen to a forgotten Australian radio program. Well,
now it's time to thank our Patreon supporter of the day. I want
to go ahead and thank William. William has been one of our Patreon supporters
since July, currently supporting us at the Detective Sergeant level of seven dollars and
fourteen cents or more per month. Thank you so much for your support,
William, and that will actually do it for today. If you're enjoying this
podcast, please follow us using your favorite podcast software, and if you're listening
on YouTube, be sure to lock the video, subscribe to the channel,
and mark the notification bell. We will be featuring Sunday on Corners through the
rest of December, but join us back here tomorrow for the Adventures of the
Falcon Where Danny, I'm not being funny. I didn't intend it to be.
Where did you get r yesself, it's time you grew up. Try
to be a man for a change and not a snooling brat. I'm glad
to find out what you think of me. You are, Oh, Danny,
don't you see, she's only telling you that for your own good.
Don't argue with him, man, it isn't worth the effort. He'll go
along all his life feeling sorry for himself, wondering what everybody picks on him.
Why I've seen kids of ten with more stuff than he's got. Anything
else you would care to No, I've said my piece, Danny, anytime
you want to go, it's perfectly all right with me. Thanks for your
permission, right, don't let him, Danny? Where'd you get that gun?
It's yours. I got a lot of your desk strayer, let me
have it. I'm sorry, friend, No can do, Danny. I
want you to give me that gun. I don't like you be swelling me,
so please don't. Maybe do something I'll be sorry for. I'll say
where you are? Are you going to give me that gun? How?
Come closer next time, Mike, Danny, listen to me. I have
Glorian. I've taken it very much, so heart so I'm just a kid
making big talk, am I? Well? Watch me changed for a matter
of I hope you'll be with us then. In the meantime, do send
your comments to Box thirteen at Great Detective start nit, Follow us on Twitter
at Radio Detectives, and check us out on Instagram, Instagram, dot com,
slash Great Detectives from Boise, Idaho. This is your host, Adam
Graham signing off.