Hi, and welcome to The Unseen Podcast, a podcast dedicated to missing people,
unresolved cases, and UK true crime. Today we're going to be exploring
two cases of unidentified people that have been brought to my attention by Locate International.
As you may already know, I'm constantly checking over their website and their
appeals, and I recently shared the case of the Deep Dean Man on social
media. However, having read more about him and the other case we're going
to talk about today, the Mile End Man, I knew I wanted to
cover their cases on one of our Unidentified and Missing Person episodes. This episode
is about unidentified people, and while nevographic, may contain some descriptions that some
listeners may find distressing, including some discussion of possible suicide. Mile End is
located in the Tower Hamlets district of East London. As in an area full
of contrasts. It's made up of old Victorian buildings as well as newer apartments,
and it's an area which is developing quickly as a place for people to
settle down in a commuter area. Mile End Tube station is a very busy
station with links to Hammersmith and City District and Central lines, which is very
helpful for people traveling into the city as well as the tube station. However,
Mile End is interesting for another reason. It's one of the only stations
in a tunnel that has cross platform interchange between deep tube lines on the Central
Line and the sub surface trains on the District and Hammersmith and City lines.
Nineteen seventy five was the year that Margaret Thatcher became the first female Conservative leader,
Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody was released, and Wilma McCann became Peter Suckcliffe's first victim.
On Thursday, the eighth of May nineteen seventy five, a man walked
into Mile n tube station and sadly lost his life. A man was discovered
having been hit by a train on the station around nine thirty five am.
This was clearly an absolute tragedy and was devastating for people that witnessed or were
there at the time that this happened. The other sad part of this story
is that when this man's death was investigated, he was unable to be identified.
This man had many things on him that could have been identifiable, including
his clothing. However, despite this, he did not have any formal identification,
and so this became a stumbling block in trying to locate where he was
from or who he was. This how he became known as mile End Man.
There was a huge effort to try and trace this man's identity and it
was hoped that by distributing these facts to the public that someone would come forward
to identify him. Locate International have collated all of this information in a recent
appeal, and we do know quite a bit about the mile End Man.
He was estimated to be between the ages of forty to fifty and around six
feet tall. He was white European and was clean shaven, with brown eyes
and black receding hair. It was thought that he had false teeth in the
upper part of his mouth. The distinguishing feature about the mile End Man is
that he was described as dressing extremely well and was very smart. On the
day that he died, he was wearing a blue dress shirt and a navy
blue blazer from the shop Burton. This blazer had yellow embossed buttons. He
also wore navy smart trousers along with black leather lace up shoes, which were
the brand Moss Brothers. These were a size seven as well as these things.
He was wearing a white vest, wye front style underpants, and long
gray socks. The description paints the picture of a man who was smartly dressed,
who looked as though he could have just been heading on his way to
work. Who was this man, where was he going and how did this
end up happening to him that day? As well as the clothing, this
man had several other items with him that could help someone identify him. One
of the most distinctive items was a Tudor Oyster brand watch. It was engraved
with the model number seven eight zero four and serial number eight six four one
four. This was an expensive watch which was originally made by Rolex and would
have cost a thousand to two pounds in today's money. He also had a
ballpoint pen embossed with the words PTL Motors Western Road E seventeen. As well
as this, he had a white metal cigarette lighter which had the words ronson
Vara flame printed on it. He also had seventy six and a half pence
on him as well as this. An investigation began to try and identify this
man, and it was hoped that these belongings may help to do this.
While his possessions didn't make him stand out in the crowd of people who would
have been traveling from my Lend station that day. They did indicate that he
was someone who had some means, given that he was wearing an expensive watch
and was smartly dressed. They also indicated some connection to a general local area.
The pen that the man had was embossed with the words PTL Motors Western
Road E seventeen. Western Road E seventeen is located around eight miles from Mile
End Station in the area of Walthamstow. It's reported in the Metro newspaper that
Western Road is a relatively sharp road with just a few buildings, including a
pizzeria, dry cleaner and sheltered accommodation. The fact that this man had a
link to this particular car company is a big clue, given that someone may
remember him. Locate International have suggested some questions that could help jog someone's memory
of the man. Two of these relate to PTL Motors. They asked if
anyone remembers the emblem or branding of PTL Motors, or did you or anyone
you know have connection to it during the nineteen seventies. They also asked if
anyone had any connection to garages in the general area of Walthamstowe during this time
and could help. Given the lack of real information about this man, Locate
International have also collated some other questions that could help someone remember anything about this
person. They are were you part of the underground network or employed at Mile
End station in the nineteen seventies? Alternatively, did you witness any incidents there
during that time? Do you know someone who owned a metal ronson Vara flamelighter?
Did you have any relatives or friends who were involved in this area during
the nineteen seventies. Did you or anyone you know have any ties to individuals
who might have frequented Mile End during the nineteen seventies. Have you heard any
stories or anecdotes from friends or family about an unidentified man who matches the description
provided. Locate International has been very clear that time is running out to try
and identify Mile End man. He would now be in his nineties if who
are alive today, and therefore the people that will have any memory of him
will be getting older too, and so it's really crucial that if anyone does
know a tiny little bit of information that they get in touch with them straight
away and it may help to solve this aging mystery. Civilian investigator Victoria Shepherd
told the Metro if you are still alive, Mile End man and his contemporaries
would now be aged around ninety. This means that this might be the last
chance to identify him. The chances are that anyone who can now identify him
is at least sixty years old now, so if you are in that age
group, please have a look at the image in case you recognize him,
and if you're younger, please share it with anyone older who may be able
to help. Two pictures of the man have been produced, and one of
these is a drawing and the other is a living depiction which has been created
by forensic artist Hugh Morrison. I will link the man's appeal for from Locate
International in the show notes so you can have a good look. I would
also encourage you to look at the other images of similar lighters to the one
that the man had, and also similar clothing to see if you or anyone
you know recognizes him. It's such a shame that after all this time this
man is still unidentified. Someone must know him and have met him. In
his life and he means something to someone, he deserves his identity back even
after all this time. The other case I want to talk about today takes
place in an area named Deep Dean, which is a forest and park located
close to Darking in Surrey. Deep Dean was the name of an estate and
country house situated to the southeast of the market town of Darkin. There had
been a manor on the estate since sixteen fifty two, and it was remodeled
extensively in the eighteen hundreds. The house was then used as offices for the
Southern Railway Company and a hotel. However, it was demolished in nineteen sixty
seven and was replaced by an office block. Many of the gardens which belonged
to the house remained in some capacity, However, during the decades that followed
they became neglected. In twenty ten, the gardens were restored and reopened to
the public under the name the Deep Dean Trail. The area remained though with
the forest and park during the decades that the gardens were out of use.
It was in the Deep Dean Forest area on Tuesday April seventeenth, nineteen ninety
that a dog walker was on a normal journey when they came across something in
the undergrowth. They had discovered the partial remains of a body, and when
these remains were analyzed, they were found to belong to a man. There
were several clues that could point to some features of this man. However,
he had no idea with him, and so an investigation was launched to try
and find out who he was. It reported that these remains had been found
following heavy gales that had been in the area that had knocked over several trees.
It's unclear if this contributed to the discovery of the man's body that day.
When the man's remains were analyzed, it was found that the date of
death was probably between nineteen seventy five to nineteen eighty five, and that he
was between the ages of fifty five to seventy when he died. It was
between five feet four and five feet seven inches At the time of his death.
He was wearing a beige v neck jumper and a single breasted brown jacket
with double vents at the rear. He was also wearing brown lace up shoes
in a size eight and a watch with a one and a half inch white
face with only our marks on. It was known that he was wearing red,
green, yellow and black herringbone trousers. This is important due to the
label that was found inside them. Inside the trousers were a label that stated
N. Hamilton Litt twenty five dot three dot seventy five. Locate International have
stated that they strongly believed that this label was a laundry label from the Nethern
Hospital, which was nearby to Deep Dean. Nethern Hospital was founded in nineteen
oh five and had been brought about by overcrowding in the Brookwood Asylum in Woking.
It was originally called the Surrey County Asylum and was built to house nine
hundred and sixty patients. Nethern had a good reputation from the outset and was
thought to be at the forefront of treatment into mental illness, and in the
nineteen twenties the word asylum was dropped from the name as it was now not
seen as the correct term. During the Second World War I OR the hospital
was also used as a convalescent home for those that were injured. After the
Second World War, the hospital came under the newly formed NHS and as time
progressed, as did the treatments for mental illness. People were then being treated
in their local communities rather than being housed in a facility, and the number
of patients at Nethern was reduced during this time. By nineteen ninety there were
only one hundred and fifty patients in the facility built for almost one thousand.
By nineteen ninety four, Nethern was converted into a new development called Nethern on
the Hill, which has around four hundred and forty houses, a nursing home,
a shop and a pub. If this unidentified man had resided at Nethern,
then Locate International believed that the lit part of the label refers to the
Littleton, a close supervision unit at the hospital. This could be a big
help to figuring out who this man was and if he had been a patient
at the hospital, some one may well remember him. Locate International have published
four questions that they want to appeal to the public about in the hopes that
it helps jog some memories. They have asked, does n Hamilton Litt mean
anything to you? Did you or any one you know work at Nethern Hospital
in the nineteen seventies and our eighties? Did you lose contact with someone resembling
this description. In the nineteen seventies or eighties. Do you remember seeing a
man resembling this description in Deep Dean Woods. Some one must have some recollection
of this man and know something about him. It's a shame that he has
not been identified after all these years. And while there is a lot less
information about him in comparison to the Mile End man, the connection between him
and the Nethern Hospital is an important one. This information is important along with
some possessions that were found with him. He had a yellow tobacco tin containing
tobacco and matches, along with a brown leather fold over wallet. He also
had two keys on a split ring fob and a circular emblem of the Double
Diamond beer brand. He also had fifty three pence in coins dated between nineteen
sixty seven and nineteen seventy five. Who was this man and why was he
in Deep Dean Woods? Had he been a patient at Nethern and if he
had, why had he ended up where he did? A lot of this
is obviously unknown. However, this man was known to someone. He was
someone's son, brother, or father, and he must have been missed by
someone. If you recognize any of this information, please contact locate international and
tell them what you know. It's so important. I will link this man's
information in the show notes so you can have a look for yourself. Thank
you for listening to today's episode. I just want to let you know that
I will now be taking a break so I can prepare for the twelve Days
of Missing People episodes I will be releasing in December. These will start on
December the first, and we'll release every other day. I hope you will
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this has been unst seen