Three Inches – and an update from the office of Dr. Fitzpatrick.
Dec 15 2022
I’ve just had a Facebook messaging chat with somebody on Dr Colleen Fitzpatrick’s Identifiers International site in order to alert them to the possibility that things might get awkward knowing now that the ‘Charlie’ in the photo cannot possibly be the Somerton Man for reasons we already know. It took them two minutes to get back to me saying the Dr. Fitzpatrick had NOTHING TO DO with choosing the picture of ‘Charlie’, Roy and the grandparents. Meaning it could only have been Professor Abbott.
My next message was .. You may pass on to Dr. Fitzpatrick that the man Abbott identified as ‘Charlie’ Webb appeared to be the same height as his brother in the same photo and his brother’s war records show him as being only 5’8″ – 3″ shorter than the Somerton Man.
Their response was .. “That’s great information. I will pass it on, thank you!”
Then they said said they will also forward this information to DA immediately …
~~
For too many years we have been trying to prove the Somerton Man was either this or that, mostly without any solid evidence and we can blame John Ruffles for that as far back as 1977, nevertheless interest has always remained high with the assistance of Gordon Cramer and Nick Pelling, neither of whom have hesitated to titillate their long-term readers with real or imagined items of interest. Between them they have kept the mystery alive for as long as I’ve been dogging their footsteps.
Now, with the Somerton Man officially identified as Carl (Charles) ‘Charlie’ Webb and the release of a couple of photographs we are no doubt expected to retire both ourselves and the subject from public view. We are all done. The horse has bolted. The stable door has been shut. Our goose has been cooked. Our cupboard is bare. Our (my) meagre audience dispersed to be better entertained elsewhere.
Professor Derek Abbott once again has had his day and his golden aura has cast us, that’s Pelling and Cramer with me trudging along in the distance, into the darker, colder shadows of a world he has left far behind. He is now beyond questioning, his word is absolute, his victory matchless. His rewards unimaginable. Who wouldn’t be smug?
The Somerton Man mystery, according to the Professor is a mystery no more, a little tidying up here and there, a few more headlines and life should return to normal.
Except for just one small thing.
Professor Abbott’s blond haired Charlie is not the Somerton Man. Cannot be the Somerton Man.
He needs about another three inches ..
The Somerton Man 
I am DNA illiterate, but would young Charlie’s father Russell (old Charlie’s brother) throw a similar ID to that of old Charlie? I have old Charlie with dyed black hair in the 30’s but not close up enough to verify. It would account for lead in hair samples. Russell died within days of old Charlie’s internment.
Q:- will the bones match the bust?
I’m no DNA expert. Colleen Fitzpatrick on some podcast said that the DNA was conclusive to a son of the parents of Russell, Roy, and Carl. Since Roy died years before the body was found on the beach, and Russell died well after, there was no doubt in her mind, with one slight caveat. If, she said, the parents actually had an unknown fourth son and had put him up for adoption as an infant, the DNA wouldn’t rule out the fourth son. An unknown additional son, in the unlikely event there was one, would probably have been older than Russell, so there would have been a substantial age difference with Carl. I think (no expert, remember) that there’s one even less likely scenario for a different person that Fitzpatrick didn’t list. If Grandpa and Grandma were both identical twins, and the two twins who don’t show up in a genealogy search married each other, their hypothetical sons would be candidates, DNA-wise. (Software engineers always try to think about very, very, very unlikely situations, so I can’t stop myself from doing it.)
Agreed, the deaths were roughly 7 months apart, but the burials were within days of each other. And the same undertakers took care of all police and coronial work.
Jerry: Interesting comment regarding the possibility of an unknown 4th son, is this a possible reason why the family and their history is ‘clouded’?
Pete – it’s all getting as slippery as the Ballina water slides… where do you think this is heading?
Tallulah ..It seems most everybody has one problem or another with the photo as it stands, getting an objective response is like trying to open a Richmond River oyster with bare hands.
How about you Tallulah, given the positioning of both Roy and Charlie in relation to the old folks, who do you believe is the tallest?
Well, I tried the Dude’s coffee cup experiment down at the Dragonfly and the soy macchiato beat the tumeric latte every time… I think it’s a perspective thing…
No, it’s an inches thing, three of them, but thanks anyway.
If Roy turned his head to his Left, he would, it seems to me, look taller than Charlie?
Yes he would, then if he steps back to be level with Charlie he would lose that gain and whaddya know, they’d be about the same height. A bloke doesn’t have to be bloody Einstein.
Yep, you’re right! So, I take it that DA is not making any comments on
the current impasse? Not that he would anyway. If only we knew
how/when those items in the suitcase with the name ‘Keane’ were given
to SM, that would be a breakthrough?
Clive
I’m happy enough with this one thanks ..
For what it’s worth, I think the Northern Rivers area could be where Dorothy ended up!
Just spoke to a charming woman in editorial at the Advertiser and it went down rather well … after looking at the photo and hearing my spiel I get the feeling she took the bait … time will tell, now maybe I’ll ring up the SMH.
Let’s hope the woman at the ‘Advertiser’ really is interested, though, like most newspapers nowadays, unless you subscribe you may not get anywhere!
That Professor.. from snug to banging his fist on the desk!! The Aust Story piece showed a photo album. Wonder what other family photos were in there that have not been made public?
Hope Dr Fitzpatrick or, ‘identifiers’ does indeed forward your info. to Derek, though I wouldn’t count on him to admit he made a mistake. Brings back memories of Derek stood on the stage at Glenelg cinema, after the showing of the SM movie. He revealed the name of the individual who found the Rubaiyat in the back of the car. Only later was it found to be untrue, did Derek apologise? what do u think!
Same fellow stood up on stage and told his audience SM was found wearing a cardigan …
So, that’s the reason why the SM, on the front of Gerry’s book, is not wearing a cardigan?
Not even wearing a bloody pullover… slack work that, I’d be having a stern word with the cover artist.
Asamatteroffact I’ve just dropped an email over to GF about the Charlie fiasco knowing that he’s not to too keen on DA and might appreciate knowing about it.
Might even message Stuart Webb on FB, if I could find him …. the more the merrier for mine.
Perhaps Derek forgot to pay the artist?
I’m not going to be popular with Dezzer, now I’m working through his FB’s site membership list and asking them to friend me up … if they do and come over to my FB page then they might find some bad news …
On the subject of cardigans, I’m sure Roy is wearing a classic Connie, which would mean that he was a Sharpie ahead of his time…