Some folks think that the Somerton Man being Carl Webb means all the questions have been answered. But maybe not.
JESSICA ELLEN HARKNESS WAS A SPY !!!!
Or so said her daughter.
Now spies don’t like to use their real names, anyone who has read le Carre knows this, they use pseudonyms. Spies also tend to work in an environment that produces good information and in the doing appear to be relatively uninterested in the quality of such information as one of their skills is to be able to blend in with the ‘environment that produces good information’. Female spies have the added benefit in that they may be able to strike up a friendship with someone who can innocently assist them with ‘blending into an environment that produces good information’.
Jestyn is a pseudonym.
Many of the regular clientele of the Clifton Gardens Hotel were employed at the nearby Australian Water Transport Op-Coy (AWT) and they had an intimate knowledge of all the Australian and Allied shipping that transited in and out of Sydney Harbour, submarines included.
There’s your ‘environment that produces good information.’.
Alfred Boxall was one of those employed at AWT and who regularly drank at the Clifton Gardens Hotel. He was the innocent one.
’Jestyn’, as he knew her, was known to be in his company at the hotel on a regular basis and on one of these occasions she gifted him with an inscribed copy of the Rubaiyat.
There’s your ‘friendship with someone who can assist them with blending into an environment that produces good information.’
The gift.
Jessica Ellen Harkness was a SPY !!!
Once a spy has accumulated information they think may be of benefit to their employer they make use of someone commonly known in the trade as a ‘handler’ – being an individual who not only knows the spy’s real name (Jessica Harkness) but who arranges to meet her on a regular basis to both receive and exchange information relevant to their calling. Be it in a park, at a bus stop or in a church.
Sometimes circumstances may change for the spy. She may move interstate or she may strike up a serious relationship with a man who is ignorant of her relationship with a handler. Or both.
Jessica Harkness moved interstate twice and changed her name to Jessica Thomson, the surname of a man with whom she had struck up a serious relationship, him being George Prosper Thomson.
JESSICA ELLEN THOMSON KNEW WHO THE SOMERTON MAN WAS !!!
Or so suspected the detectives who were with her when she was shown Paul Lawson’s bust of the Somerton Man. As did Lawson himself.
Jessica was also a nurse. A nurse who needed to let her handler know how to make contact under such changed circumstances. She may have already told him of her relationship with Thomson and her intention to change her surname to his and move to Adelaide. Agent and handler relationships are much like a marriage in this respect, as even in the absence of real affection there is a duty of care.
In Adelaide she was lost to her handler. All contact suspended until they could find a way to communicate, and now that Jessica was in a serious relationship with Thomson any contact with another man would have to be done covertly. For that her handler needed her phone number and a means of contacting her through its publication in the Adelaide telephone directory.
All he he had to go on was that her name was now Jessica Ellen Thomson, she lived in Adelaide and she was a nurse.
And there it was.
Sister J. E. Thomson. 90 A Moseley St Glenelg.
X3239.
He wrote the number down on the back cover of a small book he kept in his pocket.
Fremantle, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane were where the “work on the ground” took place due to the perpetual through traffic and the crowds.
But when you come off the road and go up a rating into comms you need the hand to hand trade you mention to disappear. Working in Repat and Care was a nice place to lay low while being able to “sort the mail” from Moulds QX6233 and crew in the Pacific. I wonder how he gets a charity MBE straight after? So many charity MBEs and AOs!
And you know some bank teletext staff who pass the word. What’s a bit more punch tape between friends. And it just looks like a bunch of holes anyway. If only that pesky typewriter mechanic would leave the pub. He’s been sitting in the corner there a week just looking at old machines and reading the ribbons and punch tape.
Once it got too hot after mid 1949 you move to Medindie where your cohort of coworkers have gathered for safety.
But you can’t stop the eyes watching, so you take a trip to UK to hand in your resignation (verbally of course) and when you return you take up private employment/residence as a medically trained nanny and bring up your kids with a lovely lake/reservoir view.
Anyone who travelled to Adelaide only went to Adelaide because they had reason to go to Adelaide. No-one went via Adelaide to somewhere else.
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I’m wondering what possible reason Tibor Kaldor, a process worker, had to visit Adelaide and, end his life in that city?
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Better than carking in Melbourne
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They were Melbourne people in a city with a bigger economy and yet they pulled up stumps to move to Adelaide. That seems strange in itself. Without work to go to. Or did she have work and was already in the employ of a government department or agency. Her nursing a cover for that? You don’t need to worry about job security in an interstate move or the cost involved when you already have it with the government. You’ve got dough. Carry Prosper for a bit while he gets himself set up.
Your services are needed in Adelaide. Get yourself there, we need eyes and ears there. Mr SM gets played by her. He ends up on the beach, which coincidentally is a short stroll from her, a bit out of the way for SM to get to, Somerton being some way down the coast. Adelaide has 30km of continuous sandy beach coastline and he could have been anywhere along it, and within a much closer radius from the CBD to any of it, such as West Beach with plenty of sand dunes and a mile of isolated beach south of West Beach Road, yet he chooses to dump himself on Somerton Beach.
Those who know Adelaide and walked that area behind the sewage treatment works in the 1950’s at West Beach (I’ll bet Clive has) know how isolated it was. It was pretty spooky. Makeshift shacks on the south end, with a narrow track to get to them from Anderson Ave. You’d go there to top yourself so nobody would see you and try to save you, call for help, call an ambulance, or call the police. Same as the beach behind Minda Home a bit further south of Repton Road was pretty spooky and he could have gone there.
But no, he topped himself a short walk from Jessies house, on a stretch of beach where there are lots of people swimming and out walking. No he didn’t. He was dumped in that spot. And it’s a fair bet Jessie worked right across the road and was the lookout in the early morning hours.
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There’s a mini skyscraper going up in West Beach. Be interesting to watch what comes up from the founds. Scan AO was Lord Mayor, property owner and responsible for the development of West Beach. Mrs Scan was also appreciated for her work with a park named after her.
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Only one I know of going up is at West Lakes which is further north. West Beach snobs are NIMBYs. West Beach is zoned as low density residential. Keep the beach as the beach. It’s a beautiful beach.
The West Beach SLSC on the beachfront is really good for a lunch in the bistro. Nice and modern now. Good menu. Views up the coast and way down south past Seacliff. Indoors and outdoors.
https://westbeachslsc.com.au/bar-bistro/
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Been to the West Beach SLSC a few times, unfortunately. I preferred the old, out of date building it was, welcoming, quieter. The new WBSLC is a bedlam of noise, scraping chairs etc.
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Inside, on the southern end there’s carpet under chairs which is quiet and seniors like us who are also quiet.
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Yes, I’ve walked past the sewage treatment works, only since 2000! It easy to think how isolated it must have been in the 1940’s+. But, why dump somebody in a place where he was bound to have been found? A message to someone? Even if he wasn’t dumped and found himself in a public area-the question still remains.
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There is still the possibility he died without any help other than the ill health he was found to have been suffering.
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Dump him in a busy area and it doesn’t look suspicious that way. Not trying to hide anything.
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Anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan today and Sanders, as far as I know, is the only bloke who comes by here who knows how that went. Lest we forget.
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Thanks for the reminder. I’m remembering, never forgetting my close pals, Guy Godden, Lex Adams, Peter Tebb, Jeff Worle, Alan Cooper and my point scout spotter ‘Dusty’ John Rapp; plus all too many mates what never came home. See youse soon fellas.
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Not too soon sport, I’m hoping for a few more years of your irritating comments ..
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Guess I’ll just have to stick around and do a Don Chip, or at least until Coroner Whittle hands down his Sine Die Mk III decision on Somerton Man (sans The). That would give us a new lease of life on Tamam Shud and keep the game in play for an eternity if time be on our side Pete (doubtful imo).
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What it looks like to me is that most everyone ( like Pelling and Cramer and their fan cubs) has sorted out the true relationship between SM and Jessica, they don’t believe what her daughter said, they accept that a life of silence for both Harkness and the chemist is acceptable, they accept what Harkness told Feltus in that she didn’t know a book called the Rubaiyat without argument, they are not bothered by the inexplicable loss of the book itself …. Yet they appear unable to roll up here and argue their case.
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I’m not neccessarily a jestyn supporter, yet by the same token, I’m not neccessarily not. In her connection candidacy we have her domiciled in reasonably near vicinity of X marks the spot, and her @ Sister Thomson phone number on the TS slip. Nothing more to go on locally, unless we bring in the Boxall Sydney based Clifton Gardens affair that can’t be overlooked if you factor in the intel angle which isn’t out of contention in all fareness.
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That’s correct. Reinforced by what her daughter said about being at a higher level than State police. When you join the dots she’s a candidate for involvement
Do we know where she was a nursing sister when she lived at Moseley St. Must have been nearby. No point having a Glenelg phone number if you can’t attend in a short time when someone telephones you to come in, to work for staff relief or whatever, when someone is sick or there is an emergency. Need to be local, close, walking distance.
AI is pretty good at searching, and for 1948 it narrowed it down to only three:
South Glen Private Hospital (Weewanda St, Glenelg): Active as a general and midwifery/maternity hospital where numerous local births were recorded in 1948.
Kapara Red Cross Convalescent Home (Glenelg): Functioning as a residential convalescent and recovery facility for former service members and patients
Somerton Crippled Children’s Home (Corner of The Esplanade and Bickford Terrace, Somerton Park): Operating as a specialized care and after-treatment residence for children recovering from conditions like infantile paralysis (polio), famously referenced as a landmark during the discovery of the Somerton Man in December 1948
Kapara was in Moseley St, South Glen was in Weewanda St, Somerton CCH on the Esplanade.
Maybe she was casual and spread herself around all three as needed, hence Sister in the telephone book, to be easily seen.
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Not much point digging up old theories on Joe nursing close to home, turn3d out to be a fiasco; so you can forget about Kapara, Somerton CC, South Glen. and the like. She actually worked at Parkside/Glenside for all of her later nursing career but not as a sister from memory. Jo probably caught the convenient Glenelg tram to and from home
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For what it’s worth, my money is on Kapara RCC Home.
Reasons: 1: It’s on Moseley St, yes, not much of a good reason!
Reason 2: “former service members and patients”
Reason: Page 52 Gerry’s book, Solomonson, yes, another not much of a good reason!
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Nobody knows where Jess worked in late 1948 when she lived at Moseley St. If you have a document as proof post it here.
Glenelg tram terminated at Victoria Square outside Charles Moore’s. Nowhere near Glenside. There was a tram network on the streets in that era, Linden Park line through Dulwich, and Glen Osmond/Fullarton lines branching where the Arkaba Hotel now is. A hike to get to Glenside from those tram stops, and a hike from Moseley St to Jetty Road Glenelg tram stop. Usually a cash fare and punched ticket for each ride. Not cheap to get to work like that. Commute time excessive. Known as the lunatic asylum and there were probably lots of people in there in that era who weren’t fruit cakes just eccentrics.
https://www.trammuseumadelaide.com/interactive-map
Have fun
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No-one: You the bloke what missed the Overlander at Spencer St. terminus a few months back? Speaking of terminals, try convincing your fans that the Goodwood (a walk to Parkside) electric trams didn’t used to terminate at Glenelg Moseley St. turnabout in 1948. As for your demanding documentary proof of our Jo’s employment at Parkside; know what you can do sport? either bite a hairy bottom, or go back through SM posts and you’re sure to come across several items plus a 2018 video to set you straight, or which you’ll probably disagree with. There was some talk of her having transferred to Parkside from Minda home (unknown date) which is where Pelling’s Dr. Hendrickson @ Ronald Francis once worked, so could be on the money there. Don’t forget, Sister J E Thomson was no doubt out of action having (raising) pups between mid 1947 and 1952. I’m having lots of fun mugger! how about you?
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You need to be born and bred in Adelaide. Wild guessing by outsiders as to what’s where doesn’t cut it. It always sticks out like dogs
Now let me see, where was I. Oh yeah, documentation for where Jessie worked needs to be found.
There’s ATO tax return records but not much chance of viewing those without presenting a Court Order to the ATO.
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If you really want to dig down those ATO tax returns can reveal a lot about past employment, where you were, what you did.
For example if you were employed by a government department around 1948, or an agency, or your services were engaged as say a private contractor to carry out certain tasks, or if you received any payments from an overseas government, or if you received any large lump sums of money at anytime.
Could be interesting reading
You won’t find them on NAA, they are never released
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So what’s the point No 1, getting details of nurse J Thomson’s tax returns would be akin to getting Donald J Trump’s or blood outa a chunk of coal. We’ve gotta go with what we have and yes, there be any number of “wild guesses” and the like nominating ‘Parkside” as Jo’s main source of income for taxation purposes. Leave it to you to cover that stuff, and meanwhile we’ll just have to be satisfied with what we’re given on blog facts and trust that they’re the real deal for Parkside.
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Forget to commend me on my knowledge of Adelaide tram routes circa ’48. I know it well from past link with a potential suspect in SM’s demise who gave a Devon St address on return to Australia in 1954. I covered this, a mystery in itself on CM to raptuous non applause and a total lack of interest which be par for the course as a newby back in 2016.
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Never been one for blind faith, apart from Clapton’s
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Didn’t Jessie have an affair with a Jewish doctor? I wonder where he worked-same place as Jessie?
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Yes. Apparently she did Clive come to think of it. According to Byron Devious or was it Milongal, two of best authorities on the case. Memory serves me, they insisted the Jewish shrink from Parkside who was close to Jo in his work and still closest to her in death be Dr. Albert Hefez. Love is often blind and you are too ‘no body’.
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HEY !!!! Waitaminit, Dustbug, I thought I rated pretty highly in the best authorities on this case .. huh?
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Interesting, on this website: ‘AustLII.edu.au’. Typed in ‘Nurse names’ in search box and a listing came up dated 1955, pages 1067-1081.
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One of our former experts got it wrong Jo and Albert are both tucked away in the Jewish side of town at Centenial park, still close in death they do part, but not as close as BD or Milongal reckoned on. By the way where are the pair now?
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Goes without saying. My aforesaid nominees with their SM expertise, be mearly worker bees ready to please the master and obedient to a fault what’s more.
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