1947 – Prosper Thomson’s want ads and the possible uses of Carl Webb’s tools.
Updated … *
Screwdriver and Bobby Pin
The Six Pencils.
*‘Graphite powder is the preferred lock lubricant for professional locksmiths, so you know it’s good for lockpicking, All you need is a lead pencil.’ Robin Mansur. lock-picking.wonderhowto.com
Cut down knife and screwdriver.
*‘Johns & McHale specialised in odometer manufacture and ex-employees talk of how they learned how to disconnect them in rental cars to reduce their costs. There’s also a nice video on youtube showing how you clock a vintage mechanical odometer. All you need is a small screwdriver and a strong, thin, flat edge to prise apart the numbers on the barrel if you want to move them individually.’ Lifted from CipherMysteries, comment by Jamie.
Particle Brush containing an unidentified black powder.
Could be used to apply pencil graphite to the inside of car lock to assist the lockpicker. The black powder shaken from the brush was not successfully analysed by James Cowan as he only tested it for common poisons.
Scissors
Could be used to strip ignition wires. An electrician/electrical engineer would have no trouble hot wiring any car in the 1940s.
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*The Rubaiyat associated with Carl Webb had the Moseley Street phone number Prosper Thomson used for his classifieds (from July 1947) written on the back cover. Number X3239.
Prosper Thomson’s girlfriend Jessica Harkness, who lived at Moseley Street at the time, almost fainted when she was shown Webb’s bust. When questioned by the police she divulged nothing. Prosper Thomson was not interviewed.
Carl Webb’s body was found on the morning of December 1, 1948 only two hundred yards away from Jessica’s home in Moseley Street.
The coroner ruled that Webb did not die where he was found, citing the body’s conflicting lividity.
The cold case investigator – ex-detective Gerry Feltus – interviewed a man who had formally reported to the police in 1959 that he and three others had seen a man carrying another man along Somerton beach on the night of November 30, 1948, the night before the body was found. Feltus, a seasoned detective, found the man reliable.
Some conclusions may be drawn.
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Some of the classifieds Prosper Thomson placed in 1947 together with other relevant information.
1947 – Jessica Harkness arrives in Adelaide from Melbourne.
Feb 47 – Clinic Distrib. WANTED – Paying cash or exchange take over terms for Roadster.
Mar 47 – Clinic Distrib. FOR SALE – Morris 10 hp series 1940 for Dodge or similar. Genuine NSPR.
Mar 47 – Box 1009j. WANTED – House or flat. Thomson
Mar 47 – FOR SALE – Dodge 1923 single seater NSPR £110
Mar 47 – Wanted .22 rifle (Three times this month). Hindley St.
Mar 47 – WANTED .22 auto or repeater -cash or exchange Healing Cycle. Thomson
Mar 47 – WANTED. Car, any make, any model, buckboard will do. Thomson Box 1009j.
Mar 47 – WANTED. Partner for used car business – £500 to £1000. City premises. Box 1009j £500 to £1,000
April 47 – CARL WEBB DESERTS WIFE.
Apr 47 – Wanted. Car or buckboard, any make. McTaggart (twice more this month). Box 953H
May 47 – WANTED. Employment of any kind. Good refs Thomson. Box 953H
May 47 – WANTED. URGENTLY. Car any type, spot cash. Thomson. Box 953H
May 47 – WANTED DESPERATELY. Car, any type, pay cash. Box 953H. £75 to £200
May 47 – WANTED. Any make car, cash or takeover terms. Thomson. £150. Box 953H
May 47 – WANTED. Building suit workshop – pay ingoing or buy plant. URGENT. Thomson. Box 953H.
June / July 1947 – Jessica Harkness gives birth to son Robin.
July 47 – WANTED. 1946 / 47 sedan for taxi. URGENT. Thomson, X3239. Moseley Street.*
And a big thank you to Dude47, who’s been been plugging Webb as a shifty sort of character from day 1.
The Somerton Man 