WEBVTT - S02 Episode 1: Whispers in the Trees pt.1

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<v Speaker 1>At nineteen hundred hours. On Wednesday, January nineteenth, two thousand

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<v Speaker 1>and six, NASA's New Horizons Probe, propelled by the majestic

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<v Speaker 1>Atlas FEE rocket, is launched into space, having begun its

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<v Speaker 1>journey at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The probe,

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<v Speaker 1>which is part of the New Frontiers program, is the

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<v Speaker 1>focal point of nassa's first ever mission to Pluto. With

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<v Speaker 1>the spacecraft being hurled towards its target at over thirty

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<v Speaker 1>six thousand miles per hour, it will be another ten

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<v Speaker 1>years before it begins to uncover the secrets lying in

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<v Speaker 1>wait at the outer regions of our solar system back home,

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<v Speaker 1>a week after the launch, in a small bedsit in London,

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<v Speaker 1>a far more earthly discovery is about to be made.

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<v Speaker 1>On the afternoon of Wednesday, January the twenty sixth, a

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<v Speaker 1>team of housing officials are making their way towards a

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<v Speaker 1>flat in wood Green, North London. The apartment is part

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<v Speaker 1>of a complex known locally as Sky City, which forms

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<v Speaker 1>an estate perched on top of a vast shopping mall.

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<v Speaker 1>When the team arrive at the front door, noises from

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<v Speaker 1>the TV can be heard emanating from inside the flat,

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<v Speaker 1>an indication perhaps that the occupier is home. The officer's

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<v Speaker 1>subsequent knocks, however, go unanswered, and after a few minutes

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<v Speaker 1>they decide to break down the door. Stepping into the

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<v Speaker 1>gloom of the flat beyond, the officers are first struck

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<v Speaker 1>by a clawing smell that hangs thickly in the air.

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<v Speaker 1>Pushing the front door wider reveals a stack of unopened

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<v Speaker 1>mail on the floor or the while the voices from

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<v Speaker 1>the TV continue uninterrupted. A moment later, the officers step

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<v Speaker 1>into the living room and make a gruesome discovery. Lying

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<v Speaker 1>there on the sofa, illuminated by the incessant flickering of

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<v Speaker 1>the TV screen, of the skeletal remains of the tenant.

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<v Speaker 1>A pile of Christmas presents lie unopened on the floor.

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<v Speaker 1>The tenant was thirty eight year old Joyce Carol Vincent,

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<v Speaker 1>and her body had lain undiscovered and unreported for over

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<v Speaker 1>two years. Filmmaker Carol Morley was so moved by this

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<v Speaker 1>revelation that she began an investigation to uncover who this

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<v Speaker 1>tragically forgotten woman had been. Morley's beautiful and hypnotic film

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<v Speaker 1>Dreams of a Life, released in two thousand and eleven,

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<v Speaker 1>pieces together the story of Joyce's life in an attempt

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<v Speaker 1>to rescue her existence from obscurity. It is surely a

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<v Speaker 1>fate that haunts us all the sadness of a life forgotten,

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<v Speaker 1>an affirmation of a degree of meaninglessness, to profound, to comprehend.

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<v Speaker 1>We see it in the propensity for social media to

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<v Speaker 1>so often operate not as a tool with which to

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<v Speaker 1>explore each other, but rather a means with which to

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<v Speaker 1>validate ourselves, our way of saying not only that this

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<v Speaker 1>is who we are, but in the way of old

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<v Speaker 1>school room graffiti. Perhaps it is more fundamentally a way

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<v Speaker 1>of merely saying that we were here, that we exist.

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<v Speaker 1>You're listening to Unexplained and I'm Richard McClean smith. The

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<v Speaker 1>British Industrial Revolution was a time of extraordinary physical and

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<v Speaker 1>philosophical upheaval, a time, as the inimitable Humphrey Jennings once observed,

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<v Speaker 1>that was borne from a sudden synchronicity of vision and

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<v Speaker 1>the means of production. But its fuel was, of course

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<v Speaker 1>the land, the raw materials that men and women ripped

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<v Speaker 1>from the ground and smelt it in the factories throughout

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<v Speaker 1>the country, colossal cauldrons of industry sprouted up around the

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<v Speaker 1>places where such fuel was most in abundance. One such center,

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<v Speaker 1>perhaps the most intense of the mall, was the Black Country,

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<v Speaker 1>a region in the west Midlands of England whose very

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<v Speaker 1>name proudly bears the scars of its past. As the

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<v Speaker 1>Scottish philosopher Thomas Carlyle once wrote of the place at

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<v Speaker 1>the time, a dense cloud of pestilential smoke hangs over

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<v Speaker 1>it forever, blackening even the grain that grows upon it,

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<v Speaker 1>And at night the whole region burns like a volcano,

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<v Speaker 1>spitting fire from a thousand tubes of brick. At the

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<v Speaker 1>height of the Revolution, the region was a city of

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<v Speaker 1>chimney stacks, of iron foundries and steel mills, but its

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<v Speaker 1>blood was coal. In fact, traditionalists consider the real Black

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<v Speaker 1>Country to only include the region just west of Birmingham,

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<v Speaker 1>where the thirty foot coal seam comes to the surface,

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<v Speaker 1>a product of once living trees compressed and buried for

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<v Speaker 1>millions of years, returning to the surface like an irrepressible secret.

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<v Speaker 1>There are some who say the trees can talk, and

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<v Speaker 1>if they could, what secrets might they hold. On the

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<v Speaker 1>edge of the Black Country, there is an area of

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<v Speaker 1>forest just outside of Birmingham that today is struck through

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<v Speaker 1>by the busy A four five six road, But in

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<v Speaker 1>years gone by it was a far more wild and

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<v Speaker 1>darkly place. It is thought by some to be imbued

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<v Speaker 1>with the sort of magic, a place where witches may

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<v Speaker 1>have gathered and perhaps still do. Or perhaps it is

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<v Speaker 1>merely a place that echoes with the footsteps of ancient

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<v Speaker 1>people who once walked and eventually settled on the land. Indeed,

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<v Speaker 1>it is possible that settlers may have frequented the area

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<v Speaker 1>as far back as Neolithic times. Certainly, the nearby Witchbury

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<v Speaker 1>Ring Fort is evidence of a local community having existed

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<v Speaker 1>here as far back as the second or first century BC.

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<v Speaker 1>By nineteen forty three, although signs of the fort can

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<v Speaker 1>still be found, they have faded well into the land.

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<v Speaker 1>Half the world is in the grip of war, and

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<v Speaker 1>for anyone who has found themselves mercilessly drawn into the

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<v Speaker 1>horrors abroad, home is a distant and aching memory. For

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<v Speaker 1>those left behind, home is a familiar but forever changed landscape,

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<v Speaker 1>with or without the bombs. For Birmingham and the immediate surrounds,

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<v Speaker 1>those bombs would come thick and fast, being as it

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<v Speaker 1>was the second most populous city in the UK and

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<v Speaker 1>a major center of industry. It is hard to imagine

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<v Speaker 1>that in the midst of such turmoil, something hidden, a

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<v Speaker 1>secret closer to home might somehow penetrate the sound of

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<v Speaker 1>those bombs. But in April of nineteen forty three it did.

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<v Speaker 1>What happened exactly one evening, under the cover of darkness,

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<v Speaker 1>while explosives reigned down only a few miles away, has

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<v Speaker 1>never been fully accounted for. It is a mystery that

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<v Speaker 1>remains to this day unexplained. Barely ten miles to the

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<v Speaker 1>west of Birmingham, in the shadow of the Glent Hills

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<v Speaker 1>lies the village of Hagley. On a warm spring evening

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<v Speaker 1>in the magic hour, as dusk begins to fall, four

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<v Speaker 1>young boys are roaming through the Hagley Woods. The date

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<v Speaker 1>is Sunday, April eighteenth, and the youngsters are Robert Hart,

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<v Speaker 1>Thomas Willits, Bob Farmer and Fred Payne. With rationing starting

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<v Speaker 1>to bite, the boys, although they wouldn't tell you, are

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<v Speaker 1>searching for food, birds, eggs, or rabbits. If they're lucky.

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<v Speaker 1>As their fathers fight in foreign fields to protect the

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<v Speaker 1>green and pleasant lands of home, the boys might be

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<v Speaker 1>forgiven for thinking such wide open country to be as

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<v Speaker 1>much theirs as any other Englishman, but such as the

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<v Speaker 1>way of things. The land has been privately owned by

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<v Speaker 1>the Littleton family since fifteen fifty six, and the boys

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<v Speaker 1>are trespassing. The area is known as Hagley Park, taking

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<v Speaker 1>its name from Eagley Hall, which in nineteen forty three

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<v Speaker 1>is home to Charles John Littleton, the tenth Viscount Cobham.

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<v Speaker 1>The boys are about to make their way back home

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<v Speaker 1>when something catches their eye. A tree, unlike any of

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<v Speaker 1>the others around. The trunk appears strangely squat, having at

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<v Speaker 1>some point been heavily coppiced. As a result, a shocking

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<v Speaker 1>mesh of spiny branches has grown out at the top

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<v Speaker 1>of it, forming the perfect sanctuary for nesting animals. Fifteen

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<v Speaker 1>year old Bob Farmer volunteers to take a closer look

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<v Speaker 1>and swiftly scrambles up through the branches. Having soon reached

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<v Speaker 1>the top, he looks down into the gaping hollow of

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<v Speaker 1>the tree. In the fading light, he can just make

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<v Speaker 1>out the familiar dusty white hue of a bird's egg.

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<v Speaker 1>Reaching down. He stretches his arm deep into the trunk,

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<v Speaker 1>but the egg remains tantalizingly out of reach. With the

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<v Speaker 1>aid of a stick, he manages to move it, but

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<v Speaker 1>it's bigger than he expected and seems to be wedged inside.

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<v Speaker 1>With great care, Bob manages to dislodge the egg, but

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<v Speaker 1>as it starts to move free, something dawns on him.

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<v Speaker 1>Not only would this be the largest egg he had

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<v Speaker 1>ever seen, but that familiar dusty white hue is a

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<v Speaker 1>little darker and more yellow than it had at first appeared.

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<v Speaker 1>It looks more like bone. When finally he lifts it

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<v Speaker 1>from the hollow, it is clear that it is not

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<v Speaker 1>an egg at all. It is, in fact a skull,

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<v Speaker 1>a human skull. Bob holds it aloft as the other

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<v Speaker 1>boys look on with a mix of fear and wonder.

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<v Speaker 1>A quick discussion ensues. Is it really what they think

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<v Speaker 1>it is? How old is it? Should they tell someone?

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<v Speaker 1>Fred is keen to show it to his older brother Donald,

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<v Speaker 1>but in the end they decide to keep it between them,

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<v Speaker 1>better that than risk punishment for poaching on private land.

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<v Speaker 1>With night fast approaching, one of the boys notices some

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<v Speaker 1>material protruding from the tree. Farmer pushes it into the skull,

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<v Speaker 1>and taking the stick climbs back up the trunk and

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<v Speaker 1>carefully lowers the mistaken treasure back into the hollow, and

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<v Speaker 1>there it might possibly have remained if it wasn't for

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<v Speaker 1>the fact that, unsurprisingly, something of the event had followed

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<v Speaker 1>the boy's home. The youngest, Tommy Willits, was finding it

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<v Speaker 1>particularly difficult to erase the ghoulish image from his mind,

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<v Speaker 1>an image that had found its way into his dreams.

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<v Speaker 1>The next morning, unable to ignore it any longer, Tommy

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<v Speaker 1>told his parents, who in turn wasted little time in

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<v Speaker 1>telling the police. Are you always taking care of your family?

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<v Speaker 1>Do you often take care of others and not yourself?

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<v Speaker 1>Now it's time to take care of yourself, to make

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<v Speaker 1>time for you. You deserve it. Teledoc gives you access

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<v Speaker 1>to a licensed therapist to help you get back to

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<v Speaker 1>feeling your best, to feeling like yourself again. With teledoc,

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<v Speaker 1>Therapy appointments are available seven days a week from seven

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes maybe you feel stressed or anxious, depressed or lonely,

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<v Speaker 1>or you might be struggling with a personal or family issue,

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<v Speaker 1>Download the app or visit teledoc dot com Forward slash

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<v Speaker 1>Unexplained podcast today to get started. That's teladoc dot com

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<v Speaker 1>slash Explained podcast. The next day, Sergeant Charles Lambourne is

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<v Speaker 1>dispatched to investigate. En route to the forest, Lambourne calls

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<v Speaker 1>in on Robert Hart, the oldest of the boys, to

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<v Speaker 1>help lead him to the strange and haunting tree. A

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<v Speaker 1>short time later, having pointed out the location, the young

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<v Speaker 1>heart watches on as Lambourne, along with Sergeants Richard Skerrat

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<v Speaker 1>and Jack Wheeler, and Constable Jack Pound take it in

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<v Speaker 1>turns to peer into the cavernous trunk. The boys had

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<v Speaker 1>indeed found a human skull, but what they didn't know

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<v Speaker 1>was that the peculiar tree was also hiding the rest

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<v Speaker 1>of the body. One of the men remarks that the

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<v Speaker 1>tree is an old and rotted witch hazel, also known

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<v Speaker 1>as witch elm, a tree long associated with the underworld,

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<v Speaker 1>the name which derives from the Old English word meaning

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<v Speaker 1>pliant and durable. This feature of which elm wood, is

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<v Speaker 1>one of the reasons it was traditionally used to build coffins.

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<v Speaker 1>The policeman request a forensic team to come and inspect

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<v Speaker 1>the body, but they are unable to attend until the

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<v Speaker 1>following morning. As a result, a volunteer is sought to

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<v Speaker 1>guard the skeleton through the night. The task falls to

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<v Speaker 1>Squadron Leader William Douglas Osborne, a former Special Constable home

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<v Speaker 1>on leave for a few days. That night, Monday April

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<v Speaker 1>the nineteenth, Osborne kept watch over the remains of the unknown,

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<v Speaker 1>encased like a missive from the underworld itself inside the

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<v Speaker 1>natural coffin of the old which elm The following morning,

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<v Speaker 1>on Tuesday April the twentieth, Douglas Osborne was relieved of

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<v Speaker 1>his duty by Superintendent Sydney Night, Deputy Inspector Thomas Williams

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<v Speaker 1>and Constable Jack Pound. Later that evening, at approximately six

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<v Speaker 1>forty the police were joined by Professor James Webster, head

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<v Speaker 1>of the newly established Home Office Forensic Science Laboratory at

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<v Speaker 1>nearby Birmingham University. Webster was a foreboding figure described by

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<v Speaker 1>writer John Mervyn Pew in his book Execution as a

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<v Speaker 1>large balding Scot with a glass eye and a monocle

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<v Speaker 1>to enhance the vision of the other He would often

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<v Speaker 1>arrive on the scene scruffly dressed in baggy trousers and

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<v Speaker 1>an old brown Harris tweed jacket, with his tie hanging

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<v Speaker 1>loose halfway around his neck. With the ladder safely secured

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<v Speaker 1>by the tree, the imposing Webster clambered up to take

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<v Speaker 1>a look inside. It was clear immediately the greater access

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<v Speaker 1>would be needed. An axe was called for and handed

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<v Speaker 1>over to Constable Pound. As the other men stood back

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<v Speaker 1>and watched, Pounds swung the axe and cut into the

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<v Speaker 1>bowl of the tree. One blow was followed by another

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<v Speaker 1>until a clear break had been made large enough to

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<v Speaker 1>pull the skeleton out. With great care, The men worked

0:16:10.800 --> 0:16:13.920
<v Speaker 1>together to free the bones before laying them out gently

0:16:14.000 --> 0:16:18.560
<v Speaker 1>on the forest floor. On the ground, the skeleton appears

0:16:18.560 --> 0:16:21.520
<v Speaker 1>at first to be fairly intact, but Webster is quick

0:16:21.520 --> 0:16:25.440
<v Speaker 1>to notice a number of missing fragments. After a quick

0:16:25.440 --> 0:16:29.920
<v Speaker 1>search of the immediate vicinity, Webster stumbles upon the slightly

0:16:30.000 --> 0:16:34.640
<v Speaker 1>chewed tibia of the left leg, one small midnight blue

0:16:34.680 --> 0:16:37.760
<v Speaker 1>shoe with a crept sole is also pulled from the

0:16:37.800 --> 0:16:42.000
<v Speaker 1>splintered trunk. With the pieces now laid out from the

0:16:42.040 --> 0:16:44.440
<v Speaker 1>size and frame, as well as the few bits of

0:16:44.520 --> 0:16:48.720
<v Speaker 1>material that remained, Webster could see instantly that the boys

0:16:48.760 --> 0:17:08.320
<v Speaker 1>had stumbled upon the skeleton of a young woman. Later

0:17:08.359 --> 0:17:10.919
<v Speaker 1>that evening, the first of the bones are delivered to

0:17:10.920 --> 0:17:14.520
<v Speaker 1>the West Midlands Forensic Science Laboratory to be formally assessed

0:17:14.560 --> 0:17:18.720
<v Speaker 1>by Webster and his assistant, doctor John lund Over the

0:17:18.760 --> 0:17:21.640
<v Speaker 1>course of the next few days. The various sections are

0:17:21.680 --> 0:17:25.880
<v Speaker 1>deafly laid out by the two pathologists. Any external fabric

0:17:25.960 --> 0:17:30.240
<v Speaker 1>is delicately removed, and slowly a body begins to take shape.

0:17:31.520 --> 0:17:36.680
<v Speaker 1>Professor Webster proceeds while doctor Lunde records its findings. He

0:17:36.720 --> 0:17:40.480
<v Speaker 1>begins at the skull, noting that it is undoubtedly that

0:17:40.560 --> 0:17:43.159
<v Speaker 1>of a female and there are no obvious marks of

0:17:43.200 --> 0:17:46.880
<v Speaker 1>a fatal injury. On the side of the skull, it's

0:17:46.880 --> 0:17:51.040
<v Speaker 1>a small clump of mousey brown hair. An examination of

0:17:51.080 --> 0:17:54.040
<v Speaker 1>the jaw reveals a clean and healthy set of teeth,

0:17:54.600 --> 0:17:59.000
<v Speaker 1>with one peculiarity, a noticeable irregularity of the front two

0:17:59.000 --> 0:18:04.159
<v Speaker 1>incisors which overlap slightly. A piece of material part of

0:18:04.160 --> 0:18:06.960
<v Speaker 1>a khrke or mustard colored dress that the deceased would

0:18:06.960 --> 0:18:10.040
<v Speaker 1>have worn is found lodged into the cavity of the mouth,

0:18:10.760 --> 0:18:13.920
<v Speaker 1>suggesting a possible cause of death, perhaps placed in the

0:18:14.000 --> 0:18:20.760
<v Speaker 1>victim's mouth to hasten asphyxiation. Moving down the skeleton, Professor

0:18:20.800 --> 0:18:24.880
<v Speaker 1>Webster notes no signs of disease or ill health, with

0:18:24.920 --> 0:18:27.800
<v Speaker 1>the fine condition of both the hyoid bone and the

0:18:27.880 --> 0:18:31.200
<v Speaker 1>sternum suggesting that the victim was a woman below the

0:18:31.240 --> 0:18:36.360
<v Speaker 1>age of forty. The pelvis reaffirms the victim as being

0:18:36.400 --> 0:18:39.840
<v Speaker 1>indisputably female, with a particular feature in two of the

0:18:39.920 --> 0:18:43.560
<v Speaker 1>hip bones suggesting a childbirth at some point, though this

0:18:43.600 --> 0:18:49.040
<v Speaker 1>is deemed inconclusive. All in all, Webster finds little unusual,

0:18:49.160 --> 0:18:52.639
<v Speaker 1>with the major exception of one thing. The entirety of

0:18:52.680 --> 0:18:59.480
<v Speaker 1>her right hand was missing. Professor Webster concludes the victim

0:18:59.520 --> 0:19:02.800
<v Speaker 1>to have been female, of approximately thirty five years of age,

0:19:03.160 --> 0:19:06.280
<v Speaker 1>of lower than average height, placing her at roughly five

0:19:06.320 --> 0:19:10.880
<v Speaker 1>feet tall. The time of death is given as approximately

0:19:10.920 --> 0:19:15.040
<v Speaker 1>eighteen months previously, due to the state of decomposition and

0:19:15.119 --> 0:19:17.400
<v Speaker 1>the age of the tree roots which had weaved their

0:19:17.440 --> 0:19:22.879
<v Speaker 1>way through what remained of the clothes. Since the victim

0:19:22.920 --> 0:19:26.720
<v Speaker 1>had to have been placed in the hollow before rigor mortis. If,

0:19:26.800 --> 0:19:30.840
<v Speaker 1>as Webster suspected, she had been murdered, it is likely

0:19:31.040 --> 0:19:33.240
<v Speaker 1>that she would have been placed in the tree while

0:19:33.280 --> 0:19:38.919
<v Speaker 1>she was still warm, possibly even alive. As such, she

0:19:38.960 --> 0:19:42.159
<v Speaker 1>would likely have been murdered nearby, or at least driven

0:19:42.160 --> 0:19:47.600
<v Speaker 1>to the spot in a significant hurry. An assessment of

0:19:47.640 --> 0:19:50.560
<v Speaker 1>the rotted fragments of clothing revealed the remains of a

0:19:50.640 --> 0:19:53.639
<v Speaker 1>mustard colored cloth skirt, as well as a dark blue

0:19:53.640 --> 0:19:58.320
<v Speaker 1>and yellow striped knitted cartigan. An inexpensive wedding ring is

0:19:58.359 --> 0:20:00.840
<v Speaker 1>also found, which may have been worn for as long

0:20:00.880 --> 0:20:06.080
<v Speaker 1>as four years. Back in the forest, members of the

0:20:06.119 --> 0:20:08.800
<v Speaker 1>Home Guard, with the assistance of a local scout group,

0:20:09.119 --> 0:20:13.520
<v Speaker 1>continue to comb the area. A second shoe is found

0:20:13.640 --> 0:20:16.000
<v Speaker 1>not far from the tree, as well as a green

0:20:16.080 --> 0:20:21.040
<v Speaker 1>glass bottle. A short time later, one of the volunteers

0:20:21.080 --> 0:20:25.240
<v Speaker 1>notices something protruding from the soil. As he digs into

0:20:25.280 --> 0:20:29.280
<v Speaker 1>the earth, he recoils in horror as there, buried just

0:20:29.359 --> 0:20:48.160
<v Speaker 1>below the surface is the missing right hand. Taking Webster's

0:20:48.160 --> 0:20:52.520
<v Speaker 1>bone and material analysis, the Worcestershire Constabulary put together a

0:20:52.520 --> 0:20:55.439
<v Speaker 1>poster campaign in the hope of encouraging any witnesses to

0:20:55.480 --> 0:20:59.320
<v Speaker 1>come forward, but as the days turn to weeks and

0:20:59.400 --> 0:21:02.920
<v Speaker 1>then to months, despite evidence that the victim had possibly

0:21:02.960 --> 0:21:05.960
<v Speaker 1>been married at the time of death and may also

0:21:06.040 --> 0:21:12.359
<v Speaker 1>have borne a child, remarkably nobody comes forward. Then an

0:21:12.359 --> 0:21:15.199
<v Speaker 1>identity card is found in the woods, but when the

0:21:15.200 --> 0:21:18.720
<v Speaker 1>police visit the owner's address, they are somewhat disappointed to

0:21:18.800 --> 0:21:21.800
<v Speaker 1>find her alive and well, if a little bemused as

0:21:21.800 --> 0:21:24.520
<v Speaker 1>to how her ID card was found so close to

0:21:24.560 --> 0:21:29.960
<v Speaker 1>a possible murder scene. All in awe. The police trawl

0:21:30.119 --> 0:21:33.520
<v Speaker 1>threw over three thousand open reports of missing women, but

0:21:33.640 --> 0:21:38.000
<v Speaker 1>are unable to find a significant match. The irregularity of

0:21:38.000 --> 0:21:40.920
<v Speaker 1>the teeth offered a glimmer of hope, but a subsequent

0:21:41.000 --> 0:21:46.040
<v Speaker 1>check of all UKA dental records again yields nothing. The

0:21:46.160 --> 0:21:50.040
<v Speaker 1>green glass bottle is also analyzed but reveals little of interest,

0:21:50.840 --> 0:21:53.639
<v Speaker 1>but the police enjoys some luck when the crept sold

0:21:53.680 --> 0:21:57.480
<v Speaker 1>shoes are traced to one specific manufacturer by the name

0:21:57.520 --> 0:22:03.800
<v Speaker 1>of Silsby's, located in nearby Northampton. Almost six thousand pairs

0:22:03.800 --> 0:22:06.879
<v Speaker 1>of the shoes have been made, but remarkably all of

0:22:06.920 --> 0:22:09.919
<v Speaker 1>the owners are traced, except for those of six pairs

0:22:10.160 --> 0:22:13.600
<v Speaker 1>that are eventually tracked to a market stall in nearby Dudley,

0:22:13.960 --> 0:22:18.879
<v Speaker 1>where the trail goes cold. A similar process is attempted

0:22:18.920 --> 0:22:22.240
<v Speaker 1>with the clothes, but curiously, all of the labels have

0:22:22.320 --> 0:22:27.480
<v Speaker 1>been cut or removed entirely, a strange state of affairs, perhaps,

0:22:28.119 --> 0:22:30.879
<v Speaker 1>but also one that was in keeping with the notion

0:22:30.960 --> 0:22:34.200
<v Speaker 1>that the shoes might have been market bought, since stall

0:22:34.200 --> 0:22:37.719
<v Speaker 1>owners would often remove the labels of the clothes they sold.

0:22:39.320 --> 0:22:42.359
<v Speaker 1>In spite of the distraction and devastation of war, the

0:22:42.480 --> 0:22:45.480
<v Speaker 1>mystery of the skeleton found in Hagley Wood, now being

0:22:45.480 --> 0:22:47.960
<v Speaker 1>referred to in the press as the tree murder riddle,

0:22:48.320 --> 0:22:52.040
<v Speaker 1>had continued to hold a firm grip on the local community,

0:22:52.119 --> 0:22:54.880
<v Speaker 1>but as the months wore on, the tale of yet

0:22:55.000 --> 0:22:58.240
<v Speaker 1>one more wartime death had begun to fizzle from the

0:22:58.280 --> 0:23:03.919
<v Speaker 1>public consciousness. After six months, the police had drawn a

0:23:03.960 --> 0:23:07.280
<v Speaker 1>complete blank, with no leads and not even as much

0:23:07.320 --> 0:23:11.360
<v Speaker 1>as a name for the tragic forgotten victim. But all

0:23:11.400 --> 0:23:25.600
<v Speaker 1>that was about to change. It was on one morning

0:23:26.000 --> 0:23:30.080
<v Speaker 1>sometime towards Christmas of nineteen forty three, that the rising

0:23:30.119 --> 0:23:33.879
<v Speaker 1>sun revealed a cryptic message hastily scrawled across a wall

0:23:34.080 --> 0:23:38.280
<v Speaker 1>in the nearby village of Old Hill. Written in chalk

0:23:38.680 --> 0:23:42.800
<v Speaker 1>in three inch high capital letters were the words who

0:23:42.840 --> 0:23:48.719
<v Speaker 1>put Lubella down the witch Elm. Not long after, another

0:23:48.760 --> 0:23:52.800
<v Speaker 1>message appeared scrawled on a wall in Birmingham, declaring Hagley

0:23:52.840 --> 0:23:58.440
<v Speaker 1>Wood Bella. Again and again, The messages continued to appear,

0:23:58.960 --> 0:24:02.920
<v Speaker 1>evolving each time, until eventually settling on what has perhaps

0:24:03.000 --> 0:24:06.840
<v Speaker 1>become the most well known phrase, who put Bella in

0:24:06.920 --> 0:24:12.400
<v Speaker 1>the witch Elm? But who had authored these teasing questions?

0:24:13.280 --> 0:24:16.840
<v Speaker 1>Do they really know who the dead woman was or

0:24:16.880 --> 0:24:19.719
<v Speaker 1>what may have happened to her? And why are they

0:24:19.760 --> 0:24:25.080
<v Speaker 1>not talking to the police? As if from nowhere it

0:24:25.160 --> 0:24:29.080
<v Speaker 1>would seem the authorities now had a name to work with,

0:24:30.359 --> 0:24:37.960
<v Speaker 1>but the mystery was only just beginning. You can find

0:24:37.960 --> 0:24:40.840
<v Speaker 1>out more in Part two, which will be released in

0:24:40.880 --> 0:24:50.959
<v Speaker 1>a fortnight's time. All elements of Unexplained are produced by

0:24:51.000 --> 0:24:54.160
<v Speaker 1>me Richard McClain smith. Please subscribe and rate the show

0:24:54.160 --> 0:24:56.480
<v Speaker 1>on iTunes. Feel free to get in touch with any

0:24:56.480 --> 0:24:59.960
<v Speaker 1>thoughts or ideas regarding the stories you've heard on the show.

0:25:00.000 --> 0:25:01.879
<v Speaker 1>Perhaps you have an explanation of your own you'd like

0:25:01.920 --> 0:25:05.080
<v Speaker 1>to share. You can reach us online at Unexplained podcast

0:25:05.119 --> 0:25:42.640
<v Speaker 1>dot com or on Twitter at Unexplained pod Now. It's

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