As the 1850s map notes, the area around Deadman's Hole Lane would flood when the Don overflowed. It is possible the remains of bodies buried in the vicinity were flushed out of the earth and the "hole" is where they washed up on the banks of the Don when the river receded. The combat interviews also make mention of “a dead man inside it.” The evidence clearly points to the driver of Tank 12 being killed inside the tank. Research from author Mark Bando also supports this scenario. According to Private Emmert O. Parmley (F/502nd PIR), the driver was still in the tank when he examined it. The body could not be seen unless someone looked through an open hatch at an angle.

Today Deadman's Hole Lane is an industrial cul-de-sac in Templeborough, on the edge of Rotherham. There are no visible clues as to how this short, unremarkable lane came by its macabre name. With another brutal murder in a nearby village occurring, it seems almost blatant that this is the case. Since Tank 17 was his tank, Lieutenant Anderson can be assumed to have been killed in that tank, as well. This is supported by the diary, which states: “We found Tank 17 today […] and learned Lt. Anderson had been killed.” Additional evidence is provided by Sergeant Francis Ross, who confirmed that Tank 17 was used by Lieutenant Anderson. He knew this for a fact because he was personally asked by the lieutenant to become his driver but declined. A killer on the loose isn't the only problem Wesley is facing: his childhood sweetheart, Grace Compton, has turned up in Tradmouth and she wants his help. Grace, an architect for the Strangefields development, has seen someone from her past who she wants Wesley to investigate; a man she thought was dead. In November 1920, huge tracts of land owned by the Shadwell Trust estate in Bishopston, Horfield and Filton were put up for sale. The map in Figure 7 below shows some of the lots, with handwritten names indicating the names of fields. Figure 7: Shadwell estate Land sale plan, 1921It’s also fun to find out more about where we live. Many people think Dumb Woman’s Lane refers to a stupid female. Some of the road names around Rye have obvious associations, Deadmans Lane for instance leads to the graveyard. But Dumb Woman’s Lane attracts attention and is a photo opportunity for tourists, perhaps because it could be interpreted as quite insulting.

The murders are in the style of an artist who was found guilty of the murders of several young woman who were strangled and had their faces mutilated after death. Temple has always denied his guilt and spoke of a fellow artist who had a studio in his home, Strangefields. After the murders were discovered the other artist, Jonny Sykes, disappeared and was never found so the authorities believe that the murderer simply made him up. Most of the women's bodies were recovered except for Gemma Pollinger's whose body was never found. Dead Man’s Corner (DMC) lies at the fork of the D-974 and D-913 roads, a few hundred yards south of the center of Saint-Côme-du-Mont. In 1944, the intersection was strategically important. The D-974 was the most direct route to Carentan and part of the N-13, the highway between Paris and Cherbourg, while the D-913 was significant since it was the southernmost road connecting Utah Beach (via Sainte-Marie-du-Mont) to the highway. The terrain itself was also important, as the intersection lies on the ridge overlooking the German-flooded fields north of Carentan. Another clergyman who had an influence on the land in Horfield was Rev Henry Richards. He was the Perpetual Curate of Horfield (1828-1863) whose parish covered Horfield and a large part of the area we now know as Bishopston. In fact it was Rev Richards who organised the Parish of Bishopston in 1862. Rev Richards was a wealthy man and had bought some of the copyhold farms in Horfield in the 1830s. Thus he was the owner of the land and leased it out to tenant farmers. Dead Man’s Corner,”at a road junction south of Saint-Côme-du-Mont, has become one of Normandy’s most famous landmarks. The story of what happened there has become legendary: an American Stuart tank was destroyed at the intersection and remained in place for several days, the dead body of the commander hanging out of the turret. The troops started to refer to the spot as “the corner with the dead man in the tank” and later simply as “Dead Man’s Corner.” As with all legends, the true story is much more complicated. This article is an attempt to separate fact from fiction and explore what can be proven and what remains a mystery to this day. Officially, the TO/E prescribes that Tank 17 should be commanded by a sergeant. However, in most battalions, the company second-in-command would assume command of that tank in combat. This is even more apparent for the 70th Tank battalion, where the maintenance officer was the standard commander of Tank 17. Even after Lieutenant Anderson’s death, this practice continued in Company D.As Wesley’s friend, archaeologist Dr Neil Watson, uncovers the secrets of Strangefields’ grisly past, it seems that an ancient tale of the dead returning to torment the living might not be as fantastical as it seems. And Wesley must work fast to discover who’s behind the recent murders . . . before someone close to him is put in danger. In 2005, I first saw the New Measurement Train (NMT), which is based upon the High Speed Train, and thought that it would make an unusual model. Hurst Models etched sides were acquired and my yellow fetish was ignited. Over the next few years, I steadily built up a collection of test coaches – predominantly yellow. Some are kits, but the majority have been created by modifying ready-to-run coaches to represent such mystical vehicles as TRU, UTU, TIC, EMV, RSC, SGT and PLPR. Much of the enjoyment of building the fleet has been in the research of the vehicles and they've been the subject of previous magazine articles. Support for this is provided by Private Eldon R. Abrahamsen (I/502nd PIR). On June 8, he was part of a patrol in that area that became pinned down by German fire. A light tank was brought up for assistance, but it did not end well: “The tank commander’s hatch on the tank was open and a German mortar shell dropped right in the hatch, which killed the crew.” heads from a weekend possession with a Make Your Mark Models twin jib crane in tow. (Excuse the bent handrail) East Midlands Trains 153308 gets into its stride with a service bound for Lincoln. Three documents are crucial in identifying the tank crew: the casualty list of Company D, entries in the company diary, and the official history of the battalion (published shortly after the war). The casualty list is the most important, as it contains data on when, where, and how men were killed, wounded, or went missing.

I thoroughly enjoyed Dead Man’s Lane which is a good mixture of police procedural and historical investigation. It has taken me long enough but this is the first Wesley Peterson novel I have read, brought to it by the very good Albert Lincoln series. This is not as dense as those novels although equally absorbing and has a lighter tone. I like the idea of two separate investigations, one very much in the present and the other dating to the seventeenth century. The historical investigation mixes diary entries from the time to tell the tale and is interspersed with Wesley’s friend Neil’s excavation. As Neil has the diaries it’s more a case of describing the excavation. I found this mix fascinating and very readable. The modern day murder plot is also absorbing. It is wide ranging and with no immediate suspects or motive Wesley grabs any loose thread until a more coherent picture starts to emerge. I really like this gradual funnelling of information to reach a conclusion. I also like the realistic way that other crimes and secrets get discovered and solved in the course of the investigation. All of this is relevant because the tank at Dead Man’s Corner is not Tank 17, but Tank 12. This automatically rules out Lieutenant Anderson as the dead man at the intersection. The numbering system used by the battalion means that Tank 12 was the second tank within 3rd Platoon. Such a tank was almost certainly commanded by a sergeant, with a crew comprising lower ranks, which means that we should look for an enlisted man, not an officer. I love Kate Ellis's Wesley Peterson crime series and I've read all of them! It is the combination of a fiendishly difficult puzzle to solve running alongside a historical mystery that pulls me in every time. The 1844-1888 OS 1st Edition Map in Figure 2 shows the Golden Hill area centred around Quabs (or Quabb) Farm, at the southern corner of Horfield Common where Highfield Grove is now. The row of cottages to the west is the start of what became Kellaway Avenue. Figure 2: Golden HIll on OS 1st Edition Map The next two short stories are actually quite gay (in the old fashioned wording, keep up people!) and entertaining. I rather took to Whitman. Sadly, the story ends again rather tragically. I won't give away the ending. Yet one of the characters feels as I do.I have had this itty bitty book for ages. I had totally forgotten about it, but found it in yet another box of mine from a move many years ago. ( I really have learned to de-clutter! Just took me a while.)

Golden Hill formed part of a much larger estates land under the Manor of Horfield. The ancient manorial system of land tenure had existed for centuries. In 1140 Lord Berkeley, whose estates included the Manor of Horfield, founded St. Augustine’s Abbey and gave the Manor to the Abbey in whose possession it remained for the next 400 years. Horfield Manor court presided over the system of fields which had been formed during the enclosures in the late 15th century. When monastic holdings were confiscated by Henry VIII during the Reformation in the 1530s, he gave the Horfield Manor estate to the newly formed Bishopric of Bristol not the Church of England – but the Bishop himself who then leased it to what was known as a Lord Farmer. Bishop Monk (1784-1856) It is hard to review this book without giving away any spoilers! Although I read it in sizeable chunks, I did find it hard to work out who-was-who at the start. There are a lot of characters, but there is a good reason for this, and murder mysteries do need a good choice of potential suspects and victims! Once I got into the book, I was completely gripped and read the last half in one go! Neither book claims that the commander’s body hung out of the turret of the Stuart. However, such an interpretation has become part of the legend. Despite our efforts, no original source has been found to claim the commander ever hung out of the turret. Because of the fame of the story, it is no surprise that people have attempted to determine the identity of the unfortunate tank commander. In recent years, this effort has produced a specific name, which has been published in several books: 1st Lt. Walter T. Anderson. After investigating the available evidence, however, there is not a single reason to believe that Lieutenant Anderson was killed at Dead Man’s Corner. This leaves the identity of the unfortunate commander a question still to be answered.

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The M5A1 Stuart light tank lost at Dead Man’s Corner belonged to the 70th Tank Battalion, an experienced formation that had already seen action in North Africa and Sicily. The battalion arrived in England in late November 1943 and was destined to take part in Operation Overlord in support of the landings at Utah Beach. Company A, B, and C, with their M4 Sherman tanks, would be part of the first waves. Two companies with DD (duplex-drive, or amphibious) tanks would land in the first wave at H-Hour to support the 4th Infantry Division. Company A would support 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, on Tare Green Beach, while Company B would support 2nd Battalion of the same regiment on Uncle Red.