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It appeared that the man had crawled into the cylinder. The position of the skeleton suggested that the man was lying down and using a brick wrapped in sacking as a pillow when he died. The body was found fully clothed and lying full length on some sacking but not within it. He was dressed in clothes
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After the summer of 1943, the cylinder went largely unnoticed. A local witness, Norman Garner of 278 Great Homer Street, stated that he had seen people use the cylinder as a seat and children often played with it. About two weeks prior to the discovery of the body, witnesses saw children rolling the
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The cylinder had a length of 6 feet 9 inches (2.1 m), a diameter of 19 inches (480 mm), and was made of gauge 9 steel 0.156 inches (4 mm) thick. The metal cap to the closed end of the cylinder was bolted in place. The open end of the cylinder had been compressed, and almost
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According to records obtained by the inquiry, Williams's wife was buried alone in
Liverpool but no records of the death of Williams or his burial in Liverpool could be found. Indeed, there were no records in England and Wales of a T C Williams being buried. T C Williams had one son born 1859. The
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On 13 July 1945, three small boys were playing with the cylinder. They were rolling it through the streets when one tried to see what was inside. At first, they saw what appeared to be a shoe; however, on closer inspection it appeared to be part of a human skeleton. The police were called to the
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uncovered the cylinder while it was clearing building debris. One end of the cylinder was capped with a steel plate and the other was open. The bulldozer moved the cylinder and during the operation it unintentionally crushed the open end. Building contractors then extracted the cylinder from the
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noted a large amount of moisture in the cylinder which indicated three possible scenarios. 1. The victim could have been in the unsealed cylinder for about 10 years. 2. The cylinder could have been sealed airtight. 3. There could have been moisture ingress and it had not dried out. The last two
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In August 1945, the inquest named T C Williams, a paint and brush manufacturer of 5 Leeds Street, Liverpool, as a potential identity for the dead man. T C Williams and Co. were a paint, varnish and colour merchants in
Tithebarn Street with works in Smithfield Street around 1885. Thomas Creegan
38:. The discovery was made in 1945 and it is believed that the body had lain undiscovered for 60 years. Inquiries named a strong (but unconfirmed) candidate for the identity of the dead man; however, the cause of death and the reason for his presence in the cylinder remain a mystery.
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Numerous items were found with the body. These items included two diaries, seven heavily corroded keys and some miscellaneous papers. No money or other valuables were found in the dead man's pockets. The list of items found in the cylinder, as reported in 1945, is as follows:
235:. It was thought that his disappearance may have been interpreted in 1885 as deliberate absconding in order to avoid his creditors; working one's passage to another country via ship was not an unknown method of escaping debt at the time.
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on 10 March 1884. The inquest hypothesised that
Williams had left his family home due to financial difficulties and was sleeping in the cylinder at what were assumed to be his business premises. Somehow the cylinder became sealed and he
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The remains were found to be those of an adult male who would have been about 6 feet (1.8 m) tall in life. It was thought, in 1945, that the man was aged between 25 and 50 at the time of his death. The body appeared to have been
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crimped shut, by the bulldozer leaving an aperture of only 4 inches (100 mm). No traces of paint were found inside the cylinder; further, the general opinion in 1945 was that it had been part of a ventilation shaft.
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was broken near to the left middle-ear but this did not appear to be due to violence. The head and torso had become detached at some point through movement. A small amount of hair was found still adhered to the skull.
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torch to cut the cylinder open. The contents were revealed to be a complete human skeleton accompanied by a number of items. The police removed the remains and took them to the mortuary.
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scenarios indicated that it was possible that the body had been in the cylinder since 1885 or 1890. Conditions in the cylinder indicated that the body had undergone normal
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A postcard (decayed but reconstructed by coroner), postmarked
Birmingham, date stamped 3 July 1885. The postcard was addressed to T C Williams from Mr A E Harris.
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stating that it was impossible to establish cause of death due to insufficient information. The date of death was believed to have been 1885.
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Two diaries dated 1884 and 1885. The diaries were largely illegible to the coroner in 1945, but one diary entry dated June 1885 noted an
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of a green stone flecked with red. The signet ring had been well worn and carried the hallmark 'London 1859'.
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The inquest was opened on 19 July 1945 and adjourned for a month by the
Liverpool
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cylinder across from some waste land in Great Homer Street to
Claudia Street.
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inquiry sought relatives of
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On 31 August 1945, the coroner closed the inquest by recording an
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Five account sheets (four unused), from T C Williams and Co.
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In the summer of 1943, American soldiers were clearing a
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A handkerchief, though with nothing identifiable on it.
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The left base of the skeleton's skull was missing. The
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There was no evidence that the man had been killed in
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receipt from T C Williams and Co, Leeds St, Liverpool.
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54:on Boundary Street East in Liverpool. An American
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130:'appointment for 1 pm with F C Gredy at Cons'
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219:, then Woodville House, Abbotsford Road in
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462:Approximate location of the discovery
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443:"The Bankruptcy Act, 1869".
337:"Body in Cylinder mystery".
157:London North Western Railway
67:Description of the cylinder
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546:Unsolved deaths in England
89:Description of the victim
42:Discovery of the cylinder
423:"Skeleton in Cylinder".
50:site at the back of the
249:List of unsolved deaths
210:Thomas Creegan Williams
81:scene and they used an
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226:Williams was declared
118:Items found with body
110:typical of the later
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517:53.426572; -2.980041
425:Liverpool Daily Post
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192:pathologist
150:signet ring
530:Categories
500:53°25′36″N
255:References
503:2°58′48″W
488:Liverpool
188:the Blitz
112:Victorian
56:bulldozer
32:Liverpool
243:See also
228:bankrupt
217:Seaforth
167:billhead
181:Coroner
148:A gold
103:cranium
96:in situ
48:blitzed
36:England
474:Portal
143:brooch
19:The "
28:WWII
21:Body
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