Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in Southampton Page 7

  Chapter 7

  The Murder Without a Body James Camb 1947

  On Friday, 10 October 1947, the Union Castle line ship Durban Castle left Capetown in South Africa, bound for Southampton. Amongst the passengers was a young actress, Eileen Isabella Ronnie Gibson, known as Gay, who occupied a first-class cabin, number 126 on B deck.

  Gay Gibson was twenty-one years old. Born in England, she had gone to a shorthand typing college immediately after she had left school. Once she was qualified she took a position as a typist in Liverpool before turning her hand to teaching the skills necessary to be a good secretary. It was whilst she was teaching that she discovered a love for the stage and began to take small parts in various shows in and around Liverpool.

  At the time, Gay lived with her mother in Bebington Road, Rock Ferry, Birkenhead, but when the war broke out in 1939, she joined ENSA and began working on shows for the serving troops. She spent some time in the Intelligence Corps and, after hostilities were over, she travelled out to Johannesburg where her acting career blossomed. Now it was time to return to England where there were more opportunities for an up and coming actress.

  The Durban Castle, the ship on which Gay Gibson met her death at the hands of James Camb.

  It was the custom for first-class passengers to dine in small groups and Gay found herself sharing a table with Frank William Montague Hopwood and Wing Commander Bray. She spent a good deal of time in the company of these two gentlemen but appeared to be especially close to Mr Hopwood.

  Exactly one week after the ship had sailed: Friday 17 October, the three friends dined together as usual after which they all adjourned to the lounge where Gay had three dances. At 11.00pm, or a few minutes later, Gay left the two gentlemen but joined them again in the smoke room at 11.30pm. They talked together until midnight before taking a stroll on the promenade deck where they stayed until around 12.35am on the Saturday, 18 October. All three then walked to B deck where the Wing Commander bade the other two goodnight. Frank Hopwood then escorted Gay back to cabin 126 where they spent a few minutes in conversation before Frank retired for the night to his own cabin, on C deck. Hopwood, Bray and other witnesses would all recall that Gay had been wearing a long black dress that evening.

  A layout of the cabins on the Durban Castle. Miss Gibson was killed in Cabin 126 and her body shoved out of the porthole

  Frederick Dennis Steer was one of the nightwatchmen on the ship. At around 3.00am, Steer heard the sound of bells ringing. Each cabin on board the ship had two buttons; one red and one green. Passengers could summon either a steward or a stewardess by pressing the appropriate button and this would cause the corresponding coloured light outside the cabin door to illuminate. It would also ring a bell and light up a button in the pantry, where the night staff spent the evening.

  Going to his console, Steer saw that someone in cabin 126 had pressed both buttons and had, apparently, kept their finger on those buttons for the bells were ringing continuously. Steer, who was on Deck A at the time, made his way to cabin 126, which took him no more than four or five minutes.

  Arriving at cabin 126, Steer saw that, as he had expected, both lights outside were illuminated. He knocked on the door but there was no reply. Fearful that the passenger inside might be in some distress, Steer pushed on the door and found that it was unlocked.

  The lights were on inside the cabin but as the door swung slowly open, Steer caught a glimpse of a face he thought he recognised – James Camb. The man was standing to the left and he was wearing a white singlet with shoulder straps and a pair of black or blue trousers. Camb said: ‘It’s all right’ and then pushed the door closed in Steer’s face. Steer assumed that Camb, a steward, had heard the summons himself and was now attending to the cabin’s occupant. However, Steer was also aware that Camb shouldn’t really be in first-class so, rather puzzled, Steer took his story to his immediate boss who would still be in the pantry on A deck.

  James Alfred Murray was the senior nightwatchman and he listened patiently as Steer told him what he believed he had just seen. Both men then returned to cabin 126 and listened outside. They could hear nothing and then, as Steer went about his duties, Murray stayed at the end of the passageway for close on ten minutes before going up to the Bridge to report the matter to the ship’s captain.

  Acting on the captain’s instructions, Murray returned to cabin 126 and knocked again. There was still no answer but now Murray opened the door. The room was in total darkness and there was no sign of the cabin’s occupant, Gay Gibson. Still, there was a possibility that she had merely gone for a stroll on the deck. For the time being, the matter was left to rest.

  At 7.30am on 18 October, Eileen Elizabeth Field, the stewardess in charge of cabin 126, knocked on the door to see if Miss Gibson required anything. There was no reply so Eileen turned the handle. To her surprise, the door opened. Over the past week, she had always had to wait until Miss Gibson opened the door for her. There was also the concern that the room was a little more untidy than usual and the porthole was wide open.

  Eileen began to tidy up but then suddenly realised that a pair of black silk pyjamas and a yellow flowered dressing gown were missing. Miss Gibson normally slept in the pyjamas and she certainly would not have gone for an early morning walk dressed in such attire. The matter was reported and in due course came to the attention of the captain again. Fearful that Miss Gibson might have fallen overboard, the ship was turned around and a search made.

  The watch was doubled and a radio message was sent out to all ships in the area but by 11.40am, no sign of the missing passenger had been found. The captain, Arthur George Victor Patey, ordered that the ship return to its original course and a full enquiry was then launched.

  As part of that enquiry, James Camb was interviewed. Patey told him that a man resembling him had been seen in cabin 126 at about 3.00am on the morning Miss Gibson had gone missing. Camb said that this could not have been him as he had never been in any passenger’s cabin since he had finished work for the night at 12.45am.

  Other interviews were conducted and in the course of these, it came to Captain Patey’s attention that Camb had started wearing a long-sleeved jacket. The ship was in tropical waters at the time and in this heat, all the rest of the staff were dressed in short-sleeved tunics. When it was reported that Camb was sporting what looked like fresh scratches and might be wearing the jacket to conceal them, Captain Patey ordered that Camb be examined by the ship’s surgeon and this took place the following day, 19 October. That same day, a fresh Yale lock was placed on the door of cabin 126 and the key then locked in the captain’s safe. The matter would now be dealt with by the police, once the ship docked in Southampton. A radio message was sent ahead to inform the authorities what had occurred.

  The ship docked at Southampton on Saturday, 25 October 1947 where it was met by Detective Sergeant John Quinlan, Detective Sergeant John Trevor Jones and Detective Constable Minden Plumley. Again, a number of people were interviewed until, finally, Sergeant Quinlan and Constable Minden spoke to James Camb.

  Quinlan asked Camb if he had any explanation for Gay Gibson’s disappearance adding that if he knew anything at all, now was the time to volunteer it. Rather surprisingly, Camb replied: ‘You mean that Miss Gibson might have died from a cause other than being murdered. She might have had an attack or something?’ He then went on to make a full statement.

  In that document, Camb stated that Miss Gibson had invited him to her cabin and he had taken a drink for her. He noticed that she was wearing a nightgown with nothing underneath and, when she removed this, he climbed into bed beside her. They had intercourse together and, during the act, she suddenly stiffened and then went limp. He got out of bed and saw that she was frothing at the mouth and only one of her eyes was open.

  Camb tried to give Miss Gibson artificial respiration and it was at this point that the nightwatchman, James Murray, knocked on the door. Once he had told Frederick Steer that everything was all right and he had been
left alone again, Camb returned to the bed to find that there were no signs of life. Panicking over what people would think and the position he would be in, he lifted her limp body to the porthole and threw her out into the sea. He added that when it hit the water, the body made; ‘… a hell of a splash’.

  Satisfied that Camb was actually responsible for Gay Gibson’s death, Sergeant Quinlan then charged him with murder. After various police court appearances, Camb faced his trial for murder, at Winchester on 18 March 1948, before Mister Justice Hilbery. The case for the prosecution lay in the hands of Mr G D Roberts, whilst Camb was defended by Mr J D Casswell. The proceedings would last for four days.

  Frank Hopwood, who had eaten at the same table as Gay Gibson, told the court that he was the victualling superintendent for the Union Castle line and had shared a table with her and Wing Commander Bray. During her time on the ship, Miss Gibson had only taken alcohol in moderation and, at the end of the meal on 17 October, she only had coffee to drink. He then confirmed that she was alive and well when he left her in her cabin during the early hours of 18 October.

  William Albert Gravenor Pott was, like Camb, a steward on the ship and shared a cabin with him. He recalled seeing Camb in the deck pantry on D deck on 17 October. Camb was washing some glasses and Pott asked him if he needed a hand. Camb replied that he could manage. It was then some time around 12.30am and soon afterwards, Pott had gone up to the promenade deck and seen Miss Gibson standing between Mr Hopwood and Mr Bray, looking over the rail. Soon afterwards Pott retired to his cabin on A deck and was soon asleep. He woke at 6.00am and at that time, Camb was in his own bunk but Pott had not heard him come in. From that day onwards, Camb began wearing his long-sleeved white coat.

  William Allan Conway was the boatswain’s mate on the Durban Castle and during the period in question, his hours of duty were midnight until 4.00am. It was around 1.00am on 18 October when he walked onto the promenade deck. Miss Gibson was standing alone, near the rail, smoking a cigarette. Conway recalled that she was wearing a black dress. The decks were being swabbed down at the time and he warned her that she might get wet if she stayed where she was. He then saw her walk away, in the direction of cabin 126.

  That afternoon, once it was public knowledge that Miss Gibson was missing, he had spoken to Camb and asked him when he had last seen her. Camb had remarked that it had been around 12.30am when she was with two gentlemen on that same promenade deck.

  Frederick Steer told the court his story of the bells ringing in cabin 126 and of his attendance there. Some two or three days later, Camb had approached him and asked him if he were the person who had told the captain that he had been in Miss Gibson’s cabin. Steer, acting on orders he had received from his superiors, replied that he had not and Camb then remarked: ‘I am in a tight jam sir. Thank goodness I haven’t been with her this trip.’

  James Murray also referred to the incident of the bells ringing from cabin 126 but was also able to tell the court of an earlier incident. On the previous night, the Friday, he had been in the Long Gallery on D deck and heard Camb say to Miss Gibson: ‘I have a bone to pick with you, and a big one at that.’ Murray was astounded that a steward should be so familiar with any passenger, let alone a first-class one.

  Eileen Field, who had been in charge of cabin 126 said that a few days before Miss Gibson vanished, she had seen Camb in the Long Gallery. At the time, Eileen was taking a tray to cabin 126 but Camb stopped her and volunteered the information that Miss Gibson was supposed to be three months pregnant, by a married man and added that she had told him herself. Eileen was most shocked to here Camb talk of a passenger in this way.

  Continuing her testimony, Eileen said that she had last seen Miss Gibson at some time after 6.30pm on 17 October. On 25 October, when the police came aboard and wanted to examine the cabin she, acting on their instructions, had returned to cabin 126 and attempted to put things back where they had been before she had started tidying up. This said rather little for the existing idea of crime scene preservation!

  Dr Anthony John Martin Griffiths was the surgeon on board the ship and on 19 October, acting on the captain’s instructions, he had examined Camb. Dr Grifiths found several superficial scratches on Camb’s left shoulder about one inch in length, which looked like they might have been made with fingernails. There were also several scratches on Camb’s wrists that had again been recently inflicted. When asked to explain them, Camb said that he had woken up one morning with a terrible itch and must have scratched himself until he bled. As for the scratches on his shoulder, he had used a very rough towel and that might well have caused them.

  Sergeant Quinlan told of his initial interview with Camb, which had taken place in the ship’s Smoke Room. He began by saying that he was investigating Miss Gibson’s disappearance to which Camb replied: ‘Should I know anything about it?’

  To further questions Camb said: ‘I knew Miss Gibson. I have seen her on the deck and have attended to her.’ He was then asked if he had ever been inside her cabin and answered: ‘Never.’ By then, Quinlan had discovered that it had been Camb’s habit to serve Miss Gibson afternoon tea in her cabin but when pressed on this point, Camb retorted: ‘Yes, but I was stopped from doing it. I only went there once or twice at the beginning of the trip.’

  Camb was then asked about his whereabouts on the night of 17 October. He said that he had finished his duties and then gone on deck to have a smoke. He was in bed and asleep by 2.00am. The sighting of him in her cabin at 3.00am was then mentioned to which Camb would only comment: ‘That’s put me in a tight spot.’

  Other police officers had been involved in the investigation. Sergeant John Trevor Addis had visited the ship on 25 October where he saw a palm print on the back of the door in cabin 126. He had photographed this and other parts of the cabin. He had also taken pictures of the scratches on Camb’s wrists and shoulder.

  Detective Chief Inspector Sidney Birch was in charge of the fingerprint department at New Scotland Yard and he had compared the palm print found on the cabin door with Camb’s prints. They were identical showing that he had indeed been in cabin 126. The palm print was of course explained by the suggestion that this is where he had pushed the door closed on Frederick Steer.

  Fibres had been found around the open port-hole in the cabin and stains had been seen on the bed sheets. These had been examined by Walter Eric Montgomery at the Metropolitan Police Laboratory at Hendon. He reported that he had found lipstick and tea stains on the pillow. There was brown boot polish on the counterpane and human bloodstains on the sheets.

  These bloodstains had been tested by Dr Donald Teare and he said that they were type O. Camb had been tested and his blood was found to be of type A, showing that the blood belonged to someone else and almost certainly was Miss Gibson’s. Perhaps more important was the finding of urine stains by Dr Teare for he stated that the involuntary evacuation of the bladder was quite common in cases of strangulation.

  The jury were out for just forty-five minutes before returning their guilty verdict and Camb was sentenced to death. An appeal was entered but even before that was heard, the death sentence was commuted to one of life imprisonment. During this early part of 1948, capital punishment was being discussed at length and a clause, which would abolish hanging, was included in the new Criminal Justice Bill for discussion in the House of Commons. In the event, the House of Lords would reject this bill but in the meantime, all death sentences were commuted as a matter of course. Camb heard the news of his reprieve on 6 May.

  Only after Camb’s death sentence had been quashed did other witnesses come forward to tell their stories. Several women said that Camb had attacked them sexually during previous voyages on the Durban Castle and two claimed that he had actually raped them. One woman, Laura Daisy Annie Temple, even said that when she resisted, Camb had tried to strangle her.

  Laura had left Southampton for Capetown on the Durban Castle on 11 September 1947, just about one month before the ship left on the fatefu
l return journey on which Miss Gibson sailed. Laura had travelled with a Mrs Thompson and her two children and together the party had occupied cabins 104 and 106. During the early part of the voyage, Laura had spoken to Camb several times and they had become quite friendly.

  On 18 September, Laura had gone out with Camb during the evening and at one stage had gone voluntarily with him into one of the cabins where deck equipment was kept. They had a drink together and then Camb locked the door and they sat down in two deck chairs. At this stage Camb asked Laura for a kiss and when she refused he attacked her, forced her into a kneeling position on one of the chairs and attempted to strangle her. Fortunately, she passed out before he could complete the act and when she woke, he was standing over her, smiling. The evidence of Laura and the other ladies, seemed to underline that Camb was a sexual predator who was quite prepared to use violence to get what he wanted. In the case of Gay Gibson he had just gone too far.

  Camb began his prison sentence and was eventually given parole in 1959. Seeking a new start in life he changed his surname to Clarke and obtained employment as a waiter. Unfortunately it was not the end of his criminal career for in May 1967 he was convicted of sexually attacking a thirteen-year-old girl, for which he was merely given probation. He then moved to Scotland where he worked in a restaurant but was then accused of sexual misconduct with three more schoolgirls. His parole was revoked and Camb was sent back to prison. Finally released in 1978, he died the following year.