Most readers of this blog will know that Jack Mossop and family were dragged into the Bella in the Wych Elm mystery by Jack’s former wife, Una (nee Abel) Hainsworth a.k.a. Anna of Claverley. The West Mercia police files on the Bella case have a folder on Jack and Una’s son, Julian M.A. Mossop who, it would appear, was initially considered as a suspect. Given that Julian was only born in 1932 and Bella was likely stuffed into the wych elm in 1941, he would have only been nine years old at the time of Bella’s death. An unlikely suspect in my eyes. Although… Julian did get into trouble with the law as he grew older, eventually heading off to the United States in 1953.
I’ve written about Julian Mossop previously and believed that I had tracked down his final resting place in the potters field on Hart Island, New York. Julian apparently died in 1998 and I ended the blog with a fervent wish that some distant relation might reach out to me. You just never know…
A couple of years ago, after I published the blog on Julian Mossop, I received a comment from Rose Turner who said that:
I knew Julian. from 1976 to 1980 and the last time I saw him was in 1982. When I met him in 1976, Julian had just come out of a federal prison. He had many stories, most were lies. but he was funny. Julian lived on the margins of the law. During the time I knew him he was buying stolen travellers checks. Also the secret service came looking for him because he had a roll of money printing paper. He was selling stolen securities and bearer bonds. He was a character, but too much trouble.
It does indeed sound like Julian might have been a character to be sure! Given his turbulent upbringing, passed from parents to grandparents, followed by the untimely death of his father and the remarriage of his mother… well… it’s understandable that Julian did not get an auspicious start to life.
A couple of months ago, I received an email from Alice D. who said:
Julian was my step-father [and] he lived at my house growing up. I do have a few photos of him. He passed away in NYC [on] August 15, 1998. I do know some of his London past. He was a great person to me from childhood [until] he passed… RIP Pops.
I sent a response back and put Alice in touch with Duncan Honeybourne, a Mossop relation. Alice shared some photographs of Julian with Duncan who kindly passed them on to me.
(photo courtesy of Duncan Honeybourne and Alice D.)
It’s rather striking to see Julian as an older man. He looks so very different from his younger self. And yet, even in this photograph, we can see his distinctive ear (at least one of them) and the cleft in his chin. He’s older, possibly wiser, and has put on some weight. He’s well-dressed and looks like a relatively well-to-do gentleman.
Alice noted that Julian passed away on 15 August 1998 while the Hart Island site notes that he passed away on 16 October 1998. The discrepancy is odd but so is the fact that he was buried in the middle of November, almost a month after the Hart Island death date. Perhaps his body lay in the morgue for several weeks waiting for family to claim the body.
I did find a few other odd bits of information on Julian recently…
On 15 January 1956, his picture was published in the Daily News (New York, New York) as he fought Jay Goggins (18) in a Golden Gloves lightheavy boxing match. Julian would go on to lose the match. The newspaper noted that Goggins was part of the Mount Carmel CYO (Catholic Youth Organization) while Julian was unattached. I was unable to find any other boxing matches that featured Julian so perhaps his boxing career was a brief one. The only question with the newspaper article is that he is listed as being 22 years old while, according to his birth year (1932), he should have been 24 years old in 1956. So… it could be him… it could also not be him. Although, I haven’t come across any other genealogical records for a Julian Mossop in New York City soo…. I tend to lean towards this being our friend Julian.
Daily News (New York, New York) 15 January 1956.
At one point, Julian lived at 225 West 80th Street (apartment 9c) in Manhattan, just west of Central Park.
225 West 80th Street, New York
Beyond that, Julian is still a bit of a mystery, although, with ever piece of the puzzle that comes in, we get a slightly clearer framework of the man.