The Book Bella: An Unsolved Murder. Joyce M. Coley. History in Print. 2007. Summary This book was written over 12 years ago by Joyce M. Coley, and is often quoted in Bella lore. I ordered a copy from Amazon and read it in less than an hour. The book is more pamphlet than “book” comprising […]
Book Review – Bella: An Unsolved Murder – Joyce M. Coley (2007) Read More »
Came across this news article the other day in the Birmingham Mail… Keith K. Swallow’s Book According to the article, an author named Keith K. Swallow claims that, after years of research, he knows the identity of Bella in the Wych Elm. Not a spy. Not Clara Bauerle. Not a prostitute. Not a “Dutch piece”
Bella in the Wych Elm – Solved? Read More »
Was there a war-time spy ring in Birmingham, England? It’s a topic that comes up quite frequently in the Bella in the Wych Elm story. The theory is that Bella was involved with the Birmingham spy ring, ran afoul of the leaders and ended up stuffed in the hollow wych elm. To date, however, I’ve
Bella in the Wych Elm – A Birmingham Spy Ring Theory deflated Read More »
Recently, I’ve been in a back and forth email exchange with Pete and Alex Merrill who are working on their second volume of the Bella in the Wych Elm series. At least, I hope it’s a series, their first book was fascinating and volume 2 promises to be even more so. We have been bouncing
Bella in the Wych Elm – The Case of the Missing Quaestor Article Read More »
The Yesterday Channel (UK) aired a six-part series entitled “Nazi Murder Mysteries” late last year. Episodes 1 (Hitler’s Niece) and Episode 2 (The Duke of Windsor) can be found here Episode 3 (A Serial Killer in Berlin) can be found here Episode 4 (Bella in the Wych Elm) in which I participated, can be found
Andrew Sparke, from APS Publishing, has set up a website for all things Bella-related (bellawychelm.com – no longer working). He admits it’s a bit “content light” at the moment, but hopes to have more content as things move along. There seem to be some broken links at the moment, but I imagine they’ll get fixed
Bella in the Wych Elm Website Read More »
In her 1953 statement to police about the Bella in the Wych Elm murder, Una Abel Mossop stated that: “The only child of our marriage was born in 1932 and he was christened Julian and at the present time, he is somewhere in America.” Seemingly an open and shut statement except… when it comes to
Bella in the Wych Elm – Jill Mossop Read More »
The West Mercia Police files on the Bella in the Wych Elm mystery contain many interesting documents. There is one file, however, that has the most intriguing title: “Folder 11 – Possible Suspect Julian Mossop”. It turns out that Julian Mossop was the son of Jack Mossop and Una Abel. Let’s take a look. Julian
Bella in the Wych Elm – Julian Mossop Read More »
In researching the Bella in the Wych Elm case, I’ve noticed that several commentators make much of the fact that the tags had been removed from her clothing. Some have suggested that her clothing may have been “seconds” from a market, while others have gone so far as to say that the absence of tags
Not so Incognito – German Spies and their Clothing Read More »
An intriguing production of the Bella in the Wych Elm story was performed on stage at The Space in London, March 13-13, 2018. The production didn’t have a traditional script based on dialogue, but rather was narrated by the cast using original archival and published sources. It sounds like a really intriguing way of doing
Reviews of Pregnant Fish Theatre – Who put Bella in the Wych Elm? Read More »