Norah Bartlett (Unsolved Murder)

Late at night on Thursday, 18th November 1943, an unconscious woman was found lying on her back in a lane in the Brynmill area of Swansea. Rather than seeking medical help, a police officer took her to a hotel to recuperate, but, within a matter of minutes, she had died. 

At first, the identity of the woman was a mystery, but the post-mortem determined her death had been the result of foul play. Key witnesses then came forward and told of the bizarre and harrowing events of that night. 

Sources for the episode can be found here 

Transcript

Norah Bartlett

Late at night on Thursday November 18th 1943 an unconscious woman was found in a small lane off Rhyddings Park Road in the Brynmill area of Swansea. The woman displayed no obvious injuries and, rather than requesting an ambulance, she was instead taken by a police constable to a nearby hotel to recuperate. This proved a devastating decision as a short time later the woman died. The cause of death was not immediately obvious and could not be established. So began what became known as the “Brynmill Lane Tragedy”.

Hi it’s John here, I live in Wales, UK, and I research, write and produce “Persons Unknown podcast”. It is a true crime podcast dedicated to unsolved murders and missing persons cases from all over the world. 

The case I’m covering today proved one of the hardest to research and gather all the facts. I’d originally planned on releasing it a couple of weeks ago but felt it wasn't quite ready. I’m glad I did keep digging as I was able to find some key details. 

I have almost finished the script for the next case which is another unsolved murder from Wales.  I have also recently researched cases from New Zealand, Canada and Scotland and have collated sources for an unsolved murder from Australia and a historical missing person case from the US.  

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The deceased had no identification on her person and over the next 24 hours appeals were made in the local press to establish her identity. Initial reports described the woman as middle aged, around 40, but perhaps younger. She was 5ft 3 ½, of medium build, with straight black hair which was just beginning to turn grey. She had dark eyebrows and eye lashes, brown eyes and had false upper and lower dentures. The woman was wearing a fawn-coloured woollen skirt, a brown, green and fawn checked jacket, a green woolen jumper and brown crepe shoes with yellow tops. On her right hand she wore a distinctive signet ring engraved with the initials JB or PB. 

The publicity worked, and the woman was identified as 32 year old Norah Irene Bartlett. Norah lived on Rhyddings Park Road with her widowed mother, a mere stone’s throw from where she was found. Norah worked as a canteen clerk at a local factory, the CwmFelin Works. I believe she may have previously worked at Prudential Insurance. Norah was said to be of quiet disposition and was much respected by her neighbours and colleagues. Norah’s mother had not been worried when her daughter had not returned home that night, as it was not unusual for her to stay overnight with a friend.

The formal identification was confirmed by Norah’s brother Gerald Whitcombe Bartlett, an insurance superintendent from Sketty, Swansea, at the opening of the inquest into the death on November 24th. Proceedings were then adjourned by coroner David Clarke until December 10th to give police time to piece together the details of what had happened to Norah.

A post mortem examination was carried out at Swansea hospital mortuary on the afternoon of Friday the 19th November, before Norah had been identified. It was attended by JM Harrison of Cardiff Forensic lab and the eminent pathologist Dr J M Webster from Midland Forensic science lab. Listeners may remember the latter from previous episodes on Helen Hoyles, Giustina Macari and Mabel Harper. 

While there were a few scratches on the body there were no obvious signs of violence. Nevertheless, the examination confirmed that Norah’s death had been the result of foul play. The cause of death was given as shock and partial asphyxia caused by pressure on the neck by hand. Another report states that a hand had been pressed on the nose and mouth of the victim. Shock or circulatory shock can happen when the body experiences blood loss or trauma. According to MedlinePlus, a sudden and severe drop in blood pressure can prevent oxygen and nutrients from reaching vital organs. Without treatment it can worsen rapidly and lead to death. 

It was stated there was no evidence of violation, a term used at the time to refer to rape. However, one of the few modern articles written about Norah Bartlett, published in Wales Online on July 4th 2021, says she was sexually assaulted. 

The investigation into the killing was spearheaded by Detective Inspector Ebenezer Jones, who soon began to gather a picture of the strange events of November 18th 1943. 

On Thursday Norah spent the evening in the company of a female friend. Before they parted ways, Norah escorted her friend to the bus station on Singleton Street. Here she waited for her friend to get on the bus and then set out for home on Rhyddings Park Road. This was at 10.15pm and it was believed Norah walked and did not catch a bus. This journey would have taken about twenty minutes and taken her down Oxford Street and then onto King Edward Road before finally arriving at Rhyddings Park Road.

It should be said here that as Norah made her way through the streets it would have been completely dark because of the “blackout”. Due to the threat of German bombing raids street lighting was prohibited and homes and businesses had to ensure no light was visible from buildings. In truth there had not been a bombing raid on Swansea in about eight months, but the blackout remained in effect. 

The next part of the narrative I have painstakingly put together as contemporary newspapers reports were not very clear at all. I had to build a picture from numerous newspaper reports as no one article shared all the details. This task was made slightly more complicated as some publications omitted the “h” from the end of Norah's name.

It was reported that between 10.45pm and around 11’o’clock, several witnesses, both men and women, saw Norah in the company of an American soldier on or near Rhyddings Park Road. This American soldier was not believed to be known by Norah before the encounter. The press reported that Norah was a quiet person and would have been upset about being accosted by a stranger in the blackout, especially after 10pm.  

Altogether during the war about 3 million American military personnel passed through the UK. Between 1943 and 1944 tens of thousands of troops were based in Wales at one time or another as they trained and prepared for the D-Day Landings. There were American bases in North Wales and several in South Wales including Barry, Abergavenny and Swansea. 

When I first read that Norah had been accosted by an American soldier I couldn't quite understand the scenario as the details were vague. Had the American soldier stopped her in the street or was he seen following or pestering her? If he was aggressive why did no one intervene? Here is the shocking sequence of events that took place that night. 

A local man, David William Isaacs, from the Uplands area of Swansea, came forward with an extraordinary story. He stated that on the night of November 18th 1943 he had been on lower Rhyddings Park Road. At 10.40pm through the gloom of the blackout he saw a soldier kneeling on the pavement over a woman whose head he seemed to be supporting. David walked over to investigate. The woman was making a choking sound and appeared to be having some kind of fit.

At this point another person came over to see what was going on. He was an RAF airman. David asked the kneeling soldier what was wrong and he replied, “Nothing”. David then struck a match to get a better look at the scene but the soldier blew it out straight away. 

On further questioning the soldier went on to explain that he was an American and that the woman lived nearby. The American soldier then said to the woman, “Honey, I must be getting back”.

The RAF man and David then proceeded to help the American soldier take the woman to what they were told was her house. They were about to knock on the door when the American pleaded with them not to. He said he knew the girl and didn't want her parents seeing her like this. Instead they laid her on the pathway leading to the front door. The American soldier then asked David and the RAF man to leave. He told them, “I can manage now, sons”. He shook their hands and thanked them for helping, adding, “If I see you in town, I’ll buy you a drink”. David and the RAF airman then left. 

Not long after this a witness, Joan Griffiths of nearby King Edward Road, saw an American soldier dragging a woman from the front house of a garden on Rhyddings Park Road to a lane on the opposite side of the road. Joan went and met some friends and then returned to investigate. I'm unsure how long Joan was away. When Joan and her friends went down the lane they found an unconscious  woman lying on her back. 

As they stood there, puzzled and thinking about what to do next, an American soldier suddenly appeared next to them. It appeared to be the same person Joan had seen dragging the woman. The American soldier asked, “Is she dead?” and followed up with the question, “Is there anything I can do?”. He then left the scene, supposedly to call the police and ambulance, but never returned. Joan and her friends telephoned police and a constable arrived shortly after.

As I mentioned at the start of the episode, when the police constable arrived he found the woman was alive. In January 1944 he told the inquest she was breathing heavily and he moved her to a hotel. Shortly after this, the injured woman died. Obviously as we know, she was later identified as being 32 year old Norah Bartlett. We can only speculate whether she would have lived if she had been given medical treatment on first being found.

This next part is a little complicated and again it has taken some detective work to piece together the sequence of events. 

A young woman came forward to police to share what she had encountered on the night of November 28th 1943 on Rhyddings Park Road. Reports time this incident at 10.45pm so in the timeline of events this is after David Williams Isaacs and the RAF man are said to have helped the American soldier carry Norah into the front garden. I am unsure if it is before or after the same American soldier was seen dragging Norah into the lane.

As this young woman witness was walking at the lower end of the road she saw something that aroused her suspicions in the front garden of one of the houses. She stopped several other passers by to show them what she had found.  

The first people she stopped were a couple described as a girl and an American soldier. (To be clear, not the same American soldier seen kneeling over Norah). The young woman directed their attention to the front garden of a house on the lower end of the west side of the street. This was on the opposite side of the road to the lane where Norah was found.  

The American soldier shone his torch into the garden and saw a person lying there on the ground. Five minutes after this a workman carrying firewood who entered Rhyddings Park Road from King Edward Road was also stopped by the same young woman witness who again instructed the man to shine his torch beam into the garden and onto the figure lying on the floor. The house was the third or fourth from the end of the road. It was reported in the Western Mail on November 25th 1943 that the person seen lying in the garden was an American soldier.

The young woman witness also stopped a railway worker who shone his torch into the garden and saw the same figure lying on the floor. He confirmed to police that it was an American soldier. It must have been very obvious by the uniform he was wearing. 

This is a very confusing part of the narrative to understand. What was the American soldier doing? Was it the same American soldier seen kneeling with Norah and later dragging her body to the lane? There are a few possibilities.

1. It has no relevance and is completely unrelated to Norah’s murder. I think this is unlikely.
2. After dragging the unconscious Norah into lane the American soldier went back to Rhyddings Park Road and hid in the garden. It is not clear if the American soldier was lying in the same garden where the witness David William Isaacs and the RAF airman had left Norah.
3. This incident was shortly before the man dragged Norah from the garden to the lane. The young woman witness and the torchlights of the other passersby actually caught the American soldier lying on top of Norah as he was sexually assaulting her. Often details of sexual assault were left out of reports and even inquest notes in what was deemed an attempt to preserve the dignity of the victim. 
4. Of course it could be something else entirely. It is really hard to be certain of the details.

The inquest concluded in January 1944 but there are different reports as to the verdict that was given. Some say an open verdict while others a verdict of murder by a person or persons unknown. The Daily Herald January 7th 1944 says murder by an unknown American soldier. 

None of the witnesses who interacted with said soldier that night were able to identify him. Remember it was pitch black and while some had seen him by torchlight it does not appear that a description of the soldier was ever released. I can find no details of what he may have looked like. I’m guessing that witness statements about his appearance did not tally or were too vague to warrant a suspect sketch. One thing I have wondered is whether the man may have been an older soldier, as he referred to the two witnesses who aided him in carrying Norah to the garden as “sons”. I have no evidence for this; it is mere speculation. 

The United States Army authorities were said to be working with the Swansea police to find the suspect and establish his identity, but he was never found. We can only speculate whether he survived the war, and if he ever shared with anyone his dark secret. 

As a result of Norah’s killing and other attacks perpetrated under the cover of the blackout the Swansea Council petitioned the Minister for Home Security to introduce modified street lighting. The wartime blackout was lifted completely in September 1944.

Norah Bartlett’s funeral took place on November 26th 1943 and was conducted by Reverend A l Norman and Reverend F Samuel. A large crowd of local women gathered to watch the cortege leave Rhyddings Park Road and the service itself was attended by a large number of family, friends, work mates and former work colleagues. Many floral tributes were left including the following “In sweet memory of my dearest daughter from her sorrowing mother, Gerald, Wyndham and Thelma. Another read “To Aunty Noey from her little Patricia”. There was yet another by her colleagues of “the dark blue shift”. 

Norah Bartlett was laid to rest at Oystermouth cemetery.