Murder of Gay Gibson

Eileen Isabella Ronnie Gibson (16 June 1926 – 18 October 1947),[1][note 1][2] known professionally as Gay Gibson, was an actress who went missing during a sailing of a ship between Cape Town in South Africa and Southampton, England, in October 1947. The criminal case that followed was known as The Porthole Murder, as the man who would be convicted of killing her admitted that he had pushed her body out of the porthole in her cabin into the Atlantic Ocean. He claimed that they had engaged in consensual sex and that she had died of an apparent sudden illness; he had then panicked and thrown her body out of the cabin porthole.

Gay Gibson
Born
Eileen Isabella Ronnie Gibson

(1926-06-16)16 June 1926
Jaipur, British India
DiedOctober 18, 1947(1947-10-18) (aged 21)
Atlantic Ocean (aboard MV Durban Castle)
NationalityBritish (Anglo-Indian)
OccupationActress

Whilst James Camb acknowledged that pushing Gibson's body through the ship's porthole was "a beastly thing to do", he always strenuously denied having killed her, insisting that she had either choked or suffocated whilst the two were in bed together.

Camb was convicted of Gibson's murder and sentenced to death by hanging, but a legal move to suspend the death penalty for all crimes in Britain meant he served 11 years in jail for the crime. He denied killing her for the rest of his life.

The case attracted widespread attention at the time, drawing parallels with film noir and Agatha Christie novels. Even Winston Churchill commented on the outcome of the case, stating his regret that the punishment of Camb had been commuted to a lesser sentence.

Background

Eileen Isabella Ronnie 'Gay' Gibson[3] was a 21-year old actress who was travelling back to England on the Union-Castle Line ship, MV Durban Castle, in October 1947.[4] 'Gay' Gibson was her stage name[5] and she had been on a theatre tour in South Africa with Doreen Mantle. Gibson was returning to London (where she was living) to perform in theatre at the West End. Her presence on board came to the attention of James Camb (born 16 December 1916),[6] a 30-year old[note 2] steward on the liner. Gibson had been accommodated in cabin 126, B deck, which was in first-class. Camb was seen associating with Gibson, which was against company regulations, and he had been reprimanded over this by a senior officer.[7]

The ship had set sail on 10 October and on the 17th, after a night of dancing, she was escorted home by two friends at 11:30 pm. Sometime around 3:00 am the following morning, the duty watchman, a man called Frederick Steer,[note 3][8] was awakened by a summons which had been activated from cabin 126. When he arrived at the cabin, he noted that two lights were lit outside Gibson's cabin, one red and one green. One light indicated that the duty steward had been called, whilst the other meant that the duty stewardess had been requested also. Steer thought this strange as usually only one person would be summoned.[8][9] Steer's knock at the door was answered by Camb who only half-opened the door and informed him that everything was alright.[10] The duty watchman left as he assumed that as a deck steward, Camb had arrived before him to help the passenger. (Maxtone-Graham and others dispute this saying that the duty watchman believed Camb had made good on his boast to sleep with a passenger).[7][10]

In the morning, the female steward for Gibson's deck, Eileen Field, came to clean her room. She noticed that the bunk was empty, stains on the sheets and the porthole was open.[11][12] Later, the officer in command of the ship, Captain Patey, interviewed Camb who initially denied any involvement in Gibson's disappearance. When told that the duty watchman saw him at the door, Camb relented and told a story that neither the captain or the ship's doctor could believe. Camb stated that during sexual intercourse, Gibson had died and in a fit of abject panic, because he stood to lose his job and family, Camb pushed Gibson through the porthole.[13] At the time, the ship was 90 miles (140 km) off the coast of West Africa, heading north.[14][note 4][15] Captain Patey ordered the ship to turn around and to scour the water for Gibson's body.[7] Patey also contacted the Union Castle Line offices in London asking for the ship to be met by the police when it arrived in Southampton due to "complications".[16] A return cable was sent to Patey instructing him to "padlock and seal off the room; disturb nothing."[8]

When the ship docked at Cowes Roads in Southampton, police officers were waiting to question Camb who had been confined to his cabin by the ship's crew.[17] Southampton Police were assisted by the Metropolitan Police on the case and forensic evidence was examined at the Metropolitan Police's laboratory at Hendon.[18] This was not uncommon at the time; the Southampton Police Force was quite small and so they asked for help from Scotland Yard.[19][note 5][20] The police in the United Kingdom were involved as even though the murder took place off the coast of West Africa (Portuguese Guinea at the time, now Guinea-Bissau) it was a British ship under British authority, so the prosecution was brought by the British authorities.[12]

On Monday 27 October 1947, the Southern Daily Echo reported that James Camb, a deck steward from the Durban Castle, had been remanded in custody and charged with "Murder on the high seas".[21]

Trial and aftermath

The trial in Winchester was an unusual one, since it was labelled by some as the first case in English Law whereby a prosecution was sought without a victim's body. This has been pointed out to be untrue as there was a case thirteen years earlier where a father (Thomas Davidson) was convicted of murdering his son (John) and even further back is the Campden Wonder case.[22][note 6][23] The case also gained some interest due to it mirroring a plot of a crime novel. Richard Latto described the story as having all the hallmarks of an Agatha Christie piece: "a young actress, a dashing steward, romance and a suspicious death on the high seas."[24]

During the trial, it was revealed that pathologist Denis Hockling had discovered a urine stain on the sheets from cabin 126. It was stated by the Crown Pathologist that involuntary urination is something that occurs during strangulation. Hockling argued that it could be as a result of natural causes.[25] The contents, walls and porthole section from cabin 126 on the Durban Castle, were removed by the police and used as exhibits in the court case.[16]

When Camb took the stand, the prosecution barrister asked him if he considered himself an honest man. Camb replied, "I think so, sir." It was then proven in court that Camb had changed his story six times in what Camb defended as self-preservation. When asked about pushing Gibson's body through the porthole, Camb acknowledged that it was "beastly conduct."[9][26]

After a four day hearing, the jury deliberated for 45 minutes and returned with a guilty verdict. Camb was sentenced to death by Justice Hilbery on 22 March 1948.[27] However, the execution was not carried out because Parliament was considering the abolition of the death penalty at the time and the Home Secretary commuted all pending death sentences while the matter was discussed.[28] This prompted Winston Churchill to comment that "The House of Commons has, by its vote, saved the life of the brutal lascivious murderer who thrust the poor girl he had raped and assaulted through a porthole of the ship to the sharks."[29] An appeal was lodged and heard in April 1948, but was denied.[30] Camb was released from prison in 1959, but he was recalled to prison after being convicted of a number of indecent assaults of young girls. He was released again in 1978.[31] He died in July 1979 from heart failure.[32] Eileen Gibson's body was never found.[7]

Several books have been written about Gibson's death, and while most have been factual, some have taken the story as a basis for a novel. "The Finest Type of English Womanhood" by Rachael Heath uses the Porthole Murder as a backstory to her novel detailing the lives of Gibson and her fictional friend, Laura Trelling.[33][34] The title of the book is taken from a line spoken by Gibson's mother in court when asked to describe her daughter.[35]

In 1991, the Radio 4 series, Murder Most Foul profiled the killing with dramatisations.[36]

A 2011 biography of Sid James, the Carry On film star, forwarded the theory that Gay Gibson was returning to England to find Sid James, as she was his jilted lover. Cliff Goodwin's biography is the only piece written about the comic star that mentions this theory. Other authors have debunked it.[24][37][38]

Some people continue to have doubts about Camb's guilt. In 2018, the BBC broadcast a short documentary programme about the killing and asked whether or not Camb was guilty. The 30-minute programme was first aired on the BBC News Channel in March 2018. In the programme, Doreen Mantle, a fellow actress, details how she had seen Gibson faint and go blue around the lips.[29] This was also attested to at the trial by the theatre manager Hilary Gilbert.[39] The proposal of Gibson being ill was put to Gibson's mother during the trial of James Camb, but she flatly denied that her daughter was in ill-health. During the Second World War, Gibson enlisted herself in the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) and during July 1946, a junior ATS officer reported being called out to a Private Gibson who was on her bed with her back arched, unable to breathe with her tongue at the back of her throat. Gibson would later state to the ATS officer that she had had one of her "turns".[40]

Notes
  1. This means that two days before her death, Gibson was 21 years and five months old. The official court record from 1948 states that at "October last", Gibson was 21 years and four months old.
  2. Many sources list Camb as being 31 years-old; but this is based upon his age at the time of the trial in March 1948. When Gibson died, he was yet to reach his 31st birthday.
  3. Some sources state the duty watchman was James Murray, but the official court record states it was Steer who responded to the summons.
  4. Some sources state the ship was 150 miles (240 km) off the coast of West Africa.
  5. The Southampton Police was merged with other forces in 1967 to become the Hampshire Constabulary.
  6. In the book "First and Lasts and Only's; Crime", it states that Camb was the first British person convicted of a murder without a body.

References
  1. Clark 1949, p. 1.
  2. Clark 1949, p. 100.
  3. Whittington-Egan, Richard & Molly (2005). Murder on file (1 ed.). Glasgow: Neil Wilson. p. 34. ISBN 9781903238912.
  4. "Harland and Wolff - Shipbuilding and Engineering Works". www.theyard.info. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  5. Nash 1992, p. 102.
  6. Brown 2018, pp. 18–19.
  7. Thompson, Paula (10 January 2008). "The porthole murder". Daily Echo. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  8. Nash 1992, p. 103.
  9. "Web of lies fails to save the porthole murderer". Daily Echo. 19 March 2003. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  10. Maxtone-Graham, John (2000). Liners to the sun (1 ed.). Dobbs Ferry, N.Y: Sheridan House. pp. 320–321. ISBN 9781574091076.
  11. Maxtone-Graham, John (2000). Liners to the sun (1 ed.). Dobbs Ferry, N.Y: Sheridan House. p. 320. ISBN 9781574091076.
  12. Jenkins 2009, p. 24.
  13. Tyrer, Bill. Merseyside to Manhattan. p. 290. ISBN 978-1-326-08575-9.
  14. Shaw, Aaron (12 February 2018). "Retired police officer to bring murder case to Romsey Town Hall". Romsey Advertiser. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  15. Nash 1992, pp. 102–103.
  16. "Actress Disappears on Voyage to Southampton". Southern Daily Echo. 25 October 1947. p. 1. ISSN 0969-5702.
  17. Gale, Jez (20 March 2016). "It was an infamous historic murder trial - and you can be 'on the jury'". Romsey Advertiser. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  18. Archives, The National. "Murder of Eileen (Gay) Gibson by James Camb aboard the M V DURBAN CASTLE". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  19. Goodwin, Cliff (2011). Sid James : a biography (2 ed.). London: Virgin. p. 69. ISBN 978-0-7535-3913-2.
  20. Society, Hampshire Constabulary History. "Timeline – Hampshire Constabulary History Society". www.hampshireconstabularyhistory.org.uk. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  21. "Missing Body Murder Charge at Southampton". Southern Daily Echo. 27 October 1947. p. 1. ISSN 0969-5702.
  22. Morton, James (3 June 2003). "No body of evidence". The Times. p. 10. ISSN 0140-0460.
  23. Beadle, Jeremy; Harrison, Ian (2007). Crime. London: Robson. p. 143. ISBN 9781905798049.
  24. Latto, Richard (22 March 2018). "Sex, lies and murder on the high seas – can you solve The Porthole Mystery?". About the BBC. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  25. Herbstein, Denis (29 April 1996). "Joys of beastly science Obituary: Denis Hocking". The Guardian. p. 14. ISSN 0261-3077.
  26. Gale, Jez (20 March 2016). "It was an infamous historic murder trial - and you can be 'on the jury'". Daily Echo. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  27. "Murder in liner Camb sentenced to death". Belfast News-Letter. 23 March 1948. p. 3.
  28. Heath, Rachel (2009). The finest type of English womanhood (Hbk. ed.). London: Hutchinson. p. 375. ISBN 9780091925864.
  29. Latto, Richard (22 March 2018). "Was the 'porthole murderer' innocent?". BBC News. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  30. Clark 1949, pp. 253–255.
  31. Tyrer, Bill. Merseyside to Manhattan. p. 293. ISBN 978-1-326-08575-9.
  32. Whittington-Egan, Richard & Molly (2005). Murder on file (1 ed.). Glasgow: Neil Wilson. p. 35. ISBN 9781903238912.
  33. Jakeman, Jane (17 March 2009). "The Finest Type of English Womanhood, By Rachel Heath". The Independent. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  34. Taylor, Catherine (10 April 2009). "Review: The Finest Type of English Womanhood by Rachel Heath". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  35. Clark 1949, p. 101.
  36. "Cabin 126, Murder Most Foul - BBC Radio 4 Extra". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  37. Goodwin, Cliff (2011). Sid James : a biography (2 ed.). London: Virgin. p. 70. ISBN 978-0-7535-3913-2.
  38. Brown 2018, pp. 215–218.
  39. Clark 1949, p. 156.
  40. Brown 2018, pp. 3–4.

Sources
  • Brown, Anthony M (2018). Death of an Actress: A true story of sex, lies and murder on the high seas. London: Mirror Books. ISBN 978-1-910335-82-6.
  • Clark, Geoffrey, ed. (1949). Trial of James Camb (The Port-Hole Murder [sic]). London: William Hodge & Co. OCLC 844712836.
  • Jenkins, Carol, ed. (April 2009). "The Porthole Murder" (PDF). The Investigator. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  • Nash, Jay Robert (1992). World Encyclopedia of 20th Century Murder. London: Headline. ISBN 9780747206217.

Further reading
  • Brown, Antony M (2018). Death of an Actress: A True Story of Sex, Lies and Murder on the High Seas. London: Mirror Books. ISBN 978-1-910335-82-6.
  • Herbstein, Denis (1991). The Porthole Murder Case: The Death of Gay Gibson. London: Hodder and Stoughton. ISBN 9780340501573.
  • Wilson, Colin (1993). Murder in the 1940s. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishing. ISBN 978-0-881-84962-2.
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