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Sawson is a quiet village south of Cambridge in the U.K. On December 30 1954 there was disbelief when local widower ‘Ernest Durham’ was found dead in his garden, a bullet through his head. In the same incident his cleaning lady was shot in the shoulder.
Durham was actually 59 year old Percy Bush-Cox. He had deserted the British army during WWI and assumed the identity of Ernest Durham, an Australian soldier. He claimed to have continued fighting with the A.I.F., but this does not appear to be true. Officially he had been listed as missing in action in 1918, then pronounced dead.
In 1940 he revealed his true identity to his family, asking them to keep it quiet. However, with his father and brother he visited a war memorial in his home village to see his real name inscribed among the fallen. Newspaper photographs were taken of the occasion, and he kept a cutting of one at his cottage.
When the photo was discovered by his cleaning lady, Dorothy Piper, the long held secret was out. Dorothy confronted Durham and she and her husband George were warned that if they ‘squealed’ he would shoot them. (Daily Herald, December 31 1954) The couple did keep quiet, but apparently at a price.
High Street, Sawston village. Source – CapturingCambridge.org.
AN INQUEST REVEALS ALL
In January 1955 a coronial inquest was held into ‘Durham’s’ death. Among several notes found in his cottage was one stating that he planned an attack on the Pipers because they were blackmailing him.
‘Just to say that I can stand no more of this blackmailing from the Pipers. They have had to the tune of £400 out of me in the last nine months – a new bedroom suite, a T.V., radio and washer. Now they have got to sending their boy for 5s, or 10s. at a time. I have been a good friend to a lot of people, and hope you will forgive me what I am going to do. What the Pipers have got coming to them they have asked for, and they will get it on Thursday – this is Sunday. I would like my neighbours to know that I thank them, and may God bless me and them all. ‘
This did seem to have the ring of truth. The Coroner confirmed that in the nine months before his death, Percy Bush-Cox, as I will call him now, had withdrawn £900 from his bank account. The funds were part of a £2,000 compensation payment he received for a work accident. There was only £5 left of that money. Unable to work, he must have been under extreme pressure.
I should point out that there was no solid proof of his accusation of blackmail. The Coroner stated that if true, it could only be a matter on the conscience of Mrs Piper. The Pipers were never charged.
Mrs Pipers version of the story was that her employer was strange and temperamental. She said he had propositioned her when she was dusting his bedroom, and that he flew into a homicidal rage when she rebuffed him.. She admitted that she had recently bought all the items mentioned, but had paid for them with money earned by herself and her husband. It is doubtful whether this was true. Dorothy Piper only worked one hour a week for Percy, and her husband George was a lowly paid mill hand.
Whatever the case, Percy Bush-Cox acted on his threat of revenge. He chased Dorothy Piper out of the house and fired at her as she ran across the garden. She fell and be reloaded, but as she escaped onto a neighbour’s porch he turned the gun on himself.
Giving evidence, Frederick Bush-Cox said his brother had a withered arm due to WWI bullet wounds and was often depressed. He had last seen him in June 1954, when Percy visited him at Wimblington on a motor bike, Asked by the Coroner whether the dead man was ‘a bit of a dark horse’, Frederick agreed and said he told his family very little.
FINAL ACT IN THE STORY
Percy Bush-Cox’s name remained on the Wimblington War Memorial for decades. However, in 2005 there was a review by village authorities and a decision was made to erase his name. He was the first soldier to have his name removed from a village war memorial.
Mr Brian Krill, the Cambridgeshire representative of the War Memorials Trust, commented, ‘Thinking of all the other names on there, I’m sorry, I have no sympathy at all for Percy.’
As far as I’m aware his name remains on the Parish Hall honour board.
NOTE – In 2017, Cambridge folk group The Willows produced a track inspired by the Ernest Durham/Percy Bush-Cox story called The Perfect Crime. It is based on Percy’s version of events, which many people still choose to believe is true.
Here are some lines from the first verse;
Crawl through the dawn,
So they don’t hear that you’re gone.
Will me your tag,
Carry my life to the grave.
And from the chorus;
After thirty six years of living in fear,
To stay the living dead,
Took a bullet right through the head.
Members of the folk group The Willows
To hear a YouTube recording of the song, CLICK HERE.
MY CONCLUSION IS THAT THE ENTIRE STORY OF BUSH-COX AND OTHERS EXCHANGING UNIFORMS AND TAGS WITH DEAD AUSTRALIANS WAS FABRICATED. IT AMAZES ME THAT IT CONTINUES TO BE TOLD WITHOUT SCRUTINY. ESPECIALLY IN AUSTRALIA. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CHALLENGE ME ON THIS. COMMENTS AND QUERIES ARE ALWAYS WELCOME.
