The other day my sister and I, were talking about things that happened in our youth and she reminded me of this sad event, much of which, was becoming a fading memory.
Over the years I've looked for information, but without success, so not for a couple of decades. But I tried again a couple of days ago and now archives are easier to access, I found some stuff.

I left school at seventeen in 1957 and with a bunch of teenagers, mostly girls, started working at an insurance company in the West-End.
The only other boy was Charlie. He and I became firm friends. We both managed to buy a couple of old cars within a few months of starting work and spent a few evenings a week and Saturday nights, trawling the coffee bars in the suburbs and Soho.
But towards the end of 1958 we spent less time together, as by then, I had a regular girlfriend and he didn't want to be tied down. But early in 1959, he admitted he had found girl he liked, but wouldn't give me any information, "as it was complicated."

This romance ended in tragedy.

https://www.findagrave.com/mem...

The photograph looks a bit odd as it's a clip of one taken of the two of us by one of the girls in the office, when we were messing about "posing," He was doing his James Dean impression and also the photo looks as if it's been "squeezed."

Then I found this in an on-line newspaper article. It looks like a school photo that maybe her mother gave the newspaper.
Pity the photographer couldn't be bothered to get her to straighten her tie.

https://i.ibb.co/0f0CzYJ/BL-00...

That is really a sad story. But the guy served less than 3 years for murder? He was out by 1962? That's just mind-boggling to me.

Murky said: That is really a sad story. But the guy served less than 3 years for murder? He was out by 1962? That's just mind-boggling to me.

We were very angry at the time, as Charlie had died before the trial.
We couldn't believe what Carol's mother had said at the trial, that Eddie was a lovely boy and she wouldn't mind if once it was all over, he wanted to take out one of her other daughters!
There's no record of what they said!
In at least one paper, her mother was pictured with Eddie's mother arriving at court.
The death sentence had not yet been repealed. Eddie went to the meeting with a knife and a piece of rope. Whichever way you look at it, it was pre-meditated murder.

Remembering back, we thought this was a nonsense, which I've just found.

The guy was a monster. I know I'd never be as forgiving as the girl's mother. Makes me wonder if the other family didn't pay her off to say those things to lessen his prison time.