The drain tap is only four inches off the floor, HB, and then the handle and other parts roughly another 10-12inches further up, so the centre of the handle would be roughly 14+ inches off the floor?
As we can see, Nevill had fairly broad shoulders so wouldn't have needed to be at lying at much of an angle for the centre of his back to reach.
I’m ready and loaded, Snow. We’re not talking about shoulders here, we’re talking about the middle of the neck.
If the head is on the floor, the neck drops lower, not higher. That increases the distance between the handle and the centre of the neck, it doesn’t reduce it. So you have to factor the head being on the floor into this.
The lower the head goes, the further away the handle gets.
Look at the photo again and then visualise that handle somehow reaching the middle of the neck — it can’t. As the shoulders slope away, the head drops even more.
Drop the Aga the three inches if you like — it still doesn’t work. And then look at the other two supposed contact points and try to line them up with the spine as well.