The lockable from outside window. A time for closure ?

[scipio_usmc]

But why would Jeremy admit under interrogation that he could access the farm by means of opening windows? It's almost as if he has to have acknowledgement from others that he can achieve something, however little. How his self-esteem must have suffered over the years as he was outwitted at Gresham's by his smarter peers with their boasts of academic and commercial superiority and upon returning to the White House ignored by his ailing mother,whose social engagements seemingly came first. For the first time in his life he was the centre of attention, albeit under such grisly circumstances and apparently unaware as to the perils in which he had become embroiled.

Because he wasn't as smart as he thought he was.  He admitted he could enter and exit but he didn't admit he could lock the window from the kitchen.  He admitted to Julie he could and the family was previously told by the victims it was possible and they showed police how to do so.  He thought his claim that it could not be locked from outside would be sufficient and that since the family knew about the windows being used it made no difference to admit they were used he was banking on the inability to lock it from the outside being his ticket. Police finding out how to lock it screwed him but so too did the fact that he could not establish it was definitely locked. 

 

 

[Jane]

But why would Jeremy admit under interrogation that he could access the farm by means of opening windows? It's almost as if he has to have acknowledgement from others that he can achieve something, however little. How his self-esteem must have suffered over the years as he was outwitted at Gresham's by his smarter peers with their boasts of academic and commercial superiority and upon returning to the White House ignored by his ailing mother,whose social engagements seemingly came first. For the first time in his life he was the centre of attention, albeit under such grisly circumstances and apparently unaware as to the perils in which he had become embroiled.

Actually Steve, you may have touched something quite significant there. For many, I suspect Greshams was a great place and a great opportunity -the first stepping stone en route to an illustrious career. There was no such career mapped out for the boy who, just prior to being "sent away" had learned of his adoption and possibly thought he was being removed to prevent others from learning this "terrible" knowledge. It would have changed the whole ethos of what Greshams was really about -didn't he once say that prison was easier?- in that it wasn't a place which expanded young minds and broadened horizons (no point in his being broadened, all he was marked out for was being a glorified farm-labourer) but a place of confinement until such time as he was old enough to be set to that work and remain living with his parents. Where was the point, to an 8 year old, in being educated to degree standard to work on a farm? If that mind set had taken hold then, educationally, he was on a hiding to nowhere.

[susan]

Actually Steve, you may have touched something quite significant there. For many, I suspect Greshams was a great place and a great opportunity -the first stepping stone en route to an illustrious career. There was no such career mapped out for the boy who, just prior to being "sent away" had learned of his adoption and possibly thought he was being removed to prevent others from learning this "terrible" knowledge. It would have changed the whole ethos of what Greshams was really about -didn't he once say that prison was easier?- in that it wasn't a place which expanded young minds and broadened horizons (no point in his being broadened, all he was marked out for was being a glorified farm-labourer) but a place of confinement until such time as he was old enough to be set to that work and remain living with his parents. Where was the point, to an 8 year old, in being educated to degree standard to work on a farm? If that mind set had taken hold then, educationally, he was on a hiding to nowhere.

April/Steve

excellent posts which make so much sense.

[Adam]

Actually Steve, you may have touched something quite significant there. For many, I suspect Greshams was a great place and a great opportunity -the first stepping stone en route to an illustrious career. There was no such career mapped out for the boy who, just prior to being "sent away" had learned of his adoption and possibly thought he was being removed to prevent others from learning this "terrible" knowledge. It would have changed the whole ethos of what Greshams was really about -didn't he once say that prison was easier?- in that it wasn't a place which expanded young minds and broadened horizons (no point in his being broadened, all he was marked out for was being a glorified farm-labourer) but a place of confinement until such time as he was old enough to be set to that work and remain living with his parents. Where was the point, to an 8 year old, in being educated to degree standard to work on a farm? If that mind set had taken hold then, educationally, he was on a hiding to nowhere.

He was sent to a top quality school to get the best start in life. To give him the chance to do what he wanted to do with good academic qualifications.  Not just to be a farm labourer.

However Bamber either rejected this chance outright. Or simply didn't have any academic skills. Leaving with no qualifications.

Neville and June then generously paid for Bamber to go on extensive travelling trips and didn't complain when he worked elsewhere. Bamber eventually and reluctantly decided himself to work on the farm.

Bamber obviously resented going to Gresham's. Mary Mugford saying he never forgave June for sending him away. Bamber has tried to play this down, saying he only found it hard at the start, like all boys would. He is being a bit of a cry baby to be honest. Schools have months of holidays every year where he would go back to WHF.

[Adam]

I am not sure Jan and Lookout would make good defence lawyers.

The prosecution has 18 sources showing the kitchen window could be closed from outside.

The defence have no sources saying the kitchen window could not be closed from outside. But claim the prosecution has 'lost the argument' and then demands more 'sources' !

'Beyond reasonable doubt' ?

[Jane]

Actually Steve, you may have touched something quite significant there. For many, I suspect Greshams was a great place and a great opportunity -the first stepping stone en route to an illustrious career. There was no such career mapped out for the boy who, just prior to being "sent away" had learned of his adoption and possibly thought he was being removed to prevent others from learning this "terrible" knowledge. It would have changed the whole ethos of what Greshams was really about -didn't he once say that prison was easier?- in that it wasn't a place which expanded young minds and broadened horizons (no point in his being broadened, all he was marked out for was being a glorified farm-labourer) but a place of confinement until such time as he was old enough to be set to that work and remain living with his parents. Where was the point, to an 8 year old, in being educated to degree standard to work on a farm? If that mind set had taken hold then, educationally, he was on a hiding to nowhere.

A gifted PS perhaps. I've just seen an interview with retired racing driver Sir Jacky Stewart, during which he said that his school days were the most miserable of his life. He was, he says, "a hopeless dyslexic" who was ridiculed as a total failure by teachers which gave the pupils free licence to bully him. SO deeply was he affected by his inability to read or write that he couldn't bring himself to tell his wife until they'd been married several years!!!! Despite this -or maybe because of it- he turned his life into a success story.

 Arguably, his success could have been helped because there were no expectations of him, therefore no limits. He wasn't required to fulfil a life planned for him by others. There is a school of thought -and it frequently raises its' ugly head here- that adopted children owe a debt of gratitude to the people generous enough to give them living space in their homes. I once described it as taking out a loan on which the interest keeps being added to in a way that ensures it can never be repaid.  It seems that Jeremy had his own method of ensuring that no more payments were made.

[Steve_uk]

He was sent to a top quality school to get the best start in life. To give him the chance to do what he wanted to do with good academic qualifications.  Not just to be a farm labourer.

However Bamber either rejected this chance outright. Or simply didn't have any academic skills. Leaving with no qualifications.

Neville and June then generously paid for Bamber to go on extensive travelling trips and didn't complain when he worked elsewhere. Bamber eventually and reluctantly decided himself to work on the farm.

Bamber obviously resented going to Gresham's. Mary Mugford saying he never forgave June for sending him away. Bamber has tried to play this down, saying he only found it hard at the start, like all boys would. He is being a bit of a cry baby to be honest. Schools have months of holidays every year where he would go back to WHF.

You missed the bit about his 7 O Levels gained at Colchester Sixth-Form College which trust me would have been no cinch. I do agree that the decision to send him to Gresham's triggered a further rejection in his psyche,and of course noting the acclaim bestowed upon the twins in contrast to his own treatment,when he was forced to start at the bottom rung once again proved too much for him to bear.

[maggie]

You missed the bit about his 7 O Levels gained at Colchester Sixth-Form College which trust me would have been no cinch. I do agree that the decision to send him to Gresham's triggered a further rejection in his psyche,and of course noting the acclaim bestowed upon the twins in contrast to his own treatment,when he was forced to start at the bottom rung once again proved too much for him to bear.

You may be right, Steve 

[Jane]

You missed the bit about his 7 O Levels gained at Colchester Sixth-Form College which trust me would have been no cinch. I do agree that the decision to send him to Gresham's triggered a further rejection in his psyche,and of course noting the acclaim bestowed upon the twins in contrast to his own treatment,when he was forced to start at the bottom rung once again proved too much for him to bear.

Jeremy MAY have started from the worst possible position. Socially, financially -egotistically(?)- more than half way up the ladder. To find that, academically, he was closer to the bottom and was required to WORK his way up may, indeed, have proved to much.

[Adam]

You missed the bit about his 7 O Levels gained at Colchester Sixth-Form College which trust me would have been no cinch. I do agree that the decision to send him to Gresham's triggered a further rejection in his psyche,and of course noting the acclaim bestowed upon the twins in contrast to his own treatment,when he was forced to start at the bottom rung once again proved too much for him to bear.

Wilkes's book said he left Gresham's with his 'A' level studies incomplete. Then enrolled at college where he failed his 'A' levels.

He must have passed his 'O' levels in order to take 'A' levels. Unless Grsham's didn't concern themselves with such trivial exams.

[Steve_uk]

Jeremy MAY have started from the worst possible position. Socially, financially -egotistically(?)- more than half way up the ladder. To find that, academically, he was closer to the bottom and was required to WORK his way up may, indeed, have proved to much.

So many chances to avoid this tragedy:Jeremy's attempt to carve a self-reliance of sorts with his job at Little Chef,his failed relationship with Sue Ford,with whom he wanted to start a family,his preference to work at Osea Road rather than directly at the Farm dismissed by June,the scuba diving course where he was unsuccessful,Julie's contributory negligence all interspersed with what was petty crime compared to what ultimately materialized thirty years ago. The seeds were sown at Gresham's,where I feel there was no communication whatsoever between son and parents for those eight long years,unlike Sheila who had the intuition and the guts to speak out and be placed elsewhere.

[Steve_uk]

Wilkes's book said he left Gresham's with his 'A' level studies incomplete. Then enrolled at college where he failed his 'A' levels.

He must have passed his 'O' levels in order to take 'A' levels. Unless Grsham's didn't concern themselves with such trivial exams.

Of course O Levels were the benchmark of the education system and would have been of paramount importance for any 16 year-old at Gresham's. I'm quoting from Wikipedia(which admittedly is not to be taken as gospel)that he gained 7 O Levels in the less stuffy atmosphere of Colchester College,though admittedly it does not reveal his grades. It does show however that he did make an attempt to setttle down and find some form of approval and acceptance,but it was once again not to be.

[Adam]

So many chances to avoid this tragedy:Jeremy's attempt to carve a self-reliance of sorts with his job at Little Chef,his failed relationship with Sue Ford,with whom he wanted to start a family,his preference to work at Osea Road rather than directly at the Farm dismissed by June,the scuba diving course where he was unsuccessful,Julie's contributory negligence all interspersed with what was petty crime compared to what ultimately materialized thirty years ago. The seeds were sown at Gresham's,where I feel there was no communication whatsoever between son and parents for those eight long years,unlike Sheila who had the intuition and the guts to speak out and be placed elsewhere.

No communication ? It was Gresham's, not Australia.

Jeremy said he was a mummies boy, pre Gresham's. So I am sure he was visited a lot. Or they could have kept in contact on the telephone. There are also lots of school holidays where he could return to WHF.

[Caroline]

So many chances to avoid this tragedy:Jeremy's attempt to carve a self-reliance of sorts with his job at Little Chef,his failed relationship with Sue Ford,with whom he wanted to start a family,his preference to work at Osea Road rather than directly at the Farm dismissed by June,the scuba diving course where he was unsuccessful,Julie's contributory negligence all interspersed with what was petty crime compared to what ultimately materialized thirty years ago. The seeds were sown at Gresham's,where I feel there was no communication whatsoever between son and parents for those eight long years,unlike Sheila who had the intuition and the guts to speak out and be placed elsewhere.

I agree Steve, even if they kept in touch regularly, it seems they were unable to communicate and by the time Jeremy left school, the room was full of elephants.

[Jane]

So many chances to avoid this tragedy:Jeremy's attempt to carve a self-reliance of sorts with his job at Little Chef,his failed relationship with Sue Ford,with whom he wanted to start a family,his preference to work at Osea Road rather than directly at the Farm dismissed by June,the scuba diving course where he was unsuccessful,Julie's contributory negligence all interspersed with what was petty crime compared to what ultimately materialized thirty years ago. The seeds were sown at Gresham's,where I feel there was no communication whatsoever between son and parents for those eight long years,unlike Sheila who had the intuition and the guts to speak out and be placed elsewhere.

I highlighted a possible reason for this. It may stemmed from the relationship he had with Sheila and may have been about good child/bad child and sibling rivalry. Sheila was almost 3 years Jeremy's senior and had received the lion's share of attention until Jeremy's arrival when she had to share it which she may have resented.

Did Jeremy learn, at an early age, that Sheila's needs came first? Were Sheila's demands for attention put before Jeremy's needs. Were the Bambers a little afraid of their volatile daughter and thus go out of their way to appease her. Did Jeremy feel it was useless to tell his parents how he felt because he saw that it took all their time to cope with Sheila? We know that Neville had lengthy phone calls with Sheila during which he calmed her down. Might she have thrown tantrums as a child to deflect attention from Jeremy? We know that Sheila changed schools twice and on occasion ran away. There is far more about Sheila, than Jeremy, to suggest a difficult and troubled childhood. Did Jeremy suppress his own feelings to the point where, seeing his parents yet AGAIN, turning themselves inside out to try to solve Sheila's problems -maybe at his expense- they exploded?