Who has more rights thirty years on: Jeremy or Colin?

[Steve_uk]

The twins knew where to find it-that crock of gold. In fact Nicholas even showed me his rainbow picture, if I had cared to look properly. He had drawn a bright yellow sun-which, as I said earlier, can often represent the father, in both the literal and spiritual sense-just below the foot of the rainbow. He was saying, in simple symbolic language, that the pot of gold, for him, was in heaven, in God, in the spiritual side of father; that everything I really needed was already in my hands, nowhere else.

[Steve_uk]

The journey took many more twists and turns, with travels through many other dark tunnels before I began to realise this. My continuing work as a sculptor also played a powerful role, in that each piece, an image from the heart, led me to other unlived parts of myself, each with its own story and a key to unlock the next mystery.

And so it goes on...The rainbow has many colours, but like a dream it is only around for fleeting moments, and no matter how much we run towards it, we never seem to get any closer. It simply fades away into memory. And, like God, it is not something we can ever hang on to. But to experience its presence, in all its pure, vibrant colours, will always fill our hearts with joy. And that's all we can really hope for.

We are here,
we are not wanting.

We can all now love,
and laugh
and share our thoughts.

We can forget pride,
and live,
can't we?

Bambs, 14 February 1976
St. Valentine's Day

[maggie]

A child's view of a rainbow will always have mysterious significance, for we may never know what they have not yet forgotten. Nicholas often included one in his pictures but was never, as far as I know, told of the crock of gold. And in Daniel's case the gold was already in his heart as love and compassion. For me, it will always be the hope that, one day, I will meet my loved ones once again and walk with them in the forest of many colours. I also began to realise that, with all my searching on the horizon, I had failed to look at the ground at my feet, or inside me.

A rainbow is light broken down into its component parts; making the invisible visible and projecting it on a screen, usually a dark sky. In my own case a dark experience. Finding the pot of gold is about bringing all those colours back together again, inside our own hearts.

Poor Colin.  He writes so beautifully and with such love.

[Steve_uk]

Poor Colin.  He writes so beautifully and with such love.

They were a trusting family-Colin, Bambs, Nicholas and Daniel. They never realized fully their material inheritance, but Bambs and Colin bequeathed their children those artistic talents which are either innate or they're not there.

[Roch]

Steve, the title of this thread has always stood out for me.  It's a very thought provoking question. 

My personal opinion is that both of these men are the victims of a tragedy brought about by Sheila's mental health.  It's awful to try and imagine what she must have experienced. 

The torment leading up to the killings... and torment after the killings.  I imagine her skulking around the house, with the bodies of her victims, riddled with bullets.  She was the only person in a house full of corpses.  Her children and parents slain by her own hand - it must have been the lonliest and eeriest place on earth.  I wonder whether she walked between rooms and corpses, surveying the pitiful scene, apologising to them. Or, she was numb to it all?  Perhaps she was not and avoided the corpses and killing rooms because she couldn't face going in? 

My own personal belief is that both of these men are also victim of corrupt police and self-serving, arrogant relatives.  One man is aware of this and sadly, one man is not.

I say Colin is a victim of police and relatives - because he has been sold a false version of events - and his mindset is trapped within this.  I find that very sad. 

Who has the more rights between the two of them? - I really do not know the answer.  But your thread as lasted 96 pages - which is some achievement.   

[guest7363]

They were a trusting family-Colin, Bambs, Nicholas and Daniel. They never realized fully their material inheritance, but Bambs and Colin bequeathed their children those artistic talents which are either innate or they're not there.

So sad Steve and to have it taken away by one mans greed, so sad we haven't seen this talent flourish, I think they would have been an asset to Osea leisure working with Anne's siblings, June and Neville would have been proud to see them working along side the family.

[susan]

Steve, the title of this thread has always stood out for me.  It's a very thought provoking question. 

My personal opinion is that both of these men are the victims of a tragedy brought about by Sheila's mental health. It's awful to try and imagine what she must have experienced. 

The torment leading up to the killings... and torment after the killings.  I imagine her skulking around the house, with the bodies of her victims, riddled with bullets.  She was the only person in a house full of corpses.  Her children and parents slain by her own hand - it must have been the lonliest and eeriest place on earth.  I wonder whether she walked between rooms and corpses, surveying the pitiful scene, apologising to them. Or, she was numb to it all?  Perhaps she was not and avoided the corpses and killing rooms because she couldn't face going in? 

My own personal belief is that both of these men are also victim of corrupt police and self-serving, arrogant relatives.  One man is aware of this and sadly, one man is not.

I say Colin is a victim because he has been sold a false version of events and his mindset is trapped within this.  I find that very sad. 

Who has the more rights between the two of them? - I really do not know the answer.  But your thread as lasted 96 pages - which is some achievement.

Hi Roch such an excellent post although very sad and heart wrenching.  In my mind I see Sheila wandering around the lonely house so much at peace as she had in her own mind saved her family from the evils of the world I don't think she would have felt sad but happy she was shortly to be free of her tormented mind.  Poor Sheila she was I think let down by the system.  At the beginning Colin was I think convinced Sheila was responsible but he was fed erroneous information to change his mind and I wonder if he has ever thought how wrong he was to put the blame on Jeremy.  I have no source to confirm this it is just my personal opinion.

[Steve_uk]

Steve, the title of this thread has always stood out for me.  It's a very thought provoking question. 

My personal opinion is that both of these men are the victims of a tragedy brought about by Sheila's mental health. It's awful to try and imagine what she must have experienced. 

The torment leading up to the killings... and torment after the killings.  I imagine her skulking around the house, with the bodies of her victims, riddled with bullets.  She was the only person in a house full of corpses.  Her children and parents slain by her own hand - it must have been the lonliest and eeriest place on earth.  I wonder whether she walked between rooms and corpses, surveying the pitiful scene, apologising to them. Or, she was numb to it all?  Perhaps she was not and avoided the corpses and killing rooms because she couldn't face going in? 

My own personal belief is that both of these men are also victim of corrupt police and self-serving, arrogant relatives.  One man is aware of this and sadly, one man is not.

I say Colin is a victim because he has been sold a false version of events and his mindset is trapped within this.  I find that very sad. 

Who has the more rights between the two of them? - I really do not know the answer.  But your thread as lasted 96 pages - which is some achievement.

I wish I could believe that the victims were killed out of love, not hate. But the overwhelming evidence is that Jeremy is responsible. Maybe it's a North-South divide that people reject Julie for that reason, or as Colin points out in his book we just cannot comprehend a good-looking bloke committing such heinous acts. I can't say for definite Jeremy is guilty-all I know that had I heard the evidence I would have convicted, tragic as it all was.

[Steve_uk]

So sad Steve and to have it taken away by one mans greed, so sad we haven't seen this talent flourish, I think they would have been an asset to Osea leisure working with Anne's siblings, June and Neville would have been proud to see them working along side the family.

I totally agree Justice and though I'm not usually a huge fan of sculpture I can't help but admire the craftsmanship and expertise of Colin's handiwork, especially the models personal to his family, and who knows what hidden talents the twins had?  Even if it turned out they had none it was such a waste and such a shocking crime.

[Steve_uk]

Hi Roch such an excellent post although very sad and heart wrenching.  In my mind I see Sheila wandering around the lonely house so much at peace as she had in her own mind saved her family from the evils of the world I don't think she would have felt sad but happy she was shortly to be free of her tormented mind.  Poor Sheila she was I think let down by the system.  At the beginning Colin was I think convinced Sheila was responsible but he was fed erroneous information to change his mind and I wonder if he has ever thought how wrong he was to put the blame on Jeremy.  I have no source to confirm this it is just my personal opinion.

You can tell from her face there was no struggle, just a few seconds from being woken up to shot. I doubt she would know much about it and at least she died not knowing the fate of her sons in that contiguous chamber of death.

[Steve_uk]

I'm sure politicians never thought out exactly what would happen to the mental health of prisoners in 1965 once the death penalty had been abolished and they were left to rot in those tiny cells for the long term.

[guest7363]

I totally agree Justice and though I'm not usually a huge fan of sculpture I can't help but admire the craftsmanship and expertise of Colin's handiwork, especially the models personal to his family, and who knows what hidden talents the twins had?  Even if it turned out they had none it was such a waste and such a shocking crime.

I think as they got older they would have been introduced to Osea leisure and would have enjoyed it, we had a grandson of the owners where I worked and he used to ride in the tractor with me, he used to follow me around all day and I would take him for rides on the beach, his grandad was so pleased when he used to help me.  It was part of the progression to ownership, that's what surprises me about Bamber, he didn't seem to give or want this.  He never talks about them much, he never says me and the twins used to ride the tractor, we went for walks when they came over etc, I was always busy but I found time for the grandchild and the family respected that.

[susan]

You can tell from her face there was no struggle, just a few seconds from being woken up to shot. I doubt she would know much about it and at least she died not knowing the fate of her sons in that contiguous chamber of death.

Hi steve I agree Sheila looked so serene and at peace

[guest7363]

I think as they got older they would have been introduced to Osea leisure and would have enjoyed it, we had a grandson of the owners where I worked and he used to ride in the tractor with me, he used to follow me around all day and I would take him for rides on the beach, his grandad was so pleased when he used to help me.  It was part of the progression to ownership, that's what surprises me about Bamber, he didn't seem to give or want this.  He never talks about them much, he never says me and the twins used to ride the tractor, we went for walks when they came over etc, I was always busy but I found time for the grandchild and the family respected that.

I often think, with the twins being the same age as the owners son where I worked and the locations being close, the friendship they might have had, its sad that posters on here don't show respect for the family, they must have an awful lot of bitterness towards Bamber for taking these lives away from them, esp Anne with Neville being her godfather

[David1819]

You can tell from her face there was no struggle, just a few seconds from being woken up to shot. I doubt she would know much about it and at least she died not knowing the fate of her sons in that contiguous chamber of death.

Exactly! typical of a Suicide not a homicide. Nevertheless I'm sure you are prepared to argue that Jeremy somehow shaped her facial expression after. Along with coercing her to write a five page suicide letter.