Originally Posted by
birdseye
Yes, thats the one.
I've puzzled over this for years now and considered the possibility that the cylinder was damaged in some way, either by the bombing or by the demolition machine, to close it at both ends - but that opens up another riddle. If it was damaged, it would have been a curious impact which damaged it at both ends but not in the middle. The account in the RWE book mentions children rolling it about if I remember rightly, so it must have retained it's round shape. But even if that was correct and it was damaged in the way mentioned, it means that the cylinder would have been open sufficiently to see inside while it was in the house it came from. Given that it lay there for around seventy years, surely some tenant would have been curious and looked inside. If not, it would mean that it was concealed over the years it was there and that another person would have had to be involved in it's concealment, perhaps behind a false wall in the cellar.
Whover concealed the cylinder when the body was inside may well have been responsible for the man's death but if he was dead when he was placed inside, why the rough bedding and the pillow? It seems a lot of trouble to go to to hide a body at a time when police detection of murder was in it's infancy. Or the man may have committed suicide because of his financial difficulties. If so, why would anyone wish to conceal his death by hiding his body?
It really is a fascinating puzzle, made even more so by the fact that it is unlikely to ever be solved.
Bookmarks