NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Richard Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan

Richard John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan (born 18 December 1934), known as Lord Bingham from 1949 to 1964 and colloquially known as "Lucky" Lucan^[1], was or is a missing British aristocrat who disappeared on 8 November 1974 after his children's nanny Sandra Rivett was found murdered. Lucan's current whereabouts are unknown, and many, including his wife, presume him to be dead. is the 352nd day of the year (353rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Kings College of Our Lady of Eton beside Windsor, commonly known as Eton College or just Eton, is a public school (privately funded and independent) for boys, founded in 1440 by King Henry VI. It is located in Eton, near Windsor in England, north of Windsor Castle, and... The Coldstream Guards is a regiment of the British Army, part of the Guards Division or Household Division. ... Sandra Rivett was the nanny who was murdered by Lord Lucan on the night of 7 November 1974. ... George Charles Patrick Bingham, 6th Earl of Lucan MC (24 November 1898-21 January 1964), known as Lord Bingham from 1914 to 1949, was a British soldier and Labour politician. ... is the 352nd day of the year (353rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Missing persons redirects here. ... is the 312th day of the year (313th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ... A nanny is a person who looks after the child or children of one family in their -- the childs -- home. ... Sandra Rivett was the nanny who was murdered by Lord Lucan on the night of 7 November 1974. ... Death in absentia describes a legal finding of death if a person has been missing for more than a certain period of time. ...

Early life

The eldest son of George Bingham, 6th Earl of Lucan, and Kaitilin Elizabeth Anne (née Dawson),^[2] Lord Lucan was educated at Eton College.^[3] ^[4] He went on to serve in the Coldstream Guards. He had two sisters and one brother.^[2] His father died in 1964 and he inherited the earldom when he was 29 years old.^[2] Lord Lucan's mother died in 1985.^[2] George Charles Patrick Bingham, 6th Earl of Lucan MC (24 November 1898-21 January 1964), known as Lord Bingham from 1914 to 1949, was a British soldier and Labour politician. ... The Kings College of Our Lady of Eton beside Windsor, commonly known as Eton College or just Eton, is a public school (privately funded and independent) for boys, founded in 1440 by King Henry VI. It is located in Eton, near Windsor in England, north of Windsor Castle, and... The Coldstream Guards is a regiment of the British Army, part of the Guards Division or Household Division. ... An Earl as a member of the British peerage ranks below a Marquess and above a Viscount. ... This article is about the year. ...

The mystery

The 7th Earl of Lucan's whereabouts have been unknown since November 8, 1974, when his children's nanny, Sandra Rivett, was found murdered at his estranged wife's home at 46 Lower Belgrave Street, London. Lady Lucan, the former Veronica Mary Duncan, who was also attacked that night, said her husband confessed to her that he had murdered Rivett by mistake.^{[citation needed]} is the 312th day of the year (313th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ... Sandra Rivett was the nanny who was murdered by Lord Lucan on the night of 7 November 1974. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ...

Lord Lucan claimed to a family friend that he had been walking past the house, had seen someone struggling with Lady Lucan, and had entered the house to assist her. Lord Lucan claimed that he calmed her down but that Lady Lucan lay low for a while and left the house while he was in the bathroom getting a cloth to clean up her face. He claimed he heard her shouting "Murder, murder!" in the street as she ran to the Plumber's Arms. Lord Lucan panicked, according to Mrs Susan Maxwell-Scott, and left. A car Lord Lucan was borrowing at the time was found abandoned, containing some blood of two types, in Newhaven, East Sussex. ^[5] Newhaven is a town in the Lewes District of East Sussex in England. ...

A coroner's jury brought in a verdict of unlawful killing on Rivett, naming Lord Lucan as the murderer, in June 1975.^[6] Rivett's death certificate reads: "Cause of death: Blunt head injuries inflicted by a named person. Murder".^{[citation needed]} This was the last time before the introduction of the Criminal Law Act 1977 that an inquest jury was allowed to name a murderer.^[6] The Criminal Law Act 1977 (c. ...

Possible motives

At the time of the murder, Lady Lucan had custody of their three children. Lord Lucan considered his wife mentally unstable and believed he should have custody of the children, but British courts seldom granted custody of children away from their mother.^{[citation needed]} (In 1982, Lady Lucan received an affidavit, sent through the post, in which her 15-year-old son declared he would find it "much more congenial to live as part of the family of his aunt and uncle".)^[6] An affidavit is a formal sworn statement of fact, signed by the declarant (who is called the affiant), and witnessed (as to the veracity of the affiants signature) by a taker of oaths, such as a notary public. ...

Another motive, offered by a friend, Greville Howard, to the police, is that Lucan, wishing to solve his financial problems and avoid bankruptcy, had considered killing Lady Lucan and dropping her body in the Solent.^{[citation needed]} Notice of closure stuck on the door of a computer store the day after its parent company, Granville Technology Group Ltd, declared bankruptcy (strictly, put into administrationâ€”see text) in the United Kingdom. ... Satellite image showing the Solent, separating the Isle of Wight from mainland Britain The Solent is a stretch of sea separating the Isle of Wight from the mainland of Great Britain. ...

Reported sightings

Since his disappearance, many alleged sightings of Lucan have been reported from all over the world, but police have drawn a blank in their efforts to find the runaway earl.^[7]^[8]

In a curious coincidence, in December 1974, police in Australia arrested a man they believed was Lucan but who was the British MP John Stonehouse, who had faked his suicide a month earlier. A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a parliament. ... Private Eyes take on the matter John Thomson Stonehouse (28 July 1925 - 14 April 1988) was a British politician and minister under Harold Wilson. ...

Johannesburg Jeff

During the 1990s Lucan was popularly sighted around South Africa. In 2007, the Daily Mail suggested this was a mistaken identity of a man nicknamed Johannesburg Jeff.

John Aspinall

In one of the more bizarre claims, an affidavit in the possession of the tabloid Daily Mirror records the account of a Bedfordshire woman, formerly employed by Lucan's friend John Aspinall, who claims that the fugitive Lucan was sheltered by Aspinall at his zoo, which resulted in Lucan being mauled to death by a tiger and his corpse hurriedly disposed of.^{[citation needed]} Alternate newspaper: The Daily Mirror (Australia) The Daily Mirror is a popular British tabloid daily newspaper. ... Bedfordshire (abbreviated Beds) is a county in England that forms part of the East of England region. ... John Aspinall (1926-2000) was a gambler and zoo owner. ...

In 2000, Aspinall gave an interview in which he said that in his opinion, Lucan had committed suicide by scuttling the powerboat that he kept at Newhaven. Aspinall said he had no doubt that Lucan had killed the nanny, but that it was a mistake; Lucan, Aspinall said, had intended to kill his wife and had killed himself out of shame.^[9] Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ...

Barry Halpin

In September 2003, a book titled Dead Lucky: Lord Lucan, The Final Truth,^[10] written by Duncan MacLaughlin, a former Scotland Yard detective, claimed to have solved the mystery of Lucan's disappearance.^[7] The author claimed that Lucan fled to Goa, India, arriving there a year after Rivett's death. The book includes photos taken there in 1991 of a man who bears a resemblance to Lucan. The man, who died in 1996, was known in Goa as Barry Halpin (or, according to the book, "Jungle Barry"). New Scotland Yard, London New Scotland Yard, it blowwsssss often referred to simply as Scotland Yard or The Yard, is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service, responsible for policing Greater London (although not the City of London itself). ... Two letter code GA Country India Capital — Administrative — Judicial1 — Panaji — Mumbai Location — Latitude — Longitude — 15° N — 73° E Governor SC Jamir Chief Minister Prataph Sing Rane State language Konkani Liberation Day December 19, 1961 Statehood Day May 30, 1987 Population 1. ... Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar. ...

However, these claims were almost immediately dismissed. BBC Radio 2 presenter Mike Harding said in a letter to The Guardian newspaper that he knew Barry Halpin from his days as a folk musician in Liverpool in the 1960s, and that he had gone to India "as it was more spiritual than St. Helens".^[7] BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBCs national radio stations and the most popular station in the UK. As well as having most listeners nationally, it ranks first in all regions above local radio stations. ... Mike Harding (born 23 October 1944) is a British singer and comedian. ... For other uses, see Guardian. ... For other uses, see Liverpool (disambiguation). ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1958 to the end of 1974. ... For the larger local government district, see Metropolitan Borough of St Helens. ...

Given the extremely rapid debunking of the claims, The Sunday Telegraph, which serialised part of the book, was embarrassed in a manner reminiscent of The Sunday Times' publication of the bogus Hitler Diaries. The book was reprinted a year later in paperback entitled The Lucan Conspiracy^[11] (to much less press interest) with one additional final chapter, and displaying the tagline: How the Establishment Conned the World into Believing Lord Lucan Was Barry Halpin. This article deals with The Daily Telegraph in Britain, see The Daily Telegraph (Australia) for the Australian publication The Daily Telegraph is a British broadsheet newspaper founded in 1855. ... The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper distributed in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International which is in turn owned by News Corporation. ... Hitlers Diaries Discovered (Stern) In April 1983, the German news magazine Stern published extracts from what purported to be the diaries of Adolf Hitler, known as the Hitler Diaries, which were subsequently exposed as forgeries. ...

New Zealand

In August 2007, the Auckland-based New Zealand Herald reported that former Scotland Yard detective Sidney Ball was following up claims that Lord Lucan was living in an old Land Rover outside the township of Marton, apparently with a pet possum, cat and a goat (named Camilla). Mr Ball says neighbours of the man, Roger Woodgate, were convinced he was Lucan but that he couldn't discuss the case further until his investigation was complete. The man is said to have an upper-class English accent and might be receiving income from property interests in the UK. He has denied being Lucan, claiming he had been a photographer working for the Ministry of Defence who left the UK five months before Lucan vanished. Mr Woodgate also claims to be 10 years younger than Lucan, and five inches shorter.^[8] Auckland, in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest urban area in New Zealand. ... New Scotland Yard, London New Scotland Yard, it blowwsssss often referred to simply as Scotland Yard or The Yard, is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service, responsible for policing Greater London (although not the City of London itself). ... Land Rover was the name of one of the first British civilian all-terrain utility vehicles, first produced by Rover in 1947. ... Marton is a town in the Manawatu-Wanganui region of New Zealands North Island. ... For other uses, see Possum (disambiguation). ... Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (Camilla Rosemary; formerly Parker Bowles; nÃ©e Shand, born 17 July 1947) is the second wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the thrones of the United Kingdom and the other 15 Commonwealth Realms. ...

Probate

The 7th Earl of Lucan was presumed deceased in 1992,^[12] but no death certificate has been issued, so his earldom cannot yet be inherited by his son, George Bingham, Lord Bingham. However, the High Court of Justice granted probate on his estate in 1999. The net value remaining amounted to less than £15,000.^[12] Death in absentia describes a legal finding of death if a person has been missing for more than a certain period of time. ... The Honourable George Charles Bingham, Lord Bingham, is the only son of the 7th Earl of Lucan, who went missing in 1974. ... Her Majestys High Court of Justice (usually known more simply as the High Court) is, together with the Crown Court and the Court of Appeal, part of the Supreme Court of Judicature of England and Wales (which under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, is to be known as the... Probate is the legal process of settling the estate of a deceased person; specifically, resolving all claims and distributing the decedents property. ... GBP redirects here. ...

The Countess of Lucan (Lady Lucan) believes her husband to be dead, and sometimes uses the prefix 'dowager' to indicate this.

Legacy

The phrase "doing a Lord Lucan" now means to disappear or go missing. The phrase is generally applied in a humorous context. This is similar to the phrase "pulling a Crater" which arose from the similarly mysterious vanishing of Judge Crater in New York. Joseph Force Crater (1889 - ?) was a judge in New York City who disappeared on August 6, 1930. ...

The Countess of Lucan established a website to detail her side of the story.^[13]

A film called Bloodlines: Legacy of a Lord^[14] was made about his life and his disappearance. It is set in 1997 and follows the story of a journalist searching for information about Lucan. Most of the film is told in flashback.

In an episode of "The New Statesman", Alan B'Stard (Rik Mayall) successfully brings hanging back to the country. An old friend of B'Stard's - a hangman wants his job returned, but B'Stard denies it, stating he's far too old and out of practice considering the last hanging was in 1964. The hangman then replies: "Oh but it wasn't in 1964, it was 1974 - Lord Lucan" The New Statesman was an award-winning British sitcom of the late 1980s and early 1990s satirising the Conservative government of the time. ...

The Conservative Party leader David Cameron referred to him in a speech. "You are just about as likely," he said, "to find an NHS dentist in Milton Keynes as you are Lord Lucan riding on Shergar"^[15], a joke originally made by Christy Moore in his song "Lisdoonvarna." ^[16] A similar joke was used in the BBC comedy series Dead Ringers, where Queen Elizabeth II was depicted claiming that she did not know the secrets to multiple unsolved mysteries while revealing she had been in touch with Lucan, could back an alibi for Lee Harvey Oswald and was in possession of Shergar. The Conservative Party, officially though less commonly known as the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a political party in the United Kingdom. ... For the Canadian ice hockey player, see Dave Cameron. ... NHS redirects here. ... , Milton Keynes ( ; IPA ) is a large town in South East England, about 45 miles (75 km) north-west of London. ... Shergar (born 1978. ... Christopher Andrew Christy Moore (born on May 7, 1945, in Newbridge, County Kildare) is a very popular Irish folk singer, songwriter, and guitarist. ... Dead Ringers is a UK radio and television comedy impressions show broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Two. ... Elizabeth II in an official portrait as Queen of Canada (on the occasion of her Golden Jubilee in 2002, wearing the Sovereigns badges of the Order of Canada and the Order of Military Merit) Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary) (born 21 April 1926), styled HM The... Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 â€“ November 24, 1963) was, according to four United States government investigations, the assassin of U.S. President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas. ... Shergar (born 1978. ...

Ian Botham used the phrase "disappeared like Lord Lucan" in respect to England's wicket keeper Chris Read, who made very few appearances in the first part of the 2006-07 Ashes series. Sir Ian Terence Botham, OBE, (born 24 November 1955) is a retired England Test cricketer and Test team captain, and current cricket commentator. ... The logo of the England Cricket Team which shows the three Lions of England below a five-pointed crown The England cricket team is the national cricket team which represents England and Wales. ... A wicket-keeper in characteristic position, ready to face a delivery. ... Christopher Mark Wells Read (born 10 August 1978 in Paignton, Devon) is an English cricketer, a wicket-keeper. ... Teams Australia England Captains Ricky Ponting Andrew Flintoff Most Runs Ricky Ponting (576) Michael Hussey (458) Matthew Hayden (413) Kevin Pietersen (490) Paul Collingwood (433) Ian Bell (331) Most Wickets Stuart Clark (26) Shane Warne (23) Glenn McGrath (21) Matthew Hoggard (13) Andrew Flintoff (11) Monty Panesar (10) The 2006...

Satirical puppet show Spitting Image often had Lord Lucan appearing in the background as a waiter, bartender etc. In one sketch he appeared on "Question Time" being asked by the audience if he can give any clues as to his current location. Spitting Image was a British satirical puppet show that ran on the ITV television network from 1984 to 1996. ... Question Time is a topical debate television programme in the United Kingdom, based on Any Questions?. It is currently shown on BBC One at 22:35 on Thursdays, and typically features politicians from the three major political parties and other public figures who answer questions put to them by the...

In The New Statesman special episode Who Shot Alan B'Stard? (first aired on January 14, 1990) the last British hangman Sidney Bliss (who applied for his old job after Conservative Government reintroduced death penalty with B'Stard decisive vote), admitted that he hanged Lord Lucan on the government order in 1974 (death penalty was abolished in 1964). The New Statesman was an award-winning British sitcom of the late 1980s and early 1990s satirising the Conservative government of the time. ... is the 14th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... Hangman is a paper and pencil guessing game for two players. ... Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is the execution of a convicted criminal by the state as punishment for crimes known as capital crimes or capital offences. ... Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ... Also Nintendo emulator: 1964 (emulator). ...

References

Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 340th day of the year (341st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Footnotes

^ Coined long before the events surrounding his disappearance
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d The Peerage Retrieved on 17 January 2007.
^ Fraser, Nick (23 November 2005) "You can take the boy out of Eton..." The Guardian. Retrieved on 17 January 2007.
^ Kirby, Terry (7 December 2005) "Eton's old boy network." The Independent. Retrieved on 17 January 2007.
^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/8/newsid_3972000/3972213.stm BBC "On this day" Police hunt Lord Lucan after murder
^ ^a ^b ^c Countess of Lucan, page 1
^ ^a ^b ^c Lord Lucan claim dismissed. BBC (2003-09-09). Retrieved on 2007-12-06.
^ ^a ^b "UK expat denies he is Lord Lucan" BBC News. Retrieved on 9 August 2007.
^ Lucan 'committed suicide'. BBC (2000-02-13). Retrieved on 2007-12-06.
^ MacLaughlin, Duncan; William Hall (September 2003). Dead Lucky: Lord Lucan, The Final Truth. John Blake Publishing. ISBN 978-1844540105.
^ MacLaughlin, Duncan; William Hall (September 2004). The Lucan Conspiracy. John Blake Publishing. ISBN 978-1844540655.
^ ^a ^b Lord Lucan 'officially dead' BBC, 1999-10-27
^ Countess of Lucan's official site
^ "Bloodlines: Legacy of a Lord." (1997) Vine International Pictures, Ltd.
^ [1]. Shergar was a horse who was stolen from his stable, possibly by the Provisional Irish Republican Army.
^ Lyrics of "Lisdoonvarna" on ChristyMoore.com

For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 252nd day of the year (253rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 340th day of the year (341st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 221st day of the year (222nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... is the 44th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 340th day of the year (341st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Irish: Ã“glaigh na hÃ‰ireann) (IRA; also referred to as the PIRA, the Provos, or by some of its supporters as the Army or the RA.[2]) is an Irish Republican, left wing[3] paramilitary organisation that, until the Belfast Agreement, sought to end Northern...

Non-fiction

Fiction

Dame Muriel Spark, DBE (February 1, 1918 â€“ April 13, 2006) was a leading Scottish novelist. ... Peter Haining is a well-known journalist and author who lives and works in London. ...

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