20:45 – 21:00
On one of his breaks Jeremy Bamber, who had been
working in the fields, had seen some rabbits close to the house and had taken
the .22 rifle and loaded ammunition but the rabbits had scattered so he didn’t
fire the gun.
21:30
Jeremy finished work and drove his silver
Astra to his cottage at Head Street, Goldhanger, about 3 miles away from the
farm.
21:30
Back at WHF Barbara Wilson, Farm Secretary,
telephones and speaks to Nevill Bamber; claiming he was short with her, she
was left with the impression that her call had interrupted and argument.
22:00
Nevill Bamber was seen collecting the last
load of rapeseed
22:00
Pamela Boutflour, June’s sister, telephones
White House Farm and speaks to both June and Sheila. Pam stated that Sheila just
gave ‘yes and no’ replies to her questions and abruptly handed the phone back
to June.
June explained to Pam that she was “very worried
about Sheila and that she would like me to see her and form an opinion about
her health.” From the discussion with June,
Pam reached the conclusion that Sheila was “acting oddly”
21:50
-22:00
At Head Street, Jeremy made his usual evening
telephone call to his girlfriend Julie Mugford. Under the influence of alcohol
and Marijuana, Mugford made little sense during this conversation and after a
few minutes Jeremy ended the call.
23:00
After watching TV Jeremy went to bed.
03:15
approx
Jeremy was woken by a telephone call from his
father who said, ‘Come over quickly’. ‘Your sister has gone crazy and has the gun'. The line then went dead.
03:17
approx
Jeremy tried to call his dad back but
repeatedly got the engaged tone.
03:26
PC West telephoned Civilian Radio Operator
(CRO) Malcolm Bonnett on the internal police line to relay information
regarding a telephone call from Nevill Bamber.
Nevill stated that his daughter Sheila Bamber aged 26 had gone berserk
and had hold of one of his guns.
03:30
Jeremy telephoned his girlfriend Julie Mugford
and told her that there was something wrong at the farm. She advised Jeremy to ‘go back to bed’.
03:33
Bonnett contacted PC Saxby at Witham Station
over the police radio, who along with PC Myall and PS Bews were instructed to
attend the scene.
03:35
Following the radio message CRO Malcolm
Bonnett recorded on his log that Car CA7 containing Bews, Saxby and Myall had
been instructed to attend.
03:36
A second car was dispatched to the scene
containing PC Norcup and Cracknell who had been in the control room with PC
West when he received Nevill Bamber’s call.
03:36
Concerned that he could not get his father
back on the phone Jeremy made a telephone call to the police and also spoke to
PC West informing him that his father had rung and said his sister had gone
crazy and had hold of the gun.
03:37
PC West spoke on the internal police telephone
line to PC Saxby who was preparing to leave Witham Police station following the
instruction from CRO Malcolm Bonnett to attend the reported incident. PC Myall recalled that Jeremy Bamber was
still on the other phone line to PC West while PC West was speaking to PC
Saxby.
3:38
PC West asked Jeremy if he could meet officers
at the farm and Jeremy agreed.
03:41
PC West attempted to telephone White House
Farm but found that the line was engaged.
03:42
Jeremy left his cottage and set off in his car
towards White House Farm.
03:42
PC West who was in the control room contacted
British Telecom and spoke to their operative Jean Rowe to check the telephone
line at White House Farm. Jean Rowe
informed West that the phone was off the hook could hear a dog barking (Edit?)
03:45
approx.
En route to White House Farm Jeremy was passed
by the police car with blue lights flashing, which contained PC’s Saxby, Myall
and PS Bews.
03:48
Car CA7 arrived at Pages Lane parking at the
entrance of the lane to await the arrival of Jeremy.
03:50
approx
Jeremy Bamber arrived at the lane in his
silver Astra. He spoke to the police
officers and after a brief discussion they all drove closer to the farm. It is also at this time a log is attributed
to having been written at the scene by PC Batchelor although other logs show
that PC Batchelor did not arrive at the scene until 04:25.
03:55
The police in attendance decided to undertake
a ‘recce’ of the farmhouse, which PS Bews and PC Myall completed accompanied by
Jeremy. During this ‘recce’ PC Myall
exclaimed he had seen movement in a bedroom window and alerted Bews and Jeremy
who both saw the movement also. The trio
all initially ducked down behind a hedge before running back to the the waiting
police car on Pages Lane.
04:00-04:04
On reaching the police vehicle PS Bews
immediately radioed through a situation report to Head Quarters Information
Room and requested firearms assistance.
The complete situation report made by PS Bews regarding the movement
seen in the window has never been disclosed to the defence.
04:04
Members of the firearms unit were stood down
from the duties they were conducting at the time and instructed to prepare to
draw firearms in relation to a shooting incident at White House Farm.
04:09
PC Bews conducted two more cautious ‘recces’
of the house and upon seeing no further movement reported that there were ‘no
signs of life in the house’ also ‘all lights are on.’
04:17
Authority was given for the police to collect
firearms and to attend the scene by CSI Harris. The decision was endorsed by
Assistant Chief Constable Simpson.
04:22
PC’s Norcup and Cracknell in car CA/5
eventually arrive at the scene. Car CA/6
was also requested to attend at this time.
04:23
Car CA/6 arrived containing officers PC Lay
and PC Batchelor. Judging by the police
log records it is assumed the officers were on the way to the scene prior to
being formally requested.
04:31
Car CA/6 with PC’s Batchelor and Lay left the
scene to meet with the Firearms Unit in Tiptree to escort them to the farm.
04:52
Car CA/6 had now met the firearms teams and
was heading back to the farm acting as escort.
4:58
Two police transit vehicles arrived at the
scene containing nine firearms officers.
Vehicle QZ/50 also arrived containing PC Mercer and the Dog Unit. The firearms officers took up positions with
guns drawn to cover the house.
05:18
PC Myall instructed to keep Jeremy away from
the house at a distance of at least 400 yards.
05:25
The Firearms Unit are recorded as being in
conversation with someone from within the house. Jeremy was asked what they could say to
Sheila to engage her in conversation.
05:29
The conversation had now ceased and there was
no response from the person within the house to challenges made by the police
by a loudhailer.
05:34
Jeremy was asked if the police could contact
anyone for him to talk to. Jeremy said
he would like to telephone his girlfriend Julie and PC Lay drove him to a
public phone box so he could call her
05:42
The open telephone line in the house was
checked again and the phone reported to have been ‘engaged’. This contradicts the information received
from the BT operator at 03:42 who had stated that the phone was ‘off the hook’.
05:43
Jeremy was returned to the scene after making
his phone call to Julie Mugford and
waited in a police car on Pages Lane.
05:50
PC Myall starts a log but it has been
disclosed and inaccurately attributed to PC Saxby. Myall told The Dickinson investigation that
he drove car CA7 into the farmyard and began Log 12.
05:50
The line to the Farm was now being continually
monitored.
06:09
Essex Police claim that they had intercepted
the existing open emergency 999 phone line (assumed to have been used by Nevill
Bamber) at 05.50, in order to pick up any movement within the house but British
Telecom operator, Jean Rowe, (BT) denied this, stating she was not permitted to
engage the emergency line. (Confirmed
999 call from house 06.09)
06:15
Police car CG/32 arrived containing two more
officers PC Chaplin and WPC Dixon from Witham Police station.
06:20
A request was made for two ambulances to
attend the scene. Neither Essex Police
nor firearms officers explained what had prompted them to make this request for
ambulances at this time, neither do they explain why ambulances had not been
requested earlier in the morning.
06:42
Ten more firearms officers including Inspector
Montgomery arrive at the scene in two police transit vehicles, call signs QK/23
and QK/24.
06:44
Chief Inspector Clarke arrived at the farm
with his driver.
07:00
The lights in the main bedroom window, previously
reported as being turned on, were now turned off and the curtains in the room
were now closed.
07:02
Two ambulances arrive at the scene with four
crew members.
07:05
Car CA/2 with Chief Superintendent Harris and
his driver arrive at the scene.
Car CG/10 containing Ch. /Insp. Gibbons and PC
Panting arrived at White House Farm.
07:15
The light was now back on and the curtains were fully opened in the main bedroom. Police vehicles were by now increasing in numbers with more arriving at the scene every few minutes.
07:00
- 07:30
Two FSU officers reported they had seen a
rifle in the window of a room adjacent to the master bedroom. One of these was firearms officer and
instructor Julia Jeapes, now a Tory councillor for Lawns Ward, Chelmsford. When asked later about the sighting of a gun
she changed her story and said it was vacuum cleaner nozzle.
Quote: ‘In relation to your request I am not
prepared to respond to your request for information. This case has been subject
to numerous reviews and appeals. These have studied in detail the events and
actions that took place. I have nothing to add.’ (I wrote to Jeapes earlier
this year, no response).
07:34am
It was decided to gain entry to the house
using ‘stealth tactics’ which consisted of smashing down the back door using a
sledgehammer!
07:34
am
Pc Collins together with Pc Delgado looked
into the kitchen via a window to the right of the door and reported that he
could see the body of who he thought was a woman in the kitchen. Pc Collins then returned to the door and
reported the key was in the lock on the inside of the door.
07:34
Upon gaining entry to the kitchen the raid
team reported ‘one dead male, one dead female found on entry of premises.’ Recorded both on the police logs and on a
police communication log written by Inspector Norman.
07:35
The raid team then proceeded to search the
remainder of the ground floor.
07:37
PC Hall, raid team member, gave evidence, ‘I
Immediately heard a noise upstairs and began to challenge up the stairs I was
covering, I was calling to Sheila Bamber to make her whereabouts known to me’.
07:43
Coroner’s Officer, PC Wright was informed of
fatalities and requested to attend.
07:47
Order to stop recording and monitoring the
open telephone line, police requested to attend the scene.
07:48
A request was made for a DCI and a doctor to
attend to examine the ‘two bodies’
08:09 the
upper floor had been searched and recorded ‘three further bodies’ had been
discovered. The raid team wore open microphones, yet none of the recordings
continue to be withheld from the defence.
08:20
Assistant Chief Constable Simpson requested to
speak to DCI Harris over a landline. DCI Harris called him using the kitchen
telephone from within the farm, later
denied at the 2002 appeal of Jeremy Bamber.
08:25
Police surgeon, Dr Craig arrived at the scene
to confirm the deaths.
8:26
DCI Jones and DI Miller requested to go to the
scene
08:43
The decision was made not to tell the press
anything and that a formal press conference would be held later in the morning.
08:40
PC Chaplin starts keeping two logs; one of
these is a record of who went in and out of the back door at WHF. This is separate to the log noted at 04:00 in
relation to Saxby. PC Shoulders keeps a
log at the front door of the house recording those entering and exiting.
Neither log has been disclosed.
08:45
Dr Craig, CSI Harris, PC Wright the
Coroner’s officer and CI Gibbons all state that Sheila had a single gun shot
wound and not two as shown in the crime scene photographs and at trial.
8:50
PC Watson and PC Cummings attended the scene
in car CA/4. The reason for their presence is unknown. No witness statements were
ever made by them.
08:51
Dr Craig saw Jeremy and offered him whiskey,
which he accepted. DI Cook and DC Bird arrive in car CP/03. Shortly after
Jeremy was driven home to Head street in his own car by the police
09:00am
Six further firearms officers arrived at the
scene. Essex police stated that they were called in to keep the press at bay.
However ‘informatives’ or training exercises were noted in the radio logs. No
Scenes of Crime officers were allowed in the house for a time period of 45
minutes after they arrived at 09:16 until 10:00 am.
09:14
DS Jones and DC Clarke of CID arrived.
09:16
Further CID officers DC Henderson, DI Miller,
DS Jones and DS Davidson arrived at the scene. Essex Police maintain it was DC
Hammersley and not DC Henderson who attended.
09:30
DI Miller describes Sheila as having been
found with rifle ‘by her right side’ and not with the rifle across her body as
it is seen in crime scene photographs taken after 10:00.
09:56
Chaplin ceases keeping his record, stating, ‘I
was instructed by someone (don’t know who) to stop recording who was entering
the house, as officers were by then using two entrances and it was impossible
for me to record correctly who was coming and going.’ The lists kept up-to-date to this time of
those who entered the house have not been disclosed.
10:00
Police photographer began to take crime scene
photographs; he requests the gun resting on Sheila be made safe.
10:20
Seven crime scene photographs show Sheila’s
body with her hand and the gun in different positions.
10:50
PC Bird, the photographer, had completed
taking the photographs of the interior of the scene and the bodies were placed
into bags in readiness for removal from the scene.
11:10am.
The gun was removed from Sheila’s body
supposedly for the first time.
14:15
PC Chaplin’s second log finishes.
15:50
The log added to by the 'relief' radio
operator from 05:42 comes to an end. PC Shoulders takes over the log at the
scene but the radio operator up until 15:50, PC Milbank never made a statement
for Jeremy's trial - it was simply ‘assumed’ that Malcolm Bonnett monitored the
radio throughout the incident. He did
not inform the Jury that he went off duty at 05:40 that morning.
Additional info: since discovered
documents from the later Dickinson Inquiry showing that a 999 telephone call was
received by PC Milbank, accordingly the judge ordered Essex Police to investigate and
report back but it appears this has never taken place or followed up:-Milbank has since been contacted by telephone and stated that he remembers taking the 999 call.
