Deepdene Man
Three words and three numbers, written inside a pair of trousers: can you help solve the mystery of Deepdene Man?
On Tuesday, April 17th 1990, a dog walker in Deepdene, a forest and park near Dorking in Surrey, came across the partial skeletal remains of a man. This was shortly after heavy gales had brought down a number of trees.
To this day, the man has not been identified. But volunteer investigators with Locate International, a charity that looks into cold cases of missing people and unidentified bodies, believe the mystery can finally be solved.
It is not known how the man died but the estimated date of his death was between 1975 and 1985.
He is believed to have been between 55 and 70 years old when he died, and between 5ft 4ins and 5ft 7ins (163cm and 170cm) tall.
Links to the Netherne Hospital
Perhaps the most important clue was writing found on a label inside his red, green, yellow and black herringbone trousers: “n hamilton lytt 25.3.75”.
Locate International’s investigators strongly believe this was written in the laundry room of the nearby Netherne Hospital, and that “lytt” stands for Lyttleton, a close supervision unit at the hospital.
Netherne Hospital, about 13 miles from Deepdene, was a large psychiatric hospital established in 1905, but which closed in 1994. We are particularly keen to hear from anyone who used to work there.
Description and Posessions
The man was also wearing a single-breasted brown jacket with double vents at the rear, a beige v-neck jumper, brown lace-up size 8 shoes and a watch with a 1.5” white face with hour marks only.
He had a few possessions on his person:
A yellow tobacco tin containing tobacco and matches
A brown leather fold over wallet
Two keys on a split ring fob
A circular emblem of the Double Diamond beer brand
53 pence in coins dated between 1967 and 1975
Picture for illustrative purposes only
Questions you can ask yourself
We’re asking people in the area to ask themselves these questions, which we think can help solve the case
Does “N Hamilton Lytt” mean anything to you?
Did you, or anyone you know, work at Netherne hospital in the 1970’s and/or 80’s?
Did you lose contact with someone resembling this description in the 1970’s or 80’s?
Do you remember seeing a man resembling this description in Deepdene Woods?
“It has been quite touching working on a case so close to home,” Jessica said. “I hadn’t heard of the case before investigating it with my team, which surprised me, having grown up in the area myself. I used to pass by Deepdene woods regularly and knew nothing about Deepdene Man. This highlights why Locate International’s work and media appeals are so important. Someone in or around the local area must know something.
Having worked on the case for over a year and visited the woods myself as part of our investigation, Deepdene Man holds a special place in my heart. We are passionate about giving him his name back and hope that one day we can tell his family and/or friends where his final resting place is.”
Jessica Halsey, Locate Volunteer and Team Leader for Deepdene Man