From the Unknown to the Known: Bryan’s Story
It was a journey he must have made dozens, if not hundreds, of times before.
Late into the evening on Thursday, 22 January 2015, a man crossed the road just north of a busy crossroads in Walthamstow, east London. The last few people left in the pub opposite will have been finishing their drinks before closing time.
Seconds later, with the man just metres from the front door of his flat, he was struck by a car, fatally.
Witnesses were sought and the driver was prosecuted but the case remained open. This was because the man’s identity could not be confirmed.
The police soon identified where he lived: a small shared flat above shops on Chingford Road. But he had few possessions, and nothing to identify him. A phone had only a small handful of contacts, and, intriguingly, a few printed photos gave some clues as to his life: they showed the man aboard a canal boat, exploring with curiosity.
A few people said they had encountered him. His name may have been Brian Wallace, they said. He worked cash-in-hand as a builder. He had a northern accent - Sheffield, perhaps - and he may have had a sister who lived in north London. Beyond that, little was known.
Details remained public on the UK Missing Persons Unit - Case 16-001186, unknown male - but brought no leads and the case of “Brian Wallace” went cold.
In 2020, our volunteer investigators began their own investigation. We quickly identified the owner of the canal boat on which “Brian” was pictured: they did not know each other, he said, but had met at the William the Fourth pub in Leyton, “Brian” had talked of spending time on canal boats in the past, and so the man volunteered to show him around. He went on to print the images he took on the boat, and give them to him.
Drinkers in the William the Fourth and nearby pubs recognised “Brian”. He was quiet, he sat in the corner. No, they didn’t know his name. No, they didn’t remember him speaking of any family.
In early 2024, however, after a press appeal by Locate International targeting Sheffield, there was a significant breakthrough.
On January 22, 2024, an article appeared in the Sheffield Star headlined 'Brian Wallace': Mystery of man killed in Walthamstow with links to Sheffield is 'unlike any case in history'. One man who read the article that day was Nik Dodsworth, an inspector with South Yorkshire Police based in Sheffield. He decided to investigate further.
“I did some enquiries and found a partial DNA hit which brought up a Brian Alwyn Woolis, and I immediately noted the similarity of the name to Brian Wallace,” Insp Dodsworth said.
“I found an obituary for an Alwyn Woolis who had died in Derbyshire in 2016, and in the obituary his late son Brian was mentioned, as well as Alwyn’s daughter and another son.”
Insp Dodsworth then identified Alwyn Woolis’ daughter. Nine years after the fatal collision in Walthamstow, she was able to make a positive identification: the man who died was her brother, Bryan Woolis.
Since then, Locate International and Insp Dodsworth have been liaising with the Woolis family, and the match has been passed to the Metropolitan Police and the East London coroner.
“I am really pleased that we have been able to let his family know what happened to him and hopefully bring them some peace of mind, said Yvonne Naish, who led the team that investigated Bryan’s case. “The whole team spent a lot of time thinking about the case and trying to understand how the police had a name yet no one could locate his family.”
Yvonne Naish, Volunteer Investigator
Bryan’s Grave
We have also been able to locate Bryan’s grave, in a small corner of Manor Park Cemetery in east London. He is buried in a common grave alongside three other men; a modest gravestone is marked “Brian Wallace 22.01.2015”.
Bryan had been a private man, who shared little of his day-to-day life. He was a charmer, back in the day. Even now, it is unclear if he had children, or a partner, but he is believed to have been close to someone named Sylvia, who worked in country and western venues in the Nottingham area. We are now actively trying to trace her, and anyone who knew her.
"My sympathy is with Bryan’s family, who had to live with not knowing what happened to him for several years,” said Insp Dodsworth. “I am glad that they finally have some closure on this tragic incident and can begin to rebuild.”
Nik Dodsworth, South Yorkshire Police
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