Unbeknown to Russell Lowbridge, he had driven past the remains of his grandfather hundreds of times since the Derbyshire miner and popular pigeon racer had gone missing 56 years before after a night at his local pub.
“I wouldn’t like to count the number of times I drove by that road over the years,” Lowbridge, 60, said. “We were so close to him, a stone’s throw away. It makes you think, was he shouting out, ‘I’m here, I’m here’? He would still be there now if it wasn’t for pure chance.”
The body of Alfred Swinscoe was discovered in April when a farmer dug a ditch along the length of his field in Sutton-in-Ashfield, uncovering human remains buried 4-6ft deep. Traumatic injuries to the skeleton proved that he had been murdered.
It was a revelation for Swinscoe’s family, who had always wondered what happened to him when he disappeared in January 1967, aged 54.
He was last seen at his local pub, the Miners Arms in Pinxton, on the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire border, at about 10.30pm when he gave his son Gary money to buy a round of drinks before walking out. No one saw him again.
“I was only a toddler at the time, but I remember it was a huge shock for the family,” said Lowbridge. “They couldn’t understand what had happened to him and perhaps in some romantic way, they tried to kid themselves he’d run off to start a new life elsewhere. But as I grew up and learned about him and the situation, I never believed that.”
On Monday, Nottinghamshire police issued a renewed appeal for information and Swinscoe’s last known moments were recreated on an episode of BBC’s Crimewatch.
DI Mel Crutchley, who is leading the investigation, said: “We are determined to find out what happened to Alfred and provide his family with the closure they desperately need. His killer left them with decades of unanswered questions about what happened to their loved one.”
She said the time that had passed since the murder had made inquiries challenging. After the colliery in Pinxton closed, many people who lived in the area had moved elsewhere, including abroad. “These are the people we need to speak to who may have the vital information we need,” she said. “If you lived in Pinxton around the time of Alfred going missing on 20 January 1967, we need to hear from you.”
The force said Swinscoe’s killer, or killers, would have driven to the field on Coxmoor Lane where he was buried. “This is significant, as in 1967 not many people had access to a car in the Pinxton community,” Crutchley said.
Police said a “number of traumatic injuries were found on the skeletal remains”, with tests continuing to determine the exact cause of Swinscoe’s death.
Gary, one of Swinscoe’s six children, of whom four are still alive, took his father’s disappearance particularly hard and dedicated years of his life to searching for him, combing fields and abandoned buildings, and hiring a private investigator.
“It haunted him all his life; unfortunately, he took it to his deathbed. He was one of the last people to see him on that fateful night, and it was heartbreaking for him. And he always believed something sinister had happened,” Lowbridge said.
In 1969, Gary contacted the Salvation Army for advice. After looking into Swinscoe’s case, they concluded nothing more could be done and wrote to Gary saying: “Trust that your father will decide to contact you direct at some point in the future.”
Gary and his father bonded over their love of pigeon racing – Swinscoe, who had worked at the local coalmine since the age of 14, was known as the champion pigeon man of Pinxton.
“He was a good man, a generous man. He had a good job at the pit, one of the better jobs that paid him well, and he was always known to be helping family members out if they needed a bit of cash,” said Lowbridge.
“When Uncle Gary died, I thought, what happens with grandad now? Does the buck stop with him? I immediately started thinking what I could do.”
Lowbridge contacted the police after they announced a body had been discovered in a nearby field – he thought it was a long shot, but his grandfather’s height and age at the time of his disappearance matched the description.
Nottinghamshire police also posted pictures of the socks found with the human remains, and it was this image that triggered Lowbridge. “Weirdly enough, I was studying the socks and I got these flashbacks going through my head,” he said. “I thought, I reckon I’ve worn them as a kid, and I’ve worn them too big. The police came and took some DNA samples and that confirmed it.
“I’m not sure how I felt. It was kind of relief and sorrow at the same time. It took a while for the bombshell to hit home that he’d been found, after all these years.”
Once police investigations are complete, Swinscoe’s body will be returned to his family, and they plan to bury him alongside Gary.
“It will bring some closure and it will be fitting to bury him with Uncle Gary, so they can be reunited after all this time,” said Lowbridge. “But before the end of their lifetime, his children want to know what happened to him.
“It’s been a long time in the making this mystery, it’s been over 50 years. But there just might be somebody out there alive that knows something, or can remember something. Families may have been told things on deathbeds. We just hope someone will be brave enough to come forward.”
