late afternoon at Alum Chine

Bournemouth Beach at Alum Chine, view looking westwards towards Canford Cliffs and Sandbanks.

The tide is high and the sea is rough; a few windsurfers are still active, there are more kitesurfers in evidence.

A chine is a steep-sided valley through which a river or stream flows to the sea. This term is only used in south-western England and the Isle of White.

To the right of the photograph you can just discern nearby Branksome Chine, the next one along the coast from Alum Chine.


Neville Heath

This handsome, charming and very dangerous man, a war hero, was hanged in London in October 1946.

Long addicted to petty crime, in June 1946 Heath perpetrated the horrendous murder of a young woman in London. He then took a train to the south coast to escape the manhunt. The police treated him as the principal suspect, and circulated his identity and description to the national newspapers, deciding however against releasing a photograph of him.

Early in July, the decayed and mutilated body of another young woman was discovered in Branksome Chine. Days before, her handbag had been found on the beach here at Alum Chine by local schoolboys. The woman had been reported missing, and Heath - then using a false identity - had contacted the local police station to inform them that he had met her earlier on the day of her disappearance. This had immediately aroused their suspicion.

On discovering the body the police arrested Heath, and soon evidence (in the form of a whip) was found which linked him directly to the first killing. It was for that murder that Heath was prosecuted and convicted.

It was customary before an execution for a prison governor to offer the condemned man a whisky. Heath's last request: "While you're about it, sir, you might make that a double".



This photograph was taken in low light (at ISO 4,000) and needed careful adjustment to bring out the details adequately.