Retired Solicitors & Law Society Staff - 1967 Middlewich Murder

A SOLICITOR IS STRUCK OFF. THREE MONTHS LATER HE DISAPPEARS. THEN HIS BODY IS FOUND BESIDE A CANAL. I am researching one of Cheshire’s most intriguing unsolved murders and hoping someone in the legal profession may be able to help. Herbert “Bertie” Wilkinson was a solicitor in Middlewich, Cheshire. In 1965, the London Gazette records Herbert Wilkinson, Solicitor, at 74 Wheelock Street, Middlewich. Local historian Dave Roberts identifies the office as Blain, Boland & Co. Then Wilkinson’s professional life appears to have collapsed. In early 1967 he was struck off the Roll of Solicitors. Contemporary reports gave the reason simply as “irregularities”. Later accounts refer to “problems with his practice”. But what were those irregularities? Only a few months later, Wilkinson disappeared. He lived alone at 79 Nantwich Road, Middlewich and was reported missing in June 1967. Contemporary reports indicate sightings of him in Middlewich on 2 and 5 June. Four months later, his badly decomposed body was found in a shallow grave beside the Trent & Mersey Canal at Whatcroft, between Middlewich and Northwich. He had been murdered. Police questioned thousands of people and focused particularly on canal users. Newspapers reported appeals for boat users, checks on canal-boat owners, examination of film shot along the canal and efforts involving Interpol. The inquest returned a verdict of murder by a person or persons unknown. Nearly sixty years later, the murder remains unsolved. I first researched this case more than a decade ago and have recently returned to it, working backwards from contemporary records. One question keeps returning: Why was Herbert Wilkinson struck off? Did the irregularities concern clients’ money or accounts? Were clients affected? Was there a disciplinary hearing? Do the original Law Society records from 1966/67 survive? There may be no connection between Wilkinson’s professional difficulties and his murder. It would be irresponsible to suggest otherwise without evidence. But until we know what those “irregularities” were, this avenue deserves investigation. I would particularly like to hear from retired solicitors, legal historians, archivists, former Law Society staff, Cheshire historians, or anyone who remembers Blain, Boland & Co. of Middlewich. If you know where the relevant disciplinary records might be held, or have information about Herbert Wilkinson or the Middlewich legal profession of the 1960s, please get in touch. Sometimes one apparently insignificant detail can make everything else fall into place. #HerbertWilkinson #LawSociety #Solicitors #LegalHistory #Middlewich #Cheshire #ColdCase #UnsolvedMurder #Archives #LocalHistory