HORRIBLE HISTORIES

In the second of our series on Surrey’s most heinous crimes, we move into the 20th century, beginning with an unsolved murder from the Edwardian era

- Steven Roberts

MERSTHAM (1905)

Just before 11pm on September 24 1905, foreman William Peacock came across a mutilated body in Merstham railway tunnel. The gruesome discovery was immediately reported to the stationmaster. At first, the tragedy was thought to have been a suicide, but thoughts soon turned to murder. It appears the victim, Mary Money, a dairy worker, had been on a southbound train from London into Surrey. She was seen at Clapham Junction station, and then, by the guard, at East and South Croydon, sharing a compartment with a man. Meanwhile, a signalman at Purley Oaks, the next stop, witnessed a man and woman ‘struggling’ in a compartment. The unfortunate lady got no further than Merstham, presumably hurled from the moving train. After Merstham, the train stopped at Redhill, where the guard believed the mystery man alighted. No-one was ever brought to justice.

BYFLEET (1924)