This statement was read out at today’s police press conference by Russell Lowbridge – grandson of Alfred Swinscoe, murdered in 1967 and whole remains were found in Nottinghamshire in April 2023.
My name is Russell Lowbridge and I am the grandson of Alfred
Swinscoe.
I would like to read out a statement on behalf of our family.
Unfortunately, some of our family are no longer with us and never
got to hear the news that you have heard today.
This statement is also on behalf of them.
Following a media appeal about human remains found in Coxmoor
Road in Sutton-in-Ashfield I felt compelled to contact
Nottinghamshire Police for a number of reasons.
Number one – the height of the unidentified remains – 5ft 5ins –
was the same height as my late grandfather.
Number two – the distinctive socks found with his remains brought
back memories from my childhood and I had a distinct feeling I had
seen them somewhere before.
Number three – my grandfather went missing in 1967 and the site is
not too far from where he went drinking that night.
We never thought that the hunch I had would ever come true when
we underwent DNA testing.
This has filled our family with very mixed emotions.
Relief that we can finally put my grandfather to rest but incredible
pain and sadness to uncover what had happened to him.
He was murdered and then buried so no one could ever find him.
His disappearance tormented my Uncle Gary his whole life. He went
to his grave never knowing what happened to his dad.
He just remembers his dad giving him a ten bob note in the Pinxton
Miners Arms that night – telling him to get a round and then never
ever seeing him again.
It completely broke him, never knowing what happened to his dad.
It has also broken my mum, Julie Swinscoe who sits here beside
me. She was only 25 at the time her dad was reported missing.
She is now 82 and does not want to leave this earth never knowing
why her dad was taken away from her so brutally.
Whoever did this robbed generations of a grandfather and great
grandfather and left six children without a father.
Two of those children are no longer here and never got this chance.
This has been a mystery that has haunted our family for decades. It
never goes away – and it never provides answers.
We would like to thank Nottinghamshire Police for how seriously
they are taking this investigation and for their kindness and
diligence.
We would also like to thank the media for attending today and
wanting to share our appeal for help.
Everything I know about my grandfather is second-hand because
that opportunity was never given to me because someone took that
away.
Family have described him as a hard-working and respected man,
born and bred in Pinxton, who had worked for Langton Colliery
since he was 14 years old.
He was ‘a cutter’ known for operating a machine that cut large
chunks of coal out of the coal face for others to then break down.
They really respected him at the colliery because he was good at
his job and liked to socialise in the pub after work.
I am told everyone knew who he was in Pinxton.
He had the nickname of ‘Sparrow’ and was known as the
“Champion Pigeon Man of Pinxton” due to his love of pigeon
racing.
It was a popular hobby in the 1960s and a hobby he enjoyed with
his son Gary.
While we might be able to give my grandfather the proper funeral
he deserves we still don’t have the answers we desperately need.
We hope that someone out there can help change that.
We urge anyone with information, no matter how small, to contact
Nottinghamshire Police as soon as possible.
Please help us understand what happened. Thank you.
@westbridgfordwirenews Police have identified the human remains found in a field in Sutton-in-Ashfield following a successful DNA match. Officers have made a significant breakthrough after a public appeal for information prompted a grandson to come forward. Russell Lowbridge was only four years old when his grandfather, Alfred Swinscoe, went missing in early 1967 after drinking at the Pinxton Miners Arms in Derbyshire. Family members had been waiting 56 years for answers after Alfred, aged 54 at the time, went missing in mysterious and unusual circumstances. Mr Lowbridge, aged 60, contacted police following a media appeal for information about the unidentified remains found in Coxmoor Road on Wednesday 26 April this year. DNA tests were carried out on Russell and Alfred’s son, now in his 70s, and matched against the bones exhumed from the ground. Alfred Swinscoe with his son Gary scaled Alfred Swinscoe with his son Gary Police have launched a murder investigation and a team of dedicated detectives are working alongside a team of scientists to bring his killer to justice. Alfred was a father of six and a miner, living in the small village of Pinxton in Derbyshire when he went missing. . The full story and family appeals are at linkinbio . #nottinghamshire #notts #derbyshire #policeappeal #murder #coldcasefiles #coldcase ♬ original sound – West Bridgford Wire News
• Breaking: Police identify human remains as Derbyshire man murdered in 1967
