- In light of yet another death of a microbiologist, this
time Doctor David Wynn-Williams, killed when he was struck by a vehicle
whilst out jogging this week (http://www.t
hetimes.co.uk/article/0,,60-248720,00.html)
it is interesting to take a look at a similar set of circumstances that
occurred fourteen years ago in the United Kingdom and was not widely
reported
in the United States press. Once again it involves the deaths of a number
of scientists, some in "unusual" circumstances. The report below
was taken from The Independent newspaper of August 26, 1988..
-
- "The police said it was suicide, and no doubt they
were right. Ex-Brigadier Peter Ferry, a marketing manager at Marconi's
Command and Control Systems centre at Frimley, Surrey, had apparently
killed
himself by inserting power main electric wires into his mouth and then
turning on the power.
-
- The method chosen was perhaps marginally more grisly
than in the case of several other Marconi employees. In 1986, for example,
Ashad Sharif, a computer analyst who worked for Marconi Defence Systems
in Stanmore, Middlesex, tied one end of a rope around his neck, another
to a tree, and put his car into gear. Two months earlier, the body of Vimal
Dajibhai, a software engineer responsible for checking the guidance systems
of Tigerfish torpedos for Marconi Underwater Systems, was found under
Clifton
suspension bridge at Bristol.
-
- In March 1987, David Sands, a project manager working
on secret satellite radar at Marconi's sister company Easams, in Camberley,
drove up a slip road on his way to work and into a cafe at an estimated
80 mph. A year later, Trevor Knight, a computer engineer at Marconi's space
and defence base in Stanmore, died in his fume-filled car at his home in
Hertfordshire. Earlier, two other Marconi employees, Victor Moore, a design
engineer, and Roger Hill, a draughtsman, had killed themselves, both
seemingly
as a result of work pressures.
-
- There have been at least half a dozen more untoward
deaths
among defence scientists and others working in the defence field. Marconi
is not alone, but it is well in the lead. The best efforts of investigative
journalists have failed to establish a link either between the various
deaths or between the deaths of the Marconi staff and the Ministry of
Defence
inquiry, now two years old, into some £3billion worth of defence
contracts awarded to GEC-Marconi. "
-
- Interestingly, Marconi was recently declared virtually
bankrupt after it's shares fell below "junk" status on the UK
stock exchange. Both the chairman and C.E.O. resigned and a great many
employees have lost their jobs as the share price fell from a twelve month
high of £4:45 ($6:60) to only 5 pence. Marconi had, over the last
few years, moved into the Telecoms sector and suffered when the downturn
in TMT stocks came along last year. A company once worth billions is now
worthless, somewhat like Enron. What is surprising in the light of this
scandal is that so far it appears nobody connected with company has been
found dead, although there are some disgruntle shareholders who must wish
the company's ex-chairman, Lord Simpson of Duckenfield, would do the
honourable
thing.
-
- ___
-
- Ian Gurney is the author of The Cassandra Prophecy
- www.caspro.com
- info@caspro.com
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