The Hagley Wood Murder: Nazi Spies and Witchcraft in Wartime Britain

by M.J. Trow

Astonishingly, The Hagley Wood Murder is the first book solely on the subject (other than a selection of privately printed/self published offerings) ever written on this murder, which too place eighty years ago.

In April 1943, four teenaged boys discovered a corpse stuffed into the bole of a wych elm in a wood in the industrial Midlands. The body was merely bones and had been in the tree for up to two years. The pathologist determined that she was female, probably in her thirties, had given birth and was just under five feet tall. The cause of death was probably suffocation.

Six months after the discovery, mysterious messages began to appear on walls in the area, variants of ‘Who Put Bella Down the Wych Elm – Hagley Wood’. And the name Bella has stuck ever since.

Local newspapers, then the national press, took up the story and ran with it, but not until 1968 was there a book on the case – Donald McCormick’s Murder by Witchcraft  – and that, like others that followed, tied Bella in with another supposedly occult murder, that of Charles Walton on Meon Hill in 1945.

Any unsolved murder brings out the oddballs – the police files, only recently released, are full of them – and the nonsense still continues. The online versions are woeful – inaccuracy piled on supposition, laced with fiction. It did not help that a professional occultist, Dr Margaret Murray, expressed her belief, as early as 1953, that witchcraft was involved in Bella’s murder. And ill-informed nonsense has been cobbled together to ‘prove’ that Dr Murray was right.

McCormick’s own involvement was in espionage and his book, slavishly copied by later privately printed efforts, have followed this tack too. It was wartime, so the anonymous woman in the wych elm had to be a spy, parachuted in by the Abwehr, the Nazi secret service.

The Hagley Wood Murder is the first book to unravel the fiction of McCormick and others. It names Bella and her probable murderer. And if the conclusion is less over-the-top than the fabrications referred to above, it is still an intriguing tale of the world’s oldest profession and the world’s oldest crime!

Genres: Nonfiction

211 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 6, 2023

About the author

Meirion James Trow is a full-time teacher of history who has been doubling as a crime writer for seventeen years. Originally from Ferndale, Rhondda in South Wales he now lives on the Isle of Wight. His interests include collecting militaria, film, the supernatural and true crime.

Reviews

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book, the author sets out to look in detail at the various stories, myths and speculative theories which have revolved around the case, since the discovery of her body by four boys in 1943. Everything from witchcraft to espionage...

If you would like to read my full review please visit my blog at:

https://leftontheshelfbookblog.blogsp...

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a free copy of, The Hagley Wood Murder, by M J Trow, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The Hagley Wood murder happened 8o years ago, in April 1943, 4 teenage boys found a corpse. Such a sad story about a women who has been dead for maybe 2 years, whos bones were found. A very good, informative read, I enjoyed it.

[Jess Twibey · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

Pretentious writing, mockingly using the word woke and implying men in suits are discriminated against 🙄

I was lured in with witchcraft and nazi spies, not worth it

[Annarella · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like historical true crime and this was excellent. A story about a mystery, endless theories and a good writer.
It was a pleasure and it kept me hooked.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

[Kathleen Riggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bella, whose skull was found by four boys wedged in a tree’s hollow near Hagley in Worcestershire England on 18 April 1943 along with remnants of clothing and finger bones dispersed around the trunk. The Police where then contacted and set to work. They contacted every dentist in the country, hoping to identify the victim by her distinctive teeth which protruded forward, plus one of her front teeth was missing. And it was proved that it had been removed within the last twelve months. Sadly, not only did dentists remove teeth but back street people would remove a bad tooth with no credentials back then. The police also painstakingly eliminated all missing persons from the area which turned up nothing.
Painstaking detective and forensic work did not reveal who the victim was. Sadly, the mystery has endured because of sporadic outbreaks of graffiti in the area, which first started appearing six months after the body was found Was it the killer or somebody who knew her tormenting the police.
Unfortunately, That crucial piece of evidence the skull has been lost by police along with other evidence over the years. But the more pertinent question is, who was Bella?
Bella’s body had rotted in the woodland for at least eighteen months before she was found. The murder could be ritualistic and had all the hallmarks of a Satanic ceremony. Some say Bella was a Nazi spy, Others believe she was slain after tripping upon a Third Reich “cell”, Was Bella the spy’s lover and a singer or a gypsy girl who got in the wrong crowd and became a prostitute.
These are some of the questions as Bella’s body still to this day has never been identified. In this book there are a few different people she could be that have never been identified. Is she Clara Bauerle or somebody else entirely. To this day it has proven to be as enduring a mystery.
M.J. Trow has researched and written an excellent book and has come up with his own theories which I found very interesting but the book has left me pondering the question of who put “Bella” in the wych elm. Thanks to NetGalley and to the publishers of this book for giving me a free advance copy of the book to preview and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Alysia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Readers can brace themselves to be woven through both fact and fiction in this true crime tale about Bella and the Wych Elm or the Hagley Wood Murder. This book does an amazing job of providing the reader many sources that bring forth questions on how reliable they are. No need to bring the devil's advocate while reading, Trow will bring his own for you to fully analyze this case!

I very much appreciated the author's information about not only the case itself, but also the time period with which this case happened in. The fact this event took place in WWII really sheds light on what was occurring in many towns across Europe, but particularly Britain, during the war. It provides an understanding of just how hard this time period would have been to bring justice to the victim, even in normal circumstances.

The case has never been solved and it's not hard to see why. Four boys finding the body and tampering with it, as well as the crime scene, to only keep it secret for several years completely rendered the area almost useless to the police once they were finally told. Then to the police also ruining the scene, in typical fashion for the time period, to the clothing of the victim providing no branding, tags, or any distinct features. There is just simply not enough evidence or information about the victim and the area for us to ever truly know what happened and who this victim was.

I had a hard time getting through the full book only because some sections were so detailed that you do need to read this carefully to fully understand all the complexities and persons involved. I also was a little frustrated at the constant mention of McCormick and his pitfalls/issues that he brought to this case. I understand why the author speaks about him throughout the book, but at times it did feel almost too nitpicky and overshadowed the crime.

Overall, this is a highly detailed and thorough review. I learned quite a few new tidbits and I'd encourage anyone to read it if they're interested in this case!

Thank you to Netgalley and M.J.Trow for an advanced copy of this read!

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

In April 1943, four teenage boys discovered a corpse stuffed into the hole of a wych elm in the industrial Midlands area. The body had been in the tree for up to two years. The pathologist determined that she was female, probably in her thirties, had given birth at least once, and was just under five feet tall. Six months after the discovery, mysterious messages like ‘Who Put Bella Down the Wych Elm – Hagley Wood’ began appearing on walls in the area, and the victim became Bella. Unfortunately, no one could identify her, and her murder case was eventually closed decades later.
Over the years, various folks have tried to solve the crime. One author attributed her death to witchcraft while other theories posited Nazi or gypsy involvement. This book tells the stories of all the theories. While the details of the murder are murky and the crime remains unsolved, the fact remains that life is cheap.
This book is basically a true crime book, similar to a podcast with the author’s religious and social views sprinkled throughout. The author also shares mistakes made by the police and other authority figures during and after the investigation. His theory about Lavonia Stratford makes sense, too.
I appreciated the photos at the end. The book was fairly boring, though. I was expecting more of a novel rather than a documentary. The author’s personal politics were annoying at times, too.

[Eadie Burke · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Hagley Wood Murder took place 80 yrs. ago in the Midlands. In April 1943, four teenage boys discovered a corpse stuffed in a Wych Elm tree. It had been there for 2 yrs, a female about 30 yrs. old, had given birth and was just under 5 ft. tall. The cause of death was suffocation. "Who Put Bella Down the Wych Elm" began to appear on walls and the name Bella has stuck ever since. In 1968 a book on the case appeared by Donald McCormick Murder by Witchcraft tied Bella to the occult murder of Charles Walton on Meon ill in 1945. Lots of theories have since developed that the murder was a spy victim parachuted in by the Abwehr, the Nazi secret service. This book is the first book to unravel the fiction of McCormick. It names Bella and her probable murderer. The conclusion is that of a prostitute as one of the world's oldest profession and world's oldest crime. It goes over teeth that were missing and clothing that she was clothed in that was too big for her. I found the book very interesting and all the solutions to murder that were available. Bella has been thoroughly researched in this book by M.J. Trow and look forward to reading more about this murder. If you love true crime then you would enjoy reading this book. I would like to thank Pen Sword True Crime and NetGalley for a copy for an honest review.

[Susan Johnston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Princess Fuzzypants here: This is a fascinating book that uses research to debunk the myths that have grown around the wartime murder of an unknown woman who ended up stuffed in a tree in Hagley Wood. The investigation was sloppy at best and the evidence has been lost forever but the author has painstakingly refuted the “facts” that were printed in books and articles zapping the embellishments and outright fabrications. She has little mercy for the people who decided to make the story more sensational..

She takes a couple to task but she reserves her greatest vitriol for the journalist whom she holds most responsible for the mythistory. I do like that word. It sums up so much of the drivel that passes for truth on the internet. It was not as easy back in the day for stories to take on a life of their own like it is now but this sad tale got lots of mileage and put more than a few quid in a number of pockets.

The author admits no one will ever know exactly what happened but she sorts the the stories of witchcraft, Nazi spies, gypsies and prostitutes and comes up with a plausible explanation. Whether the author is right or wrong, it is still a riveting book of how one historian can demolish decades of yellow journalism. Five purrs and two paws up.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started this book thinking it was a historical fiction too, then to soon realize it was history and non-fiction. It's very informative. Overall. a really good read. You learn about the stigma around the wych elm. You also have world war II information as well as nazi information. All around this one event, a woman found in Hagley Wood inside a wych elm. You learn about what the times were like during that time period when the boys found the woman in the tree. It gives a detailed account of what happened, what the conditions were like and what was happening during the time period. It gives you perspective as to where people's minds were at and what kind of thinking was happening among the wartime and rations. It's very informative about the people involved in all aspect: the boys, the detectives and the investigation it includes so much information that I felt like I had just sat through an extensive lecture but in a good way. Overall, it is very in-depth, and there has been a lot of research that has gone into this book. You can tell from the way it's written and the way that it's read that the author took the time to make it as accurate as possible.

[S · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book solely on the subject of the Hagley Wood Murder which looks at the fascinating tale of a unsolved murder from April 1943. Speculative theories from the possible to the unlikely to the ridiculous continue to the present day as who victim was and who placed her body inside of a Wych Elm tree in the Midlands. The woman believed to be in her 30's and who has still not been positively identified was found by 4 teenaged boys in April 1943.

The author M.J.Trow tell the reader that there has been theories on the murder including espionage to her the victim linked to prostitution. Other claims include her being a variety of nationalities and ethnic group however crime remains unsolved to this day.

The book is well written, very informative and earned to place among my true crime collation.

[Heather Daughrity · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting investigation into an almost-century-old case. Lots of history--not just the unsolved mystery of the woman in the wych elm, but the WW2 atmosphere of the time and brief forays into occultism, Jack the Ripper, espionage, and Roma culture.

Perhaps the most entertaining (or annoying, depending on what sort of humor you're in while reading) aspect of this one was the feeling that author M.J. Trow's priority was to make a decided and consistent point of debunking and criticizing--in a way that reminded me of nothing so much as the relationship between Max and John in Grumpy Old Men--the claims made by Donald McCormick in his book, Murder by Witchcraft. A definite bit of "oh, this old wanker... let me tell you how useless he is and how smart I am," but with a weirdly good-natured tilt.

All in all, an interesting read with an entertaining underlying rivalry.

[Valerity (Val) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is about an old murder from 1943 in Britain when four boys were out looking for bird’s nests and found someone had stuffed a body in a hollow wych elm. Through the years it’s become a legend rather than a true story with known details. Much misinformation was spread around, which just drew the story in strange directions, as if it weren’t already a bizarre story.

[Lauren Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Amazing historical true crime novel. Very interesting, well written and lots of research was put into it.
Highly recommend.

[Hilary "Fox" · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review will be available on The Folklore Podcast website. I'll be updating with a link to it as soon as it goes live.

[Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher