Body Through the Porthole

Our April meeting included a visit from Steve Herra who presented us with a very entertaining tale of desire, death and deceit.

It was a true story involving the disappearance of a young actress on a voyage between Cape Town and Southampton. Gay Gisbon, as she was known, disappeared from the cruise in the waters around Cape Verdi in 1947. It was first believed that she had jumped overboard. However on further investigation James Comb (a steward) was accused of murdering her by strangulation. James admitted being in her room and pushing her through the porthole but always maintained she had died naturally during intercourse.

After hearing the evidence the WI members were invited to play the role of the jury. in 1948 James Comb was found guilty by a unanimous verdict and sentenced to life imprisonment. However, the jury in the hall on 29th April 2023 was very split, with only about a third of the members willing to raise their hands and give a guilty verdict.

It was a very enjoyable evening and discussions continued over the lovely refreshments provided by Laura and Caroline. We concluded the evening with flower of the month and the raffle.