MISSING BANK MANAGER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14235, 4 December 1909, Page 2 (Supplement)

MISSING BANK MANAGER.

VANISHED "INTO SPACE."

[FROM OCR OWN CORRESPONDENT.]

-" Lo.vdox, , October 22. The remarkable disappearance, on the- eve of his wedding, of Mr. William Robertson Lidderdafe,' an Ilmington bank manager, was mentioned this week in, the Probate and Divorce Division, when the application to presume death was adjourned for a fortnight.

„ From fuebs which were stated to the court, nearly two years ago it appeared that Mr. Lidderdale was formerly manager of the Ihninster branch of Stuckey's Bank. On March 5. 1890, he made a will leaving all his property to his fiancee, Miss Elizabeth Chapman. On the morning of January 8, 1892, on the eve of hi« marriage, he drew a cheque for £1000 on his cut rent account at (bank, and with the money he left for London without any baggage, except a small handbag. The last heard of him was a letter to Miss Chapman on January 10. The letter, after announcing his safe arrival at the Great Western Hotel, said: —

"Am sending "this to Raby in case I do not see my darling to-morrow. 1 promised you that if ever I saw Miss Vining again I would tell" you, and I do so, dear, at once. Site has • found out her old lover is dead, and those old duffers of lawyers must. tell her they expected me up. So the first person 1 ran against on getting out of the train was her. I soon told her what she wanted, and got rid of her. She knows we are to be married, but floes not seem to know the date of the marriage? The letter was signed, 'Yours for ever, Willie.' ' ■•■.•'.

On February 10, 1892, there appeared in the obituary columns of the London papers the announcement, of Mr. Lidderdale's death on Miss Vining's yacht. The notice said: —

"LIDDERDALE.—On February 3,/ on Miss B. H. Vining's yacht, Forsyth, William Robertson Lidderdale, the result of an accident on January 8, through leaving a carriage when in motion."

The same month Mr. Lidderdule's fiancee received a registered letter, containing £500 in bank notes, a Christmas card, a Jubilee sixpence, and some visiting cards of Miss Vining's, one of the cards having on it, in Mr. Lidderdale's handwriting, " Was true to you." Afterwards Miss Vining, by means of advertisements, was requested to supply further particulars, but no information either of his death or Miss Vining or her yacht had been obtainable, and the two had gone off into space," as counsel described it. Now it was desired to obtain leave to presume the death. of Mr. Lidderdale, for the purpose of probate. There was some suggestion that Miss Vining, who was a very rich lady, was infatuated with the bank manager.