Bygones
GI bride's killing still a mystery 34 years on
The subject of Gl brides has revived memories of a
brutal murder which remains unsolved |
No trace: A police reconstruction
of Joan Maschek with an unknown young man in West
Bridgford two weeks before her death. The police failed
to trace him. |
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 Mystery
man: Was this a drawing (far left) of Joan Maschek's
killer? . Despite the detail, he was never traced. She
had married American Gl Clarence Maschek (left) in 1945. |
a reconstruction but no one ever came
forward. Alf Bowley remembers a huge file being compiled
on the Maschek murder, containing thousands of
statements but the person or persons responsible
disappeared without a trace.
Mr Roberts said: "The police made door-to-door inquiries. I heard
from the cousin of one of the detectives. |
"My family
were able to give background information on Joan and
Clarence to Nottingham CID together with relevant
wedding photographs.
"I later rang and asked for the photographs to be returned only to
be told they had been scrapped.
"A very sad ending to the story of a GI from 508
Airborne Alf Bowley(Source:
Nottingham Post Sept 16, 2010 |
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(PDF Version) |
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JOAN Smith was one of those Nottingham girls swept
away by the American soldiers who filled Wollaton Park in the months
before D-Day in June 1944.
She was a teenager, working as a housemaid for Nottingham Council
House architect Cecil Howitt at his Wollaton Park home, called The
Thatch.
She met a handsome GI called Clarence Maschek (or Mashek).
By the time he set off for Normandy and the invasion of France,
their romance was blooming.
He returned to Nottingham with a Purple Heart medal on his chest
and love in his heart. And in the summer of 1945 they were married
at Shakes- peare Street Register Office.
Barry Roberts, who now lives in Kinoulton, remembers them well.
"My mother also worked at The " Thatch. Joan often brought Clarence
to our house at Cycle Road, Lenton, which resulted in a friendship
with my parents. I was 12 and, as sweets were rationed, you can
imagine how pleased I was to have a GI as a friend."
According to Barry, the couple settled in South Dakota and for two
or three years, Joan corresponded regularly with his father.
But it seems that life in America didn't suit Joan and she returned
home alone some years later.
She lived in Lenton's bedsit area, and became something of a
character, described as "an artistic type" who wore large floppy
hats and cloaks, by people who saw her in local pubs and clubs.
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In 1976 her name was thrust into the headlines. It
was on a July day in that long hot summer her battered body was
found at her home in Douglas Road, Lenton.
She had been brutally murdered, and more than 30 years later her
killer has never been found and the file remains open.
Ex-city detective Alf Bowley remembers the case. "I was divisional
commander at the Guildhall but they brought in Detective Chief
Superintendent Roy Readwin from headquarters to lead the manhunt.
"My memories of it are that more than 100 detectives worked on the
case, but they never turned up any leads."
According to neighbours, Joan Maschek enjoyed a good time, one
saying: "A lot of people would come and go at all hours of the day
and night.
"There always seemed to be parties or goings-on in the flat."
But all agreed she was never any trouble and no one could think of
a reason why anyone would want to harm her.
The lack of an obvious motive hampered Supt Read-win's
investigation but suspicion eventually fell on a "scruffy" young man
known to have met Joan Maschek who police were anxious to interview.
A few weeks after the murder they released an artist's impression
of a tall, slim, long-haired man in his 20s with bright red cheeks
and a small, wispy moustache.
He was a man of good manners who would chat with Joan about
classical music and ballet.
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