Egyptian Newspaper Article from 1936

I was looking through various newspaper reports and came across an interesting, if somewhat macabre article, from Cairo, Egypt in 1936 - (see below).

The article mentions a Head Constable in the Cairo City Police named 'Wellbeloved'. It does not give any Christian names for the policeman, or any further clues to narrow down his identity, other than he was an Englishman.

I looked through the available passenger lists and could only find one journey to Cairo, (Apr 24 1937). The passengers were Mrs S W Wellbeloved and  two male children aged 6¼ & 10¾. The ships manifest looks like it has been scored through in pencil and that the passengers may not have made the journey. However, the passenger details may give clues as to the identity of the 'Wellbeloved' policeman.

The mother's initials, 'S W', (her husband's), probably belong to Sidney William Wellbeloved, born 9 Nov 1899, Shepherd's Bush, London. Sidney married Ellen Maud Smith in 1925, and they had two children, Gerald J & Royston A, born 1926 & 1931 respectively. The birth years fit nicely with their ages as listed. They were probably intending to visit, or more probably live with Sidney while he was stationed in Cairo.

There is also an incoming passenger list to the UK from 1944 for Emily Maud, Gerald John & Roy Albert, (country of last permanent residence, shown as South Africa). Therefore, there seems a definite link to the African continent for this family.

The article:-

BODY IN TRUNK

MYSTERY

LEFT ON PAVEMENT OUTSIDE

HOTEL

A dissected corpse has been discovered inside a trunk which had been left on the pavement outside Shepheard’s Hotel, Cairo.

The trunk was left by a well-dressed young Egyptian, in European clothes, who drove up to the hotel in a cab.

With the cabman’s help, he lifted the trunk out and placed it on the pavement. People standing on the balconies of a large building opposite noticed the incident.

The cabman was then paid, but before he drove away the Egyptian shook out the mat on which the trunk was stood. Those watching thought he was shaking out water. It was later found to be blood.

The young man stood for a few minutes beside the brown, battered trunk, and then walked away. The trunk remained on the pavement for an hour.

Then Head Constable Wellbeloved, an Englishman in the Cairo City Police, noticed a small crowd outside the hotel. He was shown the trunk. A trickle of blood was emerging from a corner.

He opened the trunk. The first thing he saw was a naked human leg. He shut the trunk down and took it to a police station.

Further examination revealed the dissected remains of a naked male body wrapped in sacking. The dissection had apparently been skilfully carried out by someone with a knowledge of anatomy. The head was missing, but a gold wedding ring on one of the fingers was inscribed “B Guriguis, 28/3/34”. A further clue was a wristwatch.

The police searched all public establishments in the vicinity and blood was found on the walls and stairs of a gambling den. Several arrests have been made on suspicion.

Dundee Courier 26 Aug 1936 p.6