Category: Remarkable People

Sunday Stroll, 21st June 2026 – Walking Tour of the Crime Scenes of the Rich & Famous: SW1 & SW3

Join on Sunday 21^st June for a personally guided walking tour of the crime scenes of Belgravia, Chelsea and Knightsbridge with Matthew Steeples of ‘The Steeple Times’ including locations linked to Lord Lucan, Ghislaine Maxwell and Oscar Wilde

Sunday 21^st June 2026 – 10.30am for prompt 11am departure

Matthew Steeples will be your guide as you explore some of London’s most storied neighbourhoods. Whilst the addresses we’ll visit may seem to be ritzy superficially, you’ll learn of the darker events that have occurred in SW1 and SW3 alongside some jollier details too. Aside from buildings connected to Ghislaine Maxwell and Lord Lucan, you will hear the story of a high society ‘Bright Young Thing’ who got away with murder and a Bakelite plastics heir who ultimately didn’t; this will be a thought provoking tour where there’ll also be plenty of opportunity for questions and conversation.

Duration:

2 to 2.5 hours including one stop at a halfway point for brief refreshments and use of facilities, if participants feel the need for such.

Details:

Starting point – Belgravia, SW1X; nearest underground stations are Knightsbridge and Sloane Square.

The exact meeting point will be confirmed after your booking has been made.

Finishing point – Chelsea, SW3.

Participants will be welcome to join for drinks at the end of the walk (at their own expense).

Participants should be over 18 years of age to enjoy the experience to the full and are advised to wear suitable attire for walking in Central London.

Booking:

To book your tickets, please click the following link to pay £30 per person attending:

https://monzo.com/pay/r/longreach-publishing-limi_5DmPlIyBxXGGEA

Alternatively, pay £30 per person via bank transfer to:

Account name: Longreach Publishing Limited

Bank: Monzo Bank Limited

Sort code: 04-00-06

Account number: 90607601

Once you have booked, please email editorial@thesteepletimes.com to confirm your booking. Bookings will be accepted on a first come, first served basis; places on the tour are limited.

Please note that all food and drink is to be purchased at your own expense and that though tickets are non-refundable, they are transferable.

Please direct any additional enquiries to editorial@thesteepletimes.com

Sophie from Southwark, London – Endorsement of previous tour:

“The tour was both enjoyable and fascinating, with Matthew pointing out both well-known and not-so-well-known crimes. I’ve done a few walking tours here and there and this one was the best – Matthew really knows the history and the who’s who of the area. I highly recommend the tour for both information and general entertainment value.”

Follow Matthew Steeples on X at @M_Steeples and The Steeple Times at @SteepleTimes.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel at @mjs2781 or become a member even.

If you haven’t done so already, please support keeping The Steeple Times in the business of telling the stories that the mainstream media don’t dare touch by helping fund our work via Patreon. Even a small donation will help keep us going and will be hugely appreciated.

Buy Matthew Steeples a tea (or better a gin) via Ko-fi.

June 20, 2026
Heroine of the Hour 2023 – Matilda Walden

Matthew Steeples salutes home educated Matilda Walden, an impressive teenager whose enthusiasm knows no bounds and whose video about steeplejack Fred Dibnah is a must watch

When The Steeple Times featured the story of “Britain’s most inaccessible home” – which is now somewhat surprisingly “sold subject to contract” through agents Fisher Hopper – in February this year, I included footage shared on YouTube that had been filmed by a young lady I labelled “charming and enthusiastic.”

In the time since, I have watched a number of subsequent videos by Matilda Walden – a young lady who aged just 13 years old last year won the world record for assembling a ‘Mr Potato Head’ in just 5.69-seconds – and most recently was impressed by one she made after visiting the former home of the late telly box titan Dr Fred Dibnah MBE.

In the 6:03-minute sequence, Walden (pictured top dancing outside it) toured Dibnah’s former home in Bolton, Lancashire – last featured in this publication in October 2012 when it was offered for sale for the somewhat staggering sum of £1.25 million ($1.54 million, €1.42 million or درهم5.67 million). She shared lively commentary and even performed a song she has written about the legendary Lancastrian steeplejack.

In doing so and in also sharing video footage she has filmed about steam trains, music and many other things, this inquisitive youngster provides an example of a Generation Z mind put to good use. Walden’s passion is clear and she is someone I do believe who will go far.

Thrice married father-of-five Fred Dibnah himself was himself known for his bluntness. He described himself as “just a bum who climbs chimeys” and once stated of his work: “If you make, it’s half a day with the undertaker.” He had no time for “fancy London types” and took the view that: “We’ve become a nation of conmen, living by selling double-glazing to each other.” His type sadly won’t be seen again and as Matilda herself concludes: “They don’t make them like Fred Dibnah anymore.”

Editor’s Note – Unlike as is the case in many publications, this article was NOT sponsored or supported by a third-party. Follow Matthew Steeples on Twitter at @M_Steeples.

Join Matilda Walden’s 2,700 followers on Facebook by clicking here and join the 1,200 who subscribe to her YouTube channel by clicking here.

Matilda River Walden with David Harper, one of the ‘stars’ of ‘Antiques Road Trip’ and ‘Bargain Hunt.’

The teenager with the boxer Tyson Fury (in a ‘bread section’ in a Morrisons supermarket).

And with Richard Jupp, former co-founder, songwriter and drummer of the band Elbow.

In March 2022, the vlogger featured in ‘The Sun’ and was described as the “spud toy teen girl” who “smashed the world record for the fastest assembly of a Mr Potato Head toy.” She “put the pieces together in just 5.69 seconds” and “beat the previous best of 6.62 seconds, which stood as a world record for 12 years.”

Bolton born Dr Frederick Dibnah MBE (1938 – 2004) described himself as a “backstreet mechanic,” but in essence it was his role as an entertainer that resulted in his becoming a genuine national treasure. Of meeting the late Queen Elizabeth II, he remarked: “I was slightly nervous shaking hands with the Queen. She asked me if I was still climbing chimneys. It beats me how she keeps tabs on everybody. I never thought I would be receiving an MBE.” Of wanting to meet the now King Charles III, he added: “I’d like to meet [him] because we share the same views about modern architecture.” Dibnah appeared on BBC Radio 4’s ‘Desert Island Discs’ on 1st December 1991 and chose tracks by amongst others Gary and Vera Aspey, Neil Diamond, James Galway, Elaine Paige, Sergey Rachmaniov, Jennifer Rush and Johnann Strauss II.

April 3, 2023
Arse v Ass – Amusing John O’Hara Letters For Sale

Bonhams to sell amusing letters from “alcoholic crank” and author John O’Hara that examine the difference between “arse” and “ass;” of his work ‘BUtterfield 8’ Elizabeth Taylor once raged: “I think it stinks!”

“Bingeworthy” American short story author John O’Hara (1905 – 1970) was once described as “may not [having] been the best story writer of the twentieth century, but he [was] the most addictive.”

“Unfashionable in literary circles in the 1960s” and known for his “easily bruised ego, alcoholic crankiness, long-held resentments and politically conservative views,” an amusing letter from O’Hara – whose notable works included Appointment in Samarra and BUtterfield 8 – that was held in the collection of the Frasier screenwriter and producer David Lloyd (1934 – 2009) is to be auctioned by Bonhams in Los Angeles this month.

Written on 9^th July 1938 to one Mr Mavrogordato and sent from 52 Chesil Court, Manor Street, Chelsea, London, SW3 – which was also for a time home to the “cheeky Cockney” actor Harry Fowler MBE (1926 – 2012) – the second of the letters points to the difference between the word “arse” in England and its counterpoint “ass” in America. It reads:

“In America the word is pronounced and spelled ass. In England, where I have had one book published, and another to be published in September, they spell it your way in my books. I happen to think it’s inconsistent to do that with a writer whose stuff is so completely American, but after a certain point has been reached, I always let publishers have their way.”

It comes with an earlier typed letter dated 4^th July 1938 written to Fred J. Feldkamp (1914 – 1981), the editor of For Men, in which O’Hara submits an article (not present with the lot). The author informs that he will be “traveling through Europe for most of the summer” and complains:

“I admit that I was a little surprised at the small size of the cheque for the other piece, but we can take that up when I get home. Over here every little bit helps, and anyway it takes so God damn long to argue by mail.”

The letters – which come with an original transmittal envelope – will be sold as part of an online only sale that concludes on 10^th August at 10:00 PDT. The lot has a guide of £247 to £411 ($300 to $500, €293 to €488 or درهم1,102 to درهم1,836) and the current bid is just £4.11 ($5, €4.89 or درهم18.36).

Whether this argumentative author subsequently made an “arse” or an “ass” of himself with his bosses remains unknown, but one thing is for sure, John O’Hara considered Americans above Brits to the end. In 1952, he concluded: “Sometimes I almost feel that I ought to apologize [sic] for having the ability to write good dialogue, and yet it’s the attribute most lacking in American writers and almost totally lacking in the British.”

Pictured top – One of the two letters that Bonhams are to sell on 10^th August (left) and its “among the greatest short-story writers in English, or in any other language” – according to his fellow ‘New Yorker’ contributor Brendan Gill (1914 – 1997) – author John O’Hara (right).

A July 2013 ‘Chicago Tribune’ tribute to the “floating from one newspaper job to another… generally fired in a matter of months” author by Rick Kogan began: “John O’Hara was not a nice man, but he was, for a while, one hell of a great writer.” It ends: “As you might have guess, he wrote his own epitaph: ‘Better than anyone else, he told the truth about his time. He was a professional. He wrote honestly and well.’ ‘Better than anyone else?’ C’mon. ‘Honestly and well’? I can’t argue that.”

Elizabeth Taylor starred in the 1960 drama film adaptation of O’Hara’s novel ‘BUttterfield 8” alongside her then husband Eddie Fisher. In spite of it being MGM’s biggest hit that year, Taylor “hated it” and cuttingly commented: “I still say in stinks.”

“Witty” and known for being passionate about the “relationship of a man and his typewriter” David Lloyd – pictured with his son Christopher in 1998 with Emmy awards for ‘Frasier’ and the longtime owner of the letters and other lots to be offered on 10th August – died in November 2009 of prostate cancer. He was the co-creator of ABC’s ‘Modern Family’ and known for “his enormous first edition collection (a stunning number of which he actually read) and travelling the world with his leading lady.” His favourite restaurant, La Dolce Vita, has a dish named ‘Lambchops Lloyd’ on its menu in his honour.

August 5, 2022
Hero of the Hour 2022 – Tate Modern Tragedy Boy

Then 6-year-old French boy thrown from the 10^th floor of the Tate Modern by a then 17-year-old monster in 2019 amazes with remarkable progress and is deservedly lauded as a “little knight”

The resilience and determination of children can be remarkable and the then 6-year-old French boy who was thrown from a 10^th floor viewing platform at the Tate Modern in August 2019 is a true testament to that.

Now, just under three years after this horrific incident, it has been revealed that the unnamed for reasons of privacy victim – whose injuries included a bleed to the brain, fractures to his spine and broken legs and arms – has been able to celebrate his birthday with other children for the first time since the completely unprovoked attack.

In a statement on 28^th May, the child’s family remarked via a GoFundMe page supporting them:

“To fill the strong desire of our little knight to go in the water (he had been swimming since childhood), we managed to find a specialised educator who can accompany him to the swimming pool with great vigilance. Indeed, he still can’t put his head under water because of his swallowing difficulties. Our son has to start all over again from the beginning but that doesn’t scare him! He is so happy in the water!”

We do not know if this is related to the picking up of this activity, but our son is starting to move his left ankle. Once again, we are happy to see him succeed in making a new movement, still light of course, but clearly visible for two weeks.”

“Other good news, our little knight is standing more and more upright (he has gained muscle tone and strengthened his back) and he has made enough progress in his right ankle for his doctor to decide to remove the splint from the right foot! Our son therefore only has two splints left, on the left foot and on the left hand. Little by little, his armor is disappearing!”

“This week he has also been able to make his first try at the school canteen. He was very happy, even if he is still very sensitive to noise: he complained of having earaches at the end of the meal. For next week, his occupational therapist will lend him noise-canceling headphones that he can put on whenever he needs to soothe his eardrums.”

“Finally, we were able to celebrate his birthday for the first time with other children since the attack. Our son was able to invite classmates and even one of his buddies from our old town was able to come! They had a great afternoon together, despite their differences in mobility. It was exhausting for us, but it was a step closer to a classic life, and it’s worth it.”

“Some periods are so difficult. Sadness and discouragement would sometimes take hold of us, but we must hold on and focus on all the progress made. Thank you so much for continuing to think of our little knight and for encouraging us.”

Shockingly this is an incident that should never have occurred in the first place. The then 17-year-old perpetrator, Jonty Bravery, was an autistic teenager who lived in a placement in Northolt, West London with two-to-one care funded by Hammersmith and Fulham Borough Council and the NHS Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

The unironically named Bravery had been involved in a “series of troubling incidents” in the two years prior to the attack including threatening to kill members of the public, hitting a climbing wall instructor at a leisure centre and putting faeces in his mother’s make-up brushes. In April 2019, whilst on a supervised trip to Brighton, he had punched a care worker and a member of staff in a Burger King.

Allowed out for the day unaccompanied on 4^th August 2019 in spite of his past violence, Bravery spent considerable time scoping out victims on the viewing platform of the Tate Modern and looking over the railings before committing a totally unprovoked attack on a child he had never even met before.

Subsequently jailed for 15 years after being convicted of attempted murder, Jonty Bravery was arrested again in 2021 on suspicion of raping a man in his 30s in the shower block of Her Majesty’s Prison Belmarsh. This is frankly indicative that those charged with minding this menace and monster are clearly not doing their jobs properly.

The GoFundMe fundraiser towards paying for the medical care and rehabilitation of the child has raised over £315,000 ($398,000, €370,000 or درهم1.5 million) and today we urge readers to join its nigh on 700 supporters – who number the BBC’s Emily Maitlis and billionaire Hans Rausing – by clicking here.

That Jonty Bravery, a then 17-year-old with a then undiagnosed personality disorder, autism and someone known for extremely violent behaviour, was allowed to wander central London unaccompanied by Hammersmith and Fulham Borough Council and the NHS Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is a genuine outrage. That Fulham Borough Council also spent £12,400 over the course of four court hearings as they tried to prevent this clearly warped individual being named is an utter disgrace. That this maniac was able then to hurl a young child previously unknown to him off the 10th floor viewing platform (pictured left on the day of the fateful incident with an air ambulance present) of an art gallery is equally shocking.

The shocking incident occurred at the gallery on 4th August 2019 and involved the youngster being thrown 100-foot. Afterwards, the parents of the child victim asked: “How can one explain to a child that someone deliberately tried to kill him?”

The story of resilience bares similarities to that of then 9-year-old Tobias Weller (AKA ‘Captain Tobias’) – whose story ‘The Steeple Times’ featured in August 2020. In spite of having cerebal palsy and autism, this inspiration raised over £150,000 for a children’s hospital and school by completing walking marathons in spite of being unable to stand or walk unaided.

May 30, 2022