SMOKESCREEN



Ken's story

This extraordinary story centres on one man's quest to discover the true identity of his father - and this website will show the amazing series of "coincidences" Ken has uncovered - so many that he believes there has been a "cover up" at every possible level.

Ken was born in a workhouse and grew up knowing only that he had been "adopted".

In later life he was struck down by a mystery illness - his adoptive parents had died, having given him no background information as to his true origins, and he had no idea as to whether he might be suffering from a hereditary illness of some kind. He resolved to track down the identity of his real mother and father to establish any illnesses that could have been passed on.

What he was to uncover was something he was totally unprepared for and little did he realise that he was to unfold a mystery that could "shake Titles".

He discovered that his mother, Ivy Pinn, had been a maid at the local castle and his father was said to be the "son of the castle", John Theodore Talbot Fletcher.

The old people still living in and around the area who remembered Ivy recalled that she and John Fletcher were always together - Ken has signed statements, video footage and affidavits to back up this claim.

Witnesses have said that John Fletcher would collect Ivy in his car and take her for drives in the local countryside - and that this went on for 12 years - every time he was home they were together.

Little wonder then that two days after Ken's birth, John Fletcher's marriage was annulled without issue. It would appear that Ken was his only child.

Ken was told he had been adopted - but no adoption papers are to be found. The day of the application for adoption and the day the adoption was heard there were no courts sitting. The court in question only sat on Fridays - how strange that Ken's "adoption" was supposed to have taken place on a Tuesday.

The austere grandfather (John Fletcher's father) was a magistrate on the bench (how convenient).The authorities have NO paperwork to show that Ken was adopted [simply an entry in the Adopted Children's Register] nor - more to the point - that his natural mother signed him over to anyone.

In 1994 Ken visited John Fletcher - then aged 90 - in Epping and exchanged pleasantries before telling him that his mother used to be one of his maids at the castle in Wales. At the very mention of Ivy Pinn's name the old man, who had until that point been slumped in the chair, straightened himself and a look of complete disbelief came over him. He looked Ken up and down twice, sat back in the chair, closed his eyes - and refused to say another word.

Ken wrote to ask for DNA testing to establish a link as he needed the medical information for his doctors - but solicitors acting for the family gave a flat refusal. However they have said that if Ken withdraws all claims to the estate they will consider talking to him. ( I bet they will)

Shortly afterwards John Fletcher was given a blood transfusion (which coincidentally would invalidate DNA testing over a long period) - tragically he was to die less than six months after the transfusion.

On 4/4/1995 John Fletcher died and unbelievably was cremated only three days later - however the usual time for a cremation was 10-14 days, as confirmed by a number of undertakers.

The death certificate gives cause of death as "influenza and old age multisystem failure". The body was taken into another county as apparently they could cremate the body quicker than the local crematorium.

The validity of the cremation has been the subject of a review by the Police Complaints Authority at the insistence of Donald Anderson MP (a Barrister himself). There are a number of issues linked with this that we have therefore unable to put details of, but we hope to add these in due course.

There are too many coincidences to list concerned with this whole saga - and far too many unanswered questions regarding the wills, Trusts, and other family business that will be evident in the fullness of time.

Oh by the way the estate had a conservative estimate of £347 million in 1996.

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There are many pages of research and proofs to be added to this website - Ken Matthews and his wife Penny have discovered so many "coincidences" that it makes disturbing reading. These are the main areas of enquiry that will be covered [some are still under construction but we're adding new info regularly] - click on any of the boxes below to reach the relevant area.

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