The Death of Peter Rampsden

From the path you can see a re-wilded space next to the station. This used to be the railway sidings of Barnes Station. As you stand there you will see the express trains race through and the commuter trains stop at the platforms. It was on this line that the body of Peter Rampsden was spotted by the driver of the 0445 parcel train one September day in 1938.

The sad case of eight-month old Peter has become a famous case of deduction by the Transport Police.

The body was found wrapped in a blanket on the tracks heading into Putney and had been burned by the electric current in the rails. Every night the electricity was switched off on the tracks. A doctor then said the time of death was eight hours earlier. These two clues meant the police could identify three possible trains the previous night when the incident occurred.

When staff one station down the line were interviewed they confirmed a woman had joined one of these trains at Barnes Bridge heading back into town.

However, there were no witnesses to identify where the lady alighted, so the police made an appeal in the local newspapers for information. A Vauxhall boarding house landlady came forward and said a female client called Mrs Eastwood from Caterham had arrived with a child, which had since disappeared. Mrs Eastwood had said the child had been adopted, and the landlady did not believe the story.

When the police interveiwed Mrs Eastwood they found out she was married to a Cold Stream Guard, who had had an illegitimate child with a prostitute. Her husband had refused to support the child. So when he was away on manoeuvres, she wrapped the baby up in blankets and set out to the Thames river at Barnes. Mrs Eastwood confessed that on her return journey she had tried to drop the baby out of the window twice and failed to go through with her actions, but on her third attempt the train jolted and the baby fell out of her grip.

Mrs Eastwood was sentenced to death, but that was later commuted to life improisonment.