My Search for Christy

   I am currently looking for a man who was with the U.S. Military between 1952 and 1955 ( definately 1953! ), in Norfolk, England, He may have been at Sculthorpe although he was not in the 1953 Sculthorpe Year Book but he may have been in a tenant unit there. Lakenheath or Cranwich are possibilities as is the town of Brandon which is next to them and was mentioned by some people who were around at the time and familiar with these men. Barnham had a secret facility for chemical and nuclear weapons and there is little information available about it, I know nothing of the units which were there. also there was a high concentration of U.S.Army West of Norwich. I have looked at RAF Bentwaters due to reasons associated with the murder of airman Milton Martinez, he would have needed to be Air Force however to have been at Bentwaters as there were no Army there at the time. It would appear that he was not in that year book either. The name he used was Christiansen ( or similar spelling ) with a christian name like Christian his nickname was Christy. He would be over 65 now maybe over 70, and probably living in the U.S.A just possibly MN,ND or SD according to Rose Folkes ( see below ) daughter who met him when she was a child. He may have stayed with other Servicemen at May Ward's house in Runham Vauxhall, Gt Yarmouth. He did stay regularly at Rose Folks's house in Madden Ave, Gt Yarmouth following the death of May in the Jan 53 floods. He was there during the week sometimes and I am told that he was "collected" from there at one point as A.W.O.L.. Roses house became well known to local taxi drivers. He often attended the weekend dances at the Britannia Pier on Gt. Yarmouth sea front. There were a few pubs they hung around as well, The Iron Duke which is near Madden Ave down by the beach, He may have used Chuckies Snack Bar on Regent Road or Harry's Along the sea front, he also used the Dukes Head in town by the Haven Bridge and The Blue House on Howard St.. There was a routine some of the men followed on Sundays, they would go to a pub till it closed at 2:00pm then to Chuckies till the movies opened at 3:00. Freemantle Road was a regular meeting place at the time . Christy was around 5' 10" tall, maybe shorter, and had a heavy build, he had a round face, his hair was not dark, he was a heavy smoker. He had a friend he called Bob who was taller and dark haired. I also know that in those days, he was keen on boats, he returned to the U. S. A. at least once speaking of a boating vacation and also enjoyed trips to Oulton Broad near Lowestoft Suffolk. 

   He was here when the murder of Milton O Martinez took place, I have managed to piece together an account of the murder you can use the link on the index to see it.

   Christy was held for questioning about the above murder because of a red or maroon shirt he was wearing the night of the murder the shirt matched the one Martinez was wearing and which, at the time the body was found, was still missing, Christy was released when my mother was able to account for his whereabouts to two detectives who came to the family home. The victims shirt turned up later. There were three men questioned at Gt Yarmouth Police Station whose names I have. My friend Ron Burrell has spoken to one of them and he knows nothing. I am told that three men whose names were never released were questioned at Sculthorpe it is likely that one of them was Christy. All records relating to the murder had to be handed over the U.S. Authorities in Europe under the Visiting forces act. There is no knowledge or police records of my father being held here in Gt Yarmouth, and yet it was British Police that came to my mothers house to ask her about Christy's whereabouts.  The owner of the car used during the murder was owned by Mr Van Fitshugh he was a friend of the murderer, my good friend Ron Burrell has contacted him but he knows nothing of Christy or Roses House. I am not sure when Christy left he could have still been here in early 1955. I understand that married men did two years while single men did three.

    Although we cannot be sure, we think he was Army, he never denied it when referred to as such, he was of low rank (private / basic airman) his uniform was khaki with nothing on the sleeves, It is likely he was generally based west of the city of Norwich. I have included a list of units I know were at bases in Norfolk or Suffolk at the time, please examine it and see if it jogs some memories. I now know he was not in the 1953 Sculthorpe Year Book, this almost excludes Sculthorpe although there were some tenant units not included in the Book.

There has also been a mention of U.S.Army staying at Brandon near RAF Lakenheath information about this or any other Army locations would be helpful. My mother once asked him about his work, he said he was just cleaning up, and that was all he said. It would seem that a secret base which housed chemical and nuclear weapons  at Barham may have been involved in some serious cleaning up at that time. There is no information on the base available. Perhaps you know something?......

If you were around then do you know anything of this man or his friends??.
Or do you know anyone who might know something.??
Do you have Year Books of any base or Photos of that time
You may be surprised what help even small bits of information can be as one thing leads to another.

Please contact me about anything you know

The picture below was taken by my father in 1953. It is of my mother and her friends standing by an attraction known as the Waterways which is situated along the North end of Gt Yarmouth sea front. It was, and still is just a couple of hundred yards North the Britannia Pier where they all hung out, and also a few hundred yards South of Rose Folkes' house. My mother is the lady wearing the jacket and skirt outfit.