|
|
Post by vOOdOOgurU on Aug 21, 2013 9:23:22 GMT -5
Here's a map and satellite of the area, and anyone who lives in London knows, parking don't come easy on certain streets in it.   So, I don't imagine this street has undergone many major changes to it since 1966. Do you? I don't. Is there enough room for a lorry to park along it. I might check that out on one of my sojourns. |
|
|
|
Post by beacon on Aug 21, 2013 9:29:52 GMT -5
Here's a map and satellite of the area, and anyone who lives in London knows, parking don't come easy on certain streets in it. View AttachmentView AttachmentSo, I don't imagine this street has undergone many major changes to it since 1966. Do you? I don't. Is there enough room for a lorry to park along it. I might check that out on one of my sojourns. I do live in London and I do know - even allowing for more relaxed sixties parking regulations I can't see where you safely leave a lorry!! I too may have to take a sojourn. |
|
|
|
Post by vOOdOOgurU on Aug 21, 2013 10:20:59 GMT -5
Here's a map and satellite of the area, and anyone who lives in London knows, parking don't come easy on certain streets in it. View AttachmentView AttachmentSo, I don't imagine this street has undergone many major changes to it since 1966. Do you? I don't. Is there enough room for a lorry to park along it. I might check that out on one of my sojourns. I do live in London and I do know - even allowing for more relaxed sixties parking regulations I can't see where you safely leave a lorry!! I too may have to take a sojourn. Might see you there, unknowingly!  Another thing to ponder. Which way is Tara driving, is he going West or East. Going West suggests he lost control of the car and went into the lorry, which has to be parked on the right hand side of the street, because Tara going West means he's driving on the left hand side of the road. He cannot hit a lorry parked on the left hand side of the road, because that would be on Suki's side, and she'd be dead, and he'd probably be alive. If he's going East then he's on the right hand side of the road, which says where the lorry had to be parked as well. But does not explain the damage to the car, and the steering wheel hanging out of it. The right front bumper suggests a head on collision with the lorry. But does not explain the right hand side of the car, nor the damaged interior. Or the steering wheel. Or the roof of the car looking like it was ripped off and away from the vehicle. It's December. It's winter. He's not going to be driving around top down is he. The only thing I can see is that the lorry is parked on the opposite side of the street that Tara is driving on, and the car veered out of control at high speed. It had to "cross" the street to hit the lorry. |
|
|
|
Post by beacon on Aug 21, 2013 10:32:36 GMT -5
I do live in London and I do know - even allowing for more relaxed sixties parking regulations I can't see where you safely leave a lorry!! I too may have to take a sojourn. Might see you there, unknowingly! Another thing to ponder. Tara's driving Brit style on the left hand side of the road, but the impact is on the right hand side of the car, his driver side. So the lorry has to be parked on the right hand side of the street. So he has to be either turning into the lorry on a corner, driving on the wrong side of the road, or lost control of the car and veered over to the right. I must head down to this section of town and view the lay of the land Yes, assuming he isn't turning left at the lights and has skidded into the lorry then he would have had to have driven onto the wrong side of the road to have hit the lorry. That seems to be counter to what Miss Potier said about him deliberately smashing the right hand side car so that he could absorb the impact. Something not right here!! |
|
|
|
Post by vOOdOOgurU on Aug 21, 2013 10:36:38 GMT -5
Might see you there, unknowingly! Another thing to ponder. Tara's driving Brit style on the left hand side of the road, but the impact is on the right hand side of the car, his driver side. So the lorry has to be parked on the right hand side of the street. So he has to be either turning into the lorry on a corner, driving on the wrong side of the road, or lost control of the car and veered over to the right. I must head down to this section of town and view the lay of the land Yes, assuming he isn't turning left at the lights and has skidded into the lorry then he would have had to have driven onto the wrong side of the road to have hit the lorry. That seems to be counter to what Miss Potier said about him deliberately smashing the right hand side car so that he could absorb the impact. Something not right here!! Yeah I had to edit that description of the lay of the land, and which way is Tara driving down on it to hit a parked lorry. He had to deliberately smash it into the lorry to absorb the impact. Interesting. How did his roof come off then. (as addressed in the edit I did on previous post.) He has to CROSS that street to hit the lorry, there is no other way, because otherwise, all the damage would be on Suki's side of the car. But it can't be, because the rolled up passenger side window tells us nothing hit of great impact there. If that is her window. And it's going to be up because it's December, as will the top of the car being down because it's friggin cold in winter, too cold to go riding around convertible. |
|
|
|
Post by vOOdOOgurU on Aug 21, 2013 10:40:49 GMT -5
I mean it's not like they had to rip the roof off to access his body. The body which should have been impaled somewhat by a steering wheel all of a sudden going through it. Seeing as how that steering wheel is hanging completely outside of the car. How did that steering wheel come out of the car? It's not like he was thrown out of the car was it.
This doesn't make sense. Not one bit. The front bumper damage and the crushed in headlight say something different. But then a totally intact front wheel. But a smashed up interior, and a still intact passenger window? If they had to rip the roof off of the car to get his body out, I'm sure that window would not still be up. They'd want to access that body any way they could. They're not going to leave a window up are they? And how did this window survive this crash, of all things to do so?
|
|
|
|
Post by cherilyn7 on Aug 21, 2013 14:54:20 GMT -5
Would the steering wheel have to be ripped out in order to release Tara's body?
|
|
|
|
Post by vOOdOOgurU on Aug 21, 2013 15:27:58 GMT -5
Would the steering wheel have to be ripped out in order to release Tara's body? You have to wonder if that accounts for that steering wheel being out of the car, and the roof being ripped off from its attachments. And if that's the case, how did they get Suki out of the car, but still keep her window rolled up? How did she get out, if Tara was imprisoned in the car from the wreck. Questions If they hit the lorry head on, which the front bumper tells you had to have happened, then both Tara and Suki are going to be thrown forward by the impact. And then hurled back as the momentum of the car is stopped by the object that's stopping that momentum. If that momentum is indeed 106mph as said in reports, then both Tara and Suki (if not wearing seat belts) might be thrown right out through the front window, into that lorry or onto the street. I am unaware if seat belt driving was compulsory in London at the time, but it most certainly has been for the past 20 years in London, and I imagine for quite some time before that. So let's give London the benefit of the doubt and say Tara and Suki were wearing their seat belts. They slam into the lorry as the front bumper tells you they did. They are thrust forward and then back. For the steering wheel to come out as it has, something had to push or force it to do so. Unless the force in which Tara was thrown back had him ripping out the steering wheel with his bare hands. Which is some forceful kind of being hurled back wouldn't you say? Either way, hitting a lorry at 106mph, and having that front wheel still intact and ready to roll makes me wonder what part of the car truly hit the lorry. At 106mph, why is the front end of that car still pretty presentable? Should it not be completely smashed in, bringing the front of the car almost into the back seat? It should be absolutely totaled at that kind of speed. Did something make the steering wheel pop out? I can't think of a single thing other than whatever was in front of the dashboard, suddenly came through the dashboard, completely destroying it. I'm not sure about the Lotus Elan,but let's see some specs. www.hagerty.com/price-guide/1966-Lotus-ElanHistory of the 1963-1974 Lotus Elan The essential 1960s British sports car, the tiny Lotus Elan, remains a benchmark for handling. With its pop-up headlights, curved windshield, and roll-up windows, it was a symbol of Swinging London, immortalized in The Avengers television series. The Elan was built with a backbone frame and a fiberglass body, and had four-wheel independent suspension. Its Ford 1600-cc four-cylinder engine developed 105 hp and featured Lotus’s own twin-cam head, like the Lotus Cortina. Weighing only 1,420 pounds, early cars could do 0-60 mph in 7.1 seconds, with the quarter-mile in 15.7 seconds at 87 mph. Four series of Elans were built between 1962 and 1973, with Plus 2 and Plus 2S 2+2 models added from 1967 to 1974. All Elans were roadsters until 1965, with a removable hardtop optional, but all Plus 2 models were coupes and never sold as kits as other Lotuses were. The second series Elan arrived in late 1964, offering a full-width dash with glove box, oval taillights, the battery in the trunk, and optional knock-off wheels. The Series 3 fixed-head coupe arrived in late 1965, followed by a companion roadster in mid-1966. Changes were apparent in 1968’s Series 4, which had flared fenders and a power bulge in the hood. Weber carburetors were changed for Del’l Ortos, though the American market received Stromberg-equipped engines. The last “Big Valve” Elans from 1971 to 1973 boasted five-speed transmissions and 126 hp, and are frequently seen in two-tone colors. The Elan Plus 2 outlasted its two-seater sibling by about a year as the factory geared up for the new Elite. Estimates of Elan construction vary widely, from 9,569 all the way up to 12,224, but the lower figure seems more likely. Plus 2 production ranges from 3,300 to 5,200, with the same probability. In any case, finding a good one will not be easy and the discovery of rust in the backbone frame is a profound concern. The body is lightweight too, and unlikely to have survived a serious crash with any kid of integrity. A well-maintained original Elan in a good, dry climate is about the best you can hope for, or a fresh rotisserie restoration by a respected shop. Perhaps the most important detail however, is if can you fit in the car. Elans are extremely small, and if you’re over 5-foot 10 inches tall or weight more than 200 pounds you might be restricted to driving with the top down and your elbow hanging out the window. |
|
|
|
Post by vOOdOOgurU on Aug 21, 2013 15:40:51 GMT -5
As Suki said, he swerved the car at the last minute which saved her life. So how did she get out of this car unscathed? The steering wheel is mentioned in the article, but I'd like to see what else is said in the continuation of the item on another page. They say he was pinned to the wreck like a doll. So how that steering wheel got where it is is a question. Because he should be pinned to it. Where else is he going to go, apart from out through the front window? And if he's pinned, and judging from the interior of the car, Suki should be pinned too. I don't think they were driving anywhere near the speed of 106mph. Not at all. It's a fiberglass bodied car. That impact against a lorry is going to total the whole thing. Not just bits of it.  |
|
|
|
Post by superman on Aug 21, 2013 16:08:23 GMT -5
As Suki said, he swerved the car at the last minute which saved her life. So how did she get out of this car unscathed? Some time ago I read about the car accident that took the life of everyone in the car except former child star Jackie Coogan. The article was, interestingly enough, about the notion that Jackie HAD died in the car accident and that a replacement was produced by the Hollywood machine...all in an attempt to keep Coogan's mother from receiving more of the former star's millions. Jackie was one of motion picture's first "superstars" and the car accident took the life of his best friend and fellow actor Junior Durkin, his own father plus a couple of other guys who were in the car. ONLY Jackie managed to miraculously survive the horrific accident. All this occurred way back in the 1930's. Seems crazy that the idea of replacing people for financial reasons (i.e. Paul) was something whispered about even back then. Even crazier are all these weird, suspiciously improbable stories concerning car accidents... |
|
|
|
Post by vOOdOOgurU on Aug 21, 2013 16:32:55 GMT -5
As Suki said, he swerved the car at the last minute which saved her life. So how did she get out of this car unscathed? Some time ago I read about the car accident that took the life of everyone in the car except former child star Jackie Coogan. The article was, interestingly enough, about the notion that Jackie HAD died in the car accident and that a replacement was produced by the Hollywood machine...all in an attempt to keep Coogan's mother from receiving more of the former star's millions. Jackie was one of motion picture's first "superstars" and the car accident took the life of his best friend and fellow actor Junior Durkin, his own father plus a couple of other guys who were in the car. ONLY Jackie managed to miraculously survive the horrific accident. All this occurred way back in the 1930's. Seems crazy that the idea of replacing people for financial reasons (i.e. Paul) was something whispered about even back then. Even crazier are all these weird, suspiciously improbable stories concerning car accidents... I've seen that Jackie Coogan piece as well! Ha! Yeah odd how the car accident produces a multiple or replacement or two when needed. I think this car accident had something to do with money ££££ and $$$$ combined. Oddly enough. |
|
|
|
Post by linus on Aug 21, 2013 16:51:05 GMT -5
fwiw, Lotus Automoblies was founded by Colin Chapman, who was criticized for his fiberglass cars being death traps.
On the Sgt. Pepper cover we see Lakshmi who is usually depicted standing in a Lotus flower.
|
|
|
|
Post by cherilyn7 on Aug 21, 2013 17:47:31 GMT -5
Car seat belts were not in use in the 'sixties in the UK. Those pictures showing Tara driving his car do not show a seat belt visible.
|
|
|
|
Post by vOOdOOgurU on Aug 22, 2013 11:51:27 GMT -5
Car seat belts were not in use in the 'sixties in the UK. Those pictures showing Tara driving his car do not show a seat belt visible. Thanks for checking that Well I'm surprised Tara and Suki weren't thrown through the front window then. Be interesting to find out what his injuries were I suppose. He lived for 2 hours after the accident. Sounds morbid, but you'd get a sense of what he went through in the crash and what may have happened. Head trauma? Chest? Neck? Ribs? Legs? The nature of his injuries tells you the way in which they were caused. |
|
|
|
Post by vOOdOOgurU on Aug 22, 2013 15:00:03 GMT -5
QUERY = TARA BROWNE + AUTOPSY www.thebeatleshk.com/SongStories/ADayInTheLife.htmlThe man who 'blew his mind out in a car' was Tara Browne, an Irish friend of the Beatles and a well-known socialite, who met his death in a car accident on December 18, 1966. The coroner's report was issued in January 1967. 'I didn't copy the accident,' John told Hunter Davies. 'Tara didn't blow his mind out. But it was in my mind when I was writing that verse. The details of the accident in the song - not noticing traffic lights and a crowd forming at the scene - were similarly part of the fiction.
In real life, Browne was driving down Redcliffe Gardens in Earls Court during the early hours, when a Volkswagen pulled out of a side street into his path. In swerving to avoid it, his Lotus Elan ploughed into a stationary van and he was pronounced dead on arrival at a local hospital. The autopsy revealed that his death was the result of 'brain lacerations due to fractures of the skull.' His passenger, model Suki Potier, escaped with bruises and shock.Okay already a conflicting report as the paper said he was alive for 2 hours after being brought in, but could not be saved. Conflict of information. The volkswagen element is the first I've heard of that. |
|
|
|
Post by vOOdOOgurU on Aug 22, 2013 15:13:02 GMT -5
Already with that search query I've got four different deaths for Tara Browne. - Died instantly on impact.
- Pronounced dead on arrival.
- Survived 2 hours after the accident, but could not be saved
- Died the next day.
He's got 4 destinations and nowhere to go. |
|
|
|
Post by cherilyn7 on Aug 22, 2013 16:33:40 GMT -5
Depending on the size/type of lorry or van that the Lotus collided into would denote the scale of damage to the convertible. Yes it is surprising that Suki got away with "severe shock and bruises". As Tara was from a wealthy aristocratic background this would mean the finer details of the crash would have been "covered up".
|
|
|
|
Post by linus on Aug 24, 2013 2:25:54 GMT -5
Not sure of the date but the exhibition opened on November 22nd 1966. November 22nd 1963, the day JFK is shot. With The Beatles is released. Also, Aldous Huxley and C.S. Lewis die November 22nd 1968, The White Album is released. November 1966 is a busy busy month. 11 is the number of Magick, and it’s multiples are highly celebrated. Interesting that in ’66 Ringo sings Yellow Submarine, and Tara Brown dies in his Lotus. Then on 7/7/77, Ringo’s birthday, Barbara Bach, Ringo’s wife, rides in a Lotus Submarine in a 007 film. Bach's character is named Agent XXX Interesting, with X being the 24th letter, and 2 + 4 = 6  Also interesting that the Lotus Wand is the Magickal weapon of Tiphareth in the Adeptus Minor Ritual of the Golden Dawn, as depicted in the Wands cards of the Thoth Tarot deck.  Notice the Ram-headed wands in the 4 of Wands card. The ram representing the energy of the Will. The doves representing love. Love under Will. And the Prince of Cups in his chariot holds a Louts upside-down.  |
|
|
|
Post by cherilyn7 on Aug 24, 2013 11:03:38 GMT -5
I recall reading in Cynthia Lennon's book that John, Yoko, Julian and Kyoko were involved in a car accident in Scotland circa 1968/69 only suffering shock and bruises. She stated in the book that she was not notified of the accident at the time. Also that Ringo and Barbara also had a car accident in Scotland which was more serious and hence had brooches made in the shape of a star with a small segment of the windscreen in the centre of each brooch to remind them of their lucky escape. I think this was before their marriage and they married after this event.
|
|
|
|
Post by beacon on Aug 26, 2013 9:47:33 GMT -5
I took a trip today down to Redcliffe Gardens in London to visit the site of Tara Browne's fatal car crash. It was quite an illuminating trip, and, as with most things connected to Beatle lore, doesn't seem to quite fit the stated facts.  Firstly, Redcliffe Gardens is a one way road with traffic flowing in the direction of the arrow above. If this was the case in 1966 is unknown, however, I suspect that it was not. But, according to Wikipedia Tara had been travelling from South Kensington, meaning that he would have been travelling in the direction of the arrow anyway. Currently the traffic can flow in two lanes along the road, though this would not have been the case should the traffic have been flowing in either direction. It is also a moot point if the parking bays on either side of the road, where the Beetle and the van are parked, existed in the sixties.  Perhaps most significantly though is the layout of the traffic lights at the junction. In 2013 these lights are pedestrian controlled. If this has always been the case, again, I don't know. However, if we assume that they were this would add an entirely new dimension to the accident. As the lyrics go, "he didn't notice that the lights had changed", if this incident happened now the lights would only have gone red had someone been waiting to cross the road. Therefore adding both a potential witness and a possible cause of the accident, had Tara swerved to avoid a pedsestrian. Of course, in 1966, the lights may have been differently sited, and designed, to allow traffic to enter Redcliffe Gardens from Redcliffe Square. Now vehicles from the square can only turn left and into the flow of the traffic.  As we can see from the above photo, a view from Redcliffe Square toward Redcliffe Gardens, traffic can only turn left at the junction. Assuming Tara swerved to avoid a car pulling out from this junction then it is possible that he hit a vehicle parked where the car is on the left hand side of the road. Tara, according to Suki Potier, his companion that night, deliberately swerved the car to avoid injuring her and so absorbed the impact of the crash himself.  For that to be the case then the car would have to have been dragged over to the other side of the road, and turned round, and there is no sign of a lorry - which he is supposed to have crashed into - in the photo above. However, looking at the railings, it is possible that this where the car landed up. This is, of course, highly hypothetical as I am speculating wildly. It is equally possible that Tara was racing someone - Paul McCartney? - and this is how he came to grief. All I can do is post these photo's in the hope that someone may come up with a more coherent theory.   View across Redcliffe Gardens towards Redcliffe Square  View back down Redcliffe Gardens  The junction at Redcliffe Gardens - What luck that both a VW Beetle and a van should be parked there! |
|
|
|
Post by cherilyn7 on Aug 26, 2013 16:29:57 GMT -5
Pelican crossings (pedestrian operated) were not in existence in the 1960s in the UK. These came in in the 'seventies. It can be clearly seen where the pavement was (sidewalk)and the parts that jut out with the traffic lights on creating the parking areas would not have been like that then in 1966.
|
|
|
|
Post by cherilyn7 on Aug 26, 2013 16:45:56 GMT -5
The lorry/van (which was it and what type, big or small?) would have been towed away; and that red phone box will have been there then they don't change position: that will have been where someone (who? a passerby/) will have called for the emergency services from.
|
|
|
|
Post by vOOdOOgurU on Aug 26, 2013 17:23:26 GMT -5
I'm going to be looking into the reported side of Tara Browne's fateful accident, but I'm wondering ...
Is there a way to find out what the zoning was in 1966 for that area of London. Whether it was one way, parking ban during certain hours. Maybe the borough keeps records of changes that were made year by year. There must be some records kept -- it's just attributing an organisation, or a name to them that is the matter at hand.
|
|
|
|
Post by vOOdOOgurU on Aug 26, 2013 17:28:05 GMT -5
I'm going to be looking into the reported side of Tara Browne's fateful accident, but I'm wondering ... Is there a way to find out what the zoning was in 1966 for that area of London. Whether it was one way, parking ban during certain hours. Maybe the borough keeps records of changes that were made year by year. There must be some records kept -- it's just attributing an organisation, or a name to them that is the matter at hand. Dec 18 Sunday Shortly before 1am, Tara Browne and Suki Poitier leave the friends' house they had spent the evening at in search of a late meal. 7 minutes later their car crushes into a stationary van in Redcliffe Gardens (at Redcliffe Square). Dec 19 Monday British newspaper `Daily Sketch' publishes picture of the Tara Browne crash. First results in searching Redcliffe Gardens 1966 etc. So the accident happens just before 1am. So at least we have an idea what amount of traffic is going to be on the roads, fairly none. It's a Sunday night, most have to go to work in the morning, and London is no 24 hour city in 1966, nor now. There's going to be a limited amount of traffic on this road at that time of night. |
|
|
|
Post by cherilyn7 on Aug 26, 2013 18:16:37 GMT -5
Should be on the Ordnance Survey map circa 1960; also Royal Borough of Kensington Library/Archives.
|
|
