Lord Lucan's Son George Bingham 'Took Midnight Walks In Namibia'

George Bingham

Huffington Post UK   First Posted: 12/03/2012 12:19 Updated: 12/03/2012 12:22

Rumours that fugitive peer Lord Lucan fled to Africa after the murder of his nanny have gained momentum after reports of his son’s four-month holiday in Namibia emerged.

George Bingham stayed at a safari lodge for the duration, claiming to be allergic to the sun and emerging only at midnight to roam for hours in the darkness, it is claimed.

Irene Trossbach, who owns the Hohewarte Guest Farm described Bingham, who visited in 2001, as “the strangest guest we ever had”.

She told the Mirror: “George never came out of his room during the day, but he would go off, alone, on his moonlit walks. I have no idea where he went. It was all very odd.

“He said he had a sun allergy. As I said to my husband, ‘Namibia is a funny place to come to if you’re allergic to the sun’.”

Scroll down for a slideshow of Lord Lucan and his family

Although there is no proof Bingham was in contact with his father (indeed he has stated he has not seen his father since November 1974), his extended hiatus seems to support the theory his father began a new life on the African continent.

Most recently the press has carried reports of an apparent sighting of the fugitive peer in a Botswana bar - 12 YEARS AGO.

Speaking exclusively in the Sun, two Brits claim to have met the infamous aristocrat while drinking in the Cresta Botsalo Hotel.

Lawrie Prebble, 71, said: "There had been talk for weeks that Lucan was around - he had links to Botswana. The instant he walked in I said to myself, 'That's him.'

"He was with about six people and had a very noticeable military bearing.

"His accent was so upper-class English that it cut the air and turned everyone's heads when he spoke."

Prebble was with friend Ian Meyrick and claim they kept quiet about their pub sighting for all these years because they feared no one would believe them.

Meyrick added: "I joined Lawrie at the bar and he said, 'That's him! That's Lucan! You just walked straight past him.'

Prebble and Meyrick came forward after a watch apparently once owned by the missing Lord was discovered in South Africa.

The silver timepiece is inscribed with a message which reads "Presented to Lord 'Lucky' Lucan, the old fossil, by his friends at the Clermont club, Mayfair, 18 December 1967.

It was apparently bought as part of a £5,000 deal by Staffordshire antiques dealer Cedrick Lincoln- from a contact who claims he got it in a South African pawn shop.

If this is true, it lends further credence to the theory the aristocrat fled to South African to live a secret life after the murder of his children's nanny in London in 1974.

While there is no concrete proof the watch belonged to Lord Lucan, there are photos of the peer wearing a similar timepiece.

Lincoln told the Sun: "It was complete coincidence that I bought the watch just as the story about Lord Lucan living in Africa emerged.

"When I saw a picture of him wearing the watch I was just gobsmacked.

"The dealer said its history was that it had been pawned in Africa then found its way back here.

"I'm convinced it's Lucan's watch and the history pins him to living in Africa all these years."

Lincoln now hopes to have DNA tests carried out on the watch.

He added: "I have a feel for this kind of thing and I don't believe the inscription was made at a later date on an old watch. I believe this was presented to him and he wore it."

Lord Lucan went missing following the death of Sandra Rivett and was declared dead by the High Court in 1999. An inquest jury named him as the killer in 1975.

There have been numerous "sightings" of the missing nobleman, often in Australia and India.

Most recently a BBC report interviewed a former personal assistant to Lord Lucan's friend John Aspinall, who claimed the peer was living in African during the 1980s.

Jill Findlay also claims Lucan, who would be 77 if he was still alive, was visited by his children at least twice.

Loading Slideshow...
  • 28th November 1963: John Richard Bingham, Earl of Lucan, and Veronica Duncan after their marriage. (Photo by Douglas Miller/Keystone/Getty Images)

  • 15th November 1974: Veronica Lucan, the Dowager Countess of Lucan, wife of the missing Earl, Lord Lucan who disappeared following the murder of their nanny. She is returning to her home in Lower Belgrave Street, London after a High Court appearance to discuss the future of her 3 children. (Photo by Frank Barratt/Keystone/Getty Images)

  • Sandra Rivett, who was allegedly murdered by Lord Lucan (Tophams/Topham Picturepoint/Press Association Images)

  • Lord Lucan. Infamous for the murder of Sandra Rivett in November 1974, he disappeared without trace before arrest or trial. (Tophams/Topham Picturepoint/Press Association Images)

  • Lord and Lady Lucan - 1964 Lucan is infamous for the murder of Sandra Rivett in November 1974, he disappeared without trace before arrest or trial. (Topham/Topham Picturepoint/Press Association Images)

  • Lord George Bingham, heir to Lord Lucan dated 14.02.95 : Lord Lucan's son was today (Sunday) warned he faced a protracted struggle lasting several years in his apparent attempt to assume the title of his missing father. To become the Eighth Earl of Lucan, Lord Bingham would seek to obtain a writ in the Royal Courts of Justice declaring that his father was dead, on the basis that he had not been seen alive for at least seven years.(NEIL MUNNS/PA Archive/Press Association Images)

  • Lord George Bingham, heir to Lord Lucan dated 14.02.95 : Lord Lucan's son was today (Sunday) warned he faced a protracted struggle lasting several years in his apparent attempt to assume the title of his missing father. To become the Eighth Earl of Lucan, Lord Bingham would seek to obtain a writ in the Royal Courts of Justice declaring that his father was dead, on the basis that he had not been seen alive for at least seven years.(NEIL MUNNS/PA Archive/Press Association Images)

  • 72A Elizabeth Street in London, home of Lord Lucan (Tophams/Topham Picturepoint/Press Association Images)

  • Miss Susan Mayor, who runs the costume department at Christie's, with Lord Lucan's coronet and robes which come up for auction on May 27th. They are expected to fetch between 2-300 and the money will go towards paying the missing peer's creditors (PA Archive/Press Association Images)

  • Mr Roger Rivett, husband of Sandra Rivett whom Lord Lucan was accused of murdering (his children's nursemaid) (Tophams/Topham Picturepoint/Press Association Images)

  • Lord Lucan's gambling friend Mr Ian Maxwell-Scott in Uckfield, where at the Magistrates Court he was given three weeks to pay off a rates debt - or face jail (Lord Lucan's gambling friend Mr Ian Maxwell-Scott in Uckfield, where at the Magistrates Court he was given three weeks to pay off a rates debt - or face jail)

  • Leaving a public house in Westminster today,Mrs Susan Maxwell-Scott and her husband Ian. Mrs Maxwell-Scott was the last person to see Lord Lucan after the murder of his children's nanny in Belgravia last November. She is due to give evidence at the resumed inquest on Mrs Sandra Rivett, at the Westminster Coroner's court. The Maxwell-Scott's home is only 16 miles from where Lord Lucan's car was found at Newhaven. he has not been seen since. (PA Archive/Press Association Images)

  • Company director Mr William Shand Kydd who gave evidence at the Westminster inquest on any Mrs Sandra Rivett, 29, who was found battered to death at the Belgravia home of Lord Lucan's estranged wife (Tophams/Topham Picturepoint/Press Association Images)

  • Veronica Lucan, the Dowager Countess of Lucan. Her husband Lord Lucan vanished from their home in 1974, leaving the murdered body of their nanny in the basement. (Photo by John Downing/Getty Images)

  • 17th July 1975: The Dowager Countess of Lucan and William Shand-Kydd brother in-law to Lord Lucan's wife, leaving for the court inquest on Sandra Rivell. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

  • 17th June 1975: Susan Maxwell-Scott, who gave evidence at the inquest into the death of Sandra Rivett, the nanny who worked for Lord Lucan. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

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Rumours that fugitive peer Lord Lucan fled to Africa after the murder of his nanny have gained momentum after reports of his son’s four-month holiday in Namibia emerged. George Bingham stayed at...
Rumours that fugitive peer Lord Lucan fled to Africa after the murder of his nanny have gained momentum after reports of his son’s four-month holiday in Namibia emerged. George Bingham stayed at...
 
 
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01:02 AM on 03/13/2012
With all his rich pals he had to pawn his watch?
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vividrick
I came, I saw...I had a cup of tea!
11:24 PM on 03/12/2012
He's working down at my local Asda, stacking shelves!
09:57 PM on 03/12/2012
jesus christ
07:03 PM on 03/12/2012
Lucan needs to be found and brought to justice, for the sake of his wife and the parents of the poor nanny who was murdered by mistake. It's no laughing matter for them.
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gimmeanamethen
saying it like it is
05:59 PM on 03/12/2012
stop lucan for him, he is probably long dead.
05:59 PM on 03/12/2012
RECENT sighting 12 years ago.lol
05:27 PM on 03/12/2012
vote BNP we will bring him in if he's still alive thats what the main powers are afraid of
05:57 PM on 03/12/2012
ppixpix: The 'main powers' are afraid that BNP will bring in Lord Lucan???? Where did you get that little gem from; GCHQ or the voices in your head?
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gimmeanamethen
saying it like it is
06:01 PM on 03/12/2012
even i have to agree that this comment can only have came from your @rse!
05:17 PM on 03/12/2012
SO WHAT? 1974 is way back to the dark ages. There is nothing to be gained from looking deeply into the face of every well-spoken old man who lives in Africa. If he has been there all this time & has been protected by his family and friends, then you have to question whether or not his escape out of England was to take the heat off someone else.

Is this really all the newspapers can muster? One step up from announcing that Elvis lives on the Moon.
08:19 PM on 03/12/2012
Sorry!! I have to reveal that Elvis no longer lives on the Moon. He left due to high taxes and heavy rates and left for Mars about 4 years ago. He is now living on a small Hippy Commune on the Dark Side of Phobos.
05:14 PM on 03/12/2012
What a con
This article is cribbed from the Mail on Sunday (11/03) this "holiday" took place 10 years ago.
What is Huffy Puffy playing at?
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
minimemo
Can I be your friend...if they let me out...
03:10 PM on 03/12/2012
Lucan's friends were amongst the richest in the UK. With friends that high up and in all the right places, my only surprise is they didn't let him stand trial and be found not guilty. Have no doubt he went overseas but if the police were that intent in finding him, they would have, can only think several high ranking police commissioners decided it was not in the public interest to pursue the fugitive.
cantabria
my default position is wrong
04:09 PM on 03/12/2012
How cynical are you! I agree.
06:57 PM on 03/12/2012
I detect the murky dealings of the Met Police & Rupert Murdoch in this!
02:24 PM on 03/12/2012
strange for lord lucan's son to go to africa with sun allergies is very odd. if true and backed up by doctors then maybe he was seeing his father. otherwise why go to a very hot climate if you cannot tolerate heat or sunshine. he must be the only man that has got away with murder. not caught by the police.
01:34 PM on 03/12/2012
A few years back, whilst visiting Venice, I got myself lost amongst the back canals and allies. At the bottom of one dead end was a door/entrance to a flight of stairs servicing various apartments. Attached to the door frame was a list of names against apartment numbers - it caught my eye that against one apartment was scrawled the name 'Lord Lucan'. I have no idea down which street/canal I had walked - but sometimes I like to think, that maybe, just maybe....
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
minimemo
Can I be your friend...if they let me out...
03:11 PM on 03/12/2012
I came to a dead end like you describe in Venice too!! Spooky...
01:26 PM on 03/12/2012
How could the police fail to find Lucan, if not deliberately?
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Neil McNab
01:22 PM on 03/12/2012
This is one of the few conspiracy theories that really stands up.
03:18 PM on 03/12/2012
All conspiracy theories have some basis in truth
07:00 PM on 03/12/2012
The IRA gave him Shergar to help make a quick escape and then he boarded the WW2 bomber, then recently returned from the moon, to fly to yje Isle of Wight...last place he thought they would be looking for him.
09:26 PM on 03/13/2012
Thats rubbish! If I invent one now that I know is a complete and utter lie and post it on web it will then magically develop a basis in truth? I dont think so. SOME theories may have a basis not all. Some are simply the work of deluded or twisted minds.
01:14 PM on 03/12/2012
We are still no closer to finding Lord Lucan but looking at the photos of Susan Maxwell-Scott we may have found Shergar, so one mystery cleared up at least.