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Anorak News | Geoffrey Bacon Did Not Die For £40 – News Round-Up

Geoffrey Bacon Did Not Die For £40 – News Round-Up

by | 19th, August 2010

GEOFFREY Bacon RIP. The Sun, Telegraph, Mirror and Mail lead with news of the death of Geoffrey Bacon, the 90-year-old former driver for Montgomery and Eisenhower killed by a mugger in Camberwell, south London.

All three papers lead with the man’s death and news that he was mugged for £40.

The money is a pathetic sum. It’s served to readers as a comment on what Bacon’s life was worth to his killer who jumped him from behind, threw him to the floor and punched him in the face. Bacon was in his own home. A robber had followed him to his flat and waited until Bacon opened his front door to strike. Mr Bacon was attacked on April 26, 2010. He died on August 5.

The papers wrestle with the facts:

He died earlier this month – 11 weeks after the robbery – having never fully recovered. – Telegraph

He died 15 weeks later in hospitalSun

But surely if Mr Bacon had had £10,000 in his pocket and a flat full of gold coins the assault would still be appalling.

The Evening Standard’s headline runs:

War hero, 90, died after thief beat him up for £40

Says the victim’s daughter-in-law, Jean:

“Why for that small amount of money? And why would you hurt someone so frail? He couldn’t understand why someone would do what they did to him.”

The Mail says he was killed for “£40 and a bus pass”.

The killer stole Mr Bacon’s wallet, in which was the £40 in cash and a bus pass. Had there been more in it, he’d have taken that too. The killer also ransacked Mr Bacon’s home.

And he will be caught. Det Insp Richard Beadle announces a reward of £20,000 was on offer for information that led to a conviction.

Says the copper:

“Geoff was the epitome of the London man.”

Indeed, Mr Bacon and not the killer is the spirit of the city.

And then comes Tony Parsons to tell us that the crime is evidence that the entire country is shafted:

When a 90-year-old war hero is beaten to death for £40 and a bus pass, you catch your breath and wonder how much lower this country can go.

Well, in the war in which Mr Bacon fought , there were all manner of rapes, robberies and other crimes in London. They were all pretty low. What’s changed?

…our blood boils at the thought of this beloved old man fighting and losing his last battle. And for what? £40 and a bus pass.

Again, the killer’s haul is made to be relevant.

Our country has always had its share of violence. But what has changed in recent years is that all the old taboos seem to have gone.

Respect for the most vulnerable. Respect for the old. Respect for women. Police launching a murder investigation believe the same thug who attacked Geoff also beat a 66-year-old woman around the head later that same day.

So. It is one man the police want. One man is the source of Parson’s wails about the state of the country, in which the killing of an old men on his doorstep is a rare enough event to be front-page news.

And this killer is a “petty thief” in the Sun. This suggests the death was unplanned. But if you punch an old man in the face…

The Mirror’s Jon Clements and Tom Parry ask, “How could they?

They? The attacker was on his own. Mr Bacon told police that much. As they remember the life of the victim, the least the media can do is pay attention to what he said…

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Undated Metropolitan Police handout photo dated circa World War II of Geoffrey Bacon and his wife Annie. Geoffrey Bacon died after being violently robbed in his home.



Posted: 19th, August 2010 | In: Reviews Comments (2) | TrackBack | Permalink