Alfred the gorilla with Ron Mrogan, right, and Fred Hooper, centre. Photo: SWNSWhen the stuffed body of Alfred, a 7ft gorilla, disappeared from Bristol Museum in March 1956 it sparked one of the more unusual police investigations.
By By Richard Savill
Published: 11:47AM GMT
05 Mar 2010
Alfred had been one of the prize attractions at Bristol Zoo during his 18 years in captivity. Such was his appeal that after his death in 1946 he was stuffed and mounted in a glass case at the museum.
Police appealed for information, scoured the local university campus and interviewed leaders of the student union in an attempt to find him, but to no avail. They suspected he may have been stolen by rival students.
For nearly three days there was no sign of Alfred, until Donald Boulton, the university caretaker, found him in a doctor's waiting room.
But the mystery of who took Alfred and where he went has remained a mystery for more than 50 years.
Now, after the death of one of the culprits, Ron Morgan, 79, a former estate agent in Bristol, the secret behind the `escape’ from the museum has been revealed.
The story had never been told because Mr Morgan, his university friend Fred Hooper, 77, and his other accomplice, known only as DS, feared they would be prosecuted.
Mr Morgan, of Clevedon, Somerset, kept a scrapbook with photographs of the gorilla, in which the animal was dressed in a hat, a wig and with middle-eastern head dress.
As a tribute to Mr Morgan, his family and friends have spoken of the stunt.
Mr Hooper, 77, who lives in Cheltenham, Glos., said: “It was initially my idea. I was about 23 at the time and I thought it would be a great rag week jape.
“It took a bit of planning. We knew the porter and so we were able to get a key cut to the secondary door that linked the museum to the university.
“Then we hid in the belfry until about 1am when everything was closed. It wasn't such a good idea in hindsight as the bells were still ringing and were incredibly loud.
“We got into the museum and then we used the side door to get him out.
It was very early in the morning and we stuffed him into the boot of an old Vauxhall car, which cost me £35, folded back the seats and sped off to my bedsit.
“That's where he stayed for the duration and we took pictures of him in different guises.''
The friends kept the stuffed gorilla in the bedsit in Clifton, Bristol, for 60 hours.
Mr Hooper added: ''There were all sorts of stories going around, people thought Cardiff students had kidnapped him and there was a rumour he was in a cave somewhere.
“It was always our intention to return him and so the easiest thing was to take him to a doctor's waiting room which was just across the road. It was midday on a Saturday and we just carried him over and left him there.”
Mr Morgan’s son, Gerard, 45, said the scrapbook, containing the photographs and original stories from the local newspaper, the Bristol Evening Post, had become a family heirloom.
“My father used to develop his own photographs which is why he was able to take these pictures without anyone else finding out,” he added.
“This scrapbook has been locked in a secret drawer in our home and travelled around the world with him.
“Occasionally the scrapbook would come out and along with my brothers I loved listening to the story of Alfred.”
Bristol Museum has sent a letter to Gerard Morgan assuring the family that no one will be prosecuted.
Tim Corum, deputy head of Bristol's Museums, Galleries and Archives service, said the revelations were “intriguing”.
“Although we would never condone any such illegal activity as reportedly happened, the council will not be taking any action against the reputed perpetrators either.
“Instead we will be adding the latest reports to the bulging file relating to one of Bristol's best loved figures.”
Bristol Zoo in 1948, and was then stuffed and put on display in a glass case at the city's museum.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/7368549/Mystery-of-disappearing-stuffed-gorilla-solved.html
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