About that Surgeon

 

About that Surgeon...

The most popular picture of Nessie ever, and the most likely to be a hoax. April 21,1934; the Daily Mail a famous London based news journal headlines "London Surgeons Photo of the Monster." A black and white photo of a neck and posterior hump floating on top of the waters of Loch Ness. The photo is taken by a physician named Dr. Robert Kenneth Wilson who taking photos of the local bird population with a friend when he spotted the beast. 

The photo was a cropped version of the original which I have included for scale. What can we tell from this photo other than the black figure in the foreground? Well for one, the uncropped image depicts an animal or object that is significantly smaller than the photo delivered to the Daily Mail. Of course, no one would want to have to put on their spectacles to examine the beast. A ring of wakes surround the object alluding to the fact that there is something physical floating in the water. Finally, a small slither of the shoreline can be seen in the uncropped photo giving us a minor hint to the location. (Somewhere in the Loch) Other than those observances, not much more can be derived by a regular reader of the Mail. 

Finally, proof of the Water Horse, the Kelpie, Nessie herself! Or so was thought by the general public for 60 years. In 1994, David Martin discovered an old newspaper clipping published in 1975 sporting Ian Wetherell, son to the famous big game hunter Marmaduke Wetherell. (NOVA, 2000) In it Ian admits that the photo was actually staged by Maurice Chambers the "friend" the Doctor had claimed he was visiting. It is also believed that Ian having known so much about the details of the plot had in fact taken the photo and not Dr. Wilson. The photo was a revenge attempt carried out as revenge on the Daily Mail for the "hippo foot" fiasco that involved Marmaduke years prior. (NOVA, 2000) Dr. Wilson was used as a proxy to submit the photo without suspicion from the Mail. Christian Spurling step-brother to the late Ian Wetherall, was able to confirm the plot upon his death bed confession.

(Diagram of theorized submarine)

The theory is that Chambers used a plastic wooden toy submarine retrofitted with the head and neck of Nessie. Floated into the middle of the Loch, and towed by string or line, this toy is believed to have given birth to the photo that shocked the world. It is a simple solution when you think about it. Reputable witness and photographer? Check. An object with the likeness of Nessie? Check. In the middle of Loch Ness? Check. Marmaduke got the revenge he was seeking.

However, there is always a however when it comes to the infamous Nessie. Many experts are unsure that the toy submarines of the time were capable of carrying out the task prescribed to obtain the perfect photo of the monster. Moreover, why did Christian Spurling wait until his death to confirm that the hoax was real and subsequently the photo a fake? These are two questions that are near impossible to resolve and hence they both remain.

I believe the photo is authentic and depicts the creature that either lived or lives in the Loch. And that the news article featuring Ian and his story on how the hoax was concocted are fantasy and a way for Ian to capitalize where his father did not. Marmaduke never tracked down the monster, but how great would it be to attach himself to the proof that did. Even if it was in the form of an "elaborate hoax." It is hard for me to accept that given even the calmest of days on the surface of the Loch, the men boated out placed a submarine and were able to balance the top heavy neck long enough to retreat and snap a photo. Would no one see them make their way to the loch with this significantly large model of the creature? Wouldn't that bystander come forward and rebuke the claims made by the renowned Surgeon?

The Hippocratic Oath states to do no harm, Dr. Wilson was able to cure any doubt as to the existence of a monster in the depths of Loch Ness.

-T

Public Broadcasting Service. (n.d.). Nova online | the beast of loch ness | birth of a legend (3). PBS. Retrieved July 7, 2022, from https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lochness/legend3.html