White House Farm - ITV Drama Series - Part 6

[Caroline]

It is our business if someone chooses to write a book and air their views on TV.  We are not obliged to swallow whole what we are told and have the right to disagree.

It is obvious he wasn't committed to a long-term relationship with SC before the twins were even conceived.

OK, people have the right to comment - I feel however, he is being used as a distraction!

What has that got to do with the murders? CC isn't on trial now or then. It's difficult living with someone who has schizophrenia and it was his right to leave the relationship - divorce is legal.

[Caroline]

Of course he adored the twins but he wasn't a Saint as he readily admits in his book.

So what point are you making? None of us here are saints. In fact is anyone?

[Holly Goodhead]

5 pages of CC's letter to NB:

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Holly Goodhead]

Final page:



[attachment deleted by admin]

[APRIL]

5 pages of CC's letter to NB:

Interesting that having known them for around 10 years, he still refers to them as Mr and Mrs Bamber.

[steve_trousers]

Thank you for posting the letter. My impression is it just seems to be about Colin expressing concern at June going over the top on the religious side with his kids.
Colin sounds like a modern parent trying to raise the boys in a non secular way, and them becoming confused because June insists on doing the opposite.

[Inspector Gadget]

Thank you for posting the letter. My impression is it just seems to be about Colin expressing concern at June going over the top on the religious side with his kids.
Colin sounds like a modern parent trying to raise the boys in a non secular way, and them becoming confused because June insists on doing the opposite.

Agreed. Sounds like Sheila was in her own world and was neglecting the kids and their basic needs. Breakfast, getting dressed and school runs, are a tiring experience for any mother let alone one who is struggling with mental health and coupled with it being twins. You have to appreciate it was the 80s too so the stigma around mental health was weakness. I think it’s clear that CC thought Sheila was struggling and was concerned that the kids had to stay with June and Sheila but not for their lives but more for their basic welfare like cleanliness, food, being preached at etc.

Still; not a nice read in hindsight. Little did he know it was uncle Jeremy he needed to be scared of. :-(

[steve_trousers]

I would imagine most families have their dirty laundry don't they. June had her own issues and turned to the bible, while motherhood hit Sheila hard, it's a grand canyon style leap to go from this to the implication that she was mad enough to pick up a gun and murder her 2 children. Nothing to see here.

The other nasty accusation that comes out now and again is something Sheila said to her psychiatrist about one of her boys having sexual fantasies about her. It's totally taken out of context to paint Sheila in as insane light as possible. A conversation between her and her shrink should never have seen the light of day.

[Caroline]

I would imagine most families have their dirty laundry don't they. June had her own issues and turned to the bible, while motherhood hit Sheila hard, it's a grand canyon style leap to go from this to the implication that she was mad enough to pick up a gun and murder her 2 children. Nothing to see here.

The other nasty accusation that comes out now and again is something Sheila said to her psychiatrist about one of her boys having sexual fantasies about her. It's totally taken out of context to paint Sheila in as insane light as possible. A conversation between her and her shrink should never have seen the light of day.

It was also said years before the murders.

[Holly Goodhead]

I would imagine most families have their dirty laundry don't they. June had her own issues and turned to the bible, while motherhood hit Sheila hard, it's a grand canyon style leap to go from this to the implication that she was mad enough to pick up a gun and murder her 2 children. Nothing to see here

The other nasty accusation that comes out now and again is something Sheila said to her psychiatrist about one of her boys having sexual fantasies about her. It's totally taken out of context to paint Sheila in as insane light as possible. A conversation between her and her shrink should never have seen the light of day.

It's not a nasty accusation at all, it formed part of Dr Ferguson's testimony.  I will quote from CAL's book:

Today, Dr Ferguson is at pains to point out that although Sheila found her mother's beliefs difficult to handle, June was not culpable for her illness: 'I think Sheila's delusional thoughts would have been shaped by her mother's religiosity but that wouldn't have happened if she hadn' t been schizophrenic'.  During her first admission, Sheila was diagnosed with a schizo-affective disorder because although the feelings she expressed were 'clear symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia', there appeared to be less mood disturbance with her ideas.  Dr Ferguson later stated that the first diagnosis was mistaken, declaring himself firmly convinced that she suffered from paranoid schizophrenia.

He identified the root of Sheila's obsession with good and evil as the 'devil's child incident', which had lingered painfully in her mind. As a result, she believed herself to be inherently evil with an ability to 'create evil in others'.  She was 'particularly caught up with the idea that the devil had taken her over, giving her the power to project the devil's evil not only onto other people, but particularly her twin sons'.  She feared being able to 'create in her two sons a source of ability to have sex with her or to do violence with her'.  She then began to 'perceive in them other malign, adult intelligence' which they projected onto her until she was 'at risk of having to have sex with them or to join with them in some violence'.  It was an extension of her troubled thinking of the past two years, in which she had felt 'particularly uneasy in the acts of masturbation and had other eerie feelings that she was sharing this with her baby sons'.  In the fortnight prior to her hospital admission, Sheila's delusions became more vivid and real; she thought her sons would 'seduce' her and saw 'evil in both of them'.  She especially feared that Nicholas was becoming 'a woman [ censored word ]' and 'potential murderer'.

[APRIL]

It's not a nasty accusation at all, it formed part of Dr Ferguson's testimony.  I will quote from CAL's book:

Today, Dr Ferguson is at pains to point out that although Sheila found her mother's beliefs difficult to handle, June was not culpable for her illness: 'I think Sheila's delusional thoughts would have been shaped by her mother's religiosity but that wouldn't have happened if she hadn' t been schizophrenic'.  During her first admission, Sheila was diagnosed with a schizo-affective disorder because although the feelings she expressed were 'clear symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia', there appeared to be less mood disturbance with her ideas.  Dr Ferguson later stated that the first diagnosis was mistaken, declaring himself firmly convinced that she suffered from paranoid schizophrenia.

He identified the root of Sheila's obsession with good and evil as the 'devil's child incident', which had lingered painfully in her mind. As a result, she believed herself to be inherently evil with an ability to 'create evil in others'.  She was 'particularly caught up with the idea that the devil had taken her over, giving her the power to project the devil's evil not only onto other people, but particularly her twin sons'.  She feared being able to 'create in her two sons a source of ability to have sex with her or to do violence with her'.  She then began to 'perceive in them other malign, adult intelligence' which they projected onto her until she was 'at risk of having to have sex with them or to join with them in some violence'.  It was an extension of her troubled thinking of the past two years, in which she had felt 'particularly uneasy in the acts of masturbation and had other eerie feelings that she was sharing this with her baby sons'.  In the fortnight prior to her hospital admission, Sheila's delusions became more vivid and real; she thought her sons would 'seduce' her and saw 'evil in both of them'.  She especially feared that Nicholas was becoming 'a woman [ censored word ]' and 'potential murderer'.

This report was his conclusion following her first breakdown. It could be argued that, had she taken her meds as prescribed, her second breakdown may have been avoided. However, during her second breakdown it appears that her focus was no longer on her children.

[Holly Goodhead]

This report was his conclusion following her first breakdown. It could be argued that, had she taken her meds as prescribed, her second breakdown may have been avoided. However, during her second breakdown it appears that her focus was no longer on her children.

That's not my interpretation.  The last para starts "In the fortnight prior to her hospital admission"... He then goes on to discuss SC's morbid thoughts re the twins.

Anyway my reason for posting this was to illustrate contrary to CC's assertions SC was a wonderful mother it is clear from his letter and Dr F's testimony that sadly SC's mental illness prevented her from being the mother she was prior to its onset.

[APRIL]

That's not my interpretation.  The last para starts "In the fortnight prior to her hospital admission"... He then goes on to discuss SC's morbid thoughts re the twins.

Anyway my reason for posting this was to illustrate contrary to CC's assertions SC was a wonderful mother it is clear from his letter and Dr F's testimony that sadly SC's mental illness prevented her from being the mother she was prior to its onset.

The most I can say of it, is that there is ambiguity. It doesn't make clear the fortnight prior to which admission. It would seem strange that having stated that during her second stay her focus wasn't her children, only to follow it with testimony in which the children feature very heavily. I concur that had she been as wonderful a mother as Colin claims, he'd have had no reason to be thinking about becoming their full time carer. However, allowing him benefit of doubt, it may have been the illness, as opposed to her mothering instincts, which caused his concern.

[Caroline]

That's not my interpretation.  The last para starts "In the fortnight prior to her hospital admission"... He then goes on to discuss SC's morbid thoughts re the twins.

Anyway my reason for posting this was to illustrate contrary to CC's assertions SC was a wonderful mother it is clear from his letter and Dr F's testimony that sadly SC's mental illness prevented her from being the mother she was prior to its onset.

If someone became debilitated with an illness such as cancer and were unable to perform motherly duties as before - would that make then a bad mother? There is no argument that Sheila had issues but she was ill not neglectful.

[Holly Goodhead]

If someone became debilitated with an illness such as cancer and were unable to perform motherly duties as before - would that make then a bad mother? There is no argument that Sheila had issues but she was ill not neglectful.

That's what I said.