Richmal Oates-Whitehead
Encyclopedia
Richmal Marie Oates-Whitehead (February 1970–August 2005) was an employee of the British Medical Association
. She was dubbed as the "53rd victim" of the 7/7 attacks
by the media
after the discovery of her body in a flat.
She came into news in her native New Zealand
for (purportedly) tending to the attack victims as a doctor and came into the news again when her medical credentials were under spotlight. Initially, it was suspected that she might have committed suicide, but it emerged later that she died of natural causes. She was 35.
. She suffered from epilepsy
in her childhood. It appears that she displayed interest in becoming a physician
or entering the medical profession right from her school days. Her school friends described her as a caring person.
While she could not become a physician, she embarked on a career that can be described as a part of the medical profession; she trained as a radiation therapist
for a year in 1991, working on a study on prevention of blood coagulation
.
This included an internship at Auckland
. She moved to London
in 2001, and prior to her last employment with BMA
as an editor of Clinical Evidence (an online journal of the British Medical Journal
), she was with the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health in the role of clinical effectiveness coordinator. Immediately prior to her employment at the BMA she worked as a medical writer for Euro RSCG Medical Education; throughout her brief employment at this company she posed as a doctor.
in the aftermath of the London blasts
at the Tavistock Square
. She claimed to have been asked to help out by a couple of firemen and that she did not hesitate for a moment.
She was widely hailed as the “heroine of the July 7 bombings” after her accounts of treating the seriously injured were carried out by the press
, especially in New Zealand. Given the level of publicity attained by her, the New Zealand Herald, among others, researched her background and published news to the effect that she was not a doctor, but an editor of a BMA publication, a job that did not require medical qualifications.
What seemed to have triggered the media’s suspicion is an account by Richmal of how she heard a controlled explosion of another bomb by the police while she was busy tending to the victims. Scotland Yard
’s denial of such an explosion and the absence of her name on either of the UK
or the New Zealand Medical Council registers of doctors strengthened the suspicions. Nor could Auckland University
confirm that she was a graduate of the place. Richmal contested the newspaper’s contention and threatened to sue it for defamation but resigned from her post on health grounds when BMA announced an inquiry into her antecedents.
According to the Richmond and Twickenham Times newspaper there was a controlled explosion of a suspect package on the bus:
'Sergeant Graham Cross and his unit of five were trying to set up a cordon around the King's Cross bombing when the number 30 bus was blown up in Tavistock Square.
"We were only 100 metres away," Mr Cross said.
Team member PC Ashley Walker was looking at the bus as it exploded before his eyes.
As they ran closer, they saw "people's body parts and lumps of flesh", PC Walker remembers. One man's legs were trapped under a bench, while another mangled victim hanged with his head over the edge of the bombed top deck.
Then they spotted a microwave box near a window. Another bomb?
They thought it was.
"But we had no choice, really," Mr Graham says. "We had to go get people off the bus."
A bomb disposal unit later blew up the package in a controlled explosion.' www.richmondandtwickenhamtimes.co.uk/news/690500.0/
Testimony given at the Coroner's Inquest confirms the controlled explosion of the microwave oven:
Transcript:
17 In relation to secondary devices, you were aware,
18 I think, during your time at the scene, in relation to
19 secondary devices, of the attendance of
20 a Metropolitan Police explosives unit, explosives
21 officer. Is that right?
22 A. That's correct.
23 Q. I think, to use the phrase that you did in your recent
24 statement in which you went over your actions on the day
25 itself, you noted that the box that you considered may
79
1 have contained a secondary device -- which would be the
2 microwave oven, as it transpired to be -- was
3 neutralised by the explosives officer.
4 There was a controlled explosion at one stage
5 carried out by explosives officers that day. Was that
6 subsequent -- put it another way, was that something
7 that occurred or that didn't occur while you were there?
8 A. Sorry?
9 Q. The question is probably poorly phrased. Were you aware
10 of a controlled explosion --
11 A. Yes.
12 Q. -- or simply the attendance of explosives officers?
13 A. I heard the controlled explosion, yes.
14 Q. Right. I don't suppose you can provide a time for that,
15 can you, or can you?
16 A. After 30 minutes. That's my guess, I can't know.
17 Q. All right. That's all I want to ask about that
From: http://7julyinquests.independent.gov.uk/hearing_transcripts/18012011pm.htm
on 17 August and found her dead body. Initially it was felt that she might have committed suicide due to the possible media witch hunt
and loss of job leading to humiliation and the extreme step. However, post-mortem
reports suggested that she died of a pulmonary embolism
(clotting of blood on the lungs). The Coroner
’s office also ruled out an inquest
as the death was due to natural causes.
. She always carried a stethoscope
in her handbag despite not being a doctor; described herself as an epidemiologist or a professor
in her correspondence and told others that she travelled to Iraq
and Indonesia
to provide medical assistance to the war victims and the tsunami
victims respectively.
Her claims also included being afflicted with cancer
, being stalked
, suffering a mini heart attack
, references to a retired professor as partner and giving birth to premature twins who died within a day. A common thread of appeal for either admiration or sympathy seems to have run through her stories.
Though, to be fair to Richmal, the initial denial by Scotland Yard regarding controlled explosions carried out on the devastated Tavistock Square bus turned out to be true - there were in fact two controlled explosions, and Richmal has also been identified in CCTV footage approaching the bus, escorted by policeman and wearing precisely the clothes she said she wore. Her boss at the BMJ also testified that Richmal and he together did help several victims who had been moved to the courtyard of the BMJ building. It seems many of the fantastic stories Richmal Oates-Whitehead is accused of making up were actually true. Lying about foibles her personal life did not affect her work as an editor at the BMJ. The New Zealand Herald and other news sources have retired Richmal's story at the fantasy stage and have not acknowledged that her presence and value of her assistance on 7th July 2005 is no longer in doubt, and certainly inconsistencies in her personal life remain irrelevant to her noble temerity on that fateful day.
British Medical Association
The British Medical Association is the professional association and registered trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom. The association does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The association’s headquarters are located in BMA House,...
. She was dubbed as the "53rd victim" of the 7/7 attacks
7 July 2005 London bombings
The 7 July 2005 London bombings were a series of co-ordinated suicide attacks in the United Kingdom, targeting civilians using London's public transport system during the morning rush hour....
by the media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
after the discovery of her body in a flat.
She came into news in her native New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
for (purportedly) tending to the attack victims as a doctor and came into the news again when her medical credentials were under spotlight. Initially, it was suspected that she might have committed suicide, but it emerged later that she died of natural causes. She was 35.
Early life
Oates-Whitehead was born and brought up in GisborneGisborne, New Zealand
-Economy:The harbour was host to many ships in the past and had developed as a river port to provide a more secure location for shipping compared with the open roadstead of Poverty Bay which can be exposed to southerly swells. A meat works was sited beside the harbour and meat and wool was shipped...
. She suffered from epilepsy
Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or hypersynchronous neuronal activity in the brain.About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and nearly two out of every three new cases...
in her childhood. It appears that she displayed interest in becoming a physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
or entering the medical profession right from her school days. Her school friends described her as a caring person.
While she could not become a physician, she embarked on a career that can be described as a part of the medical profession; she trained as a radiation therapist
Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy , radiation oncology, or radiotherapy , sometimes abbreviated to XRT or DXT, is the medical use of ionizing radiation, generally as part of cancer treatment to control malignant cells.Radiation therapy is commonly applied to the cancerous tumor because of its ability to control...
for a year in 1991, working on a study on prevention of blood coagulation
Coagulation
Coagulation is a complex process by which blood forms clots. It is an important part of hemostasis, the cessation of blood loss from a damaged vessel, wherein a damaged blood vessel wall is covered by a platelet and fibrin-containing clot to stop bleeding and begin repair of the damaged vessel...
.
This included an internship at Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
. She moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 2001, and prior to her last employment with BMA
British Medical Association
The British Medical Association is the professional association and registered trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom. The association does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The association’s headquarters are located in BMA House,...
as an editor of Clinical Evidence (an online journal of the British Medical Journal
British Medical Journal
BMJ is a partially open-access peer-reviewed medical journal. Originally called the British Medical Journal, the title was officially shortened to BMJ in 1988. The journal is published by the BMJ Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Medical Association...
), she was with the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health in the role of clinical effectiveness coordinator. Immediately prior to her employment at the BMA she worked as a medical writer for Euro RSCG Medical Education; throughout her brief employment at this company she posed as a doctor.
London bombings
Oates-Whitehead shot into brief prominence15 minutes of fame
15 minutes of fame is short-lived, often ephemeral, media publicity or celebrity of an individual or phenomenon. The expression was coined by Andy Warhol, who said in 1968 that "In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes." The phenomenon is often used in reference to...
in the aftermath of the London blasts
7 July 2005 London bombings
The 7 July 2005 London bombings were a series of co-ordinated suicide attacks in the United Kingdom, targeting civilians using London's public transport system during the morning rush hour....
at the Tavistock Square
Tavistock Square
Tavistock Square is a public square in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden with a fine garden.-Public art:The centre-piece of the gardens is a statue of Mahatma Gandhi, which was installed in 1968....
. She claimed to have been asked to help out by a couple of firemen and that she did not hesitate for a moment.
She was widely hailed as the “heroine of the July 7 bombings” after her accounts of treating the seriously injured were carried out by the press
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
, especially in New Zealand. Given the level of publicity attained by her, the New Zealand Herald, among others, researched her background and published news to the effect that she was not a doctor, but an editor of a BMA publication, a job that did not require medical qualifications.
What seemed to have triggered the media’s suspicion is an account by Richmal of how she heard a controlled explosion of another bomb by the police while she was busy tending to the victims. Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
’s denial of such an explosion and the absence of her name on either of the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
or the New Zealand Medical Council registers of doctors strengthened the suspicions. Nor could Auckland University
University of Auckland
The University of Auckland is a university located in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest university in the country and the highest ranked in the 2011 QS World University Rankings, having been ranked worldwide...
confirm that she was a graduate of the place. Richmal contested the newspaper’s contention and threatened to sue it for defamation but resigned from her post on health grounds when BMA announced an inquiry into her antecedents.
According to the Richmond and Twickenham Times newspaper there was a controlled explosion of a suspect package on the bus:
'Sergeant Graham Cross and his unit of five were trying to set up a cordon around the King's Cross bombing when the number 30 bus was blown up in Tavistock Square.
"We were only 100 metres away," Mr Cross said.
Team member PC Ashley Walker was looking at the bus as it exploded before his eyes.
As they ran closer, they saw "people's body parts and lumps of flesh", PC Walker remembers. One man's legs were trapped under a bench, while another mangled victim hanged with his head over the edge of the bombed top deck.
Then they spotted a microwave box near a window. Another bomb?
They thought it was.
"But we had no choice, really," Mr Graham says. "We had to go get people off the bus."
A bomb disposal unit later blew up the package in a controlled explosion.' www.richmondandtwickenhamtimes.co.uk/news/690500.0/
Testimony given at the Coroner's Inquest confirms the controlled explosion of the microwave oven:
Transcript:
17 In relation to secondary devices, you were aware,
18 I think, during your time at the scene, in relation to
19 secondary devices, of the attendance of
20 a Metropolitan Police explosives unit, explosives
21 officer. Is that right?
22 A. That's correct.
23 Q. I think, to use the phrase that you did in your recent
24 statement in which you went over your actions on the day
25 itself, you noted that the box that you considered may
79
1 have contained a secondary device -- which would be the
2 microwave oven, as it transpired to be -- was
3 neutralised by the explosives officer.
4 There was a controlled explosion at one stage
5 carried out by explosives officers that day. Was that
6 subsequent -- put it another way, was that something
7 that occurred or that didn't occur while you were there?
8 A. Sorry?
9 Q. The question is probably poorly phrased. Were you aware
10 of a controlled explosion --
11 A. Yes.
12 Q. -- or simply the attendance of explosives officers?
13 A. I heard the controlled explosion, yes.
14 Q. Right. I don't suppose you can provide a time for that,
15 can you, or can you?
16 A. After 30 minutes. That's my guess, I can't know.
17 Q. All right. That's all I want to ask about that
From: http://7julyinquests.independent.gov.uk/hearing_transcripts/18012011pm.htm
Death
Following apprehensions from her family members, the Police entered her flat in West LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on 17 August and found her dead body. Initially it was felt that she might have committed suicide due to the possible media witch hunt
Witch-hunt
A witch-hunt is a search for witches or evidence of witchcraft, often involving moral panic, mass hysteria and lynching, but in historical instances also legally sanctioned and involving official witchcraft trials...
and loss of job leading to humiliation and the extreme step. However, post-mortem
Autopsy
An autopsy—also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy , autopsia cadaverum, or obduction—is a highly specialized surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present...
reports suggested that she died of a pulmonary embolism
Pulmonary embolism
Pulmonary embolism is a blockage of the main artery of the lung or one of its branches by a substance that has travelled from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream . Usually this is due to embolism of a thrombus from the deep veins in the legs, a process termed venous thromboembolism...
(clotting of blood on the lungs). The Coroner
Coroner
A coroner is a government official who* Investigates human deaths* Determines cause of death* Issues death certificates* Maintains death records* Responds to deaths in mass disasters* Identifies unknown dead* Other functions depending on local laws...
’s office also ruled out an inquest
Inquest
Inquests in England and Wales are held into sudden and unexplained deaths and also into the circumstances of discovery of a certain class of valuable artefacts known as "treasure trove"...
as the death was due to natural causes.
Alleged personality disorder
Newspaper reports (eg. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1497099/Pathos-of-the-bogus-doctor-who-became-53rd-victim-of-77.html) indicate that Richmal seemed to suffer from some personality disorderPersonality disorder
Personality disorders, formerly referred to as character disorders, are a class of personality types and behaviors. Personality disorders are noted on Axis II of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or DSM-IV-TR of the American Psychiatric Association.Personality disorders are...
. She always carried a stethoscope
Stethoscope
The stethoscope is an acoustic medical device for auscultation, or listening to the internal sounds of an animal body. It is often used to listen to lung and heart sounds. It is also used to listen to intestines and blood flow in arteries and veins...
in her handbag despite not being a doctor; described herself as an epidemiologist or a professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
in her correspondence and told others that she travelled to Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
and Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
to provide medical assistance to the war victims and the tsunami
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
victims respectively.
Her claims also included being afflicted with cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
, being stalked
Stalking
Stalking is a term commonly used to refer to unwanted and obsessive attention by an individual or group to another person. Stalking behaviors are related to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person and/or monitoring them via the internet...
, suffering a mini heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
, references to a retired professor as partner and giving birth to premature twins who died within a day. A common thread of appeal for either admiration or sympathy seems to have run through her stories.
Though, to be fair to Richmal, the initial denial by Scotland Yard regarding controlled explosions carried out on the devastated Tavistock Square bus turned out to be true - there were in fact two controlled explosions, and Richmal has also been identified in CCTV footage approaching the bus, escorted by policeman and wearing precisely the clothes she said she wore. Her boss at the BMJ also testified that Richmal and he together did help several victims who had been moved to the courtyard of the BMJ building. It seems many of the fantastic stories Richmal Oates-Whitehead is accused of making up were actually true. Lying about foibles her personal life did not affect her work as an editor at the BMJ. The New Zealand Herald and other news sources have retired Richmal's story at the fantasy stage and have not acknowledged that her presence and value of her assistance on 7th July 2005 is no longer in doubt, and certainly inconsistencies in her personal life remain irrelevant to her noble temerity on that fateful day.