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On April 18th 1943 in Worcestershire England, (yes like the sauce no one can pronounce) 4 young boys looking for birds eggs crept into Hagley Wood. Hagley wood was a mysterious place. Located on the grounds of the partially abandoned Hagley Hall, Hagley woods were dotted with neglected temples and statues, overgrown landscaping and ancient stately trees. But one tree stood out among the rest. A tree almost entirely comprised of sharp, leafless twigs jutting out at severe angles, a gnarled, menacing, leafless wych elm. Most people would steer clear of such a thing, but the boys knew this kind of tree was the perfect place to hide nests. When they looked inside it's large and hollow trunk however, they didn't find birds, they didn't find eggs, they found a body, and unearthed a mystery that hangs over the village of Hagley to this very day. Who put Bella in the Wych Elm? This story may be familiar to some, but our dive is DEEP.
Click to learn more
From the Worcestershire county council
Josef Jakobs Blog
British Newspaper Archive, create a free account to see all original articles
Explore Hagley Hall
WWBD Merch Shop
Buy us a cup of validation
WWBD Official Soundtrack, Vol. 2
Shadows of Christmas (WWBD Christmas Album)
Shore Soaps
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By We Would Be Dead4.7
207207 ratings
On April 18th 1943 in Worcestershire England, (yes like the sauce no one can pronounce) 4 young boys looking for birds eggs crept into Hagley Wood. Hagley wood was a mysterious place. Located on the grounds of the partially abandoned Hagley Hall, Hagley woods were dotted with neglected temples and statues, overgrown landscaping and ancient stately trees. But one tree stood out among the rest. A tree almost entirely comprised of sharp, leafless twigs jutting out at severe angles, a gnarled, menacing, leafless wych elm. Most people would steer clear of such a thing, but the boys knew this kind of tree was the perfect place to hide nests. When they looked inside it's large and hollow trunk however, they didn't find birds, they didn't find eggs, they found a body, and unearthed a mystery that hangs over the village of Hagley to this very day. Who put Bella in the Wych Elm? This story may be familiar to some, but our dive is DEEP.
Click to learn more
From the Worcestershire county council
Josef Jakobs Blog
British Newspaper Archive, create a free account to see all original articles
Explore Hagley Hall
WWBD Merch Shop
Buy us a cup of validation
WWBD Official Soundtrack, Vol. 2
Shadows of Christmas (WWBD Christmas Album)
Shore Soaps
Try Audible Plus
Give the Gift of Audible!
Kindle Unlimited Membership
Amazon Prime Free Trial

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