The Wipers Times Exposé: Contemporary Accounts of the Wipers Times

Fri, 31 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

In this section, you can find several contemporary accounts of the story behind the Wipers Times. Originally, some of these accounts appeared as part of the Staff, Suspects, and Witnesses post. As the number of accounts has grown, they have been moved to their own post for the sake of clarity. Note that the Sergeant Tyler Account has been left in situ (for now).

The accounts are presented below in chronological order. For copyright reasons, I have not posted anything here from after 1955.

The Wipers Times Exposé: Jack Johnson, the Private Who Discovered the Press

Fri, 31 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

In 2025, Talbot House obtained the original proof copies of the Wipers, which were once owned by Frederick Roberts. At the time of writing, they have been republishing the issues and sending them out via subscription on the original dates they were published. I was privileged and honoured to be asked to write the commentary to accompany these reprints. In turn, this has been a good opportunity for myself to revisit my Wipers Times Casefile. As I have been putting the commentary together, several new leads, sources, and information have come to light. While my original intention with this exposé was the search for Dorothy Violet Hall, I am now planning to consolidate everything I have learnt about the Wipers, so expect a number of updates to existing articles as well as some new ones, starting with the following — the private who actually discovered the press in the first place.

Official Press Bureau on Robert St John Smith ©

The Wipers Times Exposé: Contemporary Accounts of the Wipers Times

The Wipers Times Exposé: Jack Johnson, the Private Who Discovered the Press