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What happened to Buster Crabb?

by Emily Jordan

One mission. One diver. Reported missing...

Old diving suit and apparatus.

Lionel Crabb was born in London to very humble beginnings. It wasn't until joining the Navy in WW2 that he discovered a love for diving - he was given the nickname Buster, after Olympic swimmer and action hero Buster Crabbe.

 

Lionel 'Buster' Crabb was sent on many dangerous missions around the world, including removing limpet mines from ships.

 

Sadly, the work he loved, made him a prime target for attack...

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard and Spinnaker Tower

The last known whereabouts of Buster Crabb was checking in to the Sally Port Inn in Old Portsmouth, along with a colleague, Mr Smith. It is believed the two were employed on an espionage mission to study a Russian ship docked in Portsmouth  - tensions between Britain and Russia were high during this time as the Cold War continued.

 

The Russian military believe they saw a diver snooping around their ship and Buster was never seen again...

What We Know:

  • It was later revealed that several pages from the hotel log book from this time were torn out.
  • We know that Crabb and a colleague were sent to Portsmouth to study the Russian ship - Ordzhonikidze's - stern.
  • A "Mr Smith" returned to the hotel later that day to settle debts.
  • Just over a year later, a diver's body was discovered, missing its head and both hands - presumed to be Crabb (but could not be officially identified.)

There are many theories about what happened to Buster Crabb, but none have yet been confirmed...

Jack Wells - Mystery Guides

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jack Wells

Jack Wells is the founder and creative mind behind Mystery Guides, a series of clever city adventure books that transform urban landscapes into self-guided Treasure Hunts. Inspired by his love for local history and storytelling, Jack developed a unique way for people to explore cities together through engaging historical stories, puzzles and surprising twists. Just like an outdoor escape room!

His journey began with a passion for history and a desire to bring it to life in a compelling way. This passion led to the creation of the first in a series of Treasure Hunt books, which received rave reviews and paved the way for more, highly-addictive city-specific adventures. Through Mystery Guides, Jack’s mission is to make learning about history both fun and interactive, offering people of all ages an exciting way to explore their local surroundings while solving captivating mysteries.

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