The strange tale of missing Norwich man, William Hind

A largely forgotten mystery, his disappearance was marked in newspaper articles and police hunts which have since been consigned to time and speculation. 

Here we take a look at the mysterious disappearance of a Norfolk gentleman - William Hind. 

Did William Hind frequent one of the many dark and seedy billiards halls? (Image: Newsquest)

A missing man was reported to the police on a seemingly ordinary day in 1908.

Aged 20 years old, five foot nine inches tall, with dark hair and eyes, and wearing a light cap, grey suit and yellow leggings, his vanishing from the streets of Norwich was described as "if the pavement had opened and swallowed him up".

The police searched for the man for fourteen days with the help of a specialist investigator who even made enquiries up and down the country - but to no avail.

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The young man, who had just turned 20, was discovered to have had considerable musical abilities, having been an accomplished pianist and mandolin player. 

For two years William was a student at the London Polytechnic - now the University of Westminster - and then he joined a theatrical company which settled in Aylsham.

When his performing troupe decided to move on, William stayed in Norfolk and it was at the Cross Keys Hotel where he lived up to the day of his disappearance. 

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According to sources, he had his own pony and trap, plenty of money, and "not a care in the world".

On his final visit to Norwich, he carried with him £80 in cash - roughly £7,760 in today's money - and was last seen in a music warehouse in the Royal Arcade where he bought some gramophone records.

His last known words were to ask the time, of which it was a quarter past four in the afternoon, then he left the shop and was never seen again.