𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚎 𝚌𝚛𝚒𝚖𝚎 (𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎)

DAVID MCGREAVY

David McGreavy was born in 1951 to parents Thomas and Bella McGreavy. He would be the second oldest of the couple's six children and was born in Southport, Lancashire.

At the time of his birth, his father was working as a sergeant in the army and so the family would frequently relocate throughout England and Europe to support Thomas McGreavy's employment. It is believed because of this constant re-locating, the children struggled to make lifelong friends and that they rarely played with other children. Instead, the six siblings would play together – whether this be going for picnics, walks or bike rides.

Overall, David had a normal childhood and it is reported that he had normal relationships with his parents and siblings. He also focused on his education and in 1967, at the age of fifteen, David left school and began his career in the Royal Navy.

At first, his father was not particularly fond of this idea and doubted that David had it in him to be within the establishment. Yet, this was David's dream and passion and so he put more effort into proving his father wrong.

During his first years in the Navy, David was able to make more friends than he had ever been able to make throughout his life and these friendships caused David to become involved in social drinking. The Navy was also a tough place for a young boy and so he became arrogant, tough and suborn in a bid to fit in and thrive within the establishment. Yet, his drinking and behaviour landed him in trouble on numerous occasions.

By the age of nineteen, David had been issued warnings for his drunkenness, pranking of other sailors and for being involved in fights while intoxicated. It was also at this age, that David was working alone on watch one night and decided to break into an office. As he walked around the office, he noticed a book on the table and began to flick through.

At the time, he was drunk and when he saw his name within the book, he panicked. The reason for this was because he believed that his name in the book meant he was getting fired or demoted.

Not thinking logically, because of the alcohol, David then took the book and threw it into the bin. He then set fire to the bin and watched as the flames spiralled out of control. Once he believed the book had been ruined, he called for help.

Upon questioning, David stated that he had no idea how the fire had started and that he had seen it while performing his duties. However, he soon changed his story and stated that he had broken into the office but that the fire had caused when he dropped a cigarette from his mouth – therefore pleading innocence.

He was court-martialled and it was determined that he was not guilty of arson but he was guilty of negligence. He was given a ninety-day punishment and ordered to take a psychiatric evaluation. The results of the evaluation are unknown.

Shortly after this incident, a friend of David's suggested that he should write to a woman and gave him the address of his sister. It was in January of 1971, when David and Mary began sending their letters. Over four months, the pair would send two letters a week and before long the letters took a romantic turn. 

After these four months, David and Mary met for the first time. The following weekend, the pair attended a social event together and this was when David asked Mary to marry him. She instantly said yes. Although David was happy and in love, his parents did not approve of the relationship. His parents had heard that Mary suffered from health problems and they believed that this was all an act. However, David went against his parent's advice and continued his plan to wed Mary.

It was later that year, in August, that David was discharged from the Navy and travelled to his parent's home in Worcestershire. Although David and Mary had planned to marry that Christmas, it was unlikely that this plan would go ahead now both were out of employment. However, they stayed together until the following year.