the times | Monday August 3 2020 1GM 15
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the aircraft was a BK710 but when it was
looked into further it was the BK716,
which was my father’s plane.” Divers al-
so found a cigarette tin bearing the ini-
tials of one of the crew members.
The council in Almere, a city on the
southern edge of the lake, is funding the
lifting of the wreckage, which has been
delayed by the pandemic. Once the air-
men’s remains are recovered, they will
be afforded full military honours.
Mr Shrubsall’s wife, Janice, 76, said:
“We’re ecstatic it’s going to be recov-
ered but it is emotional. We think Rich-
ard is the only child of the crew left.”
Sergeant Shrubsall knew his wife was
expecting when he took off from
Downham Market in Norfolk on
March 29, 1943. After the plane went
missing, his family received a letter of
condolence from King George.
Almere council said that it would
announce a date for the recovery soon.“to support cutting-edge science and
science education around the world”.
A personal profile on the website of
one of her businesses, the Equanimity
Expert, says: “After an experience of
direct awakening at age seventeen,
Shelley Lewis has been on the path of
inner transformation ever since. Now
as a wellness entrepreneur and inner
beauty expert, living and working in
NYC and London, she actively holds
Sacred Space, helping clients heal from
their past and envision their future.”
Her profile as executive director of
the Inner and Outer Peace Fund has
been deleted from the website. She was
described as a “Doyenne of Inner Calm”.
Her father, Brian, the retired founder
of a pawnbroking chain and a former
mentor for the Prince’s Trust, told The
Mail on Sunday that he felt “very sad”
for Epstein’s victims. He added: “I’ve
not seen my daughter for ages. I have
no idea what she would want to say.”
Ms Lewis and Ms Maxwell have both
been accompanied to society events in
London by Charles Butter. Mr Butter,
60, whose mother, Lady Butter, was a
childhood friend of the Queen, has
represented Andrew at official events.
Ms Lewis says on her website that her
children’s book, A Key to the Heart, pub-
lished in her twenties, has received ac-
colades from JK Rowling. The phone
was not answered at the family’s 35-
acre estate yesterday and Ms Lewis did
not respond to requests for comment.
Epstein, who was convicted of a child
sex offence in 2008, killed himself aged
66 in jail in New York last August while
awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.October 25, 1854, will forever be one of
the most notorious days in British mili-
tary history, when the men of the Light
Brigade were sent to their doom, mas-
sacred by the Russian guns at the Battle
of Balaclava, part of the Crimean War.
But it was also a day of extraordi-
nary heroism, including that of
Troop Sergeant-Major William
Stewart, who had three horses die
beneath him in the charge of the
Heavy Brigade. His valour was
recalled as his medals sold for
more than £5,000 in London.
Stewart was taking part in
the assault on the Russian
lines. His story was re-
counted by a comrade,
Sergeant-Major Henry
Franks, in Leaves from a
Soldier’s Note Book.
Franks wrote: “Stewart
... had no less than three
horses shot that day. The first
one was by a rifle bullet. Stewart
caught another horse... and he had
hardly got mounted when a shell
burst under him and blew him up.
“He escaped without a
scratch, and managed to
catch another loose horse...
until a cannon ball broke the
horse’s leg. Stewart then pro-
cured yet another horse, which
made the fourth he had ridden
that day. Very few men, I should
say, have had such an experience
as this and all within an hour.”Crimean War hero’s medals auctioned
While the charge of the Light Brigade
was a doomed mission, the result of
miscommunication and confusion, the
charge of the Heavy Brigade was a
success. In eight minutes 800 cavalry
routed 3,000 Russian horsemen.
Stewart’s campaign medals, includ-
ing the Médaille Militaire, awarded by
Britain’s ally France, fetched £5,
including fees at Spink & Son, the
auctioneer. Marcus Budgen, the head
of Spink’s medal department, said: “The
medals take you right to the heart of the
legendary charge of the Heavy Brigade.
On that famous day he is accounted as
being in the thick of the action. It is an
amazing group.”
Stewart, from Perth, was a labourer
before he enlisted with the 5th Dragoon
Guards in 1837. His regiment sailed to
the Crimea in May 1854. He was also at
the battles of Inkerman and Sevastopol
and later met Queen Victoria. His
citation for the Médaille Militaire said
that he was “never absent from his duty
a single day”.Valentine Low
Lost RAF plane and crew’s
remains found 75 years on
The son of an RAF gunner whose plane
vanished during the Second World War
will finally be able to lay to rest the
father he never knew, after the aircraft
was found in a Dutch lake.
Sergeant Leonard Shrubsall, from
Iwade, near Sittingbourne, Kent, was
one of seven crew flying the Short
Stirling bomber when it was lost return-
ing from a raid on Germany. His widow,
Beatrice, was three months pregnant
when she received the telegram in-
forming her of his death aged 30.
More than 75 years later the plane
has been found, with the remains of the
crew, allowing Sergeant Shrubsall’s son
Richard, 76, to honour his father.
It was located in Lake IJssel, near
Amsterdam, last year and police have
been tracing the airmen’s relatives.
Mr Shrubsall, from Iwade, said: “The
plane was found submerged in this
freshwater lake. At first, it was thoughtA British “spiritual entrepreneur” has
been named as Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged
“secret girlfriend” who joined him for
flights on his private jet dozens of times.
If the identity is confirmed, Shelley
Lewis, 43, could be asked for help by
prosecutors in the case against Ghis-
laine Maxwell, 58, the British socialite
who denies procuring girls for Epstein
and faces trial in the US next July.
There is no suggestion that Ms Lewis,
the daughter of a millionaire, was
involved in or knew of any wrongdoing.
Copies of emails released after a
court order last Friday show that Ms
Maxwell wrote to Epstein in January
2015 at a time of media scrutiny about
their relationship. She said: “I would
appreciate it if shelley would come out
and say she was your gfriend — I think
she was from end [19]99 to 2002.”
Epstein replied “Ok with me”.
Records for his private jet show that a
Shelley Lewis accompanied him on 41
flights between March 1999 and July
- During this period one girl
abused by Epstein claims that she was
forced into having sex with the Duke of
York. Virginia Roberts Giuffre was
17 when she was photographed
with Prince Andrew in 2001 at
Ms Maxwell’s mews house in
Belgravia, central London,
having allegedly met him
earlier at Tramp nightclub in
Mayfair. The duke, who is
now 60, denies her claims.
A lawyer for one of Epstein’s
victims told The Mail on Sun-
day: “Ms Lewis may have in-
formation which could be valu-
able and which could aid victims
who are seeking compensation
‘Doyenne of
calm’ named
as Epstein’s
British lover
David Brown
DESMOND O’NEILL/DONFEATURES.COM; REX/SHUTTERSTOCKShelley Lewis, photographed with
Charles Butter in 1998, could be asked
to testify in the case of Ghislaine
Maxwell, who is accused of procuring
girls for Jeffrey Epstein. Prince Andrew
denies Victoria Roberts Giuffre’s claim
that she was told to have sex with himWilliam Stewart whose honours
included the Médaille Militaire, rightfrom Epstein’s estate. We would urge her
to tell the FBI what she knows.”
Ms Lewis was 22 in 1999 when she is
reported to have met Epstein, a
financier, in New York, where she
worked for the auction house Christie’s,
having previously worked for it in
London. She has a flat in west London.
She describes herself as a “spiritual
entrepreneur” who “lives between New
York and London in pursuit of her pas-
sion to create books and businesses that
help people live well”. She grew up in
Cheshire and, according to her business
website, has an MA from Glasgow
University and is a graduate of the
Columbia School of Journalism.
She says that after leaving Christie’s
she worked on funding initiatives for a
“private foundation” which led to her
travelling widely. Epstein set up the
Jeffrey Epstein VI Foundation in 2000