UK UK - Andrew Gosden, 14, Doncaster, South Yorks, 14 Sep 2007 #2

[Ozoner]

He was at the age where some boys start to become self-conscious about still being virgins. Maybe he went to London to try to lose his virginity with a prostitute. He could have ended up in a very seedy place and come to harm.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

I really feel that's the absolute last place in London he would go, @Ozoner. He was only 14, and that sounds more like something a college student might do. Also IMO he could have easily found someone to date if he was interested in dating.

 

[Ozoner]

I really feel that's the absolute last place in London he would go, @Ozoner. He was only 14, and that sounds more like something a college student might do. Also IMO he could have easily found someone to date if he was interested in dating.

Are you male or female? Just curious. I was a 14-year-old boy once. At age 14, boys spend much of their time thinking about sex and losing their virginity—not dating.

Jack Kennedy lost his virginity to a prostitute at age 14.

There's more peer pressure on teens to be sexually active than ever before. Here in the US, most 14-year-olds are already sexually active.

It may not be why he went to London, but I wouldn't rule it out. He wanted all that money for something.

I do think that the one-way ticket is significant. He may not have intended to return home; I'm not sure why Dr. Grande considers the options of suicide and starting a new life so unlikely.

If he did intend to start a new life, then London might not have been his final destination. He may have tried to catch a ferry to France or The Netherlands.

 

[BethAnn777]

I really feel that's the absolute last place in London he would go, @Ozoner. He was only 14, and that sounds more like something a college student might do. Also IMO he could have easily found someone to date if he was interested in dating.

Finding a partner is not necessary easy no how much one may want one. Social anxiety, shyness, nerves, etc. can make it downright impossible in some cases. Of course, I have no idea if that applied to Andrew, but just sayin’.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Are you male or female?

I am female, so there you go. There are so many cases on WS involving pre-teen or teen girls being victimized, and I see those cases from their point of view... This one, maybe I shouldn't try. But I sure wish I could understand this case.

 

[dotr]

If Andrew is still alive and a fan of the band Slipknot, i wonder if he would comment or reach out in some way to the band in light of this sad news..
Appeal for Andrew Gosden who vanished ten years ago with one-way train ticket | News | The Times

Andrew Gosden, 14, was last seen at King’s Cross railway station
SOUTH YORKSHIRE POLICE/PA
July 28 2021
Joey Jordison: Slipknot founding drummer dies aged 46

''The former drummer of US heavy metal band Slipknot, Joey Jordison, has died at the age of 46.''

 

[Errrr]

I saw not too many posts ago about Andrew's father mentioning on the morning Andrew disappeared, something about Andrew having trouble getting up. So that makes me wonder if he was either feeling (more) depressed that morning and leaving was a spur of the moment decision or whether he had spent a long time the night before planning his trip to London (perhaps on paper which he perhaps would have taken with him) so he couldn't get up because he was too tired from not having had much sleep and that's why he was moody. I'm irritable when I'm very tired.

It’s possible his plan was to stay in bed and leave when everyone left for the day. It would have made him a bit pissy when his plans were upset and he was forced to hang out in the park.

 

[Errrr]

So do I .

I certainly don’t think there would be anything to lose by trying to trace the person with him and finding out what they were doing that day.

Has there been any research on the people he attended that summer camp with? Surely someone would have noticed who he was interacting with?

 

[Kitkat28]

Has there been any research on the people he attended that summer camp with? Surely someone would have noticed who he was interacting with?

The summer camp was the year before, 2006, not the year Andrew went missing. Personally I don’t think it was anyone from there.

 

[chanchandlerbing3]

Andrew's sister said that he usually slept in, he wasn't an early riser. She went into his room that morning to use his mirror, and woke him.

His parents said he seemed grumpy that morning. Maybe he was really dreading school, and bunking off was a last minute decision.

I think Andrew's reasoning for going to London was innocent. In the CCTV it looks like he is excited and is walking with purpose in my opinion. Maybe he wanted a little adventure, but something went wrong. A crime of opportunity? I know it's unlikely, but Andrew's story is unlikely in itself.

 

[HCcoffee]

Got to admit I'm not a big fan of Grande, but on the plus side at least he's getting Andrew's case out there to more people.

Nothing really new was said, but some points he raised got me thinking. He said if Andrew wanted to see a band play he could've just got permission from his parents, but I disagree. His dad might have wanted to tag along and Andrew probably would have wanted to go alone (wouldn't exactly look cool having your parents with you at a rock or metal gig ). I don't think this theory is likely anyway, aren't there age restrictions for most rock/metal concerts? E.g. I've seen some that are 18+ but 14-18 yr olds have to be accompanied by an adult. Unless, of course, he was intending to meet up with someone older and go together? Grande also said one reason the suicide theory is unlikely is because he withdrew a lot of money, but I don't think that alone rules out suicide. Again, I don't think this theory is likely either, but we know he spent some of this on the train ticket and the rest may have been just for casual spending here and there before taking his life. Kind of like a "final day out" scenario.

From searching for something he mentioned, I also found the below website, which has posted a lot of articles from not long after Andrew went missing:

Gosden, Andrew Sept 14 2007

There's some things that I wasn't aware of, or things that have been clarified better than I knew previously, such as:

"The night before had been a standard evening at home. The family ate together and Andrew played a jigsaw game with his father on their computer"

"It took only three days to establish that Andrew had arrived in London at 11.20am on the Friday. It would take another 24 days before the CCTV footage of him leaving King’s Cross was discovered."

"Martin Taylor, one of his teachers, said that Andrew would comfortably achieve a first-class honours degree in the subject at Oxford or Cambridge. “He’'s quite a shy lad, but he has a fantastic smile and I’'ve never seen him down or sullen,” Mr Taylor said. “Andrew is deep and mature beyond his years. He’s quite self-contained and happy in his own company, but he’s not a loner. He always had a little posse of friends with him.”"

I think the computer being referred to here is the one his sister had? (I believe it was a laptop but still) Kevin has always said they didn't have a computer at home except the one they got Charlotte so I'm more inclined to believe him. Correct me if I'm wrong though!

Also the quote about the "posse of friends" I've seen elsewhere but they had claimed it was said by the head teacher of his school when asked about Andrew being potentially bullied. I read it as a typical school response that ignores bullying and paints this "sunshine and rainbows" picture, after all it won't look good on them if it turned out he did leave for that reason

 

[Kitkat28]

Having a small group of close-knit friends definitely doesn’t preclude bullying though @HCcoffee. In fact I think the picture that has built up of Andrew as a slightly odd loner is one of the many myths about this case that needs to die already. Not every teenage boy is a loud, big, sporty ‘lad’, and I imagine his “posse” were a group of similarly quiet, bright boys with the same tastes in music. Both of my kids were quiet as teens and barely went out, but they certainly weren’t outcasts and had tight friendship groups.

 

[Kitkat28]

I think Andrew's reasoning for going to London was innocent. In the CCTV it looks like he is excited and is walking with purpose in my opinion. Maybe he wanted a little adventure, but something went wrong. A crime of opportunity? I know it's unlikely, but Andrew's story is unlikely in itself.

I completely agree with you. There were so many known (and obviously unknown) paedophiles operating in London, and hanging around train stations is the perfect place to intercept victims sadly.

 

[Dan Cooper]

The refusal to upgrade to a return ticket for an extra quid (if I recall) is one of the more interesting aspects of this case to me. Even if Andrew had been promised a lift back, and we assume for a moment that the 'met up with a stranger he'd met online' (or similar) theory is true, you'd imagine the idea of a return ticket as a fallback option would appeal.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

But haven't we established that you had to know which train you were returning on to qualify for that low-price return-ticket deal? JMO.

Maybe he just didn't know yet how many hours he was going to stay in London.

 

[Dan Cooper]

But haven't we established that you had to know which train you were returning on to qualify for that low-price return-ticket deal? JMO.

Now that I don't know -- I had assumed it was an open return, because I remember reading that the woman who sold him the ticket was surprised he turned down the offer of a return for only £1 more.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Now that I don't know -- I had assumed it was an open return, because I remember reading that the woman who sold him the ticket was surprised he turned down the offer of a return for only £1 more.

I will try to find a source for that (might take me awhile), because I know I read it in regards to this case but am not 100% sure it's a fact.

 

[JG123]

I will try to find a source for that (might take me awhile), because I know I read it in regards to this case but am not 100% sure it's a fact.

Gosden, Andrew Sept 14 2007

There was no news that first weekend but by Tuesday the railway employee who sold Andrew his train ticket came forward. "She remembered him because he seemed too tiny to be travelling to London on his own," says Glenys. In a particularly wounding twist, the ticket-seller recalled how Andrew had insisted on a single ticket. "She told him it only cost 50p or £1 more for a return," says Glenys, "but he said he wanted a one-way ticket."

 

[HCcoffee]

Now that I don't know -- I had assumed it was an open return, because I remember reading that the woman who sold him the ticket was surprised he turned down the offer of a return for only £1 more.

I tried to explain this in a previous reply but open/anytime return tickets are much more expensive and not usually offered when you're asking to buy a single from what I can recall. Admittedly it has been a very long time since I've travelled around London by train but I was using them around that time (circa 2007) and recall only ever being offered "scheduled" (set time) return tickets myself. Even if you try to buy train tickets online, it will give you time options rather than open ended tickets. My thinking was it was likely a scheduled ticket he was offered, hence he would turn it down because it wasn't going to give him enough time. He may have planned to get a ticket back whenever he was ready to leave or was intending to get a lift back..?

 

[annpats]

Andrew was 14 and had never taken a train anywhere by himself before. It's highly unlikely he was aware of all the different ticket options, just bought one for his destination, and would buy another one back when needed. He had the cash, after all.
When the ticket clerk offered him a return for just £1 more, he probably got a bit confused, and said no, and just kept his mind on the job of getting what he originally wanted.
He may have even thought she was trying to up-sell or extract more money or something. Always best to say no.
If only he had said no to whomever he met in London.