It should have been just a regular shift for Swansea docks night watchman Evan Harris.

Known as 'Daddy Evan', he was said to be hugely popular with all the fishermen who used the docks.

The 'well-set' man with white hair was said to be especially proud of his equally white moustache.

But instead of finishing his shift and returning home as normal, he ended up becoming one of south Wales' oldest unsolved murder cases.

Evan David Harris's body was found in four feet of water, with back and head injuries, in Swansea’s Consolidated Fisheries Dry Dock, South Dock, at 6.30am on February 28, 1948.

At first it was thought he had simply stepped over the edge of the dock in the dark, but foul play soon became obvious.

No-one has ever been found guilty of his murder, and the case remains open in police files.

Mr Harris, from Tycoch, spent almost 20 years working as a chemist at the English Crown Spelter works, and later went on to work for Pritchard’s Oxalic Acid Company before moving to the National Oil Refinery in Skewen.

After retiring, he took on the role of night watchman at the dock, which proved to be a fatal decision.

After he was found, his body was recovered from the water by PC William George Thomas, of the Swansea Dock Police, assisted by PS Harold Jones, who notified Swansea Borough Police and made a request for an ambulance and doctor to be sent to the scene.

Mr Harris was taken to Swansea Public Mortuary, and investigations were carried out where his body had been found.

Officers entered a boiler makers shop and examined the ground, police reports from the time state.

There, they noticed marks as if something had been dragged through the boiler maker's shop and over the railway lines towards a point on the quay, opposite where Mr Harris's body had been discovered.

About five yards from that point, an officer found an upper denture partly embedded in the earth.

A further search was carried out in the boiler makers shop, and in the North West corner, near the anvil, there were marks on the ground that were consistent with a struggle having taken place.

(Image: Christine Clarke)

Mr Harris's body was found to have multiple superficial abrasions of the face and head, but no other apparent injury, and Dr Claude Hamilton Davies formed the conclusion that his death had occurred as a result of drowning.

Detective chief inspector Jones of the Swansea Borough Police Force, however, was present at the examination of his body, and formed the opinon he had been murdered.

Chief inspector Black and detective sergeant Periam from Scotland Yard's murder squad were brought in to help investigate the death, such was the determination to solve the crime.

Murders in Wales which have never been solved...

The murders carried out in Wales that have never been solved

One theory at the time was that the killer was a deserter from the Army — but no-one was ever charged.

The case remains unsolved.

A spokesman for South Wales Police said, however, any new evidence would be investigated.

“All unsolved murders remain open, and are revisited periodically in case new evidence comes to light.

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“South Wales Police is committed to solving crime and bringing offenders to justice.

“The public can be assured any new information which is received in relation to a case will be fully investigated.”