37.
The 1988 Will, which Mr Trower prepared or caused to be prepared for Bane, was
very simple. By clause 1, Mr Trower and another partner in the firm, Mr Donald
Whittaker Jones, were appointed to be Bane’s executors and trustees. By clause 2, he
gave the whole of his estate to the CPA “for the general purposes of that Association”,
and declared that the receipt of the secretary or of any one member of the executive
committee should be a full and sufficient discharge to the trustees. Clause 3 was a
standard-form investment clause, in wide terms, and clause 4 an equally standard
professional trustee’s charging clause. On 16 June Bane duly attended at the offices
of Trowers & Hamlins, and signed the 1988 Will. His signature was witnessed by Mr
Trower’s secretary, Eiluned Jones, and by another secretary who shared an office with
her, Jacinta Mary Clarke (now Loveland). Both of the attesting witnesses have made
short statements verifying their signatures and saying that they have no specific
recollection either of Bane or of the circumstances in which the 1988 Will was signed.
They were not cross-examined, and I see no reason to doubt that the 1988 Will was
duly executed in accordance with the requirements of the Wills Act 1837.
38.
At their meeting on 16 June Mr Trower handed to Bane a copy of the Memorandum
of Association of a company which could be used as a template for a corporate
foundation. On the same day, Bane also wrote a letter to Mr Trower confirming their
appointment and enclosing copies of 15 items of what he called “my confidential,
private correspondence”. There is no indication that this letter was received by Mr
Trower before their meeting, and it therefore seems likely that Bane brought it with
him and delivered it by hand.
39.
The enclosures included documents relating to Bane’s divorce, letters to his bankers,
and recent correspondence with Oppenheimers culminating in a letter of 16 June
confirming his change of solicitors and requesting them to forward all his documents
in their files to Trowers & Hamlins. The enclosures also included a letter dated 28
December 1987 from Bane to his Inspector of Taxes, Mr D G Brayzier, the terms of
which must have caused Mr Trower some surprise if he had not already seen any
evidence of Bane’s delusions. The letter began:
“Dear Mr Inspector Brayzier,
My battle and nightmare’s Saga with the International Dark
Forces continues.
These bestial creatures use deceit,
dishonesty, misinformation, fear, corruption, thievery, any type
of vice and intimidation, blackmail and even assassin [sic] to
nourish theirs [sic] egoistic, sadistic, satanic and greedy souls,
aiming to destroy the best human’s virtues – Dignity, Decency
and Freedom.”
40.
On 18 June Bane wrote again to Mr Trower giving particulars of all his real and
personal estate. There followed details of various bank accounts in London, Jersey,
Luxembourg, Paris and West Germany, details relating to Transtrade UK Ltd, and a
list of various items of personal property. The letter concluded:
“I hope, that Almighty God doesn’t need urgently my presence
in the Heaven, so my dear Trustee perhaps we shall have a
chance to visit together my Debtors in Monastery in
W.Germany, Bourgogne etc.”