Further evidence has emerged to corroborate suspicions that the individual identified as the Somerton Man was pictured in a junior football team photo taken more than 100 years ago.
Newly uncovered records from Swinburne University of Technology show that a "Charles Webb" enrolled at the university's precursor institution, Swinburne Technical College, as a 14-year-old in early 1920 and attended for two years.
The boy's date of birth was recorded as November 16, 1905 — the same as that of the Carl "Charles" Webb now widely believed to be the Somerton Man, the nameless figure who was found deceased on Adelaide's Somerton beach in December 1948.
Earlier this year, Somerton Man researcher Derek Abbott announced that he and US forensic genealogy expert Colleen Fitzpatrick had solved the 74-year-old mystery, identifying the unknown man as Webb, a 43-year-old electrical fitter from Melbourne.
That breakthrough prompted a flurry of activity among amateur sleuths eager to uncover further details about Webb, and led to the discovery of a photo of Swinburne Technical College's 1921 under-16 football team, which lists a "C Webb" among the players, but does not specify which one.
That in turn prompted Professor Abbott to contact archival experts at Swinburne, one of whom struck gold.
"We've found that Charles Webb, aka the Somerton Man, was a Swinburnian — he went to Swinburne Technical College," Professor Abbott said.
"It seems he did evening classes there for two years, basically this is where he got his training to be an electrical fitter."
An entry in the university's enrolment records provides "definitive proof" that Webb — who "was a pretty good student" and achieved high marks — attended Swinburne, suggesting his face is among the 21 in the football team photo.
"[The enrolment] records his date of birth — 16th of November 1905, which is the date of birth we know for the actual Charles Webb, so that's an absolute match, and why we're confident we've got the right guy here," Professor Abbott said.
"The other thing that matches is that it gives the initials of the father, R.A., and we know that's his father's initials — his name was Richard August Webb.
"Also, the address is correct. [Webb's] address is given in the enrolment records as Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn, in Victoria, and on the electoral roll records that's where it is recorded that his parents lived at the time.
"We're absolutely 100 per cent certain that it's our Charles Webb."
Swinburne librarian Louise Dick said she found the record of Webb's enrolment after retrieving "an old register from the library's undigitised historical collection".
"There is an enrolment entry, dated Feb. 1920, for a student named Charles Webb," she wrote.
"I was able to confirm that the C. Webb in the football photo from 1920s is the same Charles Webb thought to be the Somerton Man."
Professor Abbott announced the discovery of Webb's Swinburne connection on his Facebook page Identifying the Somerton Man.
His post indicates that he has unearthed further photos showing Webb as a young man, which could be made public in coming weeks.
