Margaret Parkes, the mother of a Royal Navy sailor who disappeared four decades ago, has issued a direct appeal to the man long suspected of killing him: reveal where her son’s body is hidden. The case of the Simon Parkes missing sailor has remained unresolved since 1986, and his parents, now in their eighties, fear they may never learn the truth.
A Family’s Long Wait
Margaret, 80, and her husband David, 84, have lived with uncertainty since their son vanished. They have never been able to hold a funeral. The absence of any remains has left them without a death certificate and without closure. Speaking from their home near Bristol, Margaret said the disappearance had altered them profoundly, describing the decades as a period in which they became different people.
She remains doubtful that Allan Grimson, 67, will ever admit any involvement. She suspects his silence may be connected to a need for control. Rather than dwell on him as an individual, she prefers to focus on those he has harmed.
Grimson’s Latest Sentence
Grimson, a former navy petty officer, was sentenced on Friday for sexual offences against four boys and men, the youngest of whom was 14. The crimes took place in the 1990s. Judge Paul Dugdale added 22 years to Grimson’s existing sentence and told him he remains dangerous and continues to pose a significant risk to the public.
Grimson has already spent more than 25 years in prison after admitting to killing two young men, Nicholas Wright, 18, and Sion Jenkins, 20, in Hampshire. Both were murdered on 12 December in successive years, 1997 and 1998. At his 2001 sentencing, the judge described him as a serial killer in nature if not by number.
Grimson will not be eligible for parole until shortly before his 80th birthday, though his life sentence for the two murders means he may never be released. Margaret believes he should remain incarcerated indefinitely, arguing that he is unlikely to change.
The Gibraltar Disappearance
Simon Parkes was 18, almost 19, when he disappeared in Gibraltar on 12 December 1986. His ship had docked in the British overseas territory. He was looking forward to returning to England for a posting at a navy air station in Somerset. His mother remembers him as a popular young man who enjoyed life.
When he failed to return, the family received a phone call from the navy saying he had gone absent without leave. For roughly a decade afterwards, Margaret says, they had little support or contact from authorities. She describes the family as ordinary people who did not know how to navigate official channels.
Grimson was serving on the same vessel and has long been suspected of killing Simon, though he denies it. The parallel date of 12 December linked the cases: Grimson murdered Wright and Jenkins on that date in 1997 and 1998, and Simon vanished on the same day in 1986. That connection prompted police to revisit Simon’s disappearance.
Over the years, searches have taken place in Gibraltar, but no remains have been found. In 2020, the Parole Board recommended that Grimson be moved to an open prison in preparation for release. Margaret recalls the family feeling helpless at the prospect. That possibility was halted when the four men came forward with their accounts of offences committed between 1994 and 1999.
Hope for an Inquest
Margaret once wrote to Grimson in prison asking what happened to her son, but received nothing in response. She was also struck by his comment to police, upon arrest for the two murders, that killing was better than sex. She said such a mindset cannot be changed and that he should stay imprisoned for as long as possible.
There is now a further prospect of answers. An inquest into Simon’s death is due to be held in Gibraltar next year, following a campaign by local journalist Ros Astengo, who is writing a book about the case. Margaret and David hope to attend if their health permits. She acknowledges that time may be running short, saying they might not be alive next year.
For now, the family’s enduring wish is simple: to know where Simon lies and, at last, to be able to lay him to rest.
