Eight Words

Brian Lunn-Field, who sexually assaulted and murdered school boy Roy Tutill on 23 April 1968, was finally arrested and imprisoned in 2001, nearly 34 years after his despicable crime. He died in prison on 11 March 2024, aged 87. Roy’s parents died never knowing who had murdered their son.

The news of his arrest in 2001 made multiple national headlines, as did his death last year, with so many unanswered questions about the assault, disappearance and death of others he was loosely or specifically associated with, not least the horrific death of his 24-year-old wife Cecelia (known as Celia) on 14 November 1966.

Eight Words: the path of survival in the shadow of the unthinkable is due to be released this summer, written by Celia’s sister Catherine. It tells the whole, unabridged story of the man who befriended her family and married Celia, and the terrible impact this as-yet-unknown paedophile and murderer had on their lives.

But it is not the whole story.

At four years old, Catherine was sent to convent school where, systematically and thoroughly, all trace of innocence and fun and natural curiosity was replaced by cruel punishments, fear and indoctrination. Terrified of the nuns with their black habits and severe treatment, her big sister Celia was her best friend, her mentor, her confidante, her everything. In the few hours they were allowed together on a Sunday, they shared stories of the nuns and consoled and supported each other.

“Your sister has gone to join our Lord” are the eight words Catherine will never forget, told to her by the stone-faced Mother Superior who then simply dismissed her, adding, “Go and pray for the repose of her soul.”

What followed is truly unthinkable, and unforgettable, and in honour of her beloved sister, and perhaps as justice of sorts for poor Roy Tutill and his parents too, Catherine has chosen to share her deeply personal account of Brian Lunn-Field, of a childhood stolen by cruel nuns, and how those early experiences hurt and shaped the woman, the mother and grandmother, she has survived to become today.