WARNING: EXPLICIT MATERIAL

Sir Harry Oakes

Birth Name:
Harry Oakes
Birth Date:
December 23, 1874
Birth Place:
Sangerville, Maine
Death Date:
July 8, 1943
Place of Death:
Westbourne Estate, Nassau, Bahama
Age:
68
Cause of Death:
Murdered - blunt force trauma
Cemetery Name:
Dover Cemetery
Claim to Fame:
Crime and their Victims
The Bahamas in the 1940s was, in all reality, a seething cauldron of Nazi sympathizers, British spies, money launderers, narcotics traffickers, gambling mobsters, land swindlers, murderers and paid-for-hire assassins. And then you had the richest man in the world: Harry Oakes. Sir Harry Oakes, 1st Baronet was a British gold mine owner, entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist. He earned his fortune in Canada and moved to the Bahamas in the 1930s for tax purposes. Though American by birth, he became a British citizen and was granted the hereditary title of baronet in 1939. Oakes was murdered in 1943 under mysterious circumstances, and the subsequent trial ended with acquittal of the accused. No further legal proceedings have taken place on the matter.

Did Christie kill Sir Harry Oakes? Yeah … probably ….

  • Christie had been instrumental in persuading Oakes to move to the Bahamas, where Oakes bought large tracts of land with Christie’s help.
  • Oakes was apparently becoming dissatisfied with being “the cash cow” and considering leaving the Bahamas; Christie could lose if Oakes withdrew funds or cancelled deals.
  • Christie had gone behind Oakes’ back on a land sale tied to a new RAF base, leaving Oakes out and angering him.
  • Oakes was beginning to move his money out to Mexico and Christie stood to lose heavily.
  • Oakes had lent considerable money to Christie, and that Oakes was preparing to call in those loans, potentially ruining Christie. If Oakes were to liquidate or leave the Bahamas, Christie’s interests could be undermined financially.
  • Christie was involved in Bahamian real-estate and development schemes including potential casino or hotel projects. Oakes reportedly had supported but then opposed casino development in the Bahamas; one theory suggests Christie and the Bay Street Boys (working with Meyer Lansky and the mob) wanted to remove Oakes so the casino schemes could proceed without his opposition.
  • Some accounts suggest that Oakes had discovered or was about to expose certain financial irregularities (such as money transfers to Mexico) which could implicate Christie (and others) if revealed.
  • Christie’s behaviour that night was questioned (e.g., parking his car away, being seen in unknown vehicle) which raises suspicion he might have tried to hide movements.
  • Christie was staying overnight at Oakes’s residence the night of the murder — evidence of opportunity.
  • Oakes’s death occurred in his own bed, and Christie claimed to have heard nothing though his room was very near to Oakes’s. That raised suspicion about his story.

All that remains of Sir Harry Oakes’ “Westbourne” property is a small storage shed located between the Breezes Resort and Sulgrave Manor on the left as you drive into downtown Nassau from the airport.

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

Dover Cemetery

169 Vaughn Road

Dover-Foxcroft, Maine, 04426

United States

North America

Map:

Map of Dover Cemetery in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine
Dover Cemetery in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine

Grave Location:

Oakes Family Mausoleum, East Section

Grave Location Description

As you drive down Vaughn Road with the cemetery on your right, continue past the maintenance building to the next entrance on the right. Turn into the cemetery and immediately park your car next to the mausoleum of Sir Harry Oakes.

Grave Location GPS

45.182444, -69.210349

Visiting The Grave:

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FAQ's

Sir Harry Oakes was born on December 23, 1874.

Sir Harry Oakes was born in Sangerville, Maine.

Sir Harry Oakes died on July 8, 1943.

Sir Harry Oakes died in Westbourne Estate, Nassau, Bahama.

Sir Harry Oakes was 68.

The cause of death was Murdered - blunt force trauma.

Sir Harry Oakes's grave is in Dover Cemetery

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