care, Mrs Pike's health deteriorated so much that the family, alerted by the proprietor of the guest house Mrs Pike was in, called another doctor named Philip Mathew. Mathew established that there was no medical reason for Mrs Pike to be treated. Adams' drugs, notably the morphine, put her in such a state that she was unable to recall her own name or age. She was removed from Adams' care and after about eight weeks she made an almost full recovery; she regained her mental faculties and was well enough to go out and do her own shopping. This was a rare case of Adams' victim surviving. Adams stayed in Eastbourne throughout the war, and in 1941 he gained a diploma in anaesthetics. He worked one day a week in a local hospital, where he acquired a reputation as a bungler: he would fall asleep during operations, eat cakes, count money, and even mix up the anaesthetic gas tubes, leading to patients waking up or turning blue. In 1943 his mother died, and in 1952 his cousin Sarah developed cancer. Adams gave her an injection half an hour before she died. Adams' career was very successful; the journalist Rodney Hallworth later claimed that, by 1956, he was reputed to be the wealthiest doctor in England, although without citing any evidence. A similar, and similarly unsourced, claim that "he was probably the wealthiest GP in England" was made by Cullen. Adams attended some famous and influential people in the region, including MP and Olympic medal winner Lord Burghley, society painter Oswald Birley, Admiral Robert Prendergast, industrialist Sir Alexander Maguire, the 10th Duke of Devonshire, Eastbourne's Chief Constable Richard Walker and many businessmen. After years of rumours, and Adams having been mentioned in at least 132 wills of his patients, on 23 July 1956 Eastbourne police received an anonymous call about a death. It was from Leslie Henson, the music hall performer, whose friend Gertrude Hullett had died unexpectedly while being treated by Adams. Police investigation On 23 July 1956, the day Mrs Hullett died, the Eastbourne coroner notified Walker that, from his post mortem, her death did not appear to be natural. The police began taking statements from individuals who had been in contact with her shortly before her death, many of whom believed that she had committed suicide. One of her friends, who was also her executor, provided three letters