21st April 1934

The surgeon’s photograph of Nessie is published

Whether or not the Loch Ness Monster really exists has been a point of debate for years. However, the so-called surgeon’s photograph of 1934, which appeared to show a dinosaur-like creature surfacing, with a long neck and small head, would have helped bring many doubters into the believers’ camp. It’s since been debunked.

Reports had been getting more common from the 1800s onwards, with some even claiming that they’d seen the monster out of the loch, running around on dry land. There was a particular spate in the early 1930s, culminating in the surgeon’s photograph, so-called because the photographer, Robert Wilson, was a surgeon.

Monster with a swan-like head

The Western Morning News on 20 April explained how “Dr Wilson described the monster having a small head and a swan-like neck protruding three feet above the surface of the water. The creature was about two or three hundred yards from the shore, and, while no part of its body was visible, Dr Wilson stated there was considerable commotion of the water in the vicinity”.

The photograph was seized upon as evidence of the monster’s existence. However, in the 1990s, a series of analyses by authors and television documentary makers revealed evidence that it was, in fact, a hoax, and that the way the frame had been cropped had made the ‘monster’ look far larger than it really was.
An ambitious expedition to capture the monster, led by Swedish explorer Jan Sundberg, took place in 2001.