In Memory of Eric and William Garth

Name: Eric Garth Alias: Erik Peterson, James Stavanger Age: 33 Occupation: Thief, former soldier DOB: 17th of February, 1972 POB: Dover, England Hair: Brown Eyes: Brown Height: 6’ Weight: 160 Lbs Identifying Marks: Scar after a bullet in left leg, several smaller scars over his body. Place of Residence: Unknown Hobbies: Rugby, running, climbing, reading, computers, languages Languages: English, Gaelic (Irish), some French, Arabic Family: Father, William Garth. Mother, Jenny Garth. Ex-wife, Julia Higgins. Son, William ‘Billy’ Garth. Seats: Row 21, seats H and J

Background: Eric Garth was born in Dover, England, on the 17th of February, 1972. His father, William Garth, was a poet, and his mother a teacher. He was an only child, growing up confident about his surrounding and loved by his parents. Eric was a smart child, a quick learner both of English and Irish, as his mother spoke. At school he was attentive, but he didn’t try to excel. Instead, he focused more on learning odd things rather than what was taught. He left school at 16, too bored with the stuffy classrooms and too touched after the move his family had made from Dover to Yorkshire. Eric’s mother was disappointed with him but still he remained firm on it, and spent the next two years taking odd jobs and dabbling with poetry. But after two years he was tired of doing nothing, and joined the Army. His father hated the idea, telling him he was wasting his talents doing physical labour, but his mother was at last positive to something that he did. After all, she figured that it was better that he was a soldier than if he was hanging around the house constantly.

The training was something that changed Eric. He had entered a normal teenager and left as a soldier, with a confidence in his skills and a light humour that the other privates liked. He was attached to the Duke of Wellington's Regiment until he was wounded in Bosnia in 1994, taking a bullet to the leg. He was transferred to the 1st Battalion of the 22nd Cheshire Regiment. But while he was wounded in Bosnia he had met PFC Julia Higgins of the USMC. Even when he returned to England they kept in touch, and they got permission to marry in 1995.

Julia got pregnant and in late 1995 she gave birth to a boy. They called him William Higgins-Garth, but the problem with long-distance relationships was intensified by their careers. She divorced him in late 1996, and Eric was separated from his son until after 9/11. Between 1996 and 2001, Eric went from regiment to regiment because of his skills with computers. He also spoke Arabic, something that was useful enough in the middle-eastern countries. Julia returned to active duty after 9/11, leaving Eric in the hands on his grandparents in America.

Eric serviced briefly in Afghan, but working with American troops was hard for him. He had been listed as a specialist and handed out to a small unit of American soldiers, but ended up disobeying the colonel. Eric, having had enough of it all, left the military and travelled to the US to get his son, but his ex-in-laws refused to give Billy up. So Eric took the child against their wishes and travelled to England, renting a flat in Dover. He heard through his own parents that Julia was listed MIA in mid-2002. But because he had taken Billy with him, his in-laws refused to let him keep her. Facing the fact that he might not get to keep his son, Eric ran away again, taking Billy with him and taking a false name. But with his skills, there wasn’t much he could do. He tried being a security guard, but all he got was insight in how cynical banks were. So…he came up with a plan. His skills with computers and past in the military gave him all the expertise he needed to swindle and steal considerable amounts of money, from £20 000 now and then up to $50 000. He never took too much, knowing that greed was the biggest risk. He also worked as an translator and code breaker for middle-eastern countries, breaking the codes of their enemies. He was running away from Interpol with Billy for kidnapping, having hid the last 2 months in Japan, and was on his way to Seattle when Interpol lost the sight of him and the nine year old William ‘Billy’ Garth. They are both assumed dead.

Special notes: Eric's Son: Name: William ‘Billy’ Garth Age: 9 Hair: Brown Eyes: Brown’ Personality: Billy is a smart and calm boy, knowing very well that his father isn’t exactly involved in legal things. But he loves him above anything, not having known his mother very well anyway. He is home tutored, and knows more than a 9 year old should, yet he still has the childlike innocence that a boy his age should have.

Player's Contact: Anne