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"He says he cannot get involved and although he has passed the matter to Sheila's MP, Gordon Prentice, he has failed to get in touch.

"The fact that Sheila received a widow's pension seems to count for nothing."

Sheila and Ernest went to get married to be told that she must divorce John.

The shock and trauma upset her and Ernest deeply and they are reluctant to talk openly after so many years of doubt, intrigue and mystery.

Graham said: "The story of John's alleged sighting in 1982 made national and international headlines and to this day enquiries continue to gather any scrap of evidence that may prove John Doone had been alive four years after he and 35 other men were presumed to have perished."

He interviewed Sheila for his Mediaworld website - which also hosts the Aireborough Advertiser.

She told him: "I will not divorce John. I won't do it on principle. No one seems to be able to issue a death certificate. Our MP does not seem to want to know but I am not surprised about that. Every twist and turn for the last 27 years seems to have ended by running into a brick wall. I wonder if the truth will ever be told."

A dive is expected to explore the wreck of the ship later this year, which may provide some of the answers.

Graham, meanwhile, continues to follow the trail, which seems far from cold.

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