a prominent nose, he asked for directions to the “top of the mountain”, the summit of the 1,500ft Indian’s Head peak above Dovestone reservoir. He was wearing a light mac, normal trousers and a shirt, and slip-on shoes.

A day later, his body was found on a secluded moorland path. Toxicology tests last March confirmed that the pensioner died from a dose of strychnine, a highly toxic odourless alkaloid used as a pesticide, particularly to kill rodents.

He had no wallet, mobile phone or other identification and remained unidentified, despite numerous public appeals and the release of CCTV footage of his last known movements. The story was picked up as far away as Japan and the US. An Australian news website speculated that the man was an international spy.

Facebook TwitterPinterest Lytton at Ealing Broadway station in London. He had three train tickets in his jacket when his body was found. Photograph: Greater Manchester police/PA

Little is known about Lytton, who laid down fully clothed and was overcome by the elements on the remote hillside above the river Tame.

Only a few bare facts have come to light about the circumstances leading up to his death. Officers checked passenger records from dozens of flights from Lahore and found details that tallied with Lytton’s. They also checked airport and train station CCTV to confirm his movements.

Following the then unknown man’s death, a number of theories were explored and discounted, including speculation that he was a survivor from a plane crash in 1949 near Indian’s Head, the outcrop where he was discovered,