Coordinates: 54°08′50″N 2°22′17″W / 54.147104°N 2.371414°W The Trow Ghyll skeleton is a set of human remains discovered on 24 August 1947 in a cave near Clapham in the West Riding of Yorkshire. It was named after a prominent topographical feature located some 800 metres (900 yd) away. Although the identity of the body has never been ascertained, it has been claimed that they were those of a German spy. The unexplained death has been described as "the most notable" mystery over a possible Nazi agent in Britain.
On 24 August 1947, two friends who were keen potholers decided to go out looking for new potholes to explore near the famous Ingleborough Cave. They were Jim Leach (23 December 1920 – 15 March 2000) who was then working as an electrician and living at Great Harwood near Blackburn, and Harold Burgess (1918 – 11 August 2000), then a motor engineer and living in Leeds. The two were good friends (known as "Jim and Budge") who were members of the Northern Pennine Club and later became business partners.
At about 12:30 PM, they discovered a small hole (subsequently named Body Pot) which was partly obscured by stones. On moving the stones to make the entrance bigger, Leach climbed down about 10 feet where he saw a pair of shoes. Looking round he then saw the skull and the rest of the body, under a large stone (although it was not resting on the body); the remains had suffered advanced decomposition and there was hardly any flesh remaining. Burgess spotted near the body a small bottle of white powder which he assumed to be flash powder.