Professor Thorp gave evidence about the unsuccessful search for a poison, to the Bogle-Chandler inquest.

According to So you think I did it (p134): at time of the inquest Thorpe had "been Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Sydney since 1949. He gave his qualifications as Bachelor of Science, London University; a member of the British Pharmacological Society; a member of the Physiological Society; Doctor of Philosophy and Medicine at London University and Doctor of Pharmacology; a member of the Society of Analytical Chemistry; a member of the Expert Committee of the Pharmacopoeia of the World Health Organization; a former member of the Pharmacological Benefits Committee of Australia; a member of the Poisons Advisory Committee of N.S.W.; a member of the Australian Pharmacopoeia Revision Committee.