Thomas Dutton

[aspallek]

I believe I have heard some people claim there is no evidence for the existence of Dr. Dutton. Of course he is a real person as the following indicates. However, there is the smell of a rat as well.

Henry Kimpton's Catalogue of Standard Medical Publications (1905) lists a number of articles by Dr. Thomas Dutton of Durham and Edinburgh just as McCormick describes him. Among these is an article on treatise on seasickness and we remember that McCormick says Dutton served aboard ship for many years.

Now for the rat. The entry in this catalogue above Dutton's first publication (it is on the preceding page) is for a publication by a "Dr. E.C. Dudley." Could this be the source for the name McCormick gives to Dutton's informing patient, "Hermione Dudley?" Of further interest is the entry above that, one for a "Dr. Guy E. Druiff" (double "F")!

[John Savage]

Hi Andy,

As you say Dr. Dutton definitely existed and their is plenty of evidence in support, I even have a copy of his death certificate.

Dutton published a number of books through Kimpton's and I did manage to get one from the library. His book was written in a straightforward manner and was intended for consumption at home by ordinary people, and gave common sense advice on diet, much of which would still apply today.

I searched long and hard for Hermione Dudley, so you can be sure that I will be checking this Dr. E.C. Dudley out as soon as I have time.

Thanks for the info.

Rgds
John

[aspallek]

Hi John,

Maybe I was imagining it but I thought I read someone claim there was no evidence Dutton ever existed. Out of curiosity, what was his death date? Was it in 1935 as McCormick says?

My thought was that perhaps McCormick had this copy of Kimpton's and just happened to notice the name "Dudley" preceding "Dutton" when looking for a name to give the patient -- who is purportedly made up.

[John Savage]

Hi Andy,

It was indeed 1935, and seing as I have it handy, here is a copy of his death certificate.

That is certainly a good thought about how the name Hermione Dudley came about, problem with this lady is that we were never able to find her but that of course does not proove that she did not exist.

By the way, we were disscussing Dr. Dutton a coupleof weeks ago over on the forums.

Rgds
John

[Dan Norder]

I believe I have heard some people claim there is no evidence for the existence of Dr. Dutton.

You probably misheard or misremembered. There is no reliable evidence for the existence Dutton's alleged memoirs Chronicle of Crime, the contents of which were cited by early Ripper author Donald McCormick in support of his otherwise unsupported claims. McCormick makes a wide variety of statements he says he got from this book, many of which quite dramatically contradict known police evidence.

He says, for example, that the Goulston Street Graffito was photographed and that Warren later destroyed the prints, and the reason he brought that up was to try to make an argument that the writing on the wall was compared to that of the Ripper letters, and that it matched and some 34 of the letters were written by the same hand. This is an unbelievably clumsily manufactured fantasy.

Besides McCormick's claims, the only other reference to the existence of the Chronicle of Crime was a newspaper report quoting a "Hermione Dudley" as saying her father had been a friend of Dutton and that Dutton later gave all his private writing and this unpublished manuscript to her for some unknown reason. There's no evidence of her existence either, and McCormick often wrote newspaper articles under aliases so could very well have written this himself. It should also be noted that even if she existed, her alleged claims about the book's contents seem to be lifted from Leonard Matter's earlier theories and also don't match very well with many of McCormick's later claims.

In short, we don't know if that book existed, or if it existed in any form what it really said. Based upon the weight of the evidence, it's highly unlikely that this book was ever anything more than a story someone invented up to sound like he or she knew more than he or she really did. Certainly anything McCormick claims about it should be completely ignored.

[Robert]

This is from the Nottingham Evening Post, Nov 12th 1935 :

[Robert]

I don't know why Paint is playing up, but if the article is put on zoom it's just about legible.

[Phil H]

From what I can make out of the article it gives leads to two sisters (one in Hastings one in Hamspstead). Has any researcher ever followed them up?

secondly, if he was a recluse, and lived in such squalor, when (if ever) did he have a housekeeper? She must have been let go sometime before his death. Maybe this is another indication that "Hermione" is an invented figure.

Phil H

[Dave O]

Robert, if this helps:

"A brilliant doctor, and one-time Harley-street specialist, has been found dead surrounded by signs of abject poverty.


"He was Dr. Thomas Dutton, 80, who, for years, had lived the life of a recluse in Uxbridge-road, Shepherd’s Bush.


"His body lay for several days before discovery.


"The police are inquiring into the doctor’s mysterious life in his poor home.

"Dr. Dutton, it is stated, practised in Whitechapel at the time of the Jack the Ripper crimes, on which he had many theories.


"He had many degrees, was a specialist in certain diseases, and wrote several medical books. He gained prominence when he bitterly opposed the panel system on the introduction of Health Insurance.


"When the police were summoned they found the house covered with cobwebs and dust, and the surgery appeared as if it had not been used for years.


"It is believed that the doctor had a sister living in Hastings and another relative at Hampstead."

[Robert]

Thanks Dave! Typing is a hit and miss affair for me. I hit the keys so hard, the paint has worn off many of them leaving them blank.

Phil, here's a link to Chris's work :

http://www.casebook.org/ripper_media/book_reviews/non-fiction/castofthousands.thomas-dutton.html

[Bridewell]

Have just added a bit to Chris's brilliant research:

Hermione H Caddy (assuming it was the same person - which seems likely) married quite late in life, in the first quarter of 1929, in Plymouth, a man named Frederick A Hayden.

Regards, Bridewell.

[Bridewell]

Hermione H Hayden died in the last quarter of 1954 in Plymouth. If, as seems likely, this is the Hermione Caddy researched by Chris Scott, I don't think she can ever have been been a Hermione Dudley.

Regards, Bridewell.

[Bridewell]

Frederick Hayden was born in 1861, so 9 years older than Hermione. He died in Plymouth in the last quarter of 1946.

Regards, Bridewell.

[John Savage]

Hi Robert,

Looking at the newspaper article from the Nottingham post, I notice it says that Dr Dutton had a sister living in Hastings and also two others living in Hampstead.

He did indeed have two sisters living in London, Helena and Ada Barbara. As I recall I think there addresses were in the Paddington/Westbourne Grove area, which would have been quite close to Shepard's Bush.

I know nothing of the sister in Hastings, and do not recall making any searches of that area - it would be nice if we could find Hermione in Hastings!

Rgds
John

[Livia]

Here's the Dutton family in 1871.



The other sister is Georgina.