Dr. George Bagster Phillips

[Simon Wood]

Hi All,

Does anyone know anything about Doctor Phillips' commission from the Home Office?

DT 14-11-88 [re: Kelly Inquest]—

"It is in the power of the Attorney-General to apply to the High Court of Justice to hold a new inquest, if he is satisfied that there has been rejection of evidence, irregularity of proceedings, or insufficiency of inquiry. This course is improbable, as it is stated that Mr. Phillips, the divisional surgeon of police, with whom the coroner consulted in private, has had a commission from the Home Office for some time, and he does not consider himself a "free agent" . . ."

Regards,

Simon

[Stewart P Evans]

Police Surgeon

Hi All,

Does anyone know anything about Doctor Phillips' commission from the Home Office?

DT 14-11-88 [re: Kelly Inquest]—

"It is in the power of the Attorney-General to apply to the High Court of Justice to hold a new inquest, if he is satisfied that there has been rejection of evidence, irregularity of proceedings, or insufficiency of inquiry. This course is improbable, as it is stated that Mr. Phillips, the divisional surgeon of police, with whom the coroner consulted in private, has had a commission from the Home Office for some time, and he does not consider himself a "free agent" . . ."

Regards,

Simon

I should think that all this means is his employment as an official Police Surgeon (for H Division), which came under ultimate direction of the Home Office.

[Natalie Severn]

Stewart and Simon,
I have again been trying to work out the meaning of one or two matters to do with the Mary Kelly Inquest-in particular its brief duration when compared to the lengthier process concerning the three /four previous murders,especially in the light of failure to obtain a relative to identify her.
It seems so strange that so much disappeared regarding Mary Kelly-the letters from her family in Ireland that McCarthy spoke of, her family itself,any record of her life in Wales,the man Morganstone,and finally even her facial features.Presumably some remnants of those letters must have been around somewhere in her room in Millers Court?
It seems a bit extraordinary too that representatives of the Royal Irish Constabulary as well as Robert Anderson with Dr Bond "in tow" ,arrived on the day of her death.
Looked at in the light of all these Houdini like disappearances and celebrity appearances,it does seem like more could have been going on behind the scenes than met the eye.
Best
Norma

[Simon Wood]

Hi Stewart,

Thanks for that. I thought it might have something to do with Phillips' meeting at the House of Commons on the night of the Millers Court murder.

Regards,

Simon

[Natalie Severn]

Well that could be significant,Simon.What was being debated that week do you know?
Norma

[Tom_Wescott]

Yes, Simon, tell us more. I haven't seen this meeting discussed before.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[Simon Wood]

Hi Norma and Tom,

Your wish is my command.

DT 10-11-88

"During the course of last evening Dr. G. B. Phillips visited the House of Commons, where he had a conference with the Under-secretary for the Home Office, Mr. [C.B.] Stuart-Wortley."

Regards,

Simon

[Tom_Wescott]

That's fascinating, Simon. I love when you pick these little things out and put them under the microscope. But is it not possible this meeting was scheduled prior to the Kelly murder for an entirely unrelated matter? Is there any material that says what was being actively discussed that week in the House?

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[Simon Wood]

Hi Tom,

The meeting may well have been scheduled earlier, but it does seem an odd coincidence seeing as Phillips was in the company of Anderson and a clutch of Chief Constables only hours earlier.

Regards,

Simon

PS. I'll have a trawl through The Times and see what was being debated at the Gas Works.

[Tom_Wescott]

Simon,

Materials from Kelly's room were removed and taken to Dr. Phillips' house for his examination. Any idea how the timing of these examinations and his meeting at the House fit together?

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[Natalie Severn]

I never knew that Tom.What "things" might they have been do you think? Bedding/clothes------Letters from Ireland perhaps?
Like you I found this item Simon has brought up fascinating.

[Tom_Wescott]

Portions of the body and contents of the fireplace. After the photos were taken, a man left with a covered bucket. I imagine more trips than that were made for items other than the corpse itself.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[Simon Wood]

Hi Tom,

Sorry, I don't know anything more about the items taken from Millers Court to Phillips' house at 2 Spital Square.

It's interesting to note that the DT piece I previously posted was part of a much larger article which was included with the Home Office case files.

Here's another press article. This suggests that Phillips may have been treading a fine line between Whitechapel and Whitehall.

ECHO 10-11-88

Dr. G.B. Phillips, the divisional surgeon of the H Division, whose reticence is justified by an assurance he gave of secrecy, has copious notes of the result of the post-mortem examination, and with nearly every conclusion at which he has arrived, Dr. Thomas Bond, of Westminster, a well-known expert on crimes of violence, agrees. Dr. Phillips has only vaguely indicated to the local police the result of his investigations, but a report on the question has, it has been asserted, been jointly made by him and Dr. Bond, and submitted to Sir Charles Warren.

Regards,

Simon

[Natalie Severn]

So Dr Phillips was a crafty so and so then----not letting on to the local police what he was up to with the big shots!Shows Phillips up in a bit of a different light doesnt it ?
Best Norma

[Natalie Severn]

Portions of the body and contents of the fireplace. After the photos were taken, a man left with a covered bucket. I imagine more trips than that were made for items other than the corpse itself.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

Thanks Tom.Were the findings ever made public do you know?