New claims Jack the Ripper was noted poet who studied as a priest in the North East

[Roy Corduroy]

Good evening Richard,

Congratulations on your new book. I read the good review from Paul Begg.
I'm going to get your book and read it, then come back to discuss again.

Roy

[Flower and Dean]

Scalpel’s back then were considerably longer, this was because they were not the precision instruments we have today and often the vivisectionist was called upon to perform cruder, and more general work with less instruments. I can see arguments on how a scalpel alone was probably insufficient to cause or the wounding on the victims, (saying this I have been shown documentation where I complete dissection can be made with a scalpel alone)

Yes, but would they really have been the size of the blade(s) used in the murders? Because like I said, the fact that he used it to shave points against it.

When Francis studied as a surgeon, 3 times over, he would not have had a scalpel alone, but he would have possessed, like all medical students, a surgical kit. A scalpel would have been only one of several cutting blades in this kit. Since we know he kept a razor sharp scalpel and only because he told us so, it stands to reason he may have kept his kit. Many surgical kits were housed in small wooden boxes or even leather pouches that folded so that they could easily be carried.

This is a good point, but that he could have kept the whole kit even after he'd fallen on hard times is only a possibility. It seems just as possible that he would have sold most of those tools or otherwise been unable to carry them around.

As to there being many people who possessed medical skill and training in the area of Whitechapel. I am sure may have been a hundred or more people, but Thompson, most probably alone, had specific training of organ removal, training that was unheard of back then to most medical men. Thompson was a student of Owen’s college, Manchester, which taught, what was back then, a new technique of organ removal. Most surgeons in the area would not have been taught such a technique. Yet, the Ripper, is well known for removing organs. If you asked all who lived in Spitalfields, who were trained surgeons, if they had been taught a technique of removing organs, I am more than confident that only Thompson would have raised his hand. I detail Thompson’s very specific medical training in my book. Read my book.

Absolutely nothing about the medical reports indicate that the way in which the organs was strangely specific like you describe. The most specific it gets IIRC is that the killer seemed to know how to do things like remove a kidney. If it differed substantially from "regular" medical techniques to remove organs, I expect this would have stood out a lot more.

I'm also not sure on what basis you claim that very few men would have known how to remove organs -- especially if you consider the possibility that the killer may not have had any expertise in human surgery after all.

If you were to read my book and saw the breadth and extent of Thompson’s similar writing of violence, organ removal and slaughter, particularly of prostitutes and women, you would find that this particular poem fades into a very minor point when casting suspicion against him. There being such a preponderance of blood filled writing from Thompson, in the form of poems, stories, plays and essays.

I have read other works by Thompson. I'm not saying that whoever the Ripper was, if he had any literary inclination, that he couldn't have written gruesome things. On the other hand, Thompson's writings are hardly "proof". I find it very hard to swallow arguments -- not just yours -- pointing to this or that person based on their work, especially when the subject matter isn't particularly unique given the time period or less disputed facts about the artist's life.

You will notice that in the samples of reviews on my book that speak of the strength of it none of them even mention the poem ‘The Nightmare of the Witch Babies.’ This is not because the poem is any less damming but that it merges into the vivid diorama of similar writing from him.

I will end by urging you to read my book and then ask that you come back and tell me about how you still think that the most Thompson did is only write about his anxiety on female sexuality. Can you see now why I did not respond?

I guessed "The Nightmare of the Witch Babies" based on this. It's hardly a poem about "cutting women's stomachs open" as much as you seem to refer to it. Or were you talking about a different one?

And no, I can't see why you initially didn't respond as my first post in this thread didn't mention any anxiety on female sexuality. I simply stated that I'm clearly not reading it the way you are (and my main reason for that is what I just stated above, not that it's "just" about anxiety over female sexuality).

Thanks for addressing my points, at least.

[Richard Patterson]

Well, it's disappointing that I'm the only one whose post was ignored.

Harry D makes some very good points. We just don't know with absolute certainty if JtR had any medical skills and if so, to what extent. Even if you do subscribe to the idea that the Ripper must 100% have had prior training in human surgery or the like, that still doesn't narrow it down too much. Thompson couldn't have been the only one in the area with such training as people digging up other possible suspects who fit this profile show.

The scalpel seems odd at first sight but you mention that Thompson was using it to shave. As different as Victorian instruments were, this presumably means this scalpel was relatively small and not the same size as the weapon(s) used by the Ripper. Unless Thompson just had a lot of skills and courage about shaving with a large, sharp knife...

Again, I don't really see in the poem what you've mentioned as a red flag for you. To be sure, any undergraduate could talk for hours about the tropes and anxiety it reflects about female sexuality. Yet, this is also true of many artists of the time period and I doubt we had dozens of artists who also happened to be serial killers.

I agree with your point about looking at the big picture. On the face of it, Thompson looks like at least a potentially interesting figure to look into. It just sounds like some of the things you're zooming in on don't back up your argument as definitely as you seem to think they do.

Sorry, but the reason I did not reply to you is that for all the others I could refrain from the usual response of someone who has published suspect work, which is read the book, but for your remark I can only tell you to read the book. For you, though, I will contradict myself and remark on what you have said.

Scalpel’s back then were considerably longer, this was because they were not the precision instruments we have today and often the vivisectionist was called upon to perform cruder, and more general work with less instruments. I can see arguments on how a scalpel alone was probably insufficient to cause or the wounding on the victims, (saying this I have been shown documentation where I complete dissection can be made with a scalpel alone) When Francis studied as a surgeon, 3 times over, he would not have had a scalpel alone, but he would have possessed, like all medical students, a surgical kit. A scalpel would have been only one of several cutting blades in this kit. Since we know he kept a razor sharp scalpel and only because he told us so, it stands to reason he may have kept his kit. Many surgical kits were housed in small wooden boxes or even leather pouches that folded so that they could easily be carried.

As to there being many people who possessed medical skill and training in the area of Whitechapel. I am sure may have been a hundred or more people, but Thompson, most probably alone, had specific training of organ removal, training that was unheard of back then to most medical men. Thompson was a student of Owen’s college, Manchester, which taught, what was back then, a new technique of organ removal. Most surgeons in the area would not have been taught such a technique. Yet, the Ripper, is well known for removing organs. If you asked all who lived in Spitalfields, who were trained surgeons, if they had been taught a technique of removing organs, I am more than confident that only Thompson would have raised his hand. I detail Thompson’s very specific medical training in my book. Read my book.

As to the poem, which you see differently to me, The only reason I bring it up here is that it was written before the Ripper murders, which shows that the Ripper murders did not inspire our Spitalfields poet, which some critics have said to dismiss it.

If you were to read my book and saw the breadth and extent of Thompson’s similar writing of violence, organ removal and slaughter, particularly of prostitutes and women, you would find that this particular poem fades into a very minor point when casting suspicion against him. There being such a preponderance of blood filled writing from Thompson, in the form of poems, stories, plays and essays.

Not withstanding that Thompson more than once confessed that his writing was not the product of some artistic expression, but reflections of actual events in his life.

You will notice that in the samples of reviews on my book that speak of the strength of it none of them even mention the poem ‘The Nightmare of the Witch Babies.’ This is not because the poem is any less damming but that it merges into the vivid diorama of similar writing from him.

I will end by urging you to read my book and then ask that you come back and tell me about how you still think that the most Thompson did is only write about his anxiety on female sexuality. Can you see now why I did not respond?

Thanks for telling me that Harry D makes some good points, however I am disappointed that you have not said the same for me. Oh well.

[Flower and Dean]

Well, it's disappointing that I'm the only one whose post was ignored.

Harry D makes some very good points. We just don't know with absolute certainty if JtR had any medical skills and if so, to what extent. Even if you do subscribe to the idea that the Ripper must 100% have had prior training in human surgery or the like, that still doesn't narrow it down too much. Thompson couldn't have been the only one in the area with such training as people digging up other possible suspects who fit this profile show.

The scalpel seems odd at first sight but you mention that Thompson was using it to shave. As different as Victorian instruments were, this presumably means this scalpel was relatively small and not the same size as the weapon(s) used by the Ripper. Unless Thompson just had a lot of skills and courage about shaving with a large, sharp knife...

Again, I don't really see in the poem what you've mentioned as a red flag for you. To be sure, any undergraduate could talk for hours about the tropes and anxiety it reflects about female sexuality. Yet, this is also true of many artists of the time period and I doubt we had dozens of artists who also happened to be serial killers.

I agree with your point about looking at the big picture. On the face of it, Thompson looks like at least a potentially interesting figure to look into. It just sounds like some of the things you're zooming in on don't back up your argument as definitely as you seem to think they do.

[Richard Patterson]

Paul Begg's Review of my Book.

Ripperologist Issue No. 126. February 2016. By Paul Begg.
Mr. Paul Begg, the reviewer, is a noted British researcher, writer and author. He is a leading authority on the subject of Jack the Ripper.

"Reading this book left me with the conviction that Francis Thompson ought to have been certified and looked after in an asylum…he didn’t think highly of prostitutes, once writing: ‘‘These girls whose practice is a putrid ulceration of love, venting foul and purulent discharge, for their very utterance is a hideous blasphemy against the sacrosanctity of lover’s language!’……In fact, Patterson describes in some detail how his early biographers carefully removed anything from his writings that revealed that he had been a drug addict living off immoral earnings…nobody has hitherto made a strong case for Thompson…This certainly needs to be reconsidered in light of Patterson’s book! Francis Thompson merits a close re-examination. There are many reasons why Patterson pokes the finger of guilt at Francis Thompson. …There seems little doubt that Thompson stayed at the Providence Row Night Refuge at the top end of Dorset Street [The street a victim was killed] and Patterson plausibly argues that the only time Thompson met the necessary conditions to stay there was in November 1888. [The month & year of the murder] Patterson also rightly makes much of a link between Thompson and Jack the Ripper… to a suspect who, says Patterson, ‘eerily matched that of Francis Thompson’.….‘Mr Moring’, …said to have been a friend of Mary Kelly. …. it is not unlikely that ‘Mr Moring’ could have been Thompson, …Overall, I think Richard Patterson has made a very good case for Francis Thompson to be taken off the shelf of neglected Ripper candidates and to be looked at more closely. …Anyway, I approached this book with a sense of duty. I left it knowing a lot about Francis Thompson, with a couple of biographies on order, a Kindle edition of his complete works, and plans to seriously update the A to Z entry…I think Richard Patterson has made a good case and that Thompson deserves to be looked at closely."

[Richard Patterson]

If you find that the magazine gets to you, MrBarnett, when you visit the British Library, I would be thrilled to read it's contents, if you manage to transcribe a copy of the article and are good enough to post it. To me, Walsh's extract, as you give it, it certainly reads ambiguously. Does Thompson position himself as among those 'fortunate few' enjoying the refuge or the 'drifting off of the dreary crowd' out along Crispin Street? I have a feeling that the full article will leave us still wondering whether Thompson was inside it's wall or without and what mood it left him in.

The edition of Thompson's article, although having all references to Providence Row expunged, after his death in 1907, to me give little room for doubt as to Thompson's reaction to having jostled with the crowd to seek admittance. As in this extract, in which he describes his thoughts on the destitute men and women of Spitalsfields, some of whom fell victim to the weapon held by the assassin we now call Jack the Ripper.

"They are brought up in sin from their cradles ... the boys are ruffians and profligates, the girls harlots in the mother’s womb ... Here, too, has the Assassin left us a weapon which but needs a little practice to adapt it to the necessity of the day? Even so our army is in the midst of us, enrolled under the banner of the Stigmata. Far better your children were cast from the bridges of London than they should become as one of those little ones."

[MrBarnett]

No. Sorry. I read the article in the Merry England in around 2006, before I moved back to Australia. At the time, in my ignorance, I did not see any significance in the name Providence Row. Back then I connected it with the West End street that the refugee was first located in and to Crispin Street, where it was relocated.

When, in November, I returned to London, to speak at the Ripper conference, I made point of visiting the British Museum. I planned to access the magazine again but this time to copy the article.

Despite being very busy with the conference and in filming in the studio and on location for the documentary that is being made. I saw the importance of re-reading the article. I went through the trouble of getting a library card, and I ordered the magazine through the online database.

When I first asked to view the magazine, in 2006, I had to wait ½ an hour. Times have changed because this time the waiting period was 48 hours. Since I had about 4 days left before I had to return to Australia, I thought this was sufficient.

I gave my email address and was told that I would be notified when the magazine would be on the shelf for me to pick up. I never received the email and I did not have time to return and ask again for it to be ordered.

I wish I had the transcript and perhaps a casebook member, who can get over the stigma of harassing a great poet, might do their own research, if they live in London, and try to view the article. If they do, it would be great if they could post it. Also, there must by more copies of the Merry England edition that the article appeared in, though I have never been able to find one online.

All I can say is that apart from my memory, that John Walsh, in his biography on Thompson quotes parts of the article including those parts in which Thompson wrote of staying at the refuge.

John Walsh does indeed mention the Refuge. He says that Thompson and other derelicts would 'often gravitate' to the Salvation Army and Providence Row refuges.

And he provides an extract from the article which seems to describe an occasion when Thompson failed to gain admittance to Providence Row:

" The nightly crowd of haggard men... the anxious waiting while the ticket-holders are admitted; the thrill - the almost shudder - through the crowd when the manager emerges to pick out men for the vacant beds left over after the ticket-holders' admission, the sickening suspense and fear in all the eyes as - choosing a man here and there - he passes along the huddled ranks, the cold clang with which the gates of mercy shut in those fortunate few, but out the rest; and then the hopeless, helpless drifting off of the dreary crowd..."

I should be near the BL in the next week or two (researching Harrison, Barber's head office in York Way). I'm not sure when, but if I can find the article in their catalogue, I'll order it in advance and see what it has to say.

[Richard Patterson]

Dr. Rupp. Forensci Pathologist responds to my book.

Joseph C. Rupp, M.D., Ph.D, "Joseph C. Rupp, M.D., Ph.D. Wrote in the criminologist in 1988, 'Was Francis Thompson Jack the Ripper.' Dr. Rupp, has read my book and written to me.

"I have finished the book. It is wonderful and will stand as a fundamental reference book for ever....It makes me feel good to have had a part in the book and the information you have uncovered since my article in l988 makes me wonder how I had the insight and the conviction to be so positive about FT as a suspect. It seems like it was all almost preordained that this would be the time lapse that FT predicted before the fame he so sought would be granted …The book is very good. It will hold it's own against any suspect and places FT ahead of all the contenders I can think of. The later chapters are very good. It is a good read and you can be proud of what you have done.…This book deserves to be widely read and appreciated. I can see that you worked on it for twenty years.'

[Richard Patterson]

Alessandro Mana, Reviews my book on his site Redjack

Alessandro Mana, with his respected site Redjack has written a review on my book and its theory. I am pleased to read Mana tell,

“Patterson lights foggy and dreary streets of London with a neon light…He leaves no stone unturned… The reading of Jack the Ripper, the Works of Francis Thompson is therefore a necessary step for Ripperology and fans of true crime worldwide.”

http://red-jack.blogspot.com.au/2017/04/jack-ripper-works-of-francis-thompson.html

[Richard Patterson]

Fiona Guy's Review of my book on Crime Traveller.

Crime Traveller, a very popular website on criminology, has written a review on my book, ‘Jack the Ripper, The Works’ of Francis Thompson, stating my book has likely solved the Jack the Ripper murders. The reviewer, Fiona Guy, is a well-known criminal psychology writer and researcher with a Bachelor and Masters of Science degrees. Fiona gives it 4.8 out of five stars. Here are some parts of the review, and a link to the full review.

‘A viable theory that is backed up by solid motives, clear opportunity and page after page of credible parallels that even the most seasoned Ripperologist cannot ignore…. Richard Patterson’s writing style is fluid and energetic giving detail and explanations where needed with no heavy hard going paragraphs. There are more than a few coincidences when the life of Francis Thompson and the actions of Jack the Ripper are looked at in parallel, coincidences that build into a model that places Francis Thompson in the centre of the Jack the Ripper timeline. … this book does indeed deliver a compelling argument for Francis Thompson as the killer that just may well have solved the Jack the Ripper murders.’

https://www.crimetraveller.org/2017/05/jack-the-ripper-the-works-of-francis-thompson/

[Richard Patterson]

A medical man reviews my Book.

Glad to read another 5 star review, for my book, from the ex-Chief Medical Examiner for the city of Philadelphia. Doctor Robert Catherman, who has given expert medical testimony for many high profile murder trials, has this to say about ‘Jack the Ripper, The Works of Francis Thompson.’

‘As a Forensic Pathologist with close to 60 years of experience in evaluating the crime of murder, Patterson's book is extensively researched and well written. It seems a total slam dunk that Francis Thompson and Jack the Ripper are one and the same. The documentation in Patterson's book leaves little doubt in support of that conclusion.’

https://www.amazon.com/Jack-Ripper-W...ancis+thompson

[Richard Patterson]

A relative of Thomspon reviews my Book.

There are different opinions about if my book is right or wrong to accuse a famous poet of being Jack the Ripper. If anyone has a right to have an opinion, it would be a relative of the poet. My publisher’s website has received the first review for my book. It is a five star review, by the great-great-grand-daughter of Thompson’s uncle. Vivienne Spaltman writes,

‘Most enjoyable read, very well researched content which leaves no doubt in my mind that Francis Thompson was certainly a person of interest that slipped through the net of suspects. The poetry of Francis Thompson seem to be a true account of his actions and explained in Richard Patterson's book along with facts that are known about this poet which Richard researched and used in his book.’

http://www.austinmacauley.com/book/jack-ripper-works-francis-thompson#reviews

[Richard Patterson]

Yes, I was aware that it was in that edition of Merry England, but I haven't been able to find it online. Do you have a transcript of the section concerning the Refuge which you could post for us?

No. Sorry. I read the article in the Merry England in around 2006, before I moved back to Australia. At the time, in my ignorance, I did not see any significance in the name Providence Row. Back then I connected it with the West End street that the refugee was first located in and to Crispin Street, where it was relocated.

When, in November, I returned to London, to speak at the Ripper conference, I made point of visiting the British Museum. I planned to access the magazine again but this time to copy the article.

Despite being very busy with the conference and in filming in the studio and on location for the documentary that is being made. I saw the importance of re-reading the article. I went through the trouble of getting a library card, and I ordered the magazine through the online database.

When I first asked to view the magazine, in 2006, I had to wait ½ an hour. Times have changed because this time the waiting period was 48 hours. Since I had about 4 days left before I had to return to Australia, I thought this was sufficient.

I gave my email address and was told that I would be notified when the magazine would be on the shelf for me to pick up. I never received the email and I did not have time to return and ask again for it to be ordered.

I wish I had the transcript and perhaps a casebook member, who can get over the stigma of harassing a great poet, might do their own research, if they live in London, and try to view the article. If they do, it would be great if they could post it. Also, there must by more copies of the Merry England edition that the article appeared in, though I have never been able to find one online.

All I can say is that apart from my memory, that John Walsh, in his biography on Thompson quotes parts of the article including those parts in which Thompson wrote of staying at the refuge.

[MrBarnett]

Yes. It it can be found in the January 1891 edition of the Merry England magazine. There is a copy in the British Library.

Yes, I was aware that it was in that edition of Merry England, but I haven't been able to find it online. Do you have a transcript of the section concerning the Refuge which you could post for us?

[Richard Patterson]

Richard,

Have you been able to locate the original Catholics in Darkest England article which mentions the Providence Row refuge?

Gary

Yes. It it can be found in the January 1891 edition of the Merry England magazine. There is a copy in the British Library.