Abberline was JtR

[Bridewell]

My daughter cut out the article from the Daily Mail for me to look at. If there are as many errors in his book as there are in the remarks attributed to him, the author will break all records. Clearly the uniformed officer (a sergeant?) can't be Abberline in 1888. FGA wasn't a Chief Inspector & wasn't "in charge of the case". I'm sure I noticed another mistake, but I can't remember what it was, and this "theory" is too silly for me to bother trying to remember.

[The Grave Maurice]

Bunny,

Yes, I read the comments...and gave them the weight they deserve.

Bridewell,

I don't believe our paths have crossed before, but I like your take on things. I look forward to reading more of your posts.

[Archaic]

Ken, does that mean you're not going to push to get the Abberline Diaries published?

I was wondering if the "Abberline Was The Ripper" theories all post-date the 2001 Johnny Depp movie "From Hell'? Were there any before that time? Just curious.

Thanks,
Archaic

[Phil H]

Archaic - surely Melvyn Fairclough's book Ripper and the Royals, which quotes the so-called "Abberline Diaries" acquired from Joe Gorman/Sickert pre-dates the millenium?

While I don't recall him as saying Abberline was JtR, he put "Fred" (albeit with transposed initials) at the centre of the case.

You may well be right, though, that "From Hell" has fuelled the conspiracists.

Phil

[Archaic]

Hi Phil.

Maybe having Abberline played by two famous actors (Michael Caine and Johnny Depp) brought him to the attention of many people who had never heard of him before.
It's unfortunate that this renewed public prominence seems to have set Abberline up for being accused of committing horrific crimes, especially when one considers what his life and work really were.

But I guess we should be relieved that it's not his own descendants that are accusing him of being Jack the Ripper.

Best regards,
Archaic

[Phil H]

I think that JtR (like UFOs etc) has an enduring (if superficial and low level) fascination for many people - at least in the UK.

Thus if the subject comes up, many people will observe, "Oh yest, wasn't he...?" and name a figure proposed either a couple of books ago, or featured more recently in some prime time TV documentary they might have seen.

So I think you maybe right. If Brad Pitt played Aaron Kosminski in a major film, the world would believe for years to come that Kosminski WAS indeed JtR.

When I was young everyone thought he was a "doctor" albeit unidentified. Post-Watergate the royal conspiracy came into focus (Barlow and Watt on TV/Stephen Knight in print) and I would bet remains the conventional wisdom for many "lay" members of the public.

Abberline is still commonly thought of as the cop "in charge of" the case (where Anderson, Swanson etc are entirely unknown).

So I think your analysis is propbably correct, Archaic.

Phil

[caz]

If Abberline wrote this diary, he was clearly chasing his own arse - and I'm my own Aunt Fanny.

But then in some posters' eyes, that would make the blasted thing look authentic.

Love,

Caz
X

[Robert]

Surely nobody chases his own arse?

http://forum.casebook.org/showthread.php?p=187639#post187639

[Archaic]

Surely nobody chases his own arse?

http://forum.casebook.org/showthread...639#post187639

Uh, nobody I know.


Archaic

[lynn cates]

um

Hello Robert.

"Surely nobody chases his own arse?"

Um, talk with me about that on a 3 lecture day (the last of which is 2 1/2 hours). I do worse than that.

Cheers.
LC

[Robert]

Oh, I don't know Lynn. Someone said that Russell had a mind like a circular saw, but it always cut forward.

[lynn cates]

Russell

Hello Robert. Were it not both off topic and bawdy, I'd share a good limerick about Bertrand Lord Russell.

Cheers.
LC

[Robert]

Like to hear it some day, Lynn.

[Steven Russell]

Leave my Uncle Bertie out of it!

[Limehouse]

So this theory is based mainly on the notion that Abberline's handwriting was 'the same' as that in the infamous diary?

Surely in those days many people had similar handwriting because that was how they were taught to write? I noticed this when I was researching my family history. I always looked at the signatures of family members signing wedding certificates and noticed they were all fairly similar. They all belonged to the same class of people - skilled working class - and all could read and write - but all wrote in a very similar style. I guess that whoever wrote the diary was possibly copying a style of that time and Abberline's handwriting was similar.

There are so many flaws to this theory that I wonder whether any regular contributors to the site would bother wasting their money on such a book?