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Hello all,
I, like many others, have pondered, re-pondered, and almost given up on the (in)famous memoranda. There are so many things that tell me not to bother, yet again and again I look at it. Why? Is this document SO inportant? Apparently, it is. So, with a fresh set of specs on, I have attempted a little piece for all to chew over. I leave you all to think of the possibilies....
There are two, possibly three versions of the memoranda.
The Scotland Yard version of these notes, written in 1894 by Sir MM, somehow found their way into Scotland Yard at an unknown date, contained in the Met Police files. These are "hand written notes, comprising seven foolscap sheets". (A-Z, 2010)
A second version, Lady Christabel Aberconway's copied down version, written after Sir MM's death, contains seven typed and numbered quarto sheets, with two handwritten inserts. (A-Z, 2010)
A third version, The Gerald Donner version, is handwritten, "private notes on official paper, rather untidy and in the nature of rough jottings." (A-Z ,2010).
Because we have no date in which we know for certain Sir MM's original notes entered the Met Police Files, let us move onto Lady Christabel's version.
In the A-Z. 2010, it states:-
"The Lady Aberconway version (of the memoranda), was discovered by Dan Farson in 1959"
Dan Farson, in his 1973 paperback version of his book ( Jack the Ripper) in the introduction, states:-
"she (Lady Christabel Aberconway) was kind enough to give me her father's private notes which she had copied out soon after his death."
Lady Aberconway states that she copied the memoranda which had actually been in the posession of her elder sister, Julia Donner, who posessed the original notes when inheriting them from their mother. Julia Donner died in 1938. More on her later... however...
In 1992, 18 years after her death, in the Sunday Express of 24th May 1992, Michael Thornton recalled her saying mischievously in 1972 that the memoranda gave "the official line" and the truth could cause the throne to totter.
In 2006, The Daily Mail of 2nd December 2006, Michael Thornton reported her saying her father was convinced the Ripper was Druitt. (A-Z, 2010)
Don Rumbelow states that the Aberconway version is (at that time), still in her posession. Is this still the case, one wonders?
Now, Mrs Julia Donner's version.
The A-Z states the following:-
"Inherited the version of the MM from which Lady (Christabel) Aberconway transcribed her surviving copy. Present whereabouts of Mrs Donner's version, unknown, but it seems likely to jave passed down to her son, Gerald Donner and might just be the version shown to Philip Loftus in 1950."
Now if the A-Z is correct, the version Julia Donner had cannot be the same as the version in Scotland Yard, because its whereabouts is "unknown". So Julia Donner apparently inherited from her mother, Sir MM's wife, a third version. If this version was Gerald Donner's (her son's) version (the one's in the nature of jottings), it seems that these could be the pre-original version that Sir MM initially made before he re-wrote the whole piece that sits in the Met Police files. (a rough draught copy).
After Julia Donner died, the next we hear is from her son Gerald Donner, in 1950, who apparently showed some notes (a rough version of "jottings") to Philip Loftus. Gerald Donner died in Madras, leaving no trace of any Ripper documents.
Photographic Evidence.
The version from Scotland Yard is still in the posession of the National Archives. . The Lady Aberconway version, has, to the best of my knowledge, ONLY been seen as a single sheet (a hand written sheet) in printed bookform and has not been published in it's entirety with the typed pages, anywhere. I note that the page from this version presented to us in all 4 editions of the A-Z (1992, 1994, 1996 all paperback, and the hardback 2010) is a photographed who's copyright lies with the autors of the book. One wonders if the authors (or anyone else) have photographs of the entire document? Has anyone got a complete copy pf the Lady Aberconway version to post?
The question moves on to the possible destruction of Sir MM's other notes and documents he had in his posession pertaining to the Ripper. He himself stated that he had destroyed all that were in his posession.
In the 1975 edition of Don Rumbelow's "The Complete Jack the Ripper, page 88, the author writes...
" In general, the documents are a haphazard collection and their very haphazardness suggests that they have been well picked over in the past 100 years. The only recorded destruction of any part of them is attributed to Sir Melville Macnaghten, who is alleged to have burned the most incriminating of the papers to protect the murderer's family. His daughter denies this story and says that her father probably said that he had done this to stop himself from being pestered at his club". (my italics)
In November 1959, Lady Aberconway denied the likelihood of her father burning any Ripper documents. (New Statesman) .
Something to mull over, perhaps?
best wishes
Phil
I, like many others, have pondered, re-pondered, and almost given up on the (in)famous memoranda. There are so many things that tell me not to bother, yet again and again I look at it. Why? Is this document SO inportant? Apparently, it is. So, with a fresh set of specs on, I have attempted a little piece for all to chew over. I leave you all to think of the possibilies....
There are two, possibly three versions of the memoranda.
The Scotland Yard version of these notes, written in 1894 by Sir MM, somehow found their way into Scotland Yard at an unknown date, contained in the Met Police files. These are "hand written notes, comprising seven foolscap sheets". (A-Z, 2010)
A second version, Lady Christabel Aberconway's copied down version, written after Sir MM's death, contains seven typed and numbered quarto sheets, with two handwritten inserts. (A-Z, 2010)
A third version, The Gerald Donner version, is handwritten, "private notes on official paper, rather untidy and in the nature of rough jottings." (A-Z ,2010).
Because we have no date in which we know for certain Sir MM's original notes entered the Met Police Files, let us move onto Lady Christabel's version.
In the A-Z. 2010, it states:-
"The Lady Aberconway version (of the memoranda), was discovered by Dan Farson in 1959"
Dan Farson, in his 1973 paperback version of his book ( Jack the Ripper) in the introduction, states:-
"she (Lady Christabel Aberconway) was kind enough to give me her father's private notes which she had copied out soon after his death."
Lady Aberconway states that she copied the memoranda which had actually been in the posession of her elder sister, Julia Donner, who posessed the original notes when inheriting them from their mother. Julia Donner died in 1938. More on her later... however...
In 1992, 18 years after her death, in the Sunday Express of 24th May 1992, Michael Thornton recalled her saying mischievously in 1972 that the memoranda gave "the official line" and the truth could cause the throne to totter.
In 2006, The Daily Mail of 2nd December 2006, Michael Thornton reported her saying her father was convinced the Ripper was Druitt. (A-Z, 2010)
Don Rumbelow states that the Aberconway version is (at that time), still in her posession. Is this still the case, one wonders?
Now, Mrs Julia Donner's version.
The A-Z states the following:-
"Inherited the version of the MM from which Lady (Christabel) Aberconway transcribed her surviving copy. Present whereabouts of Mrs Donner's version, unknown, but it seems likely to jave passed down to her son, Gerald Donner and might just be the version shown to Philip Loftus in 1950."
Now if the A-Z is correct, the version Julia Donner had cannot be the same as the version in Scotland Yard, because its whereabouts is "unknown". So Julia Donner apparently inherited from her mother, Sir MM's wife, a third version. If this version was Gerald Donner's (her son's) version (the one's in the nature of jottings), it seems that these could be the pre-original version that Sir MM initially made before he re-wrote the whole piece that sits in the Met Police files. (a rough draught copy).
After Julia Donner died, the next we hear is from her son Gerald Donner, in 1950, who apparently showed some notes (a rough version of "jottings") to Philip Loftus. Gerald Donner died in Madras, leaving no trace of any Ripper documents.
Photographic Evidence.
The version from Scotland Yard is still in the posession of the National Archives. . The Lady Aberconway version, has, to the best of my knowledge, ONLY been seen as a single sheet (a hand written sheet) in printed bookform and has not been published in it's entirety with the typed pages, anywhere. I note that the page from this version presented to us in all 4 editions of the A-Z (1992, 1994, 1996 all paperback, and the hardback 2010) is a photographed who's copyright lies with the autors of the book. One wonders if the authors (or anyone else) have photographs of the entire document? Has anyone got a complete copy pf the Lady Aberconway version to post?
The question moves on to the possible destruction of Sir MM's other notes and documents he had in his posession pertaining to the Ripper. He himself stated that he had destroyed all that were in his posession.
In the 1975 edition of Don Rumbelow's "The Complete Jack the Ripper, page 88, the author writes...
" In general, the documents are a haphazard collection and their very haphazardness suggests that they have been well picked over in the past 100 years. The only recorded destruction of any part of them is attributed to Sir Melville Macnaghten, who is alleged to have burned the most incriminating of the papers to protect the murderer's family. His daughter denies this story and says that her father probably said that he had done this to stop himself from being pestered at his club". (my italics)
In November 1959, Lady Aberconway denied the likelihood of her father burning any Ripper documents. (New Statesman) .
Something to mull over, perhaps?
best wishes
Phil
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