writing on the wall

[JeffHamm]

Hi Wickerman,

...
The man I suspect had something to do with these murders is the one who assaulted those two women Sarah Lewis & Mrs Kennedy on the Wednesday night before Kelly's murder. He was seen standing outside the Britannia pub around 3:00am on that very morning. And, Mrs Kennedy said she saw Kelly talking to him, but this was after her liaison with Astrakan.
I suspect it was the same character seen by PC Smith in Berner St., whom we refer to as Parcel-man.
There's no name to go on, only that this man had unusual eyes (no eyelashes?), and walked with a limp, described by witnesses as "an awkward gait".
Nothing too exciting.

This is the fellow sometimes referred to as the "Bethnal Green Botherer" isn't it? He's an interesting character, and it would be very interesting if more could be uncovered as to who he was so he could be researched properly.

And interestingly, "an awkward gait" could be misconstrued as being intoxicated, which might allow for BGB = BS from Schwartz's statement too, though it's possible the descriptions differ enough in other ways to make that less compelling. But as witness descriptions can be quite far off the mark, one might not want to dismiss the possibility entirely.

Anyway, he's one of those people that potentially shows up in a few statements that does raise one's curiosity. Who knows, maybe one day a document will surface (the lost suspect file perhaps?) that could put a name to him, and then, as they say, the game will be afoot.

- Jeff

[Joshua Rogan]

Overlooked that one, thanks Joshua.

I have tried to write with tailor's chalk, that's a hopeless endeavor, the chalk comes disk shaped, you can't write with it. I don't know if it came that shape in the 19th century. I also tried to write a few capitals at 3/4" height with a regular stick of chalk - some came out readable but the italics (lower-case?) were not readable.
There's something here that we are missing.

Yeah, it's designed for drawing straight lines I think rather than tight curves. I believe it came in sticks though back in the day, though they needed to be sharpened to a point. But then regular blackboard chalk can also be pointy and writes reasonably, so no need for specifically tailor's chalk I'd say.
It's as well to point out that the graffito was written on painted rather than bare brick, which I think would have aided legibility.

[Wickerman]

It's a fair thought. But the Daily News records Halse's description of the writing as "The capitals would be under an inch high, and italics in proportion."
So I suspect your last line is correct.

Overlooked that one, thanks Joshua.

I have tried to write with tailor's chalk, that's a hopeless endeavor, the chalk comes disk shaped, you can't write with it. I don't know if it came that shape in the 19th century. I also tried to write a few capitals at 3/4" height with a regular stick of chalk - some came out readable but the italics (lower-case?) were not readable.
There's something here that we are missing.

[Wickerman]

Hi,
As I have stated before on my GSG concluscon thread, I am convinced it was written by the Killer.

It was written down low on the wall so as when read it would put the rag in eye line, just in case it was missed.

It had to be in small writing to fit in the sentences, otherwise it would have been one word per line.

Regards.

I'm wondering what you mean by "low"?

[FISHY1118]

hi george
the dude was murdering and extracting internal organs from women in the dark in minutes with the threat of being caught red handed for murder. writing the gsg would have been peanuts to him.

Thank you Abby, I woke to find your post and thought yup thats just about what I would have responded . A perverbial "walk in the park"for our boy jack

[spyglass]

Hi,
As I have stated before on my GSG concluscon thread, I am convinced it was written by the Killer.

It was written down low on the wall so as when read it would put the rag in eye line, just in case it was missed.

It had to be in small writing to fit in the sentences, otherwise it would have been one word per line.

Regards.

[Wickerman]

your very knowledgeable. which i really like.

Well, thankyou for that.
I just wish I knew the answers to the important stuff

i use a spell correct to type my fingers also keep missing.i was going to choose " witch" which is a bit cheesy.

My spelling has got worse over the years, I put that down to age.

but suspects , seeing were never going to know, who would be yours. wickerman .
also the cosh word. on the street at one time in the past coshing someone could also druging them.

The man I suspect had something to do with these murders is the one who assaulted those two women Sarah Lewis & Mrs Kennedy on the Wednesday night before Kelly's murder. He was seen standing outside the Britannia pub around 3:00am on that very morning. And, Mrs Kennedy said she saw Kelly talking to him, but this was after her liaison with Astrakan.
I suspect it was the same character seen by PC Smith in Berner St., whom we refer to as Parcel-man.
There's no name to go on, only that this man had unusual eyes (no eyelashes?), and walked with a limp, described by witnesses as "an awkward gait".
Nothing too exciting.

[Joshua Rogan]

In all fairness, I have often wondered if the 3/4 was just a sloppy written 3-4, meaning the graffiti was much larger. Though the journalist at the inquest must have heard the testimony, and "three-quarters" doesn't sound anything like "three to four", so I guess that theory falls at the first hurdle.

It's a fair thought. But the Daily News records Halse's description of the writing as "The capitals would be under an inch high, and italics in proportion."
So I suspect your last line is correct.

[Wickerman]

Hi Fishy,

Might I suggest that you obtain a piece of chalk and attempt to duplicate, in cursive at the size nominated, the contents of the graffiti on a brick wall.....in the dark. You may then experience a revelation on the relevance of what you are suggesting.

Cheers, George

In all fairness, I have often wondered if the 3/4 was just a sloppy written 3-4, meaning the graffiti was much larger. Though the journalist at the inquest must have heard the testimony, and "three-quarters" doesn't sound anything like "three to four", so I guess that theory falls at the first hurdle.

[Wickerman]

That wasnt all the monograph showed tho was it ?

True, but it was the most important issue to me.

And where do you think the writer stands today , is he of the same opinion? would he still stand by his article? who knows .

Oh, so you didn't know who the writer was?
I thought you posted it to me because you knew I wrote it.
I wrote it back around 1998/9, but some of my thoughts have changed since then, more because I've learned a great deal more.

[milchmanuk]

end of jackanory

[milchmanuk]

[milchmanuk]

Thank you George ill respond in the morning i need some sleep

hi really enjoyed reading your post,
a lot leg work,
and will read again to ponder lots there.

[Abby Normal]

I am trying to suggest to you the difficulty of writing with chalk in cursive script on a brick wall in the dark where the capitals were only 3/4" high, with the rest of the script in proportion, while attempting to escape the fourth murder in a sequence of serial killings. Conduct the experiment and give us a full report on the "jolly" aspect.

Cheers, George

hi george
the dude was murdering and extracting internal organs from women in the dark in minutes with the threat of being caught red handed for murder. writing the gsg would have been peanuts to him.

[FISHY1118]

I am trying to suggest to you the difficulty of writing with chalk in cursive script on a brick wall in the dark where the capitals were only 3/4" high, with the rest of the script in proportion, while attempting to escape the fourth murder in a sequence of serial killings. Conduct the experiment and give us a full report on the "jolly" aspect.

Cheers, George

Thank you George ill respond in the morning i need some sleep