Did The Ripper Wear "Cricketing Shoes" ?

[Johnr]

Trying to provide a pnuematic frisson in Andy's absence...

Thanks Norma,

Mighty sharp of you to track down Monty in his cricketing clobber so promptly.
It had occurred to me that if MJD wanted to blend in " up East" perhaps whilst slumming it in the colourful pubs and music halls, after a long day at the crease or perhaps after fielding out near the boundary...he and his pals
could have staggered around half drunk,with their cricketing caps and India rubber cricketing shoes on....and not raised so much as an eyebrow....
Typical young "gentlemen" behaving like typical young "gentlemen"...
Mind you, they'd hardly be wearing their "whites" in October/November. Besides, white would hardly be a colour to hide in the dark wearing ....
(Don't mind me, just thinking aloud). JOHN RUFFELS.

[Robert]

John, it's my belief he engaged the women in conversation and lulled them into a false sense of security by explaining the lbw rule to them.

[aspallek]

My self-imposed absence now o'er, I shall choose to respond:

Cricketing shoes of the Victorian era had long spikes or cleats according to the pictures I have seen and thus would be wholly unsuitable for wearing on pavement, especially while trying to escape detection. Plimsolls, however, were rubber-souled athletic shoes worms for sport such as tennis and were becoming fashionable then. Certainly Druitt would have owned plimsolls.

As to his alleged alibi I will just state again what my primary research has revealed. Previously we knew Druitt was cricketing in Dorset in early August. We also knew he was playing in Dorset on Sept 1, the day after Nicholls' murder -- however this was more than 30 hours after the murder and provides no alibi. There is a reference to a "Druitt" participating in a cricket match near Salisbury in late August, however, as Montague had several brothers and cousins who played cricket (including one who lived at Salisbury, Rev. Charles Druitt), there is no reason to assume this was Montague. The question then becomes one of whether Montague Druitt returned to London in between his known cricketing engagements in Dorset in early August and Sept 1. We can have differing views on the likelihood of this but surely no one can say it is anything remotely close to impossible.

While in Bournemouth last month I carefully researched local newspapers looking mainly for two things: cricket engagements that would provide an alibi (i.e. placing him in Dorset on 31 Aug) and mentions of Druitt as a visitor to Bournemouth at that time. I searched three local newspapers and found neither of these. From this I conclude two things:

1. Montague almost certainly did not play cricket in Dorset at the time of Nicholls' murder. Given the amount of cricket coverage in the newspapers I checked it is very unlikely that such a contest including Druitt would have gone unmentioned.

2. The Bournemouth visitor listings may be incomplete or Montague may not have been an overnight visitor to Bournemouth at all, choosing instead to stay at Wimborne. He is not listed as a visitor in early August when we know he was there, nor in early September. And, most disappointingly, he is not listed as a visitor in late October when brother William said he visited him there. In fact, there are no visitors at all listed at William's Bournemouth home for the entire period.

Now as to Druitt's appearance, "new" photos I found show him to be a rather large man after all. From the group photos it is somewhat difficult to estimate height because they are taken on steps and various students are standing on various levels. However, Montague is shown to be a broad-chested individual, quite athletic-looking. My favorite is a photo that shows him rather clowning amongst his mates. I hope to publish these soon along with the other results of my research.

[aspallek]

I should also mention something about the timing of Druitt's being a suspect.

I do not believe he was a suspect at all until some time after his suicide. Clearly the "timeliness" of his suicide was not the main reason he was suspected. This is obvious because there were many other suicides at the time, some seemingly more likely as candidates, and there is no record of any of the others being suspected. Clearly there is much more to it than that.

I think the key lies with Druitt's own MP Farquharson. We know that by early 1891 he was insinuating Druitt's guilt, though not mentioning him by name. There are clues in Macnaghten's writing that he knows about Farquharson's claims and Sir Melville is, in fact, trying to reconcile the MP with his own information if I am correct. This may explain some of Mc's errors as Farquharson's knowledge is clearly flawed. In 1891 Druitt's MP identifies the Ripper as the "son of a surgeon" who committed suicide right after the last murder. Almost exactly three years later Macnaghten pens his memo, relying in part, I believe, on the MPs tale.

[Ben]

Hi Andy,

I think the key lies with Druitt's own MP Farquharson

Remind me again what Farquarson's reasons were for suspecting Druitt?

No doubt the "timeliness" of the suicide was bolstered, in the minds of those who suspeced him, by familial connections to both mental illness and the medical profession - both of which had become "hot potatoes" in the minds of those hunting the ripper.

Best regards,
Ben

[aspallek]

Hi Andy,



Remind me again what Farquarson's reasons were for suspecting Druitt?

No doubt the "timeliness" of the suicide was bolstered, in the minds of those who suspeced him, by familial connections to both mental illness and the medical profession - both of which had become "hot potatoes" in the minds of those hunting the ripper.

Best regards,
Ben

I'm afraid we don't know Farquharson's reasons. That one of the big questions. I think there were significant other factors along with the suicide that made Druitt a suspect. What those other factors were is our task to uncover. My quest is to find why Druitt was a suspect and not necessarily to show he was guilty.