Druitt's mother

[Natalie Severn]

Yes, Robert, and being the son of a surgeon , he probably knew a thing or two about the best way out.

[anna]

Hi all,
I'm still not sure that he was there alone. If Monty wanted to drown himself,
he had the Thames right on his doorstep,literally..and without all the fuss of having to travel to Chiswick.
Taking into account the fact that we still don't know why he was dismissed from Valentines....
I was thinking that somebody else may have given him a helping hand into the next world...struggled with him on the bank....like Sherlock and Moriarty,and if he surfaces,they push him down under the water again...
hmmm...sorry,got a bit carried away there.too much t.v!
Anyway,Blackheath or Greenwich would probably not have been the best local place to throw himself into the drink..but certainly the Deptford/New Cross stretch of the river was popularly recommended for this type of recreation,if you read the local print of the time.
ANNA.

[Johnr]

Good Point Anna,

By the same token, he could have drowned himself in the school's very own swimming pool. ( Perhaps it had been emptied for the winter).
Via a colonial diplomat descendant of the Druitt family, I was relayed a reply from a Dr Gwen Ffoulkes of Devon, some years ago.
She was a Druitt descendant and Monty's brother was her godfather.
She said the diabetes strain played havoc on the family and, in its undiagnosed form might have been the cause of Montague Druitt ( and other family members') problems.
I don't think there is any suggestion, however, that Monty's mother had diabetes though. JOHN RUFFELS.

[dmcdonald@onwight.net]

Absolutely Anna - I agree entirely - have you read my other post we are on o the same wavelength here. My new book 'The Prince, His tutor and the Ripper' explores this angle quite a lot. I absolutely believe that he was helped on his way to death. Not necessarily that he was Jt R but his death was definately wierd.

Regards
Deborah mcDonald

[dmcdonald@onwight.net]

Interesting - I will post the info given re his mother Ann's diagnosis as recorded when she went into hospital. I found it on the Wellcome hospital research site.

[Natalie Severn]

Hi All,
While I agree that it is a possibility that Druitt was murdered, it is nontheless the case that there is a strong history of suicide in the family.I believe his sister later in life was also a suicide-she jumped from an upstairs window- and there were in fact several family members who committed suicide within a twenty year span.
Druitt"s mother was said -this too is from hospital records-to be afraid people were going "to electrocute" her.If she was receiving electric shock treatment this may have been understandable,but its unlikely electric shock treatment was available in 1888.So we are back to whether her fears were delusional, which might suggest a form of paranoia. Her mental illness was apparently quite severe and fairly long standing. She didnt get out from the asylum alive either!

[Robert]

On the Friday he may have heard a voice in his head for the first time. Who knows?

I think that if he'd had previous episodes of thoughts of suicide, from which he'd recovered, then he would have made a will. He was a lawyer and, as far as I can gather, a bit of a cold fish.

[Natalie Severn]

Thanks Robert, thats my line of thought. The fact that his mother had needed admission to a secure hospital may have triggered feelings of hopelessness with regards to his own future and mental mental health,especially as it was followed by such bad news from his boss and close friend Valentine-giving him the sack from his school teaching post. Alternatively,such a stressful confluence of events may well have precipitated auditory hallucinations as you suggest like a voice in his head telling him to end it all.

[anna]

HI all,
My bloomin' laptop went kaput,so have been off the boards....oh,and I had to cut down a tree today in the garden.
Anyway,to get back to the thread..
Oh dear,poor old Monty and his mum.It's a pity Ella is no longer with us,as she is a member of the Druitt family.
As to Monty's dismissal from the school.I wouldn't have thought Monty would have indulged in anything with one of the boys at the school.He had too much to lose.He was an intelligent chap..his whole life revolved around school life...he would have nowhere to live..it all seems too much to throw away for some fling with a lad.What I am wondering,is if it had something to do with his medical condition.Maybe he was using drugs that were not permitted to be kept at the school,or that he was still under the influence of them,when he turned up to teach of a morning.I am still on my mammouth trawl through the local newspapers of the time,for just a snippet of a few lines that might tell us more.
Natalie makes some good points regarding Monty's state of mind..poor chap,fancy not understanding what's wrong with you.
Perhaps he didn't mix with people,other than those he knew and was comfortable to be with,so this was misconstrued..and it was taken that he was a cold fish.I hope he wasn't,as I like Monty...he was cool!!
The return ticket is interesting though,maybe it indicates that he wasn't sure if he could go through with his suicide,or chicken out and return home.
He is right in Blackheath Village,where they had a large chemist shop..surely he could have taken something more easily,than drowning himself..and in the comfort of the school..and with more impact,to emphasise to Valentine how distraught he had been.Valentine is his friend,I would have expected him to understand Monty's state of mind,having lost his mother also.....some friend!
ANNA.

[Natalie Severn]

Yes Anna, its curious he didnt o.d. with laudanum or something he could have bought from the local chemist shop.On the other hand I am always surprised at how many suicide"s still drown themselves or throw themselves under a tube train.Maybe Monty was depressed, but the urge to drown himself only emerged when he saw the Thames at Chiswick in full flow ,moving him to jump in for some reason.We just dont know.Depression ,in mental illness can be sudden and overwhelming as I understand.
There is always the possibility he was being blackmailed.If so he could have stolen money from Valentine and had to repay him before leaving the school.That way it wouldnt have shown up in his belongings that he had been caught stealing,only that he had been given his severance pay.

[anna]

Hi Natalie,
Thanks for the explanation,Monty does seem to be in a delicate mental state.
It seems odd that he went to Chiswick though,I'd have thought he would return to Dorset,to do the deed,as he had been happy there amongst his family.
I don't know if I am right about this,but I think that I associate Chiswick with the boat race.I have never been to Chiswick,so that is the only reference point I have in my mind for this location.Perhaps he was meeting someone who rowed...or is that completely out of the question?Probably completely wrong,but I thought I'd mention it!I think there is a rowing club at Greenwich,athough that is just off the top of my head.
It's quite possible that he had stolen money,and was being blackmailed,but didn't he receive money from his fathers will at sometime..so would he not have had savings to fall back on,if he needed them?
Best Regards
ANNA.

[anna]

Hi Deborah!

Great minds think alike!

I am always interested to read anything on Monty,and will read through this thread,now my computer seems to have been sorted out,fingers crossed!!

Your book sounds really interesting,I must get myself a copy.

Catch up with you later!

Best Regrds,

ANNA.

[Natalie Severn]

Yes the book sounds very interesting,Deborah - I will definitely look out for it in the stores.
Anna,
quite right about the boat race---I wondered that too.There are a few boating houses there where the Oxford and Cambridge crews keep the boats they train in on the river.There are also some pubs where they all meet and guffaw about it all! Can just imagine Monty as an Oxford blue with all that sporty stuff he was involved in.

[anna]

Hi Natalie

Yes I can....I think he'd have been in the thick of it all,and loving
every minute of it!!
I prefer to think of him as a sports mad,all round nice bloke,who loved his job and everything to do with it...rather than as a suspect in the JTR line-up.

Out of interest...out of 10...how likely do you rate Druitt as JTR?

I remember seeing the pictures of your day in Blackheath,with Andy.It is only a short bus ride from me.Everytime I step onto the heath,I imagine Monty stepping out to play cricket.Gives me a spooky feeling,that I am walking where he did,all those years before.

Oh Anna,stop it...you're getting all sentimental again!!!!
Still,it is Monty,so I can be excused.
Best Regards,

ANNA.

[dmcdonald@onwight.net]

Dear Natalie

But did he top himself - I am not so sure. What is the evidence? Apart from the reports in the press and the police who just assumed that he did.