Druitt's mother

[dmcdonald@onwight.net]

Anna

We're on the same wavelength here - I totally agree with all you say. Why also were all his personal bits of paper in such good condition ie the ticket, the five pound note and so on, if he had been in the tidal Thames for a month. My theory is that he was helped to his death and not put into the Thames until near the date he was found because that was a high tide when the perpetrators thought he would be washed downstream more quickly. Not sure that he was the Ripper but something v strange about his death.

[anna]

As a P.S Natalie,
The local paper this evening is running an advert for the yearly open day for the Rowing Club...there's an exhibition of paintings.
I didn't take much notice of it,but will take a better look.
Wonder if they keep records and pictures from that time.Would be interesting to see if any names crop up that we recognise.
ANNA.

[dmcdonald@onwight.net]

I have another mystery to solve. I have voiced it several times and never yet come up with any answers. Above the kitchen door at The Osiers, Chiswick Mall, Harry Wilson's house, (have seen it myself!), there is a list of names viz:
E D Anderson, C E Robertson, B Bright, AM Walker, M A Wilson, E W Sitwell, J H Anderson, H L Stephen, D W Sitwell, M Gillson, RR Bowden-Smith, J K Sitwell.

Can anyone come up with who the hell they were? I obviously know that HL Stephen was JK's bro and he went to Rugby school with Wilson and then on to Cambridge. But how do the others fit in. Maybe some form of brotherhood.

[dmcdonald@onwight.net]

Dear Anna

Monty was the only teacher at the school overnight - see my book for details, - but he was the only one who didn't have other accommodatioin (is in the census info). so it is possible that he was in some way abusing his position there. Just a thought.

[anna]

Hi Deborah,

Absolutely agree with you...

Very interesting theory...I actually noticed the same as you...everythings in a very good condition for being in the Thames,for as long as it was supposed to be. Good point!

What do you think about the Rowing Club idea?

Best regards,

ANNA.

[anna]

Hi Deborah,
I presume you mean the only master at the school overnight.
I think,if I remember rightly from local records and accounts of the school,held at the local Resource Centre,not all of the boys went home for the Summer Holidays.If he was dismissed when he was,that would probably be about the time when something happened,if that was indeed the case.Which would make sense,as there would be a more relaxed attitude,and not so many people around.
I'm thinking that maybe he was experimenting with drugs to aid his condition,
as he must have been desperate to find something to stop it.
Maybe he got caught by Valentine,doing so??? If indeed,there were boys there,and he was the only member of staff at the school overnight,if something happened he wouldn't be able to take charge.I don't think that would have gone down too well with Valentine.
Just an idea,anyway.
ANNA.

[dmcdonald@onwight.net]

Hi Natalie

Doubt if it will be at the stores (although could be ordered) and can also be obtained via Amazon

Regards Debbie

[dmcdonald@onwight.net]

Dear Anna
Yes, the only master. There were a couple of female a matron and housekeeper I think. It also seems that the boys had their own bedrooms which would have made them quite vulnerable to a paedophile.

[anna]

Hi Deborah,

I just don't see Monty being that stupid,nor do I see him in this role either.

If it were the case,he would hardly have acted as if nothing was wrong,and go on to carry on his legal work.

Maybe you have different views on the situation.
Best Regards,


ANNA.

[aspallek]

I have another mystery to solve. I have voiced it several times and never yet come up with any answers. Above the kitchen door at The Osiers, Chiswick Mall, Harry Wilson's house, (have seen it myself!), there is a list of names viz:
E D Anderson, C E Robertson, B Bright, AM Walker, M A Wilson, E W Sitwell, J H Anderson, H L Stephen, D W Sitwell, M Gillson, RR Bowden-Smith, J K Sitwell.

Can anyone come up with who the hell they were? I obviously know that HL Stephen was JK's bro and he went to Rugby school with Wilson and then on to Cambridge. But how do the others fit in. Maybe some form of brotherhood.

Hi Debbie,

As I wrote to you some time ago I can shed some light on some of these. The Sitwells were relatives of the literary family of Osbert, Sechervall (sp?), and Edith. Osbert wrote of a Ripper theory and also wrote of a visit to Manor House Assylum in Chiswick. They, and Edith in particular, were friends of Crisabel Aberconway, daughter of Melville Macnaghten. M Gillson is presumably a relative of Frank Gillson, who was listed as a resident of The Osiers in 1889. Frank Gillson went on to be a barrister I think in Hampshire.

Hope this sheds some light on this mystery.

[Chris Scott]

Im not sure if this has been posted before.

Brook House, once seat of the Earls of Northumberland, was an asylum from 1759 to 1940. In the latter year it was hit in an air raid and subsequently demolished.

[dougie]

Simple question,if anyone wants to ,or can answer.How influential might Druitts family have been in the higher echelons of society?Im talking specifically about being able to "hush up" the suspicions around monty(if they existed around the time of his death),or any police investigation or following conclusions ......or even the full contents of suicide note.Is there a possibility that might have taken place?.....or not?
regards

[Natalie Severn]

Hi Dougie,
I believe they would have had influence. Monty"s father and several Uncles
were distinguished surgeons .Some had published pioneering medical treatises and were part of a medical elite that included Dr William Gull,Queen Victoria"s physician.A man such as Dr Gull would,by virtue of having acquired such a privileged and respected position in Society, have been able to network on behalf of a beleaguered colleague such as one of the Druitt medics.
Best
Norma

[dougie]

Natalie,
So bearing that in mind ,would you think its quite possible that the dearth of official information in police files on Druitt,the lack of any real "information" regarding the contents of the suicide letter,and associated stuff Might be because of possible" interference" by the Druitt family?Which in of itself might be the sole reason why many dispute that Druitt was a contemporary suspect.
regards

[Natalie Severn]

Thats certainly something that could have happened,Dougie, but only ofcourse ,if Druitt really had been thought to be the ripper by his family and Macnaghten etc.But I really do think that had Druitt actually been the ripper,we would know.As it is we dont know.Macnaghten simply states that he regards him as "more likely than Cutbush" to have been the ripper.....and he adds that he thinks both Kosminski and Ostrog are more likely than Cutbush to have been the ripper,in his opinion.And to me this makes it clear that he didnt know who the ripper was.Either that or he was presenting his three "more likely thans" to cover for the Scotland Yard fear that Thomas Cutbush,the nephew of Supt Charles Cutbush,may have been the ripper,after all,as the Sun newspaper had stated in February 1894 and which Macnaghten"s 1894 memorandum,composed a little later, served to rubbish.