Montague John Druitt : Whitechapel Murderer ?

[Jonathan H]

I don't mean that Tumblety actually was the Ripper, just that Macnaghten may have thought he was the best suspect, rightly or wrongly.

On balance, it is more likely that he thought Druitt was the Ripper, but he used the Tumblety fumble to redact the drowned barrister back into the 1888 investigation: a middle-aged, sexually-deviant, under-employed, affluent, medico, with 'pals' and no family, chased by police, 'believed' to have suicided.

I say 'redact' because in his memoirs he came close to admitting that this was not true, that the un-named Druitt was not a contemporaneous suspect.

The only witness description worth anything is Lawende. That is how it appears at this great distance, and that is how it appeared to Scotland Yard at the time, who used this witness, and no other, to identify two suspects -- that we know of.

Lawende's description matches Tumblety in only one detail though it is significant -- that the suspect looked like a Gentile. In every other detail: age, height, moustache-size it does not match at all.

On the other hand, Mac claimed in his memoirs that this sighting [by a non-existent policeman] was 'unsatisfying'.

Speculation in 1889, or anytime, that the Ripper was dead counts for little from our point of view without more specific details. The 1891 MP story has the regions the Druitts came from, and the crucial detail that the suspect was the 'son of a surgeon'. In his 1914 memoirs Macnaghten admits that it was 'some years after' that 'certain facts' turned up about the un-named Druitt. This matches perfectly with the MP story of Feb 11th 1891.

Thanks to Macnaghten, the un-named Montie Druitt would not be again correctly decribed as a surgeon's son until 1965.

[Johnr]

About Dr Tumblety and THE MM..

I'm getting your drift now thanks Jonathan.

I do, however, have difficulty assimilating a tall (broad?), -no not a tall broad- American in a wide slouch hat with a huge moustache, approaching several of the less alluring prostitutes in Londons East.

What witness descriptions approach a description of Tumbleweed?

Secondly, Jonathan, have you considered the public statement in mid 1889, by local East End Member, Samuel Montague, that the Ripper was dead and there would be no more murders?

Could he have been chatting with West of England Member ( for West Dorset), Farquharson. Who himself, was negotiating to move to the seat of Bethnal Green?

And if so, how does that fit in with your Macnaghten -as-Macchievelli scenario?

JOHN RUFFELS.

[Jonathan H]

In his 2004 book 'JTR -- The Facts', Paul Begg writes very lucidly and even-handedly about Macnaghten and Druitt, coming to the provisional, reasonable conclusion that the former must have been denied accurate biog. information about the latter -- hence the errors, particularly in the Aberconway version of his Report.

That perhaps Macnaghten confused the 3rd missing medical student, Saunders, with Druitt?

Whatever happened, by the time he wrote the official version of his Report in 1894, Mac clearly knew little about M J Druitt except bits and pieces cobbled perhaps from news clippings and PC Moulsen's report which, together, describe the drowned man as fortyish, and being found with a season train pass.

Or else, why the basic errors?

Unfortunately, Begg seems to have been unaware of the 'West of England MP' story of Feb 1tth 1891 in 'The Bristol Times and Mirror'.

The 2008 identification of this MP [by Andy Spallek] as a near-neighbor of the Druitts AND a high school contemporary of Macnaghten's, arguably weakens Begg's line of argument to the point of rendering it very unlikely.

In my opinion that leaves three possibilities as to why Druitt began morphing into an untraceable 'shilling shocker' figure for Edwardians.

1. Macnaghten over-rated his excellent memory and should have kept a notebook, a deficiency he cheerfully concedes in the preface of his 1914 memoirs.

Within three years of learning the Druitt story, Macnaghten's memory began to fuse 'son of a surgeon' into maybe a doctor himself. Within four years of the official version, when it came to showing Griffiths the Druitt-driven rewrite, the father and son had merged, in his mind, into a middle-aged physician.

By 1907, what he fed Sims was further misremembered and exaggerated. For example, Druitt's mother had been in an asylum -- this was shifted across to the son. Druitt had been unemployed from one of his jobs, for a few days, became an affluent doctor unemployed for years. The train ticket was blown up into a reclusive Ripper who idles his time away on public transport. In his memoirs, Macnaghten made an effort to remember correctly, and so denied that the suspect had ever been in an asylum -- or the subject of police interest between 1888 and 1891.

2. Macnaghten knew everything, and remembered everything.

In 1891, he cut a deal with the Druitt family to never reveal their Montie's identity that he could be recognized by their peers. In the official version of his Report he buried that Druitt was a young barrister, and that the police had never heard of him in connection with the Whitechapel murders. In the unofficial version, created for literary cronies, he further disguised Druitt as Jekyll-Hyde, and Sims was later fed even more fictitious details. Mac enhanced the Yard's rep whilst simultaneously protecting it from a libel suit: the perfect fix.

Upon retiring he destroyed Druitt's confession, or some kind of incriminating documentary evidence handed over by the family. In his memoirs, the following year, Macnaghten tried to -- up to a point -- set the record straight, but it was too late and too subtle.

So successful was this shell-game that it fools people to this very day.

This site is a testimony to how clever a Brer Fox Macnaghten was as even with the name exposed the 'errors' mislead people into thinking that Druitt, actually Jack the Ripper, is no longer a viable suspect.

3. The real chief suspect was Dr Francis Tumblety.

Macnagten ruthlessly exploited a nothing suspect, Druitt, as a Trojan Horse to propagate to the Edwardian audience the essential identity of the real chief suspect: a middle-aged, Gentile, medico chased but not caught by police in 1888.

Why?

Because Mac was mortified and offended at the way the vain Anderson was denying the primacy of Tumblety in favor of a poor, mad, Jew who was almost certainly innocent.

But Mac could not point directly at Tumblety as he was such an embarrassing suspect for the Yard. Thus 'the 'Drowned Doctor' Super-suspect, who never literally existed and whom Anderson never acknowledged, was Mac's cunning myth used to needle his ex-boss, and to enhance the Yard's rep.

It brilliantly inverted the Tumblety fumble into a near triumph. Mac's memoirs further get the Yard off the hook by claiming that hard evidence about this vague suspect arrived too late; after he had killed himself.


Of these three possibilities I believe that the weight of the meager evidence makes No. 2 the most likely.

Therefore, the identification of Macnaghten's probable source of the 'private inf.', Henry Farquharson, arguably solves the mystery -- historically speaking.

It was not 'Jack's' identity which was unknown by 1891. It WAS known -- but way too late. The dilemma was what to do about that identification of a man who could never be brought to earthly justice?

One option Macnaghten had was to do nothing at all about it.

I am glad he did not choose that option.

[Johnr]

With A Caveat For An Ageing Memory..

Yes, Jonathan, I think you are correct about the 'West of England Member' article being the " Rosetta Stone" of recent Ripper studies.

I would qualify that by saying for those who hold store in Sir Melville Macnaghten's covert writings.

After all, for anyone looking for written confirmation of Montague Druitt's alleged involvement, no recorded link exists except the MM.

The other two suspects he listed left recorded footprints.

So, was a principal aim of the Melville Macnaghten Memorandum, to bring to light- albeit 100 years too late - the over-looked name of a most unlikely candidate?


As to your question about the emergence of the WOEM spore in the 1970's, I might be doing Mr Stewart P.Evans a terrible injustice by suggesting Mr Hermes as the discoverer.

My reason for nominating Hermes is that he was an early Ripperologist, who travelled the country gleaning esoteric tid-bits from regional newspapers. Even provincial newspapers.Some not mentioned in major London dailies.

He shared lots of these with me, and recently I passed them on to Robert L and John Savage and Mr O'Flaherty.

Eric Hermes would complain about the fragile state of the Gloucester Journal copies held in the basement of his local Cheltenham Library.

At the time I was more interested in his residing in the very town, (Cheltenham), where MJD's cousin Lionel, went to school.

I have also checked my 1993 paperback A to Z, you are correct Jonathan, no sign of the WOFM article therein.

In the back of my tin head, I have some inkling of Keith Skinner, another assiduous researcher, prior to the publication of his book(?), being aware of the WOFM article. I might be wrong. If so, apologies all round.

Nonetheless, I will need to know more about MJD's lost years before I will be downright about his innocence or otherwise.

JOHN RUFFELS.

[Jonathan H]

Fido found the Kosminski medical records in 1987.

In the same year Swanson's grandson had the Marginalia published.

Evans found the Littlechild Letter in 1993.

Farson found the unofficial version of the Macnaghten Report in 1959, and Tom Cullen published it in 1965.

Rumbelow published the official version of the Macnaghten Report in 1975.

Palmer had published the extraordinary Tumblety interview in 2007, and the following year Spallek, armed with a vital breakthrough, published the identity of the MP.

But the 'West of England MP' story remains an elusive orphan.

In my opinion it is the Rosetta Stone of the whole mystery, yet it is very difficult to locate who found it and when?

I first saw it here, on the Boards in 2007, when Stewart referred to it as the likely source of Macnaghten's 'private information' and I was just gobsmacked by its implications -- if you could more directly link it to Druitt.

You say, John, it might have been found in the 1970's??

It does not appear in any secondary text until the 'A to Z' [which edition? Not the one I have seen] and in a narrative historical work not until 2009: in Evans and Connell's gem of a book on Reid.

It does not appear in Begg's '--The Facts' [2004], nor Evans and Rumbelow's 'Scotland Yard Investigates' [2006] -- though in the latter masterwork there was arguably no need for it to appear.

[Fleetwood Mac]

DANGEROUS TO OTHERS

Seems to me people are assuming that the killer must have been generally viewed as a dangerous man because he killed people.

Well.....he was able to function in his every day life. His killings occupied a minute proportion of his existence. That is a fact. He was able to function so well that he wasn't caught. That is a fact unless you want to speculate that there was a cover up. So these facts suggest that the man would not have been evidently a dangerous person unless you happened to bump into him at 2 in the morning. Surely an evidently dangerous person and someone who exercises sufficient control to get himself into the required the situation is a contradiction in terms.

I'd suggest were the person committed to an asylum it is more likely than not that he would not have been viewed as dangerous. Though it's more likey still that he was never committed to an asylum. Based on the fact that he went about his daily life for those months without arousing sufficient suspicion to be arrested and charged. Serial killers get caught not because they're viewed as dangerous by the wider public - but because the evidence stacks up against them.

[Johnr]

I May Be Wrong But...

Hello Jonathan and Jeff,

I hope I am not getting this whole thing wrong, but I think the first person to find the "West of England Member" story (not the later excellent linking and identifying by Andrew Spallek), might have been a Cheltenham ( England) Ripperologist in the 1970's ,one Eric Hermes, I think he told me he found a similar story in the 'Gloucester Gazette' or was it 'The Cheltenham Gazette?

If I am wrong I apologise, perhaps Paul Begg or Keith Skinner can tell us how that story got into 'The A to Z of Jack the Ripper'?.

JOHN RUFFELS.

[Jeff Leahy]

I'm certainly not agreeing or disagreeing with anyone about anything.

As I said Druitt's not my area, although I did have lunch and listened with great interest to Andrew Spellak (hope I have spelling correct?) last summer.

I was simply speculating about Monroe? I don't have anything.

Chris George brings up the 'Hot Potato' on the conference DVD which I produced.

But post MJK police investigation has my radar at present.

But I can certainly find out about Keith Skinner. I shall ask for you.

Yours Jeff

[Jonathan H]

Oh, well, we are not going to agree on this.

Listen, maybe you can help me.

A sub-mystery is that nobody seems to know

1) who found the 'West of England MP' story?

2) when it was found?

Do you have any idea?

One important researcher thought it was probably Keith Skinner around 1993, but he was only guessing from memory.

[Jeff Leahy]

Hi Jonathon

It's not really my area. But I do know Monroe was fairly keen to get MacNaughten in his position.

If Monroe were the source for teh Druitt story it seems to make much more sense of the Memoranda. Apart from the inclusion of Ostrog that is?

Pirate

[Jonathan H]

To Pirate,

Monro's 'Hot Potato' is it was ever said and if it was ever that important, may have referred to Druitt being found so late [eg. he was dead] and by, of all people, a Tory politician whilst the Liberals were in power -- about which unscrupulous members of the latter might have mad hay with?

[Jeff Leahy]

I hope this is a reference to Monty's condition when he was fished out of the Thames - and not another Kodminski voice I'm hearing.

Love,

Caz
X

How about Fish and CHIPS?

You know why speculation was going on about the Crawford letter. Re: Anderson / Swanson.

The connection between Monroe and MacNaughten rather struck me.

Has anyone ever given any thought to Monroe’s ‘Hot Potato’ being linked to Druitt?

Wouldn’t that all make more sense for the Memoranda?

Pirate

PS If a certain person tells his 'Jack the Kipper' joke again and laughs I’m going to scream!

[Natalie Severn]

Oh Well John,
It does happen sometimes on these boards......
Cheers
Norma

[Johnr]

Egad! Stop Shouting Norma and Jeff!!

Wow.

If one thing is clear, Casebook readers feel passionate about their chosen suspect.

The boards have lit up;aroused from their hitherto somnulent state.

But, as Lleyton Hewitt would say COME ON!!

The Catherine Eddows thread is three posts "More Popular" than this one!!!

More bold type, exclamation marks, dotted lines and red Italic Net links should do it.

And isn't the Survey graph at the top of the page looking phallic!

At least "never" is spelt correctly.



JOHN RUFFELS.

[jason_c]

Hello you all!

Stan, I also gave 3.

I just cannot consider him seriously as JtR because;

He just doesn't fit the descriptions!

All the best
Jukka

The descriptions arent too far out for it to be Druitt.

Druitt's height im unsure of, he does seem slightly thin to be considered stocky though. However, a few witness descriptions suggest a murderer with little or no facial hair and possibly Jewish looking. Both these points describe Druitts appearance - in my opinion Druitt could pass for Jewish looking.