25 YEARS OF THE DIARY OF JACK THE RIPPER: THE TRUE FACTS by Robert Smith

[David Orsam]

From your article David:

"For the 9 March 1992 timesheet to have any force as evidence, it needs to support the pre-existing story about electricians making a discovery at Battlecrease which was set out in Shirley Harrison’s 1988 and 2003 books."

Shirley's first Diary book was in 1993.

Yes I know Scott but I think I am right in saying that her 1993 book contained no mention of the story of the electricians. It was, however, mentioned in the 1998 paperback edition (and that section was repeated in her 2003 book, 'The American Connection').

[Scott Nelson]

From your article David:

"For the 9 March 1992 timesheet to have any force as evidence, it needs to support the pre-existing story about electricians making a discovery at Battlecrease which was set out in Shirley Harrison’s 1988 and 2003 books."

Shirley's first Diary book was in 1993.

[Mike J. G.]

Thanks Mike. I did take a look at Liverpool Soundings but there's no mention of the 1889 race being particularly fast or anything about timings so a forger would have needed something more.

No problem, David.

Either way, I think the forger had all that they needed right here in Liverpool for the most part.

Those newspapers could be readily viewed in the library, I've looked at some of them myself, but for other details. Those Reading Rooms are an impressive place indeed.

[David Orsam]

Smith's comment re: the information being buried deep in obscure racing records is pure drivel, as I've mentioned before that it's plainly available in the book, Liverpool Soundings, by our old mate, Whittington-Egan, whose chapter on the subject even makes mention of James' and Flo's public dispute there during their attendance.

As I presumed, this book is poorly researched and based on sheer nonsense.

Great article, David, and I hope it doesn't go unread by the diary's many misguided supporters.

Thanks Mike. I did take a look at Liverpool Soundings but there's no mention of the 1889 race being particularly fast or anything about timings so a forger would have needed something more.

[Henry Flower]

No problem, they are on this site Henry.

http://www.casebook.org/suspects/james_maybrick/mb-con.bjan5.html

http://www.casebook.org/suspects/jam...on.bjan25.html

Many thanks Yabs, and apologies again for my laziness.

[David Orsam]

Thanks David. Excellent analysis of the new book.

Thank you John.

[David Orsam]

Very interesting David. Some great research.

Thank you Steve.

[Yabs]

Apologies for asking a lazy question, but can anyone point me to the full text of Barrett's confession, if it's available online at all?

No problem, they are on this site Henry.

http://www.casebook.org/suspects/james_maybrick/mb-con.bjan5.html

http://www.casebook.org/suspects/james_maybrick/mb-con.bjan25.html

[Henry Flower]

Apologies if already mentioned and I missed it.
It's probably at least worth remembering during your discussion what Barrett had to say about the Post House.

"I should inform you that I actually worked as a Barman in the Post House Public House about 7 years ago and I gained a full know-ledge of the history of the old pub, and I decided when writing the Diary that I would put the name Post House in knowing full well that it had been called the 'Muck Midden' in the 1800's. This fact could actually be established and in particularly by me should I later need to prove what I had done"

Either the truth or it confuses things even further.
Because if he didn't write or know who wrote it, he would have been aware from the off that it was inaccurate when he acquired it.

Did Barrett really work there or was that part of his confession just a ramble?

Apologies for asking a lazy question, but can anyone point me to the full text of Barrett's confession, if it's available online at all?

[Mike J. G.]

Smith's comment re: the information being buried deep in obscure racing records is pure drivel, as I've mentioned before that it's plainly available in the book, Liverpool Soundings, by our old mate, Whittington-Egan, whose chapter on the subject even makes mention of James' and Flo's public dispute there during their attendance.

As I presumed, this book is poorly researched and based on sheer nonsense.

Great article, David, and I hope it doesn't go unread by the diary's many misguided supporters.

[John G]

Well there were some big claims made in the OP of this thread. Questions about the Diary such as "When was it written? Where was it found?" were supposed to have been finally answered. Of course, they have not been answered at all. We just have some more arguments.

My own response to Robert Smith's book would have been too long to post in this forum so I have written an article which I have published on my website. The link to the article, which I have entitled, "Robert Smith and the Maybrick Diary: The False Facts Exposed!", is:

http://www.orsam.co.uk/maybrickthefalsefacts.htm

There is a fair amount of new information in there and, if I say so myself, some groundbreaking research on the issue of the state of Gladys Maybrick's health.

Thanks David. Excellent analysis of the new book.

[Mike J. G.]

Apologies if already mentioned and I missed it.
It's probably at least worth remembering during your discussion what Barrett had to say about the Post House.

"I should inform you that I actually worked as a Barman in the Post House Public House about 7 years ago and I gained a full know-ledge of the history of the old pub, and I decided when writing the Diary that I would put the name Post House in knowing full well that it had been called the 'Muck Midden' in the 1800's. This fact could actually be established and in particularly by me should I later need to prove what I had done"

Either the truth or it confuses things even further.
Because if he didn't write or know who wrote it, he would have been aware from the off that it was inaccurate when he acquired it.

Did Barrett really work there or is that just a ramble?

I've no knowledge of where he worked, but I'd hazard a guess that someone may well remember him as having worked there, if it's true, and if he was there long enough to be noticed.

[Yabs]

Apologies if already mentioned and I missed it.
It's probably at least worth remembering during your discussion what Barrett had to say about the Post House.

"I should inform you that I actually worked as a Barman in the Post House Public House about 7 years ago and I gained a full know-ledge of the history of the old pub, and I decided when writing the Diary that I would put the name Post House in knowing full well that it had been called the 'Muck Midden' in the 1800's. This fact could actually be established and in particularly by me should I later need to prove what I had done"

Either the truth or it confuses things even further.
Because if he didn't write or know who wrote it, he would have been aware from the off that it was inaccurate when he acquired it.

Did Barrett really work there or was that part of his confession just a ramble?

[Mike J. G.]

I'd like to add that the Liverpool newspapers required to get the "Gladys" information from are and were readily available in the Picton Reading Rooms of the library. They have an excellent collection of old papers, and a lot of them from the years in question.

Great stuff, David.

[Mike J. G.]

Well I considered for at least 10 seconds splashing out the money for this latest work of fiction. Thankfully I spent the money at a local Wetherspoons which is housed in a former post office - not the Poste Haste but the Penny Black.

You never know, tbh, it could well have been called the Poste House. I've got it on good authority that some pubs were known by that name, in that unique spelling and presentation.