Sickert Was Ripper

[Leighton Young]

was he also able to make himself look taller and shorter too?
i dont think the ripper was sickert.yes he did call himself Mr nobody but then again so did the captain of the nautilus in the popular book at the time 20000 leagues under the sea...
the patricai cornell book is badly researched with glaring errors. she comes over as a woman who's not researched the cas e or had a passing interest, went to the library, read a few books and thinks she knows whats what. on the documentary about the same book.. she went on and on about how obsessed sickert was with the ripper case... if this is any foundation for convicting him then all of us lot should be sent down too. ha ha

leighton

[Sam Flynn]

"Letters from Nemo"

I have read Pat Cromwell's book "Portrait of a Killer..." and her theories are not so impossible to believe. Also after having read Stephen Frye's dissertation, I am more convinced than ever that Walter Sickert could possibly be the killer. There are just too many coincidences i.e. watermarks of paper used, the use of the name Mr. Nemo...

"Nemo" was a common - no, an extremely common - way of signing off letters to newspapers, and had been for many decades before the 1880s. It was also used very frequently by anonymous donors to charities. In fact, it's conceivable that not all such submissions were accompanied by the literal valediction of "Nemo", but that the publishers used it as the 19th Century equivalent of "Name and Address withheld". Here are just some of the examples from the Times published during the 1850s alone:


1) Aug 17th 1850 (Complaining about police in Whitechapel)
Sir - Between 3 and 4 o'clock this afternoon, in Church-lane, Whitechapel, I saw two women tearing, scratching and knocking each other right lustily. To me (a middle-aged man) 'twas a sight horrible enough - to the 30 or 40 younglings, spectators of the scene, ghastly and surely not instructive. A bystander told me that a policeman who had passed declined to interfere. During the 10 minutes that I remained on the scene I discovered no policeman, although anxiously on the look out for one.

Half an hour afterwards, when it was all over, I saw at least eight policemen, either in the street or the immediate neighbourhood, of the division H.

I represent the matter to you in a spirit of humanity, hoping that its publication in your journal will cause a more strict regard on the part of the police to public decency and morality.

Yours respectfully, NEMO


2) Sep 16th 1850 (A rather pointless letter, but showing an interesting use of "Scots" dialect)
Sir - I find in Scott's Paris Revisited (a work published in 1816, and professing to give an account of a tour through Belgium to Paris immediately after the battle of Waterloo), the following passage:-

"I inquired if the Duke of Wellington took severe means of enforcing on his army that regard for the lives and property of the inhabitants of the seat of war in maintaining which he has evidently placed the pride of his ambition not less than beating his armed adversaries. "Na, Sir, no here," was the reply, "for the men ken him gailies; but in Spain we aften had ugly jobs. He hung 15 men in ae day there, after he had been ordering about it God knows how lang; and d__n me if he did na ance gar the provost marshal flog mere than a dizen of the wimen, for the wimen thought themselves safe, wo they were war' than the men; they got sax-and-thirty lashes apiece on the bare doup, and it was lang aofre it was forgotten on 'em. One o' 'em was Meg Donaldson, the best woman in our regiment, for whatever she might take she did na keep it all to herself."

The soldier from whom Mr Scott receives this information is a Highlander who has been wounded at Waterloo, and is on march, with others, to join his regiment at Paris.

NEMO


3) Jan 18th 1851 (A tragic fire at St Martin's Lane)
Sir - In the name of London's 2,000,000 inhabitants, let me intreat [sic] of you, while breathing time and space are yet allowed by the Parliamentary recess, to say one word in favour of a suggestion which from time to time you have given place in your columns, with the object of rescuing those whose lives are endangered by the sudden night fire.

The police-sergeant Dominick Carr, whose evidence is recorded in The Times of today, says, with reference to the poor suffocated children of St Martin's-lane, that "the only possibility of saving them was from the top of the house;" and again, that it was "a pity that the barman (who escaped from the window of the very room where they were burnt) had not remained upon the roof." To the roof of the burning house from that of the adjoining one did Carr at last, of himself and without orders, make his way; but too late to save those whose "roar for help", loud above the roar of the flames, he had heard some minutes before, in his courageous, though fruitless attempt, to ascend the staircase of the burning house. Let me, Sir, recal [sic] to the readers of The Times a suggestion which nearly seven years ago found place in its columns:-

"That immediately on the alarm of fire being given, it be a standing positive order to the policemen (one or more) who arrive on the spot, to make their way, without a moment's delay, to the roofs of the adjoinging houses, there to afford every help to the inmates of the burning house as circumstances may allow".

To the letter bearing the signature of "M.D.", in The Times of April 10, 1844, in which this suggestion occurs, and also two others from the same hand in The Times of respectively December 24, 1844, and May 30, 1845, I may refer as proofs of your never tiring readiness to promote the public good. Allow me again to quote the first letter of "M.D.", as bearing most practically on this last sad event:-

"Were it generally known throughout London to householders and their families, that on the instant of an alarm of 'Fire' being sounded through the street, two, if not more, well disciplined, resolute, able-bodied men were fast making their way to the roofs of the houses on either side of the one on fire, there would surely be less of the panic and bewilderment which so often mars their efforts to escape. The lusty shout of a manly voice - the gripe [sic: "grip"] of a well-nerved hand - would cheer and remediate the half suffocated child or woman, otherwise fast sinking in despair... The Londoners have now in their new police the best possible machine for the protection of life from fire. For God's sake act in the true spirit of city bortherhood, let them learn at once how to use it."

You, Sir, have already, by the space allowed to "M.D.'s" letters, made this matter your own. With the more confidence do I again intreat [sic] you to speak yourself, as The Times knows how to speak, and so, perhaps, to save many lives from being lost, many hearts from being broken by the awful havoc of a London fire.

I am, Sir, your very faithful servant, NEMO.


4) April 19th 1852 (Pirates in the Indian Ocean)
Sir - Under the head of "Ship News" in The Times of the 15th of April there is mention of the massacre of the master and his wife and child, the mate, and two other Englishmen, of an English bark from Calcutta, by the natives of the islands of Noncowrie, &c.

It is known that these massacres take place every now and then. For instance, in 1844 the captain and crew of the brig Mary, last from Madras, were murdered, and the ship sunk by these same people. From inquiries on the spot in April, 1845, I found that not only was the above true, but that other vessels had a short time previously been destroyed, and their crews murdered.

The natives are a treacherous race; they come on board pretending to barter, having their clubs concealed in baskets of fruit, &c., and watch their opportunity for attack.

The Danish Government had these islands formerly. In 1845 there were no Danes there.

It would be very easy to put a stop to these atrocities.

I am, Sir, your obedient servant, NEMO.


5) Jun 24th 1856 (Butchers exploited by middle-men and resellers)
Sir - I learn from the best authority that the present high price of meat is occasioned, not from a want of supply, but form a combination and monopoly of the jobbers, or agents, to whom the farmers sell it.

The butchers tell me, "The public will have it; that they are obliged to give what is demanded, or lose their customers."

Now for the remedy. When sugar was lately raised to an exorbitant price, we all agreed to consume half the quantity, or go without.

Let us, as far as possible, do the same by meat - living on fish, soup, eggs, vegetables (now, thank God, so abundant), rice, in all its pleasant forms, gooseberry and currant pies and puddings, bread, cheese, &c. - for a week or two, and the thing is accomplished.

Yours, Sir, NEMO


6) Mar 8th 1858 (Nemo makes an anonymous donation to charity)
Sir - As you have so kindly allowed The Times to be the medium of my appeal to the public on behalf of my suffering poor, will you also permit me to make use of it as the channel through which to convey my very sincere thanks to a number of persons who with their donations have not sent their addresses?

I beg to remain your faithful servant, JOHN LINGHAM, Rectory, Lambeth.

W. Dunn, "A Poor Jew", "anonymous", "JCDB", "NEMO", and "Matthews, W." £5 each: two ladies at Brighton, £2; "MBH", £1 10s; "FGS", £1 1s...

[yathome]

sickert was ripper

I have read Pat Cromwell's book "Portrait of a Killer..." and her theories are not so impossible to believe. Also after having read Stephen Frye's dissertation, I am more convinced than ever that Walter Sickert could possibly be the killer. There are just too many coincidences i.e. watermarks of paper used, the use of the name Mr. Nemo and the drawings on the letters sent to the police that could not have been done by anyone without artistic talent. That Walter Sickert would join in the sending of hoax letters to Scotland Yard about horrific murders is also too much of a coincidence, not to mention the homicidal themes in some of his art, some of which by coincidence resemble the murdered victims in different poses and locations.

[Moriarty]

Sickert was over 6 foot, with very striking features.He was very handsome when younger. There is no description of men seen with the victims that matches Sickert. Miss Marple

Yes but when he put on his magic hair dye he lost a foot in height.

[Elias]

What I don't understand is the amount of importance she attaches to paintings like 'JTR's Bedroom'. He was an artist and therefore painted about the subject. Is it any different to an author such as herself writing about the subject?

[jchlloyd]

Sickert ??

Cornwells book in places is good in its attempts to approach the profile logically etc but she ends up making too many assumptions and false allegations.
She puts forward a strong case for Sickert writing the letters of which I personally believe he may have done (for sick fun) she however assumes that the author of the letters inevitably was the Ripper.
Unfortunately the police received a lot of letters during the murders claiming to be the ripper. 90% were probably written by eccentrics like Sickert with only a marginal amount from the real JTR. Unless of course you are of the belief that there was more than one person involved. Sickert could of then easily written letters without having to be in Whitechapel at the time and created a false trail for police to follow.
His motives however to do this are questionable at best.
(I however don't really believe that I reckon he was trying to make a quick buck)

[Doppelganger]

having only Ms. Cornwell's book to go on for info on this theory i feel she does a great job proving some of the letters were written by sickert & that he was strangely interested in the ripper case but that does not make him the ripper imo ,there is no more proof the hes the ripper then there is that any the main suspects are ,plus there is evidence of him being France at the time of one of the murder.

[denn034]

Not Over 6 Foot!

Sickert was over 6 foot, with very striking features.He was very handsome when younger. There is no description of men seen with the victims that matches Sickert. Miss Marple

I just came across the following in Cornwell's book: "Photographs and several items of [Sickert's] clothing donated to the Tate Gallery Archive in the 1980s suggest he was probably five foot eight or nine." In other words, a case can be made that Sickert matches the height requirement to have been the Ripper.

[miss marple]

Sickert was over 6 foot, with very striking features.He was very handsome when younger. There is no description of men seen with the victims that matches Sickert. Miss Marple

[needler]

You're right, Jukka; "possible" should be a required word in Ripper discussions. I don't know if you remember the OJ trial, but a cop who answered questions "never" and "always" got himself into pretty deep excrement for using those words. "Possible" and "maybe" really are the operative adjectives we should use; there can be no absolutes in this case.....mostly because there was no one around with a video camera, and YouTube wasn't invented yet!

Now I'm going to solve the case of the missing croissant.........

Cheers and happy weekend,

Judy

[j.r-ahde]

Hello needler!

I hope you have picked the word "possible". That is; not for sure!

In fact: I also think, that JtR was a perfect nobody, maybe being even in a crowd following the research.

Again a "possible": even perfect nobodies are sometimes smart!

All the best
Jukka

[needler]

Good morning, Jukka. I'm very impressed! You give the Ripper a LOT of credit for being smart, and there's not much anyone can say that will convince me he was. We have a party question that asks "would you rather be smart than lucky?". I would want to be lucky like the Ripper, who was very lucky, indeed.

And while I applaud your creative theory of the traveling mustache, I REALLY don't believe he was smart enough to be that devious. I can accept animal cunning as one in his column, along with blandness and a downright chameleon-like ability to blend in....but smart?? Probably not. WAIT! I'd like to amend that: STREET smart, absolutely; creative smart.......nah.

But good luck with the traveling mustache theory. Hope it might bear fruit; until then, though, I'm going to believe in my own favorite suspect......the un-named, fly below the radar, UN-noticed fella from down the road. No name, no history, no future, no life, no chance, no conscience.

Cheers,

Judy

[j.r-ahde]

Hello needler!

I think it is also possible, that Saucy Jacky manipulated the eye-witnesses the following way:

1. Shaving at times so, that he left himself a moustache

2. Shaving at times so, that he left himself a moustache with a small beard below his chin.

3. Shaving at times everything off.

4. Not shaving at all at times!

All the best
Jukka

[needler]

??

denn.....WHICH witness description? and after slogging through most of 'em over these last million years, my question is WHO DOES NOT FIT THE DESCRIPTIONS? Hell, EVERYONE fits one of the descriptions, which is why the cops rarely rely on "eye witness" descriptions ONLY.

Now go have a lovely weekend with NO RIPPER in it, read a great mystery and have a pint!! Relax a bit......

Cheers,

Judy

[denn034]

Question

Is Sickert's height and build similar to the Ripper witness descriptions?