The Davis Ward HOAX

[Rob Clack]

Just thought I'd mention a couple of things.

I might have missed it if it has been brought up before, so I apologise if it has, but has anyone tried to find out if Dr Evans was in Davis Ward according to Stephenson's police statement? I'm presuming Dr Evans was a patient as well unless I miss-read the statement. If he wasn't and was a staff member would any duty sheets, rotas or anything like that have survived?

And I met Jonathan Evans of the London Hospital Archives myself a couple of weeks back, while doing some research (not on Stephenson) and I just want to say he was a very nice bloke and while I didn't ask him anything taxing, he gave me the impression that if he didn't know the answer to a question than no one would.

Rob

[Mike Covell]

Hi Mike,

im not blasting your research, see above, I was ONLY making a suggestion, if you think its shite, the correct answer wass, thanks for the idea Jenni but we've already considred that and not done itand so therefore we think your suggestion is shite

Jenni

I wasn't blasting your idea Jenni, I was just saying your welcome to look at the chronology thread, to be honest, it gets a lot of views and very little feedback

Just today I discovered a new place that holds papers on the Stephenson family, I called them but they could only fit me in on Wed's, as the documents are under lock and key, and the archivist is away

I am working on a book entitled "Jack the Ripper, From Hell, From Hull?" which looks at several suspects with links to Hull. Stephenson features heavily and the chronology in that stands at about 100 pages, with over 1000 entries, maps, photos, and some rare finds not yet posted but hinted at in my blogg.

[Stephen Thomas]

I might have missed it if it has been brought up before, so I apologise if it has, but has anyone tried to find out if Dr Evans was in Davis Ward according to Stephenson's police statement? I'm presuming Dr Evans was a patient as well unless I miss-read the statement. If he wasn't and was a staff member would any duty sheets, rotas or anything like that have survived?

Hi Rob

I might be wrong but I understood that Evans was a pal of Davies and was just visiting him (Welshmen unite!). The most interesting thing, to my mind here, is that Dr Davies who is the person accused by RDS of being Jack the Ripper appears not to have been investigated by the police. This fits in with my own theory, that the case had already beem solved by then but that's another story.

[Rob Clack]

Hi Stephen,

Part of Stephenson's statement was:

Three weeks ago, I was a patient in the London Hospital, in a private ward (Davis) with a Dr Evans, suffering from typhoid who use to be visited almost nightly by Dr Davies, when the murders were are usual subject of conversation.

I could be wrong but it sounds to me that Dr Evans was a patient so it might be worth checking him out. If he was a member of staff it might still be worth checking him out. At any rate I think Dr Evans was in the hospital for a reason.

Rob

[Debra A]

Hi Stephen,

Part of Stephenson's statement was:

Three weeks ago, I was a patient in the London Hospital, in a private ward (Davis) with a Dr Evans, suffering from typhoid who use to be visited almost nightly by Dr Davies, when the murders were are usual subject of conversation.

I could be wrong but it sounds to me that Dr Evans was a patient so it might be worth checking him out. If he was a member of staff it might still be worth checking him out. At any rate I think Dr Evans was in the hospital for a reason.

Rob

That's how I read it Rob, maybe Ashley just isn't nosey enough?....we need scar face here...bed number and dietry requirements and all!

[Howard Brown]

Dear Mr. Clack,sor...

You may have missed what Tom Wescott mentioned about getting his hands on material from Dr. Davies...and he remembers an Evans being mentioned.

Nina tells me that she remembers, but can't pinpoint where she saw a mention of Davies marrying an Evans as well.

[Debra A]

Hi How,
...sorry to butt in again, but if Dr Evans was a typhoid patient , shouldn't he be just in the records the same as Stephenson?

[Howard Brown]

Dear Debs:

I wish everyone "butted in" like you do. Virtually everything you've suggested to me and brought up has been beneficial for everyone.

Thats a good question about this Dr. Evans. I think its safe to say that the remaining pro-Donston author didn't check into that when he was there at the LH. Maybe this is a job for our faulty researcher, Mike Covell.

By the way, Mike hasn't heard back from Jonathan Evans yet...in case anyone was wondering.

Good question once again Debs !

[Mike Covell]

He would Debra,

It seem's however that Jonathon Evans the archivist is not replying to my emails, or he is away!!

And a return trip is out of the question due to ill health and financial constraints.

I did check the minutes books covering several years before and after 1888 and found Dr Davies and Dr Sutton but could not find a Dr Evans.

Intrestingly, there was nothing in any of the minutes books regarding an investigation into allegations that a staff member had been accused of being the ripper. Which leads me to believe both Marsh and Stephenson's claims were not taken seriously!

[Jenni Shelden]

Well, im glad i had this conversation, tommorow I shall butt mynose into Druitism, lol

[Howard Brown]

Mike:

Just a quick heads up here:

Dr. Evans, the patient, probably wasn't a staff member if you didn't see his name along with Sutton's and the others....assuming that he WAS at the LH when Sudden Death was there.

One more thing...the "missing" report that Roots wrote up on Marsh's deposition probably was just as droll as the Roots Report and discarded by Swanson in much the same manner others were as well. I really believe...can't prove...that Marsh was more interested in providing the police with samples of RDS's handwriting than he was with the "possibility" that he was the Ripper.

There's always the possibility that Stephenson was so wigged out in his rehab that he could have written "Ripper letters" to the police and thats possibly the basis for the December 31st article which mentions the police taking the trip to the LH to check into a patient for official business.

[Stephen Thomas]

Hi Stephen,
I could be wrong but it sounds to me that Dr Evans was a patient so it might be worth checking him out. If he was a member of staff it might still be worth checking him out. At any rate I think Dr Evans was in the hospital for a reason.

Hi Rob

Oh ho, har har. Come sweet Stephensonians, precision please.

[Debra A]

Dear Debs:

I wish everyone "butted in" like you do. Virtually everything you've suggested to me and brought up has been beneficial for everyone.

Thats a good question about this Dr. Evans. I think its safe to say that the remaining pro-Donston author didn't check into that when he was there at the LH. Maybe this is a job for our faulty researcher, Mike Covell.

By the way, Mike hasn't heard back from Jonathan Evans yet...in case anyone was wondering.

Good question once again Debs !

Pheww, I would hate to upset more than one person per night!

I'm wondering if a doctor (who didn't work there from all accounts, Mike's findings etc) would even be allowed in the London hospital?
Spiro has stated a few times that what we understand to be a private ward (and where you might expect to find a doctor) was just not the same case in 88.
I understand that the London hospital didn't take wealthy or even fairly well off patients....I'd expect a doctor to be in that earning category?

[Howard Brown]

Its sure sounds like a doctor would be considered "well off" unless Dr. Evans was a former doctor at the LH and it was a request he made to be there...or perhaps a very sick individual who was put in the best of all possible places ( I don't know ??)....or maybe Spiro's observations about the protocol regarding wards and what "private ward" meant then is different than now. The latter is a good point and one that should have been examined a long time ago further.

[David Knott]

I don't know whether they were related to the patient Dr Evans, but I would confirm that Morgan Davies' wife's maiden name was Evans, and Morgan Davies' sister also married an Evans.

The latter Evans (John) took over Morgan Davies' fathers dairy business in Black Lion Yard Whitechapel, and was interviewed by Charles Booth during his survey of the East End.

Morgan Davies spent his last years living with John Evans, who had by then retired to Aberyswyth.