Ripperologist 127: August 2012

[AdamNeilWood]

Who's Catherine Coulthard?

Hi Maria,

Can I suggest you subscribe and read the issue - all will become clear!

Best wishes
Adam

[mariab]

Who's Catherine Coulthard?

[Monty]

I think clarification is required.


In 2007 How Brown located a report in which the wall writing photo is mentioned.


In February 2011 John, Laura, Rob and myself were present, along with Catherine Coulthard at the finding of the wall writing photo.

A few months after that, Debs Arif notified us of the same report How had located. However Debs was unware How had found the report at that moment.

Fast forward many months, Magpie located the same report (again unaware that others had found it) and posted it on JTR Forums. Debs noted this but as she was aware that we had to keep the discovery under wraps, kept quiet.

When we published the Wall writing article we thanks Debs for her find. Debs pointed out that Magpie had already revealed the report and subsequently found out that How had actually released it many years ago (in 2007).

So basically what has happen is two seperate threads of research has come together.

Monty

[mariab]

Congratulations to Rob, Monty, and Debs for these very significant findings. Congrats also to Magpie and How Brown for having also located the newspaper report.

I haven't downloaded the issue yet (finishing up with a project that requires my comp at 100%), so I really hope that the pics will be visible.

I just wanted to add that in my opinion, the controversy of the missing "signed" could be explained by the fact that the newspaper added it to indicate the signature.

Anyone already compared the graffito with "From Hell" and with the "Dear boss" letter and postcard?

[Rob Clack]

I thoroughly enjoyed Chris and John's article. These are the articles I like reading about and the new information regarding Farson's program would hopefully open up new areas of research regarding the participants we now know about.

Rob

[Rob Clack]

Hello all,

I have just finished Trevor Marriott's piece and must say that this very detailed and responsible article raises, imho, serious questions against Tumblety's candidacy as a suspect for the Ripper crimes. The methodology used by the authorities shown in this article, if correct (and I see no reason to say that it isn't) is quite conclusive.

Well done to Trevor, and to Simon as well. It is a very fine article indeed, that may well be groundbreaking imho.

Best wishes

Phil

I have just finished Trevor's article, and while I didn't have the orgasm you did after reading it, I did enjoy it. However, Trevor's idea that to be a Jack the Ripper suspect, you would have had to committed the 'Macnaghten Five' murders is just plain silly. I felt the idea behind the article was to remove Tumblety from the list of suspects and this was the best way to do it. Personally speaking that is an impossible task as Tumblety (whether you think he is Jack the Ripper or not, and I don't) is a legitimate Jack the Ripper, he was named at the time and he was named by a top police officer so whether we like it or not he is a genuine suspect and should be placed along side the likes of Druitt and kosminski.
I'd have to read the article several times to understand all the technical jargon and a note on sources wouldn't have gone amiss.

Rob

[Harry the Hawker]

Mrs Harvey

Well, Farson's notes were kindly provided by Keith Skinner, who obviously has a lot of other interesting material, though I think he sent us all he had that was directly relevant to "Farson's Guide".

I have a few more snippets of information from the production file at the BFI about those who appeared (or didn't appear) in the programmes, which I'll try to post over the next few days if people are interested.

Chris,

Many thanks for the transcript and info! Fascinating stuff. I would love to know the story of "Mrs Harvey, who thinks she once met the killer", is there anything more known about her?

Cheers!
Harry

[Beowulf]

Beowulf,

This is one of the reasons we feel it was taken October 88. Yes, the letter and post card coupled with the recent murders themselves may have triggered them photographing such items early doors.

Monty


PS. I'm sure you meant 29th.

Oh, NOW this is clear! I confused the date of Eddowes and Strides death as to be on the 27th. It was on the 30th! And of course that is the end of September, so it had to be photographed in the daylight putting it into October.

Then this wall writing could actually have been written by Jack the Ripper. I don't want to be hasty, but then does that make the Dear Boss writing likely not a hoax?

[Monty]

Beowulf,

This is one of the reasons we feel it was taken October 88. Yes, the letter and post card coupled with the recent murders themselves may have triggered them photographing such items early doors.

Monty


PS. I'm sure you meant 29th.

[Beowulf]

Is it possible the writing was photographed simply because it was signed Jack the Ripper? I mean, I don't think there are other wall writings signed that way?

Since the Dear Boss letter is dated September 25 1888, why could this writing not be considered referring to the double event on the 27th of September?

Supposing they received that letter, the murders then took place and then they found this writing wouldn't they be likely to think it was connected?

I know this seems obvious and for some reason has been ruled out but for the life of me I can't get past it.

[Tom_Wescott]

Hi Chris....your interpretation is likely the right one. If Mrs. Little is correct, then she certainly had a long association with the McCarthy's.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[Chris]

I interpret that last bit as Mrs. McCarthy was blind (or near so) and would send her young son, Steven, to fetch her drink for her, and that she eventually died from the drink.

I read it as: "Drink sent Stephen McCarthy blind - Mrs McCarthy died of drink".

[Tom_Wescott]

Hi Chris, thanks for the info and your rendering of Farson's notes. Very interesting stuff! I interpret that last bit as Mrs. McCarthy was blind (or near so) and would send her young son, Steven, to fetch her drink for her, and that she eventually died from the drink. I would like to think this is wrong, because it's such a sad story, but I'm sure John McCarthy was not an easy man to be married to. However, I'm not sure Mrs. Little would have still been living there when Mrs McCarthy died, if she was living there when Steven was a young child. I'll need to read up on that. Very fascinating, none the less.

Regarding the Mrs. Harvey in the photo...any thoughts?

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[Tom_Wescott]

by the way, I don't know if others are having the same problem, but some of the photos are not showing up in my copy of the Ripperologist 127 pdf. Several in Chris and John's article are missing for example.

Rob H

The photo of Eddowes didn't show up the first time I read Rob and Monty's article. It drove me nuts them talking about it and not showing it! But that was at work. When I downloaded the issue later from home, I saw it. But for all I know there's others they put in there that I'm missing, in which case I'll have to eat crow.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[Phil Carter]

My infamously BAD taste in humor? Maybe a little. In hindsight, I should have just stuck with AP Wolf, who certainly is known to have gratuitously and without cause accused reputable researchers with fakery on no grounds. I must say I was very insulted to be placed in ranks alongside AP by Monty, so I apologize for bringing your name into the mud along with mine.

And for the record, I don't actually think that Paul wrote Adam's editorial.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

Hello Tom,

No problem at all. Welcome to the dregs of the teapot..
Think positive. Names that are full of muck tend to stick in people's minds.
Haha!

Best wishes

Phil