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"To a homeless man, who has no spot on this wide world which he can truly call his own, there is a momentary feeling of something like independence and territorial consequence, when, after a weary day's travel, he kicks off his boots, thrusts his feet into slippers, and stretches himself before an inn fire. Let the world without go as it may; let kingdoms rise and fall, so long as he has the wherewithal to pay his bills, he is, for the time being, the very monarch of all he surveys. The arm chair in his throne; the poker his sceptre, and the little parlour of some twelve feet square, his undisputed empire. "
Because I don't think there were two diffenrent guys dossing in the VH who would both have known Mary for 3 years and used to give her money at times.
But surely Hutch would never have come forward as a witness with a bunch of lies if he had once lived with Mary ? He would have at least told the Police about that -because they would be bound to find it out. I would imagine that Joe Barnett knew who Flemming was, at least by sight, as would other men at the Victoria Home.
I think that it IS possible that 'George Hutchinson' was an 'alias' though -but that's for another reason. I got carried away thinking that Hutch might have been in the army at one point, because the silent killing MO linked with the 'ex-groom' bit and 'military appearence' might fit with someone having done a term in the Army. I thought that I would try and 'find' Hutch -but the first bit of preliminary research made me realise that it was very common, and accepted, to enlist under a false name. So Hutch could easily have adopted an 'alias' that way -but some years before 1888.
It would be fascinating to know if Hutch knew Flemming though (and/or Barnett's brother) , and had gotten some info on her that way..maybe that's how he knew that Barnett had moved out ?
Fleming had only moved into the parish of Whitechapel (and presumably the Victoria Home) in September 1888, and was therefore unlikely to have been very well known there. If he was using an alias at this stage (as he would do later), it is even less likely that either the name or persona of Joseph Fleming was connected with the Victoria Home in the minds of the Miller's Court bunch, none of whom appeared to have known him by sight.
Fascinating, Ben ..I know nearly nothing about Fleming, except that he was a plasterer whom Mary had lived with, that he continued to see her and she was said to be 'fond of him'.
So what do YOU think ? COULD they be the same person in your opinion ?
'George Hutchinson' as an alias? I'm pretty sure that the existence of George Hutchinson has been well established and I believe a picture of him (as an older man) has even been posted on this site.
'George Hutchinson' as an alias? I'm pretty sure that the existence of George Hutchinson has been well established and I believe a picture of him (as an older man) has even been posted on this site.
Oh yes.
For sure, Toppy's pic is a perfect illustration of Reg's tale.
Opinion is divided as to whether or not the old man in the picture was the real George Hutchinson (at least by those who frequent Hutchinson discussions on internet message boards), but it's only a significant minority of commentators who believe that the identity has been "well established". I don't believe the man in the picture had anything to do with the events of 1888.
Hi Ruby,
It's an intriguing possibility at the very least. The only potential fly in the ointment concerns the issue of height. The medical examiners from Stone Asylum listed his height at 6"7', which would tend to rule him out for the "not tall" man in the wideawake.
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