How Brown
07-05-2010, 06:38 AM
Many thanks to Phil for contributing to the 5Q Forum !
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1. Is there one specific area of the Whitechapel Murders that you think has been overlooked to such a point that we should start "all over again" on it ?
2. Please list some of the internet newspaper sources that you have found of value to the fledgling Ripperologist...or perhaps to yourself.
3. Would it be likely that much has yet to be gleaned from non-English newspapers, such as La Prensa or Le Monde, that may be of value to the field ?
4. What is your impression of the 1913 statement by Macnaghten that he destroyed material relative to the Case ? Do you believe he would have been the "caretaker" of materials and said materials would have been out of reach of other officials ? Elaborate if you would care to.
5. What articles in either Ripperologist,The Examiner, or The Whitechapel Society Journal over the last calendar year have been noteworthy in your research...even if you only had a marginal interest in the material in the magazine prior to that time ?
Answers
1. One specific area? Hmmm. Well, it has been my personal belief for over 40 years, that the way we look at the WM, or JTR, has been based more on what we are told happened than actually happened. For me, it started when I heard of the social conditions and fear from the common all-garden people who lived there at the time. Thanks to my grandmother, who was born in the very area in August 1888, and she related to me the fear factor, even when she grew up as a little girl in the 1890's, and the effect on her older siblings and family. I tend to harp on about the background as most important. It is only relatively recently that, on a general scale, this is being researched fully, thanks to the likes of historians Clutterbuck and Butterworth, that we see the East End as a far more complicated social structure than is generally thought of. The mere fact that Special Branch have deliberately witheld access to nearly everyone, before and after the Freedom of Information Act in 2001, making all manner of excuses for non-existance of things tells me something that we should all adhere to. So, "start all over" means to me, Don't believe what you have been told. I have been (in this case), suspicious, because for 40 years it has screamed out at me... this is totally wrong, is full of inconsistencies and doesn't add up. There is no logical work method. But one thing does stand out above all others... the witness and police statements. Some even seem concocted. John Kelly's, re Catharine Eddowes is a good example of sheer falsity.
2. Newspaper sources are invaluable. Having previously worked with the media over many years, I know that every newspaper reporter tries to find the "exclusive". The larger ones build solid contacts, the smaller, provincial ones rely more upon on information at street level. We are told that most reports are unreliable, due to factual errors. But every newspaper reporter tries their best to have a golden nugget of information. So all reports must be carefully considered before being thrown to one side and the newspaper as unreliable.
So smaller, local and provincial snippets can be most valuable. If they are not available online, go into local libraries and hunt them down. The Echo, The East End Advertiser. Look at the Connell and Evans book, with references to Toby magazine, a spin off from Punch. That sort of research is brilliant.
Another thing often overlooked is that US and other foreign journalists were abound in London at the time, (R Harding Davis is a good example), and we see via the internet that the reports from the USA media contain things generally unknown to the UK population. (Tumblety's reported connection, widely reported in the US is a good example)
3. French newspapers, in particular, have some interesting stuff in them. Most European newspapers reported the happenings, some of whom had people there "on the ground" at the time, as it were. I have found articles written for Norwegian and Swedish and Danish newspapers helpful to a smaller extent. That means that wherever one lives, there is always something to be looked at. Swedish newspapers, especially concerning Stride, are invaluable to researchers.
4. MacNaghten as caretaker of materials? No, I think not. Purloiner or witholder of material (as others did, no doubt for personal interest), yes. I am in doubt as to the "destruction" of material. As I said before, never believe what one is told.
5. Andy Parlour's material in The Whitechapel mag last year about his family connections with Polly Nichols was really excellent, RJ Palmer's (continuing) work on Tumblety in the Examiner interests me, and I await a concluding piece before I look at the whole concept and take stock. Likewise Tom Wescott's research on Le Grand, which is still ongoing but opens up possibilities re Berner Street. Simon Wood's Anderson article in Ripperologist was also fascinating.
Allan Jones' article in Ripperana 70 about Coincidences, Fenianism and Evangelical Christianity (Monro, Anderson) was very interesting too.
I must also say that the photographic material of the East End today from Messrs Clack, Bell, Firth and Bennett is excellent.
But to be honest, all researched material is of interest in these magazines. And every contributor has used time and mental energy over perhaps a long time to get together his or her article. Remember, they may have a family life too...That deserves the utmost respect from us all, whether we agree with the conclusions or nay.
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1. Is there one specific area of the Whitechapel Murders that you think has been overlooked to such a point that we should start "all over again" on it ?
2. Please list some of the internet newspaper sources that you have found of value to the fledgling Ripperologist...or perhaps to yourself.
3. Would it be likely that much has yet to be gleaned from non-English newspapers, such as La Prensa or Le Monde, that may be of value to the field ?
4. What is your impression of the 1913 statement by Macnaghten that he destroyed material relative to the Case ? Do you believe he would have been the "caretaker" of materials and said materials would have been out of reach of other officials ? Elaborate if you would care to.
5. What articles in either Ripperologist,The Examiner, or The Whitechapel Society Journal over the last calendar year have been noteworthy in your research...even if you only had a marginal interest in the material in the magazine prior to that time ?
Answers
1. One specific area? Hmmm. Well, it has been my personal belief for over 40 years, that the way we look at the WM, or JTR, has been based more on what we are told happened than actually happened. For me, it started when I heard of the social conditions and fear from the common all-garden people who lived there at the time. Thanks to my grandmother, who was born in the very area in August 1888, and she related to me the fear factor, even when she grew up as a little girl in the 1890's, and the effect on her older siblings and family. I tend to harp on about the background as most important. It is only relatively recently that, on a general scale, this is being researched fully, thanks to the likes of historians Clutterbuck and Butterworth, that we see the East End as a far more complicated social structure than is generally thought of. The mere fact that Special Branch have deliberately witheld access to nearly everyone, before and after the Freedom of Information Act in 2001, making all manner of excuses for non-existance of things tells me something that we should all adhere to. So, "start all over" means to me, Don't believe what you have been told. I have been (in this case), suspicious, because for 40 years it has screamed out at me... this is totally wrong, is full of inconsistencies and doesn't add up. There is no logical work method. But one thing does stand out above all others... the witness and police statements. Some even seem concocted. John Kelly's, re Catharine Eddowes is a good example of sheer falsity.
2. Newspaper sources are invaluable. Having previously worked with the media over many years, I know that every newspaper reporter tries to find the "exclusive". The larger ones build solid contacts, the smaller, provincial ones rely more upon on information at street level. We are told that most reports are unreliable, due to factual errors. But every newspaper reporter tries their best to have a golden nugget of information. So all reports must be carefully considered before being thrown to one side and the newspaper as unreliable.
So smaller, local and provincial snippets can be most valuable. If they are not available online, go into local libraries and hunt them down. The Echo, The East End Advertiser. Look at the Connell and Evans book, with references to Toby magazine, a spin off from Punch. That sort of research is brilliant.
Another thing often overlooked is that US and other foreign journalists were abound in London at the time, (R Harding Davis is a good example), and we see via the internet that the reports from the USA media contain things generally unknown to the UK population. (Tumblety's reported connection, widely reported in the US is a good example)
3. French newspapers, in particular, have some interesting stuff in them. Most European newspapers reported the happenings, some of whom had people there "on the ground" at the time, as it were. I have found articles written for Norwegian and Swedish and Danish newspapers helpful to a smaller extent. That means that wherever one lives, there is always something to be looked at. Swedish newspapers, especially concerning Stride, are invaluable to researchers.
4. MacNaghten as caretaker of materials? No, I think not. Purloiner or witholder of material (as others did, no doubt for personal interest), yes. I am in doubt as to the "destruction" of material. As I said before, never believe what one is told.
5. Andy Parlour's material in The Whitechapel mag last year about his family connections with Polly Nichols was really excellent, RJ Palmer's (continuing) work on Tumblety in the Examiner interests me, and I await a concluding piece before I look at the whole concept and take stock. Likewise Tom Wescott's research on Le Grand, which is still ongoing but opens up possibilities re Berner Street. Simon Wood's Anderson article in Ripperologist was also fascinating.
Allan Jones' article in Ripperana 70 about Coincidences, Fenianism and Evangelical Christianity (Monro, Anderson) was very interesting too.
I must also say that the photographic material of the East End today from Messrs Clack, Bell, Firth and Bennett is excellent.
But to be honest, all researched material is of interest in these magazines. And every contributor has used time and mental energy over perhaps a long time to get together his or her article. Remember, they may have a family life too...That deserves the utmost respect from us all, whether we agree with the conclusions or nay.