Thomas Toughill On Druitt (WS Journal June 2012)

[Howard Brown]

Mr. Toughill, if you will recall, wrote The Ripper Code, as well as two works based on Conan Doyle.

In the recent issue of the WS1888 Journal, Mr. Toughill presents his argument that we should not ignore Melville Macnaghten and Major Arthur Griffith in what they wrote about M.J. Druitt.

I'm not sure how many others on the Forums receive the magazine, so I'll just post some random statements from Mr. Toughill's article...one at a time.

From page 13 :

"Macnaghten's factual inaccuracies about Druitt in respect to his age and profession must not mislead us. That is to say, Druitt was not a 41 year old doctor, as Macnaghten wrote, but a 31 year old teacher/barrister. Macnaghten would surely have known the truth here and it is nigh on certain that he altered the facts in order to protect Druitt's pupils and to maintain public confidence in the Legal profession."

With all due respect, this sort of says that Macnaghten had no qualms about shifting the onus upon the medical profession or any other field.

What are your thoughts ?

[m_w_r]

What are your thoughts ?

Hi How,

I think it's preposterous from start to finish. We all know that Macnaghten's observations (at least, those in which he gave the details to which Toughill refers) weren't for public consumption, so there was no need to adjust the details to reassure the public about anything. And, besides, how does adjusting Druitt's age make any difference? Couldn't the public be just as worried about a 41-year-old Jack the Ripper as they might have been about a 31-year-old Jack the Ripper?

I haven't read this article yet, but I might do so now, as I am in the mood to be needlessly annoyed by something.

Regards,

Mark

[Howard Brown]

Mark:

Thank you for chiming in...your point about Macnaghten's document not being for public scrutiny is spot on, sor.

One more point Mr. Toughill brings up :

"What then of Macnaghten's charge that Druitt was sexually insane ? This author believes that a breakthrough in answering this question is his discovery that when the 19 year old Druitt arrived at Oxford in the Autumn of 1876, he was refused membership of the Oxford Union, the most famous debating society in the world. That Druitt, a former treasurer of the Winchester Debating Society who had two brothers elected to the Union, should himself be barred from it strongly suggests that when he entered Oxford he was already displaying signs of the "sexual insanity" ascribed to him by Macnaghten."


Again, with all due respect, what if Druitt was simply not qualified to be part of the debating society ?

[m_w_r]

I haven't read this article yet, but I might do so now ...

I couldn't finish it. Life's too short.

[Howard Brown]

Mark:

On page 13, Mr. Toughill points out the document he located in the archives of Oxford Union. Its actually a chart of sorts.

There are eight names, two, Druitt and a man named Crossley ( Balliol College), do not have an "E" next to their names.
Mr. Toughill claims that the absence of the "E" ( at the left of the column with those eight names ) indicates Druitt was blackballed, although Druitt, like the other man ostensibly blackballed, one Mr. Crossley, is listed along with the other six men at the far right in a column that has a column with a "1" and another with a "5".

Mr. Toughill also suggests that the absence of the "E" at left next to Druitt's name is a strong sign that he was already displaying the "sexual insanity" ascribed to him.

My question is....what about Mr. Crossley, who doesn't have this "E" either ?

[Howard Brown]

Mark:

I suppose you've seen the comment that Druitt's serious trouble might have been based in part on a trade in child pornography ? ( Page 14 )

[Caroline Brown]

The irony is that if you had asked W.T.Stead, he would have told you that trading in child porn was the one thing not regarded as a sign of sexual insanity by the powers that be - as long as the child happened to be female of course.

Either way, we are left wondering exactly what form of sexual insanity was thought to have afflicted poor Monty, and how that would have translated in the flesh to turning menopausal prossies inside out.

I sympathise with Mark.

Love,

Caz
X

[m_w_r]

My question is....what about Mr. Crossley, who doesn't have this "E" either?

Hi How,

Here he is. Not obviously sexually insane, I think.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savile_...on_Somerleyton

Regards,

Mark

[Howard Brown]

Mark:

Thanks a lot for the effort in locating that fellow. Much appreciated buddy.

[Chris G.]

Mark:

Thank you for chiming in...your point about Macnaghten's document not being for public scrutiny is spot on, sor.

One more point Mr. Toughill brings up :

"What then of Macnaghten's charge that Druitt was sexually insane ? This author believes that a breakthrough in answering this question is his discovery that when the 19 year old Druitt arrived at Oxford in the Autumn of 1876, he was refused membership of the Oxford Union, the most famous debating society in the world. That Druitt, a former treasurer of the Winchester Debating Society who had two brothers elected to the Union, should himself be barred from it strongly suggests that when he entered Oxford he was already displaying signs of the "sexual insanity" ascribed to him by Macnaghten."


Again, with all due respect, what if Druitt was simply not qualified to be part of the debating society ?

I would certainly agree that Toughill's conclusion that Druitt failed to gain entrance to the Oxford debating union because he was "sexually insane" is a bridge too far. He may have been an ace debater at Winchester but at Oxford he was in the big league.

[Howard Brown]

CG:

I agree with your statement about Druitt being in the "bigs" now with the Oxford Union.
I wonder what the columns ( I will try and reproduce it in a minute ) meant...you'll see what I'm talking about in a second.

[Howard Brown]

**********************133 / 13
----------
M. J Druitt New College 1/ 5 (every name ( all 8 ) on the list have "1" and "5" in those two columns ( 133 and 13 )

E ****** New College x 1/ 5 ( the x appears as a checkmark on the chart in question )

5 more men appear on the list with the same marks, same check mark next to the 1 and 5 as the man above

The Crossley fellow Mark was good enough to locate appears last with the identical marks and absence of the "E" & checkmark just like Druitt does.

[Chris G.]

Hi How et al.

The other thing to say about Toughill's suggestion that Druitt was denied membership in the Oxford debating union because it was known that he suffered from "sexual insanity" is that would appear to be very unlikely given that the incident occurred years earlier than the time of the Whitechapel murders, and in 1888 Druitt was deemed by Mr. Valentine perfectly suitable to teach boys at his school in Blackheath, so things don't add up the way Toughill would lead his readers to believe.

All the best

Chris