Originally posted by Wicker Man
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That is not really an original sounding story but it was allegedly said by someone at the time the man with the stiff knee and overalls was observed. We really need a whole thread for this peculiar man. I was thinking of rounding up information for a starter but I have a headache and hope I can find the article again.
The peculiar man was also frequently said to be fairly well dressed. Not extremely well dressed, not dirty from a day's work as a labourer, not ragged. Shabby genteel or whatever. Maybe like a man who had had some success in the world and then lost his position?
I think the hunt for Jack has gone astray because there has been the desire to find a man with very special traits; a doctor, an American, a foreigner, a lunatic, an artist, etc. I think Jack was a man more in the middle, someone who was overlooked or never suspected. He wasn't poor or rich. A youngish man who had lost his business or occupation makes sense. He had some decent clothes. He came out at night. Maybe because of disability or disfigurement from a disease, he didn't show himself often. Maybe night made him feel comfortable. Maybe that is why no one really put it together, that Jack was a fellow seen here and there.
I don't think he went home to the West End nor did he cross the sea. I think he lived near Whitechapel but not necessarily IN it. IMO he may have travelled to and fro via Bethnal Green Road.
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