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A Ripperologist Article
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This article originally appeared in Ripperologist magazine. Ripperologist is the most respected Ripper periodical on the market and has garnered our highest recommendation for serious students of the case. For more information, view our Ripperologist page.
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The Victims Photographs
and some Wall Writing
By Neil Bell and Robert
Clack
The following article is in
two parts, firstly we will be discussing the photographs relating to
the victims of the Whitechapel and secondly we will be discussing some
of the graffiti that was found near or close to the crime scenes, to
put some context to this discovery. Some of our discussion, as you will
see, will overlap.
The Whitechapel Victims
Photographs.
There are two official places
where photographs of the victims are kept, The City of London Police
Museum at Wood Street, London and the National Archives in Kew, London.
We will not be discussing the photographs that are held in photographic
libraries as those copies are derived from those held by the National
Archives.
The City of London Police
Museum.
Around 1966/67 a young City
of London Police Constable Donald Rumbelow was in the process of setting
up a new Museum for the City of London Police, at the newly opened Wood
Street Police Station. The old museum had closed in 1959 and was situated
at Bishopsgate Police Station. The remains of the old museum had been
sent to a filthy attic room at Snow Hill Police Station, and while Donald
was looking through the remains, he came across five photographs. Four
of which he recognised as being the body of Catherine Eddowes and the
other the well-known crime scene photograph of Mary Kelly. The four
photographs of Catherine Eddowes are the pre post-mortem photograph of Catherine Eddowes
in the coffin, and the three post-mortem photographs, the head and shoulders
photograph of the right side of Eddowes head, the three quarters front
view from head to thighs and the full-length view.
On the
18 February 2011, Neil Bell, John Bennett and Laura Prieto and I had
a chance to view the copies held at City of London Police Museum. The
four photographs of Catherine Eddowes are not original 1888 copies,
but are later copies, what became of the originals is unknown at present.
When these copies were made is not at present known but they are at
least early 20th century and maybe earlier. The four photographs
vary slightly in size from 2 ˝ inches to 3 ˝ inches, they are black
and white prints, not sepia. They were originally mounted; probably
in a book as the back of the photographs contain traces of glue. Also,
on the back of each photograph, stamped in blue ink is 'City of
London Police Photographic Dept, 22 March 1950.' Also,
with the exception of the head and shoulder photograph, the back of
the photographs have written on them in blue ink the numbers '27/10'. What
these numbers refer to are at present unknown. The stamp and writing
covers over the traces of glue and so would have been stamped and written
after the photographs were removed from the book or album. What this
book or album was is unfortunately not known but they could possibly
have come from the “ large
album of photographs” Donald
Rumbelow mentions in his book “The Complete Jack the Ripper” but
that is only a guess on our part.
The photograph
of Mary Kelly Donald found is no longer with the City of London Police
Museum, and its present whereabouts are unknown. A copy Donald had made
is at the City of London Police Museum; the photograph is mounted on
card and is unfortunately at present missing the top third and the bottom
third.
With the
permission of the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Donald had
a set of these photographs made and deposited with the official Metropolitan
Police Files on the Whitechapel Murders in 1968 (they are stamped '24 Apr
1968' on the
back). At that time, the files were kept at New Scotland Yard and are
now at the National Archives in Kew.
Donald
also found in the photographic department at the Old Jewry in 1966/67
a glass negative, which he instantly recognized as the exterior of Millers
Court. Unfortunately, the negative is now missing, but thankfully prints
were made and the photographed has been reproduced on many occasions.
There
is however a newly discovered photograph of Catherine Eddowes and another
photograph connected to the Whitechapel Murders. These will be discussed
further on in this article.
The
National Archives.
The original
files and photographs relating to the Whitechapel Murders are not usually
available for viewing at the National Archives. They are available on
microfilm for anybody wishing to see what they contained. It was however
important to view the actual photographs for the purposes of this article
and after several e-mails that went nowhere I [RC] paid a visit to Kew
on the 11 March 2011 and pleaded my case in person to try to view the
original photographs and I was finally granted permission to view the
photographs.
There
are in total eight photographs in the files not including the set of
photographs Donald Rumbelow deposited in 1968. When Donald deposited
his photographs there was only three photographs in the files. They
were the mortuary photographs of Martha Tabram, Alice McKenzie and Frances
Coles. At the time of my visit, the photographs of Martha Tabram and
Frances Coles were still there, however the photograph of Alice McKenzie
is a modern black and white copy. Written on the back of the McKenzie
photograph is:
This is
a copy of the original which is now missing
C W Edwards
Repository
1/9/1980.
The photographs
of Tabram and Coles are original copies printed on card about 2 x 3
inches in size and sepia in colour. On comparing the modern McKenzie
print it is likely the McKenzie photograph was exactly the same. On
the back of both the Tabram and Coles photographs it is printed:
PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE UNKNOWN DEAD.
In districts where a skilled operator cannot be obtained, LOUIS GUMPRECHT,
of 11, CANNON STREET ROAD, E., is willing to attend on a few hours'
notice, on the same terms as the Eastern District are served.
Wire through “H.”
The three photographs were head
and shoulder photographs and were not taken to show the extent of the
wounds but were taken to be used to help identify the victims.
That is where things stood until the centenary of
the murders in 1988.
Around the time of the centenary, two anonymous parcels
were sent to New Scotland Yard, the first in 1987 contained the Dear
Boss letter and envelope, the Bond report, and other papers including
a few Crippen papers. The second which is of interest to us was received
in 1988 and this was an album of photographs, which contained six photographs
of the Whitechapel victims, one each of Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman,
Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes and two of Mary Kelly. The six photographs
are all sepia photographs, five of which are about 2 ˝ x 3 ˝ inches
in size. One of the photographs of Mary Kelly is about 4 x 5 inches;
this photograph is the same view as the photo Don found in Snow Hill
Police Station. The other Mary Kelly photograph is the view from the
other side of the bed. These are the only known crime scene photographs
of a Whitechapel Murder victim.
The photographs of Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman
and Elizabeth Stride are all head and shoulders photographs and like
the Tabram, McKenzie and Coles photographs, were taken to help aid identification.
The Elizabeth Stride photograph is not at the National Archives and
its present whereabouts are unknown. The photograph of Catherine Eddowes
is the same as the full length photograph in the City of Police Museum,
the only difference, is this copy has a bit more information at the
sides of the image and what is noticeable, is what looks like the corner
of a mortuary table on the left of the image and what could be another
table on the right of the photograph.
The photographs have since been removed from the
album and are now mounted onto a sheet of white card; they are not glued
to the card but are held in place by slots in the white card. The photographs
are blank on the reverse except for a modern 'Public Record Office'
stamp. The photographs are kept in a clear cover so it is impossible
to tell if they were printed onto paper or thin card. To my eye it looks
like paper. The sepia colour on these photographs is a little bit darker
then the sepia colouring on the Tabram and Coles photographs, this could
be due to the medium used to print them. The date of these photographs
are difficult to judge but it is our opinion that they were photographs
taken from the original copies or negatives for specific use in the
album mentioned, which William Waddell described in his book “The
Black Museum” as used for 'CID training.'Despite no 'Gumprecht' stamp
on the back of the photographs, it is our opinion that they are contemporary
prints.
A
new photograph.
Going
back to what we said earlier, during the visit to the City of London
Police Museum. While looking through the photographs there, one caught
our attention. It was a photograph of Catherine Eddowes, it was the
familiar full-length photograph but of a much better quality then the
ones seen before which were all-dark and faded looking. What was also
unique about this photograph was that there was another photograph next
to it on the same print. This other photograph is of what looks like
wood panelling, but with a chalked message on it. The message reads:
“I am
going to do one on the 27th
Jac”
While
not complete, this is the only known photograph of graffiti that was
photographed by the Police, in this case the City of London Police.
Researcher Debra Arif found a reference to this letter in 'Reports
of the meetings and discussions held in London August 10 - 17 1891' a public
health book. A visitor to the museum at the City Coroners Court, Golden
Lane, saw a photograph of the chalk message and the full wording was:
“I am
going to do one on the 27th”
“Jack
the Ripper”
The visitor
mentions that the chalked message was 'found on one of the blocks of
Artizans' Dwellings.' Which Artizans' Dwellings we do not know. The
chalk message was presumably on City Police territory since it is their
photograph. Any theory as to where this message was written has to be
purely speculative. There is no mention in any official police files,
City or Metropolitan or even in the Home Office reports. There are a
couple of mentions to writing being found on 'King's Block', part of
the Artizans' Dwellings between Harrow Alley and Stoney Lane. Moreover,
they are from newspaper reports written in 1905 on the retirement of
Detective Inspector Robert Sagar. The reports are contradictory and
should only be read as possibilities.
The Seattle
Daily Times, Saturday
4 February 1905, stated that just before the discovery of Catherine
Eddowes body on the morning of the 30 September 1888, that at 1:45 a.m.
…..a police
officer met a well-dressed man of Jewish appearance coming out of the
court. Continuing on his patrol he came across the woman's [Eddowes] body.
He blew his whistle, and sent the other officers who rushed up in pursuit,
the only thing to guide them being the sound of retreating footsteps.
The sounds were followed to King's Block in the model dwellings in Stoney
Lane, but the search got no further. On the wall was found scrawled
in chalk, 'The Jews shall not be blamed for this.' Most
of us are familiar with the case to notice a few errors in this newspaper
article. The police officer mentioned, would be Police Constable Watkins,
and at no time did he mention seeing anyone leaving Mitre Square before
he entered the square on his beat. Watkins also never had a whistle
to blow. It was the night watchman for Kearley & Tonge; George Morris
who blew his whistle after Watkins went to him for assistance. The chalked
message was actually found on different Artizans' Dwellings, Wentworth
Model Dwellings and was worded 'The Juwes
are the men that will not be blamed for nothing'. The
Mercury, Saturday 14 January 1905, published a few weeks earlier told
the same story but transported the chalked message and included Catherine
Eddowes torn apron to a common lodging house in Dorset Street. It is
possible that King's Block was mistaken for Wentworth Model Dwellings,
so until further evidence comes along a cautious approach should be
taken to where the graffito that was photographed was written.
The photograph
which is at the City of London Police Museum is not the photograph mentioned
in the 'Reports
of the meetings and discussions held in London August 10 - 17 1891' book,
but is a cropped copy. The sides of the Catherine Eddowes photograph
are also cropped. There is a white border separating the two and interestingly
there looks as if there was another or possibly more photographs attached
to this one. The combined photograph is about 2 x 4 inches and is a
sepia print. There is no writing on the back but from the appearance
and quality of photographic paper, it could be a print from around the
early 1900s. To find out how the original graffito writing got to the
museum at the City Coroner's Court, It is worth quoting the relevant
passage in 'Reports
of the meetings and discussions held in London August 10 - 17 1891'
1-THE
CORONER'S COURT
A compact
block of buildings, which includes the keeper's lodge, the mortuary
chapel, an unconsecrated building used for the reception of bodies;
the Coroner's Court, post-mortem room, and chemical laboratory. In connection
with the last-named there is an unpretending but interesting nucleus
of a museum. In the collection is a photograph of the writing found
on one of the blocks of artizans' dwellings: “I am going to do one
on the 27th;” signed, Jack the Ripper. Here also may be seen such
objects of interest as have accumulated from the daily routine work
of the sanitary department, such as old-fashioned lead D traps, riddled
with holes from the action of gases of decomposition; sections of pipes
blocked by incrustations of calcium carbonate and in various other ways;
specimens of holes gnawed by rats in lead water-pipes; large photograph
of the horse ambulance, which may be used for the conveyance of any
citizen, without payment; and also of the hand hearse used for the conveyance
of bodies to the mortuary, both of these vehicles being kept on the
premises. One side of the block of buildings is occupied by a furnace
or refuse destructor and a disinfecting chamber, built by Leoni, which
has been in constant use for the past twenty-one years. It is constructed
to act with either dry or moist heat, or both. Articles, before being
treated by heat, are passed through a sulphur chamber.
The original
photograph was part of exhibits which also included some from the sanitary
department. A connection between the photograph and the sanitary department
in Doctor William Sedgwick Saunders, he was the Medical Officer of Health
for the City of London and he was also present at Catherine Eddowes post-mortem and he
had examined her stomach contents in the City Laboratory. Whether Doctor
Saunders had any involvement in placing the photograph in the Chemical
Laboratory Museum remains to be seen and a question which hopefully
future research can answer. At present the copy that does survive is
a mystery and how it ended up at the City of London Museum. Research
is constantly on going to answer this question and to also answer the
question of is there anymore photographic evidence out there?
In
Summary.
These
are the known photographs at the time of writing.
MARTHA
TABRAM
One original
1888 photograph in the National Archives.
MARY ANN
NICHOLS
One original
c1888 photograph in the National Archives. From the CID training album
returned to Scotland Yard in 1988.
ANNIE
CHAPMAN
One original c1888 photograph in the National Archives.
From the CID training album returned to Scotland Yard in 1988.
ELIZABETH STRIDE
Present whereabouts are unknown.
CATHERINE EDDOWES
There are six known photographs of Catherine Eddowes.
One photograph of Eddowes, taken in a coffin before
her post-mortem. Not an original photograph
but a later copy, possibly from the early 1900s, date stamped '22 March
1950' and with the numbers '27/10' written on the back. This copy is
in City of London Police Museum.
One copy of the head and shoulders
photograph taken after the post-mortem. Not an original photograph but
a later copy, possibly from the early 1900s, date stamped '22 March
1950.' This copy is in City of London Police Museum.
One copy of the three quarters
head to thighs view, taken after the post-mortem. Not an original photograph
but a later copy, possibly from the early 1900s, date stamped '22 March
1950' and with the numbers '27/10' written on the back. This copy is
in City of London Police Museum.
Three copies of the full length photograph. Two copies
are with the City of London Police. None of their copies are the originals
but later copies. One possibly from the early 1900s, one is date stamped
'22 March 1950' and with the numbers '27/10' written on the back. The
other is undated but probably from the early 1900s as well, this copy
has a photograph of the chalk writing next to it. The third copy is
an original c1888 copy in the National Archives. From the CID training
album returned to Scotland Yard in 1988.
MARY KELLY
There are three photographs of Mary Kelly. All were
taken at the crime scene.
Two are the full-length photograph.
The present whereabouts of the copy found by Donald
Rumbelow the 1960s is unknown.
The other is in an original c1888 copy in National
Archives. From the CID training album returned to Scotland Yard in 1988.
There is one copy of Mary Kelly taken from the other
side of the bed.
This is in an original c1888 copy in National Archives.
From the CID training album returned to Scotland Yard in 1988.
There was a photograph taken of the exterior of Millers
Court, the only known photograph of one of the crime scenes taken at
the time of the murders by the police. No original prints were found
except the original glass negative, which is now missing.
ALICE MCKENZIE
One photograph, a copy of the original, which was
noted as missing in 1980 and is in the National Archives.
FRANCES COLES
One original 1891 photograph in the National Archives.
The Writing on the Wall
“The spot where the writing was
in the ground of the Metropolitan Police, and they insisted on having
it rubbed out” - Detective Constable 607
Daniel Halse, City of London Police force, at the inquest into the murder
of Catherine Eddowes on 11th October 1888.
The series
of murders throughout the area of Whitechapel and its surrounds during
1888 caused great interest, none more than the connecting events during
the early hours of the 30th September 1888 concerning the
discovery of a small chalked message in Goulston Street. The writing,
which reads “The Juwes
are the men that will not be blamed for nothing,” was
found near to a piece of blood stained and faecal smeared apron belonging
to one of the victims of Jack the Ripper, and the decision to erase
this potential written clue has polarised students and experts of the
case for many years. Some state that is was an error to eradicate the
writing, saying that it should have been photographed before removal.
Others argued its destruction was necessary due to its potentially inflammatory
content. Interestingly enough this debate sparked into life from the
very moment the message was discovered. The City of London Police, on
whose jurisdiction the apron owners' body was found, Catherine Eddowes,
pushed for a photograph to be taken. The Metropolitan Police force,
on whose jurisdiction the apron piece and message was found (as well
as the previous murders had occurred) were adamant it was to be erased
and, as it was their patch, they won through. The writing was removed
before a photograph could be taken, the chance was lost. However...
The recent
discovery of a photograph of wall writing within the City Of London
Police archives has brought fresh hope in regards of new material being
out there and is also a reinforcement of the City of London Forces progressive
thinking at the time. There are other reported examples of such writing
connected to these murders scattered throughout London and the land,
which are recorded in various memoirs of former Police Officers, contemporary
official reports as well as news reports.
The beginnings
One of the earliest reports of chalked wall writing occurs not long
after the murder of Annie Chapman, who was found in the back yard of
29 Hanbury Street. Hours after her murder The Echo, Saturday 8 September 1888 reported:
THE “WRITING
ON THE WALL”
It is currently reported in Hanbury-street
that this morning the following paragraph, written in chalk, was seen
upon the wall of one of the back gardens there, and four persons distinctly
stated they had actually seen the writing. The words are, “I have
now done three, and intend to do nine more and give myself up, and at
the same time give my reasons for doing the murders.” Whether there
is any truth in the matter remains to be seen.
The same day The Star, ran a report of a seemingly
different chalked message:
The people, and even the police,
were so excited that all sorts of rumours were flying about. The woman
living next door declared that this morning there was written on the
door of No. 29, “This is the fourth, I will murder sixteen more and
then give myself up.” There was no basis for this story, however,
there being no chalk mark on the door except “29.”
A Lloyds Weekly reporter, most likely tipped
off by The Star, report, ran this the following
day:
On the wall near where the body
was found there was, according to one reporter, subsequently discovered
written in chalk :-
“FIVE: 15 MORE, AND THEN I
GIVE MYSELF UP.”
On the place being subsequently
visited by our representative this was not to be seen.
Some weeks after Chapman's murder, and a day before
the 'Double Event' murders of Elisabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes, The Evening News, Saturday 29 September 1888, submitted
the following:
The police state, as an extraordinary
circumstance, that when they went on duty, about half-past ten last
night, they saw the word “Look' written in chalk on the pavement,
on both sides of a lamp-post. Under the lamp-post was also written,
“I am Leather Apron.” Under this was drawn two figures- one of a
woman and the other of man holding a knife in his hand. Again under
this were the words, “Five more, and I will give myself up.” The
matter was treated as a joke at the time, but the officers say it is
very strange that such a singular case should come to light so soon
after.
There are no details as to where this writing was
located, or if it existed, it's similarities with the alleged chalked
messages found in Hanbury Street and the mention of Leather Apron who
was the chief suspect for the murders during the early part of September.
Would suggest the story was made up of earlier press reports.
Indeed, The Sheffield Evening Telegraph, Monday 1 October 1888, reported
that this chalked writing in Hanbury Street was a myth, confirmed by
the Police. They stated that:
A statement appeared in the papers
after the murder of Mrs Chapman that the Murderer had chalked up on
a wall that he had already committed four murders, six others would
follow, and the he would give himself up. This story was declared by
the Police to be a myth, and certainly no evidence was forthcoming in
support of it at the inquest.
As The Star, and Lloyds Weekly, reporters clearly wrote that
they did not see the writing themselves, and The Sheffield Evening Telegraph, stating the Police declared
it a myth, one must question if this often quoted piece of wall writing
did actually exist.
Goulston Street
The 'Double Event' bought forth the most well-known of Wall Writing
messages, The Goulston Street Graffito. It is probably the most keenly
debated aspect of the Whitechapel Murder case and is the only piece
of Wall Writing to be presented at an inquest. At around 2.55am on the
chilly wet Sunday morning of the 30th of September 1888,
PC 254A Alfred Long was walking his newly acquired beat of Goulston
Street, which lays between Houndsditch to its west and Commercial Street
to its east. PC Long had been drafted into the Whitechapel district
from Whitehall as part of a group of Constables seconded in to supplement
H Division, Whitechapel. He had only been patrolling this beat as a
matter of days when he came across the newly built Wentworth Model Dwellings
on the north eastern corner on the street. The dwellings had four entrances
from Goulston Street and as PC Long entered the entrance to 108-119
he spotted a rag in the stairwell. Upon inspecting the rag he noted
one corner was wet with blood. He had been brought into the area due
the fact that there had been a recent spate of murders within this district
and this played upon his mind as he began to search for further blood
splatters inside the stairwell. As he scanned his lamp upon the wall
he came across the chalk written words 'The Juwes are the men who will not be blamed for nothing'. PC Long then shifted his attention to the rest of the building,
searching the stairs he half expected to find a body. He did not. He
then headed back downstairs and sort further assistance.
PC Long's find of this chalked message during the dark early morning
hours of that Sunday was to become hotly debated within minutes. Soon
the entrance was guarded by fellow PC 190H William Bettles as Long reported
his find to the station. The reason why the Police paid so much attention
to that spot was because of two things. Firstly two women had been found
murdered within an hour of each other. Elizabeth Stride was discovered
in a yard entrance just off Berner Street in St George in the East.
Catherine Eddowes was found 45 minutes later in Mitre Square in the
City of London. The rag that PC Long had found was actually a detached
piece of apron which corresponded exactly with its remaining piece belonging
to Catherine Eddowes. This meant that most likely whoever killed Eddowes
had actually disposed of this apron piece in Goulston Street. Secondly
the apron piece was located in a stairwell inside of which was found
the chalked writing 'The Juwes are the men who will not be blamed for nothing'. Whilst there was nothing within the writing itself to suggest the
Eddowes killer had written it, its location near her apron piece indicated
that this was a possible clue and therefore needed to be treated like
one.
However an issue arose. Goulston Street came under the jurisdiction
of the Metropolitan Police Force. Catherine Eddowes was murdered in
Mitre Square and that came within the jurisdiction of the City of London
Police Force. As both the Metropolitan and City began to swarm around
the stairwell in Goulston Street it was becoming apparent that each
force had a differing agenda. One of the Policemen who went to immediately
assist in relation to the murder of Eddowes was Detective Constable
607 Daniel Halse of the City of London Force. As the course of events
unfolded Halse heard that a piece of apron had been found in Goulston
Street and he, along with a colleague DC Baxter Hunt, made their way
over to the Wentworth Dwellings. Upon arrival at the stairwell he noted
the chalked message and sent Hunt off for instruction from their Inspector
James McWilliam (Head of the City of London Detective Force). In fact
Halse stated at the Eddowes inquest that he sent Hunt off for 'Mr McWilliam for instructions to have the writing photographed'. This is an indication of the City Forces perspective. They felt
the chalked message was important enough of a clue to have it photographed.
As Halse waited upon further instruction, it became clear the Metropolitan
Force had a different opinion. The Metropolitan Police Commissioner,
Sir Charles Warren, had been summoned to Goulston Street to view the
scene. In a report to the Home Office on the 6 November, Sir Charles
Warren wrote that the message would inflame 'the public mind against the Jews.' There had been reports of attacks upon Jews after the murder of
Annie Chapman and there was a genuine fear of rioting upon the streets
with the predominantly Jewish occupancy of the Wentworth Dwellings bearing
the brunt. At that time of the morning, life was beginning to stir,
people were about to awake for work and soon the area would be full
of men and women going about their business. There was a fear that the
writing would be seen and seen soon. With that in mind, Warren made
the fateful decision to erase the writing from the wall. It seems Halse
protested on behalf of the City Force, even compromising that only the
top line be erased but Warren declined to meet the Detective Constable
halfway. At around 5.30am, just after copies were noted, the chalked
message was removed, never to be viewed again. This was the only officially
reported wall writing ever made in relation to the Whitechapel Murders,
and now it was gone.
Due to its exposure at the inquest, the writing in Goulston Street
bought an explosion of reports regarding chalked messages supposedly
left by the killer. However, it was another piece of communication that
gave these wall writers a signature to adopt. The Central News Agency,
in New Bridge Street, received an envelope date stamped 27th
September 1888, days before the murders of Stride and Eddowes. Inside
it was an extraordinary letter written in red ink. Dated 25th
September 1888, it read:
Dear Boss,
I keep on hearing the police
have caught me but they wont fix me just yet. I have laughed when they
look so clever and talk about being on the right track. That joke about Leather
Apron gave me real fits. I am down on whores and I shant quit ripping
them till I do get buckled. Grand work the last job was. I gave the
lady no time to squeal. How can they catch me now. I love my work and
want to start again. You will soon hear of me with my funny little games.
I saved some of the proper red stuff in a ginger beer bottle
over the last job to write with but it went thick like glue and I cant
use it. Red ink is fit enough I hope ha. ha. The next job I do I shall
clip the ladys ears off and send to the police officers just for jolly
wouldn't you. Keep this letter back till I do a bit more work, then
give it out straight. My knife's so nice and sharp I want to get to
work right away if I get a chance. Good Luck.
Yours
truly
Jack the Ripper
Dont mind
me giving the trade name
PS Wasnt
good enough to post this before I got all the red ink off my hands curse
it No luck yet. They say I'm a doctor now. ha
ha
The letter
was one of many received throughout the period and the Central News
Agency treated it as a joke. It was forwarded to the Metropolitan Police
the very day of the 'Double Event' and was superseded by another missive;
this time dated a day after these murders. Yet again The Central News
Agency received the correspondence, a postcard, in seemingly the same
hand as the 'Dear Boss' letter days before. Smeared with an inky fingerprint,
again in red, the postcard read:
I was
not codding dear old Boss when I gave you the tip, you'll hear about
Saucy Jacky's work tomorrow double event this time number one squealed
a bit couldn't finish straight off. ha not the time to get ears for
police. thanks for keeping last letter back till I got to work again.
Jack the
Ripper
The killer
now had a chilling name, and so did the wall writers. And it was this
name that began to appear on walls, doors, shutters and even pavements.
A young H Division C.I.D Constable by the name of Walter Dew (who worked
upon The Whitechapel Murder enquiry and was, as Inspector, later to
find fame as the man who caught Crippen) noted this in his memoirs 'I Caught
Crippen' declaring
that “There
was no reason, so far as I can see, why this particular message should
have proved more useful than many others which Jack the Ripper was supposed
to have written”.
The Sheffield
Evening Telegraph, Monday
1 October 1888, analysing the killer and his 'weak points' noted that:
On Saturday
morning there appeared in the London papers a statement that near a
spot where two women said a man flourished a knife in their faces
there was written in chalk on the pavement that so many murders have
been committed, and that others were about to take place. If the Murderer
is a maniac, chalk writing on pavements and walls might be one of his
weak points; and it is a remarkable thing that the hideous determination
in both of these alleged chalk writing is in course of fulfilment. Trifles,
even absurd in their character, have led to the discovery of great criminals
ere this.
Again,
without corroborating evidence, this story must be treated with caution.
Police & Photographers
The events surrounding the message found in Goulston Street highlighted
the approach of The City of London Police Force. Halse clearly expressed
his wishes that a photograph was to be taken. His Head of CID, Inspector
James McWilliam ordered that the writing be photographed. There is a
clear message here with regards the City of London Police and their
intentions regarding such finds, they were to be photographed. While
the Metropolitan Police appointed an official photographer in 1901,
The City of London Police had no official Photographer until 1939, when
amateur Photographer and Police Constable Arthur Cross was given a room
in the basement of Bishopsgate Police Station. However it would seem
that private Photographers were used from around the 1870s according
to Major Henry Smith, who was Acting Commissioner during the Autumn
of Terror. Albums containing images of many of the City's criminals
were stored at the Old Jewry Headquarters. It is most likely that one
single photographer was used, or at least a minimal few, because working
for the Police required discretion and trust of ones paymasters.
By using photographers, the Police were able now
to take images of new and known Criminals, and circulate these images
should they be required for identification purposes. Prisoners were
often marched to the photographer's studio and held in position whilst
the Photographer did his work. Not only did they take photographs of
the living, they were also required to take photographs of the dead,
this for identification purposes. City of London Police Order Books
entry dated 18th April 1882 gave guidance on what to do if
a person was found dead and not identified. It states that:
Chief Office
18th April 1882
Police
Orders
The Commissioner
orders that in future whenever a person is found dead or in The Thames
or may die after being taken to a hospital and who has not been identified,
A photograph of such person be taken prior to an inquest being held
on the body.
In ordinary
cases it may be desirable to wait until a description of the deceased
has been circulated, but in urgent cases if the body in becoming decomposed,
or notice has been received that an inquest will be held on the forthcoming
day the photograph should be taken as soon as possible.
Arrangements
have been made with Mr Edgar, No 121 Cheapside to take the photograph.
By order
Joseph Soundy
Chief Clerk
The Chief Insp &
Insps of Detectives
& Insps of each Division
Thanks to the excellent research
of Debra Arif and Robert J McLaughlin, we know that Mr James Edgar seems
to have disappeared in late 1882 and the responsibility of taking photographs
for the City of London Police Force may have moved on to another. We
certainly know that William G Parker of 40 High Holborn was employed
by the City Police at some stage in 1887, as he took the group shot
of some City PCs proudly displaying their Jubilee medals atop Snow Hill
Police Station (including Sergeant Byfield, PC Harvey and PC Hutt who
were all involved with the Eddowes enquiry), as his stamp is on the
reverse of that photo.
Cloak Lane wall writing
No murders occurred in the area throughout October however the air
was charged. It seems nothing else was talked about; even the smallest
of crimes were somehow connected to the murders and wall writing. On
30th October 1888, The Morning Post ran a curious story. Charles Edward Randall, a Clerk, was charged
before the Lord Mayor for extinguishing a Gas Lamp located in Black
Raven Avenue, Upper Thames Street. The report continues:
Dennis Hart, employed at The City of London Brewery, deposed that
about six o'clock Saturday evening he saw a light extinguished and upon
running out found the prisoner going away. He told him to relight
the lamp, and the prisoner said he would if he fetched a ladder. - Detective
Saunders, who came up at that time, stated that at the Police Station
the prisoner admitted that he had put the light out with his umbrella.
This light had been repeatedly extinguished during the last month, and
five houses were placed in total darkness when it was extinguished. There had been some writing found on a wall in Cloak Lane [Authors emphasis], and the utmost terror prevailed among the inhabitants of the houses
in question. - Prisoner said he did not think he was doing any harm
in extinguishing the lamp - The Lord Mayor: The penalty for extinguishing
lamps is 40s, and if you young Gentlemen go about the streets indulging
in this kind of practical joking you must pay for it. You have, no doubt,
done this with the object of creating panic in the neighbourhood. There
is quite enough of that already without your larking and you must pay
a fine of 10s.
What this writing is we can only guess. The fact it was found in Cloak
Lane, home of the Cloak Lane Police Station - the very station acting
Commissioner Major Henry Smith was roused from his slumber to be told
the news of the Eddowes murder - must draw a degree of logical conclusion
that it was related to the murders. The Lord Mayor alludes to the terror
and panic of the inhabitants whose homes were plunged into darkness
by Randall, and states that “there was quite enough of that already.” again enforcing ones opinion that this mysterious writing was
possibly somehow Ripper related. It is also tempting to speculate that
the writing was connected to the photograph of graffiti writing considering
that the Saturday Charles Edward Randall was arrested was the 27th
of the month. However it must be mentioned that there were no Artizan's
Dwellings located on Cloak Lane.
Wall writing after Kelly
This October lull in murders bought the opinion the Murderer had either
left or stopped. As the City and East end started to settle back into
normality, the discovery of Mary Kelly's body in her small Millers Court
room in Spitalfields bought the panic and fear flooding back. Kelly
was brutally mutilated by her assailant and this only fanned the new
frenzy which occurred in the weeks after she was discovered. Just over
a week later, on 16th November 1888, The Evening News, Friday 16 November 1888, ran a report on some wall writing discovered
south of the River Thames in Bermondsey. It simply stated that:
Early this morning the attention of the police Barmondsey [sic] was
drawn to some writing chalked on Wren's buildings, Thomas-street. It
was as follows “Dear Boss - I am going to do three more murders. Yours,
Jack the Ripper.”
The self-promoting Albert Bachert claimed he had also been the recipient
of wall writing. One time Member and Chair of the Whitechapel Vigilance
Committee, it was reported in various newspapers that a chalked messaged
appeared on the wall of his home on the very day of Mary Kelly's funeral. The Morning Advertiser, Tuesday 20 November 1888 stated that:
The Press Association is informed
by Arthur Bachert (sic), the young man who gave to the
police a description of a man seen in the neighbourhood of Berner-street
at the time of the murder of Elizabeth Stride, that he was awakened
at his home in Newnham-street yesterday morning by a policeman, who
called his attention to some chalk writing on the blank wall of the
house as follows:
“Dear Boss, I am still about;
look out. Yours, Jack the Ripper.”
It is stated by Bachert that
the writing resembles that on the now famous postcard and letter published
by the police, especially the B in “Boss” and the R in “Ripper.”
A crowd collected, and Mrs. Bachert partly removed the cause of their
attraction by washing out the letters; otherwise the police would have
photographed the writing.
This report ran in many newspapers and one may note
the final line that had the writing not caused such a stir and erased,
the Police would have photographed it.
As stated, such was the press frenzy stirred by Kelly's
murder that even the smallest of news reports on the most insignificant
of incidents were being presented, and all across the United Kingdom. The Gloucester Citizen, Saturday 17 November 1888,
ran a report across the Welsh border in Cardiff where a -
Mr Edward Rowland, deaf and dumb
Missionary, residing at Pontypridd, writes - When I was passing Wyndham
Crescent, Canton on Tuesday night, at seven o'clock, a young man with
dark clothes and black moustache, came and walked a little way with
me. I touched my ear to say I was deaf, and he put his hands in his
pockets for paper and pencil, and at a shop window he wrote with chalk
on the sill this: - “Can you tell me the names of the fallen women?”
I was terrified and left him.
The Pinchin Street messages
As the autumn of 1888 subsided, so did the murders; however they did
not cease completely. In July of 1889 Alice McKenzie was found murdered
in Castle Alley, which ran between Whitechapel High Street and Wentworth
Street, just behind the Wentworth Dwellings where the Goulston Street
message was found. Some months later, in September, a torso of a female
was found in a Railway arch in Pinchin Street belonging to the Whitechapel
Board of Works as storage and work place for cutting of granite rocks,
which were used for road making and preparing flagstones as pavement.
The arch was only a minute walk from Elizabeth Strides murder scene
in Berner Street. It was in relation to the Pinchin Street torso that The Birmingham Daily Post, Thursday 12 September 1889, commented upon some wall writing found
on the junction of Frederick Street, a small alley off Pinchin Street.
The writing commented upon a 'Jos Cleary' which is undoubtedly a reference
to John Cleary. Days prior to the torso being found, The New York Herald, Wednesday 11 September 1889, stated that a John Cleary had entered
their office commented upon a murder in Back Church Lane, which junctions
Pinchin Street. Once the torso had been found the Editor reported this
event to the Police. Upon reading his name in the news, Cleary (whose
real name was John Arnold) came forward and it seems was cleared by
the Police. The Birmingham Daily Posts report ran:
Yesterday Superintendent Arnold and Inspector Reid were informed of
some chalked writing on a wall at the corner of Frederick Street, a
dark passage in the immediate proximity of the scene of the discovery.
The name of 'Jos Cleary' was introduced along with five or six other
words written on the wall, and this being the name given by a man who
made some communication about a murder to a newspaper on Sunday morning,
the coincidences attracted attention. The Police, however, do not consider
the matter of much importance.
Unconfirmed newspaper, The Manchester Times, Saturday 14 September 1889 for example, reported that the message 'John Cleary is a fool' was written in chalk on several dead walls in the area of Pinchin
Street.
Another wall message was claimed to have been written on a black palings
opposite the archway in which the torso was found. This time it was
in reference to Israel Lipski who was found guilty of murdering Miram
Angel in nearby Batty Street during 1887. The writing simply stated 'Lipski' and The East London Advertiser, Saturday 14 September 1889 reported it as:
Not far from the arch where the headless trunk was found, a pedestrian
exploring the neighbourhood would find himself in Berner-street, where
Elizabeth Stride was brutally murdered on Sept. 30 last year, and if
he proceeded a little further he would traverse the dull and wretched
Batty-street, where Lipski foully murdered his landlady, for which he
was afterwards hanged at the Old Bailey. That the memory of this notorious
criminal is still fresh in the minds of the inhabitants around is shown
by the fact that on a black paling opposite the arch under which the
unknown body was hidden someone had written the word “Lipski” in
large chalk letters. Whether done before the discovery or after no one
seems to know, but the name was there.
Conclusion
The evidence we have presented is an indication that wall writing
existed around the murders connected to Jack the Ripper. This find of
this new photograph showing wall writing upon shutters is further evidence
that not only did it exist, but is was photographed by the Police. Why
this particular wall writing was photographed we can, as of this moment,
only speculate. There may have been other photographs taken of wall
writing. None of which at this moment in time have survived, however
some, like the 'Lipski' writing, are obvious pranks and would have had no reason to be photographed.
We feel there must have been deemed of some importance by the Police
else otherwise it would have simply been removed. Maybe its location
gave the police and their photographer some sanctuary to do their work,
which they were unable to do with other wall writing finds. We don't
know as of yet. Whilst this discovery will not add anything new to the
case, it does emphasise the City of London Police Forces progressive
thinking and mentality regarding new technology.
It also gives hope that there are more discoveries out there to be
made.
Acknowledgements
A huge debt of gratitude is given to Debra Arif for
her gift of finding obscure information and her important discovery
of the Reports of the meetings and
discussions held in London August 10 - 17 1891, book.
Thank you to Chris Phillips for
his help and supplying copies The Mercury and The Seattle Daily Times reports.
We are also grateful for the help and advice given
to us by Paul Begg, Stewart Evans, Keith Skinner and Adam Wood.
Finally, we would like to express our fullest gratitude
to Catherine Coulthard, The Curator and Records Officer of the City
of London Police Museum, who not only very kindly allowed us access
to the City Police Museum and its archives but also supplied us with
copious amounts of tea and bourbon biscuits.
Sources
Jack the Ripper: Scotland Yard Investigates, by Stewart P. Evans and Donald Rumbelow, Sutton Publishing 2006.
The Black Museum, by Bill Waddell, Little Brown and Company, 1993.
The First Jack the Ripper Victim Photographs, by Robert J. McLaughlin, Zwerghaus Books 2005.
Reports of the meetings and discussions held in London August 10 -
17 1891, Published for the Society of Medical Officers of Health by E. W.
Allen, 1891.
