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Dear all,

I'm sad to report that Swedish researcher Daniel Olsson has suffered a heart attack and is in a critical condition.

Daniel has conducted incredible research into Elisabeth Stride's early life in Gothenburg, the results of which have been published in Ripperologist and were due to be presented on DVD at the forthcoming Conference in London.

Some of you will know that Daniel only recently overcame testicular cancer, so to suffer this attack at only 31 is terribly cruel.

I'm in contact with Daniel's family, so if you would like to pass on a message please do so here or email me at adamwood55@yahoo.co.uk

Adam

Chief Inspector Peel served until 1893. He is shown in Police Orders as retiring as a Detective Chief Inspector at Scotland Yard. It is interesting that he was at DCI Frederick Abbeline's retirement function in 1892. Mr Peel served on G Division (Kings Cross) and at the Royal Docks, Woolwich, as far as I know, although there may be other places. Mr Peel is my great grandfather.

Mr Peel had two sons.

One, my grandfather, was a soldier (1st Wiltshire Regiment. By 1915 he was a company sergeant major and commissioned later in the Royal Sussex Regt.)

The other is shown in the 1901 census as a police constable in Hammersmith aged 23. He is said to have died in the San Francisco earthquake fire in 1906.

I am a serving officer in the Met.

Adrian wrote:
Chief Inspector Peel served until 1893. He is shown in Police Orders as retiring as a Detective Chief Inspector at Scotland Yard. It is interesting that he was at DCI Frederick Abbeline's retirement function in 1892. Mr Peel served on G Division (Kings Cross) and at the Royal Docks, Woolwich, as far as I know, although there may be other places. Mr Peel is my great grandfather.

Hello Adrian,

Thank you for this most interesting background on the service career of Chief Inspector Peel. It is always good to hear from police officers with an interest in the historical aspects of the Ripper case and on those who investigated them.

I suppose that you may be referring to the excellent article presented here at Jack the Ripper Writers by Scott Nelson:

The East End Tradesmen, The Three Nuns Hotel and the Retirement of Chief Inspector Abberline

Pleased you found it of interest and best wishes to you.

The happiest day I experienced in Ripperology occurred at the end of May 2011 when Roger Palmer and I made a dozen phone calls to Ripperologist colleagues in America and Europe.  We were calling from a cabin house that we rented in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.  One of our phone calls was to a man who Roger and I deeply admired, Chris Scott.
 
Chris was so energetic in that phone call. He was happy and informative, and we became enthused just hearing him speak of the Whitechapel Mysteries. This was a man who was sincerely dedicated to this field of study, and I got the sense that he truly loved to share both his researched material and his thoughts with those who came in contact with him.
 
Chris Scott's recent passing has left a deep sadness in my heart.  I hope his family can make it through these difficult days ahead.
 
I have kept many of the emails Chris has sent me over the past ten years, and I will treasure them.  I have always admired the way Chris has conducted himself in all aspects of our field.  As a researcher, a colleague, a friend, a writer, and a gentleman, Chris truly was a generous man.  May he now rest in peace and enjoy the vision of God for eternity.

Chris will so be missed. Prayers to all his loved ones.
Mike

Congratulations to Frogg Moody and the folks at the Whitechapel Society for producing another fine issue.  Fellow Jack the Ripper Writers web site member Siobhan Pat Mulcahy has an article in it which tells in part of the hardship endured by Irish immigrants during their 19th century transatlantic travel.  Voyages during the 1840s were especially difficult since many of the passengers were sick and malnourished due to the potato famine.  Many startling facts about this type of travel was provided in the article.  Not the least bit being that there was no requirement to have a doctor aboard these coffin ships.

This was Siobhan's initial article for the Whitechapel Society Journal.  Well done!!  It's good to have new contributors to the Ripper journals.

One of the shocking facts that was spoken of in the article was the high percentage of fatalities for Irish immigrants making the trip in 1847.  There were 477 passengers on the Ashburton when it headed for Canada from Great Britain in Oct 1847, but when it arrived there, 107 of them had died.  

The Quebec Gazette was right in labeling the Ashburton "a disgrace to the homeland".  The passengers who traveled on this vessel during 1847 probably had strong feelings of resentment toward England.

Congratulations also goes out to Mike Hawley for having his latest work published in the Ripperologist Journal.  There is no doubt that he is the school teacher amongst us.  In his latest article, Mike gives his readers a useful educational lesson in regards to transatlantic messaging during the 1800s.  

I especially liked how he looked into the work of the two NY journalists, Frank White and Isaac White, as they covered the Ripper story. 

Mike really drove his points home when he summed up the article in the end.  The article covered plenty of ground, and the author was up to the task.

Thanks Joe! This article was written to dispel misconceptions about newspaper reporters' treatment of Tumblety and him being suspected in the Whitechapel crimes.

Mike

It's good to have an article get printed this time of year. Interest in the Whitechapel murders always peaks in the months of Sept-Nov.

Ripperologist magazine has a good circulation, and it's good to see Mike's article be one of the featured stories.  There has been too much erroneous talk about Tumblety orchestrating the transmitting of news stories about his London troubles. Mike sets the matter correct with his research.  

Anderson wasn't "tricked" into contacting the Brooklyn police chief about Tumblety, and Littlechild wasn't "tricked" into his thoughts on Tumblety when he wrote to Simms.

Thanks John. I suspect a silent response on other forums, but if not, I'll enjoy some dialogue.

Mike

The work done this year by David Orsam should be highly commended.  He has discovered significant 1888 documents in London, and he has generously shared them with other Ripperologists.  These documents are answering questions which have lingered in our minds for many years.

Congratulations to Frogg Moody for launching the Casebook: Classic Crimes electronic magazine. It's a free periodical with very good writers.  I hope it's a success.

David's initial article in the Ripperologist Journal has now been distributed.  He wrote a very convincing report that thoroughly looked into whether or not Tumblety was in custody during the Mary Kelly murder.  We hope to see more fine work from David in the future.

Mike Hawley's article was also printed in the June 2015 issue. Mike covered plenty of ground in his writing.  The part I found quite fascinating was his research into the former Canadian Deputy Minister of Marine and Fisheries, William Smith.  We learned that the transatlantic cable transmissions from England to Canada were under the supervision of Smith's department.  

Mike showed his readers the importance of listening to Smith's words about the Whitechapel murders.  This former Deputy Minister had access to pertinent cable transmissions.

Excellent contributions by both David and Mike.

Thank you, John! More research to come. - Mike

Yes, those were two in-depth reports.  I liked how David showed that it would have been illegal for the Police Magistrate to refuse bail to Francis Tumblety due to the circumstances.  Mike's reporting was expansive.  We learned more about the personal qualities of people like Walter Dew and Guy Logan.  I hadn't known that the Canadian Prime Minister and William Smith worked so closely together.

And speaking of Mike, please just click into this web link and get to the "19 minutes 56 seconds" part of the film. We'll watch Mike in action teaching his high school students.  

Although I think the class was just a front.  When the curtains are closed, Mike transforms those kids into a young army of Ripperologists!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5eN7N9GcNs&feature=youtu.be

Issue #2 of Casebook Classic Crimes is a must read.  Frogg Moody interviewed Wynne Weston-Davies, Helena Wojtczak, and Lindsay Siviter.

The article writers are Robin Odell, Ben Johnson, David Murphy, and Jonathan Oates.  It is a top-notch line up.  The periodical is free, too.