Mike Covell’s Blogg

The Camden Town Murder.

When one gets involved in Ripperology they often find that the scope of their research and investigations expands depending upon their avenue of research, and because of this we often find ourselves researching aspects of the case that although seemingly unrelated, have some connections to the case. 

 My research into Frederick Bailey Deeming, for example, led me to reports of his involvement in the Marfleet Mystery and the murder of Mary Jane Langley, and I am aware of several other Ripperologists, who, when researching a certain suspect, are often side tracked on similar issues.

 The Camden Town Murder, which appears to be unrelated to the Whitechapel Murders, has in recent years been connected to “Jack the Ripper.”  In some cases suspects, such as Walter Sickert, have been put forward as possible suspects.

 Having an interest in Sickert I was drawn to the claims and sought out books and publications dealing with the case.  This is just an overview of two of many that are available that shed light on the case.

Sir David Napley’s The Camden Town Murder

In 1987 Sir David Napley released The Camden Town Murder, as part of the Great Murder Trials of the Twentieth Century series.  The book, published by George Weidenfeld & Nicholson Limited, is a fantastic overview of the case and features original court transcripts and contemporary newspaper reports of the trial as it unfolded.  Whilst the book does not mention Sickert, as none of the original newspaper reports or court transcripts did, it does feature a wealth of information that make this edition a great starting point for anyone wanting to find out more about the mysterious, and still unsolved, murder of Emily Dimmock.  The book is a fascinating read and thoroughly recommended.

Book Details

Hardcover: 160 pages

Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson; First Edition edition (30 April 1987)

Language English

ISBN-10: 0297791273

ISBN-13: 978-0297791270

Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 14.5 x 2 cm

No bibliography, Source list, Index or Illustrations

John Barber’s The Camden Town Murder

 John Barber’s take on the Camden Town Murder is a book that will appeal to both aficionados of true crime cases as well as Ripperologists.  The book, which is split into 10 chapters looks at the basics of the case and the background to Emily Dimmock’s earlier life.  This is where the book really excels and takes the reader on a journey into the life of Dimmock, based on primary sources such as Census returns and other genealogical data.  The chapter is also packed with photos and maps showing the locations mentioned in the text.  The next few chapters deal with the murder, investigation and trial of Robert Wood.  Again the text is accompanied by photographs of people and places mentioned, plus maps of the locations.   Chapter 5 deals with other possible suspects that were mentioned at the time, but never really explored or investigated.  It is Chapter 6 that will catch the attention of Ripperologists, with a look at Dimmock as a possible Ripper victim.  In this chapter Barber looks at the connections and anomalies between the murders, explores the theories put forward by Ripperologists, and explores such popular topics as The Royal Conspiracy Theory, and Walter Sickert.  I must say that this chapter is a breath of fresh air.  Barber takes the work of both Jean Overton Fuller and Patricia Cornwell and argues against the circumstantial evidence that they had raised in their works on the case.  The book then features chapters that cover such topics as “Who Killed Emily Dimmock?” and the aftermath of the case.  The book continues with a postscript that features the lecture given at the Whitechapel Society on February 8^th 2008, a chapter that features the final word, and a supplement that concludes the book. 

 Many of the chapters are referenced, but Barber explains in the text where the information is gleaned from anyway.  My only grumble with the book, and it is a minor one, is that the images seem to have been added to the book from a digital/video source which makes some of the images unclear and in some cases pixelated.

That said, it is a fascinating read and worth it alone for the Jack the Ripper chapters.    

Book Details

Paperback: 240 pages

Publisher: Mandrake of Oxford; New and revised edition (1 Jun 2006)

Language English

ISBN-10: 1869928148

ISBN-13: 978-1869928148

Product Dimensions: 14 x 1.3 x 21.6 cm

Bibliography, Index and Illustrations throughout

John Barber’s website on the Camden Town Murder: http://www.johnbarber.com/CTM/intro.html

  Format: Kindle Edition

  File Size: 90 KB

  Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.

  Language English

  ASIN: B006Y0CMO2

  Text-to-Speech: Enabled

Download price £1.34

One of the benefits of the Kindle is that you don’t always see the book cover, which in this case features a vampiric looking man with goatee, top hat, and eye liner on!  That said this little offering by Vickie Britton is a nice read which I would recommend to any beginners wishing to quickly dip their toes into the mystery.  The book features chapters on the victims, locations, Macnaghten’s suspects, other likely suspects, suspects ruled out a the Ripper, the Investigation, the Ripper letters, the theories, suspects later proposed, and a brief look at Jack the Ripper in Fact and Fiction.  My only problem with the book, other than the length, is that much of the material seems to be nothing more than the opinion of Wikipedia articles.  There are no new debates, no new facts as uncovered by the dilligent researchers that post on the message boards, and it seems as though the author has chose to play it safe rather than investigate further. As mentioned earlier the book is very brief, running at 42 pages which includes contents, list of websites, and selection of books for further reading.

  Audio Download

  Listening Length: 8 minutes

  Program Type: Audiobook

  Version: Unabridged

  Publisher: iMinds

  Audible Release Date: 30 Oct 2009

  Language: English

  ASIN: B002VRNTRQ

Download price 52p

The text edition of this book features the text to speech function to allow the reader to listen should they feel the need to.  With this in mind it seems odd that the publisher would also release an audio version of the book to be downloaded separately.  The audio version is 52p and whilst the quality is much better than the text to speech version, it is still very basic and runs for just 8 minutes!

  Format: Kindle Edition

  File Size: 33 KB

  Publisher: iMinds (31 Jan 2010)

  Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.

  Language English

  ASIN: B0036Z9ZV6

  Text-to-Speech: Enabled

Download price for this edition: 77p

The book is a short essay and overview of the “Autumn of Terror” discussing the five canonical victims and touching briefly on ripper letters and Walter Sickert.  It covers just 7 pages of text on the kindle and most of the information is featured on Wikipedia.

Every year around this time I always post a Year in Review, showing the books, magazines, articles, TV shows and research that other Ripperologists have done throughout the year, but this past year has seen so many changes and I have been so busy that I have not really kept up with the latest developments.  Plus a major hard-drive explosion and the loss of several files didn’t help.  Luckily much of the material was on pen-drives.  So this year I thought I would write a year in review based on my research, rather than other peoples work, to show what has been done locally and nationally.

January
In January I was cast head first into the world of Frederick Bailey Deeming when it was revealed that a skull had turned up in Australia and was possibly his.  The find caused mush debate and discussion and was covered in blogs, newspaper reports, and even made its way onto TV.  At the time I was fortunate enough to have quiet a large collection of newspaper articles that showed the passage of Deeming’s skull, from the hanging in 1892, it being buried, dug up, allegedly stolen and through various hands of ownership.  It has to be the most talked about skull in Australian history, second only to Ned Kelly, and I am pleased to say that the skull turned out to be that of Ned Kelly’s and not Deeming as previously thought.  The case did mean that several members of the Deeming family came forward, and I certainly got a lot of messages and emails from people wishing to know more.

February
February saw me visiting Hedon and Preston in search of material for a book and articles on the murder of Mary Jane Langley.  Mary Jane was murdered in 1891 and at the time Frederick Bailey Deeming had just been released from Hull Prison.  His name actually came to light in relation to the investigation in 1892 when Deeming’s links to Hull and Yorkshire were explored in both the Hull and Beverley press and so it would only be a matter of time that I explored the case.  What was weird about this, is that some of the descendents of Mary had actually previously been in touch and mentioned the case to me, and asked if I knew anything, so it was lovely to be able to send them material and news every time I researched Mary and her family and to be able to answer some of the question and queries they had regarding the case.

March
March saw a trip to Beverley’s East Riding Archives, where I secured newspaper cuttings on Frederick Bailey Deeming and his frauds in 1890/1891, and the Rainhill and Windsor Murders of 1891/1892.  I also visited several locations associated with Deeming, and Helen Matheson and her family and secured interviews and photos of some of the locations.

April
April saw the discovery of Frederick Bailey Deeming in the Hull Watch Committee Minutes.  These proved invaluable as it put a price on the manhunt for Deeming after his frauds in 1890 in Hull.  Many of the books and publications mention Deeming in relation to Hull in only a passing manner, many of which erroneously state that he was married in Hull, and stayed at the Station Hotel in Beverley.  The Hull Watch Committee Minutes are a great find as they finally reveal how much was spent on following Deeming to Southhampton and Monte Video, and then returning him to Hull.  With this information I was able to find shipping manifests that showed Deeming on board with Detective Grassby of the Hull Police as well as several other documents that were created at the time and show the events that transpired.

May
May was filled with another Deeming related file. The Hull Watch Committee Minutes books also helped me discover the massive Hull Trial File, which is packed with primary sources from his time in Hull, and features letters, telegrams, and eyewitness statements.  It also made me realize that as well as Deeming and his alias Lawson, I should be aware that sometimes the authorities get it wrong and can often misspell names!  It also saw an exciting visit to the Hull Prison Exhibition which was fascinating.

June
June saw some newspaper based research, tackling Frederick Bailey Deeming and Robert D’Onston Stephenson from a different angle and helping me uncover 40 new articles associated with them, their lives in Hull, and the people whose lives they affected.  It also saw me get my hands on another Frederick Bailey Deeming file, the Home Office Files.  These featured 43 pages filled with material on Deeming and his life and the legal wranglings that were going on over his arrest in Monte Video.  This year I visited Whitby with my wife and took in the Lewis Carroll and Bram Stoker/Dracula locations.  I also managed to obtain several books on the duo, including one that links Stoker to the murders!  Stoker, it is claimed, was inspired by the Ripper Murders and stated so in an Icelandic Edition of Dracula.

July
July saw some research trips to the East Riding Archives in Beverley where I uncovered material on Robert D’Onston Stephenson, Frederick Bailey Deeming, and the murder of Mary Jane Langley.  I was also back in the Hull History Centre and found yet another file on Deeming, this time it was in the Hull Watch Files and covered Thomas Reynoldson and his quest for justice against Deeming.  Also at the Hull History Centre I found several reports on Deeming in the Hull Watch Committee Minutes, and Hull Finances Committee Minutes.  At the Hull Reference Library I discovered information pertaining to the ships that Thomas Sadler had sailed on.  This month saw the discovery that Deeming had been discussed in the House of Commons, and that police officers were sent to Australia from Scotland Yard, and asked to help with the Rainhill Murders.  Despite these snippets being mentioned in the local and national press to date there have been no files that cast any light on who went and why.

August
August was the month of Mary Jane Langley, with my article appeared in Ripperologist Magazine, on my blog, and the case attracting attention in the local media.  It also gave me a chance to finally meet Mary Jane’s descendants in a rather touching moment at her graveside.  This month some some material on Annie Deary/Stephenson surface.  I had been researching the events leading up to and surrounding her death and not only traced the location, but several other primary sources from the period.  I also managed to secure a photo of the building in which she died.  David Knott had found Annie Stephenson’s death certificate some years ago, and from the information contained within I was able to search the logs that were written when Annie died.  They proved quiet interesting and showed what she was up to in the latter years of her life in Lincolnshire.  August was also the annual Heritage Open Days and I once again visited the Customs House in Hull, filming and taking photos of the visit.

September
September saw a visit to London for material on both Frederick Bailey Deeming and Robert D’Onston Stephenson.  I had the pleasure of visiting the British Library and searching numerous books, periodicals and correspondence and came away with pages and pages of new material.  These included material on Robert D’Onston Stephenson and Grant Richards, Robert D’Onston Stephenson and Theosophy, Robert D’Onston Stephenson and the Workhouse, Robert D’Onston Stephenson and Betty May’s Tiger Woman, Robert D’Onston Stephenson and Highgate Hill Infirmary, Robert D’Onston Stephenson and the Islington Board of Guardians,   It was a lovely trip and I also had time to visit the British Museum, Natural History Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum.  This month also saw some fascinating finds on Robert D’Onston Stephenson’s Religion that I posted on jtrforums.com.  Sadly the registers never had him down as a Black Magician!  Despite this numerous books have been released since that still claim he was a black magician!

October
October was devoted to researching some paranormal material that I had been working on for some time. I was able to secure interviews with key witnesses and appeared on West Hull Radio to discuss some of my research.

November
November began with an appearance on BBC Radio Humberside discussing the Central Library Lecture.  The interview went really well, and the lecture at the library was packed out.  I also met and spoke to a number of people that helped with my research, and got more bookings for 2012!

Sadly in early November I was back in hospital with my heart, investigations are ongoing, and hopefully next year the cardiologists will get to the bottom of it.

Other projects:
This year has seen Jack the Blogger, in Ripperologist Magazine, go from strength to strength, sadly the computer outage has stopped me for a while, but the column will be back in 2012 bigger and better than ever.  I cannot thank the gang at Ripperologist enough for their ongoing support.
The year also saw some new lectures at both the Hull History Centre and the Hull Central Library, both of which were well filled with every seat taken and great fun.  I have more lectures booked into 2012 so it should prove to be another good year.  I do not charge for any of my lectures and my time is free.
This year also saw me meeting with a film production crew making a documentary on Frederick Bailey Deeming.  Hopefully the show will air soon so I can discuss the matter in detail.  All that I can say it that it was great fun and the team that I had the pleasure of working with were all a lovely bunch and it was nice to have them in Hull and show them the sights.
I have also been approached about other possible future projects but cannot divulge what they are!!!
The books
This year has seen a number of developments with the writing projects, and a number of fantastic names are on board to write the forewords of some of the titles.  The first quarter of the year was devoted to the writing and research on the Mary Jane Langley project, which was a by product of the work on Frederick Bailey Deeming.  The same occurred with the Deeming newspaper book, and the Dawber history book which was created when editing the Robert D’Onston Stephenson book.
The decision to split the paranormal book into three was made when it was discovered that at its present phase it was just too big, so it was split into three.  Earlier this year a lot of the material was lost when a computer outage took over 100 pages of work, luckily I still had the research so it is being typed up again.

Jack the Ripper - From Hell, From Hull? Vol I Robert D’Onston Stephenson 261,423 words over 362 pages

Jack the Ripper - From Hell, From Hull? Vol II Frederick Bailey Deeming 207,113 words over 259 pages

Jack the Ripper - From Hell, From Hull? Vol III 66,493 words over 101 pages

Jack the Ripper - From Hell, From Hull? - Newspapers From Hull 104,379 words over 133 pages

Frederick Bailey Deeming and the Murder of Mary Jane Langley 101,831 words over 136 pages

Frederick Bailey Deeming in the International Press 175,320 words over 200 pages

Mike Covell’s Haunted Hull 133,521 words over 217 pages

Mike Covell’s Haunted Hull - The Press Perspective 31,256 words over 43 pages

Mike Covell’s Haunted Hull - Paranormal Hull 108,087 words over 155 pages

Emily Dimmock Camden Town Murder Project 37,633 words over 35 pages

The History of the Dawber family in Hull 1700-2000 15,296 words over 31 pages

Untitled Fact vs Fiction Project 161,669 words over 165 pages

Thank you for a great year:
All the staff at Hull City Council’s Hull History Centre, including the Local Studies and Archives.  All the staff at Hull’s Central Library, Reference Library and Holderness road Library for putting up with me.  All the staff at Hull Museums and the staff at the East Riding Archives in Beverley. Rob Nicholson of Her Majesty’s Prison, Hull.  Adam Wood and Chris George at Ripperologist.  Howard and Nina Brown at Jtrforums.com.  Ray from the Hedon Blog, All the staff at the Nags Head, Preston, the staff at the Hedon Museum, All the staff at the British Library, British Museum, Natural History Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, for putting up with my emails and requests and for providing a brilliant service.  And a thank you to all my Facebook and Twitter friends that have supported me through what has been a tough year.  Here is to 2012!!

Jack the Ripper: From Hell, From Hull? Vol I is coming along nicely.  I have spent many hours editing and moving chapters around so that the book has a chronological timeline running throughout.  I had some really amazing material come this week regarding Robert D’Onston Stephenson in Bridlington, so have been spending time reading the information and inserting it in the relavent places. 

Jack the Ripper: From Hell, From Hull? Vol II is almost finished. 

Jack the Ripper: From Hell, From Hull? Vol III is still being typed, I was sent some material on some of the suspects this week, I am just deciding on where to insert it, and whether or not it is pertinent to their life stories to be included.  One article is often mention but has never been published since it appeared in the 1970’s so that was of great interest.

Frederick Bailey Deeming and the Preston Murder of Mary Jane Langley is almost finished.  I found several reports on Deeming and the case that were published when Thomas Reynoldson passed away, and later when Harry Webster passed away.  I also found several retrospective looks at the case from the 1940’s and 1950’s which were of interest.  It is interesting to note that most people in Preston claim that only one murder has ever occured in their parish, I discovered this to be false, another female was found almost 80 years after Mary Jane Langley was discovered.  In almost the same spot!  A man was brought to trial and is currently serving a sentance for the murder. 

Jack the Ripper- Newspapers From Hull is on the back burner, the research has been done, but the newspaper reports are filed away awaiting typing up at a later date.

I recently made the decision, after some discussion with a publisher, and have decided to split “Mike Covell’s Haunted Hull” into three books.  The overall page count was over 1,000 so by splitting it into three I can feature more cases and still come in at around the 350 page mark for each book.  The first in the series will cover the “Haunted” side of things, the second will cover “The Paranormal in the Press” and the third will cover “The Paranormal in Hull“.  I have aquired every newspaper article ever published in the Hull Press from 1801 until 2011 that covers ghosts, hauntings, SHC, UFO’s, Aliens, Crop Circles, Wildcats, Airship Scares, and other weird phenomena such as A local church with the face of christ on the wall, and a Hull ship that went in search of Noah’s Ark!  All three are fully referenced with an extensive source list, bibliography, and illustrations throughout. 

This Saturday I have the pleasure of appearing on West Hull Radio talking about West Hull’s Ghosts and the darker side to West Hull’s history. 

On November 10th I have the pleasure of lecturing at Hull’s Central Library at the Food for Thought cafe with my Mike Covell’s Hull’s Ghostly Myths and Legends Lecture.  The lecture, first presented at the Ghost Club in London in 2010 has had a succesful run at Carnegie Heritage Centre and more recently at the Hull History Centre.  I have bookings for this lecture up until September 2012.

All lectures are free of charge, and bookings can be made via contacting me direct at mcebe@hotmail.co.uk

One of the most important aspects of any research trip, other than the research of course, is the planning and preparation that goes on in the days leading up to a trip.  In the past I had thought about spending a day at the British Library in London, but during my previous visits to the Capitol I just didn’t have the time to squeeze in a visit.  This week I was able to plan a day in London and visit the library to spend some time researching certain aspects of the case.  With primary research on Jack the Ripper, From Hell, From Hull? Vol. I coming to a close I thought it would be the best, and probably last time I would get to visit before the final copy was ready.  The trip would be one of both primary and secondary resources, taking in correspondence, financial papers, and articles from the period, coupled with material written after the fact.  Some of these have often been alluded to, but never published and they proved to be quiet interesting.  They would include,

Robert D’Onston Stephenson and Grant Richards

Robert D’Onston Stephenson and Theosophy

Robert D’Onston Stephenson and the Workhouse

Robert D’Onston Stephenson and Betty May’s Tiger Woman

Robert D’Onston Stephenson and Highgate Hill Infirmary

Robert D’Onston Stephenson and the Islington Board of Guardians

With these topics in mind I searched for both primary and secondary sources associated with Stephenson and Co, and my searches came back time and time again with two locations, the most important of these, holding the most information, was the British Library.  I had arranged to see a collection of books and files to cover the majority of the topics above and packed my bag for the trip, booking my tickets online.

 The train journey began from Hull at 7.40 on a very wet Friday morning.  The last time I had taken this journey was the day my father passed away, it felt strange, but at the same time it felt right.  Dad loved history and was the first person I showed my research to. 

 The first stop on the journey was Hessle Station, a place associated with several notable families, and several names that appear in Jack the Ripper, From Hell, From Hull? Vol. III.  The station itself retains much of the Victorian architecture, but now stands in the shadow of the modern monolith that is the Humber Bridge.  The train eventually passes the Hearfield family mill at Little Switzerland.  It was here at the black mill that the Hearfield family crushed chalk, the present day Humber Bridge Country park being the site of their quarry.  Thomas Hearfield was a Hull based Solicitor who was often called in to defend Richard Stephenson Junior in the 1870’s.

 Another station on the way is Goole, a location associated with Annie Deary in the later years of her life.  From the station one can see the cranes that dominate the docks, as well as both the Victorian and more modern water towers. 

 Thorne North is another station stop and another location associated with Annie Deary.  It was in Thorne that Deary was born, and registered in the 1841 Census with her parents.  The station retains much of its Victorian fittings and fixtures, and the main station house dominates the outward bound platform side, albeit with modern automatic doors. 

 A quick change at Doncaster and I was on the much quicker train that sped through the English countryside to London, arriving at 10.45.

 After completing my pre-registration at the British Library I left my belongings at the locker room and with writing pad, laptop, and wish list made my way to the Rare Books Room.  The first thing that strikes you about the British Library is the size, it is essentially a multi-storey building with lifts and stairs and very much reminded me of Relativity by M.C. Escher.  Lifts, stairs and escalators going back and forth and I got lost in the building at least once during the day.

 The Rare Book Room is enormous, and after familiarising myself with the layout and rules I approached the desk and found that my items were ready.  Within minutes I had sat down and found some of the material I was looking for.  These gave new insights into some of the aspects of Robert D’Onston Stephenson’s life and it surprised me that despite the age of the material it had never been published in recent years.  I typed up the relevant passages and sought out some other material.  I spent from 11.00 until 13.00 in the rare book room and managed to come out with a pile of material that I had typed up and written up onto an A4 pad. 

 I still had more material to look at, but it was on order and could take up to 70 minutes for delivery so I went for lunch.  Outside of the British Library is a massive seating area with numerous café’s and coffee houses.  It was a warm afternoon and quiet busy.  After eating lunch I realised I still had some time to spare so visited the Sci Fi exhibition being held at the British Library, entitled Out of this World.  This involved a lengthy timeline, finely illustrated by books, and periodicals, and touched on famous authors, stories, theories, ideas, shows, and comic book heroes.  Sadly photos were not allowed, which is a shame as the exhibition had some amazing set pieces featuring giant flying saucers, talking robots, giant metal bugs, and props from Doctor Who.

 Heading back to library I headed for the Humanities Room where one of the items I requested had been delivered.  I spent some time in here looking for the relevant information before returning the book and heading to the Rare Books Room for the final stint of my research.  I sat here until 5 o’clock and found letters that were pertinent to my research, reading and copying them out.  I didn’t get to see everything I wanted to see, but found some fascinating snippets on Robert D’Onston Stephenson that had never been discussed before and has opened up new avenues of research for the future.

 It is always nice to have direct access to the source material and to not have to rely on others for it.  I also came across several articles on Frederick Bailey Deeming that will come in handy at some point.

 Leaving the British Library I headed for the tube to take a trip to Kensington with a view to visiting a Family History Centre.  Turning up in Kensington the building I sought had closed.  Although this was something of a setback and I was quiet disappointed I decided to visit the nearby museums.  First of all I took in the Victoria and Albert Museum, a building that was so big I got lost and had to ask for directions for the way out.  The museum was packed with some fascinating objects but because of the name I was expecting objects and information about Victoria and Albert.

 Across the road was the Natural History Museum, a location I had longed to go but never made the trip.  I loved it, and spent quiet some time admiring the dinosaurs, animals and displays on offer, and hope to return with the children one day. 

 After leaving the museum I head back via the tube for King’s Cross and my journey home.  It had been a long day but well worth it as I came away with more material that I thought I would get and some information that I had thought might exist, but never imagined that it did, or that I would get my hands on it.  

This morning I took delivery of L.C. Douthwaite’s Mass Murder. The book, published by John Long, London, 1928, features such cases as Burke and Hare, George Joseph Smith and Fritz Haartmann. There are aslo chapters, that will draw the attention of Ripperologists, on Thomas Neill Cream and Frederick Bailey Deeming.

For me the book is interesting as it is one of the earliest books I can find that claims Deeming was in jail in 1888 despite the Home Office files from 1890/91 claiming that the 1890/91 prison term was the first time Deeming had been in any British prison.

This morning I visited the Hull History Centre with a view to finding a newspaper report that linked Frederick Bailey Deeming to the murder of Mary Jane Langley.  It was rumoured to exist, and written about in the Yorkshire Post in 1892 during the trial of Deeming in Australia, but to date the actual Hull newspaper snippet has not been found, although searches are ongoing.   

 It was whilst there that I decided to search the minutes of committee meetings for the Hull Watch Committee.  These minutes are spread out in year books, with some books covering two years depending upon what has been discussed.  I was actually looking for information on several Borough Police Officers that had been awarded higher pay and career advancement because of their conduct in the Preston Murder, however, I found several interesting snippets on Frederick Bailey Deeming.  

 The two snippets cover the dates Wednesday December 9^th 1891 and Wednesday December 23^rd 1891 and explore Deeming, under the alias he used whilst in Hull – Harry Lawson, and the amount of money that went into the International manhunt when Detective Grassby left Hull for Southampton and later Monte Video.  

 The total cost for such a trip amounted to a stunning £153,9s,8d with the Hull Police trying to recuperate costs back from the Hull Corporation.  The minutes are incomplete, as the outcome had to be put before another committee, but I will endeavour to obtain the follow up report and ascertain who paid for Deeming’s manhunt when he defrauded the Hull Jewellery store, Messrs Reynoldson’s and Son.

Wow, it’s that time of the year already, I thought I would get this in early December so if there are any releases after this point I do apologise.  As many of the readers of this blog know, I have for many years written a “Year in Review” and for many this has become the most popular topic, with several people asking me over the last month or so, “Will 2010 have a Year in Review?”

So, for those people, and everyone else, here is the 2010 Year in Review.

It has been one hell of a year in Ripperology, with numerous fiction and non-fiction releases,

Books
Non Fiction

A new edition of the Jack the Ripper A-Z hit the shelves in September.  The release from Paul Begg, Martin Fido and Keith Skinner met with mixed reaction, but it’s still an indispensable book that should be on every Ripperologists book shelf.

The London of Jack the Ripper: Then and Now by Messrs Robert Clack and Philip Hutchinson got released as a Kindle Edition in November and paperback in October.  If you don’t have the hardback (why not?) this is the perfect time to get the paperback or Kindle Edition.

Jack the Ripper: The Theories and the Facts by Colin Kendell was released in October.

Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution by Stephen Knight was re-released in October as a Mass Market Paperback.  Whilst the theory is widely discredited, the book is one that brought many prominent Ripperologists into the study of the Whitechapel Murders, and is also notable for including the “Missing Suspect Files”

Jack the Ripper Suspects by Frederick P. Miller, Agness F. Vandome and John Brewster was released in August.  The list price was huge, and I have not heard of anyone that has purchased a copy.

Jack the Ripper: An Encyclopaedia by John J. Eddleston was re-released in July 2010.  There is nothing new in the book, but the cover size has been reduced, and I know many Ripperologists who have the first edition with pages falling out.

Jack the Ripper Revealed: The Truth at Last by Dr. Terry Weston was released in June both as a paperback and Kindle Edition.

Jack the Ripper Unmasked by William Beadle was released as a paperback in June.

Jack the Ripper: Scotland Yard Investigates by Stuart P. Evans and Donald Rumbelow was released as a paperback in May.

Jack the Ripper by Andrew Cook was released as a paperback in May.

Jack the Ripper: British Intelligence Agent by Tom Slemen and Keith Andrews was released as in May.

Fame or Infamy: The True Story of the Jack the Ripper Diary was released by Steve Powell in May.

The Crimes of Jack the Ripper by Paul Roland was released as a hardcover edition in April.

The London Job 2010 was released by Andrew Firth in April.

The Diary of Jack the Ripper by Shirley Harrison was re-released as a paperback edition in April.

Has Jack the Ripper Told You Chaps What His Real Name Was by Allan Downey was released in May.

Jack the Ripper’s Secret Confession: The Hidden Testimony of Britain’s First Serial Killer by David Monaghan and Nigel Cawthorne was released as a Hardcover in February.

Jack the Ripper. Crime, War and Conflict by iMinds was an Kindle ebook released in February.

Jack the Ripper’s Secret Confession: The Hidden Testimony of Britain’s First Serial Killer by David Monaghan and Nigel Cawthorne was released as a paperback and Kindle ebook in January.

Fiction

Robert Bloch’s Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper was re-released in October.

Ripper’s Row by Donnie Light and Shawn Weaver was released in October as a Kindle ebook. The book features Jack the Ripper fighting vampires.

Witches, Werewolves and Jack the Ripper by G.M. Jackson was released in October as a Kindle ebook.  The book features Jack fighting werewolves.

What Alice Knew, A Curious Tale of Henry James and Jack the Ripper by Paula Marantz Cohen was released in September.

Requiem for the Ripper: The Final Episode of a Study in Red Trilogy was released by Brian L. Porter in June.

The Passion of the Ripper by Nicholas Nicastro was released in June as a Kindle ebook.

Time After Time by Karl Alexander was released in March.

Jack’s Place by Steve Kenning was released in February as a Kindle ebook.  The story is set in the 21st Century .

Fatal Incision by William Park was released.

In Miller’s Court by Andrew Hoffman was released in February as a Kindle ebook.

Odd Jack the Ripper related title of the year?
Cheryl and Ashley- Love Wars, John McShane, April.
Page 13 mentions a Jack the Ripper suspect!

Film, TV and Audio

Mysteryquest 3 disk DVD set featuring an episode on Jack the Ripper was released in the UK.

Unmasking Jack the Ripper was released on DVD in the UK.

Whitechapel Series 2 appeared on ITV and on DVD in the UK.

Real Crimes: Jack the Ripper was released on PC CD, Nintendo DS in the UK.

Magazines

The Casebook Examiner began in April.
Issue 1 featured Tom Westcott’s article on Exonerating Michael Kidney, R.J. Palmer discussed the rise of Walter Andrews, Neal Sheldon discussed Morganstone, Elizabeth Pheonix, and Mrs Carthy, and the Ripper tour took in Leicester.
Issue 2 featured Tom Westcott’s article on Le Grand, Stewart P. Evans article A Rose Red? As well as contributions by Chris Phillips, who published a great photograph of Joseph Lawende, and R.J. Palmer on Dr. Anderson, Dr. Tumblety and a Voyage to Canada.
Issue 3 featured an article by John Malcolm challenging the work of Philip Sugden, Adam Went discussed the sinking of the S. S. Alice, Trevor Bond’s Ultimate Tour from Pimlico to Lambeth, and Robert Clack’s Scenes of Crime essay.
Issue 4 featured Tom Westcott’s article on the Cattleman, the Lunatic, and the Doctor, R.J. Palmer’s article on the goings on behind the scenes in America, and D. M. Gates article on Kelly’s 1888 Directory.  Jenni Sheldon took us on the Ultimate Ripper tour through Canterbury, to Hampton and Herne Bay, Kent.

Ripperologist Magazine is still going from strength to strength.
January saw Neil Bell and Rob Clack tackle PC Hutt in an excellent article.
February saw Jon Rees’s Appreciation of Jeremy Brett, and Jonathan Hainsworth poses questions on Anderson and Kosminski, and John Bennett took a look at 1970‘s London.
The issue also saw Rob Clack and Debra Arif win the 2009 Jeremy Beadle Award for their article A Rose By Any Other Name.
March saw Neil Bell and Rob Clack tackle Dr. Frederick Gordon Brown, John Bennett started a series on the letters sent to the City Police, Chris George discussed Jehovah the Ripper and Jon Rees gave us more Sherlock Holmes.
April saw MJ Trow discuss Robert Mann, Adam Went discuss the murder of Elizabeth Stride, John Bennett with the second part of his Letters to the City Police.
May saw Fiona Saint ask whether Gaugin was inspired by Jack the Ripper, and John Bennett’s final part of the Letters to the City Police.
June
July saw Neil Bell and Rob Clack’s article on DC Marriott, Tim Mosley on The House that Jack Built, Bob Hinton discussed his adventures in Researchland, and Andrew Firth looked at the East End Underground.
September saw Mike Hawley tackle the Elixir of Life, Tim Mosley on the House that Jack Built, and contributions from Dirk C Gibson, Glen L Bedsoe, and Arthur Morrison.
November saw Dirk C Gibson and Brooke N Weeber look at the correspondence involving Jack the Ripper, Eduardo Zinna with a Touch of Evil, Tim Mosley with more of the House that Jack built, and Bob Hinton speaks to Ripperologist.

The Journal of the Whitechapel Society still going from strength to strength.
October featured an article by Mei Trow, entitled Down among the Dead men, Joe Chetcuti discussed the Euston Arrest, and Peter Whitby looked at the Mean Streets- Bluegate Fields.
August featured Mickey Mayhew’s Coaxing Eddy from the Closet article, Chris Jones discussing Maybrick, and Ian Porter’s Thoughts on the Maybrick Diary.
June saw Trevor Spinage and Daniel Cox provide articles on Montague John Druitt in a Druitt themed special.
April saw Christopher Skolik discuss the Whitechapel Murders, Melanie Clegg, and Robert Clack take on Christ Church Spitalfields, and Robin Odell’s Off the Wall.
February saw Nicholas Connell discuss the research still left to undertake, J. J. Page looked at William Fishman’s work, and Alan Hunt wrote Food of the Gods.

Ripperana
July which featured cases such as Jill Dando’s murder, Eve Stratford, Jackie Ansell-Lamb.
April featured cases such as the San Francisco Zodiac, Egon Von Bulow, and the Yorkshire Ripper.

Events

The 2010 Jack the Ripper Conference, organised by Adam Wood, was once again held at the Kings Stores and was an amazing weekend for all involved.

The Frances Coles Memorial Appeal

Bloggs

Jack the Ripper and Me by Lavaugn Towell
http://www.jacktheripperandme.com/

All that You’ve Done by Trevor Bond
http://www.all-that-youve-done.com/

Jon’s Thoughts by Jon Rees.
http://jonrees.wordpress.com/

Random Observations From A Restless Mind by Nathen Amin
http://nathenamin.wordpress.com/2010/09/27/jack-the-ripper-conference-2010-a-review/

Notable finds and special mentions

Chris Phillips found, and shared, a wonderful picture of Joseph Lawende.
The ongoing newspaper research by the likes of Howard Brown, Chris Scott, Deborah Arif, Dave James.
Chris Scott transcribing the entire O’Donnell Manuscript.
Andrew Firth’s ongoing photography projects shared on Facebook.

Personal Achievements
The Jack the Ripper- Hull Connection Lectures have had a good year, from a lecture at the multi million pound Hull History Centre, which attracted it’s 10,000th visitor to the centre, who came for my lecture!  I was also privileged to speak at the 2010 Jack the Ripper Conference at the Kings Stores, and finally at the Hull Central Library.  The lectures have received great feedback.

I have made a number of finds through my research, some of which have made it onto my blog, others have made it onto Facebook, Twitter and the forums, some have been presented exclusively to the candidates of the Jack the Ripper 2010 Conference, and most of them have been kept for inclusion in the book.
Among these finds were;

Newspaper reports on Frederick Bailey Deeming in Hull, Beverley and beyond, his marriage certificate, and the newspaper announcements of his marriage, and death certificates of his mother and father.  I also traced documents pertaining to Deeming’s frauds in Hull, and newspaper reports linking Deeming with an unsolved murder that was committed in Hull when Deeming was released from Hull Jail.

Newspaper reports and primary sources connected with Robert D’Onston Stephenson, including several rare and out of print books discussing his articles in the London press, and several general crime and paranormal books and publications that mention Robert D’Onston Stephenson.

A wealth of information on Frederick Richard Chapman including marriage certificate, wedding announcement in the Hull Press, the dates of his employment with the Hull and Sculcoates Dispensary, the locations of his houses in the Hull Trade Directories.  Census entries for him and his family.  British Medical Journal information, Probate details, Birth, Marriage and Death details.  Articles written by him, and about him have also been traced.

I have had the pleasure of trawling through the Australian Newspapers, New Zealand Newspapers, American Newspapers, British Newspapers (19th Century) as well as 20th Century newspaper articles in the Daily Mirror Archive 1903 - current, Daily Express Archive 1900 - current, Sunday Express Archive 2000 - current, Daily Star Archive 2000 - current, Daily Star Sunday Archive 2002 - current, The Watchman Archive 1835 - 1885.
This has reaped hundreds of articles on Jack the Ripper, the Detectives and Officials linked to the case, notable theories and suspects, and notes on books, radio shows, TV shows and movies featuring the Whitechapel Murderer.

I have also had the pleasure of visiting Hull History Centre, Bridlington Local Studies, East Riding Archives, The Black Lion Public House in Bridlington, Islington Archives, London Metropolitan Archives, the British Library, the British Museum, as well as looking at several smaller private collections and several fantastic tours of Hull’s Guildhall.

I have met and spoke with people across the globe on Facebook, Twitter, and the forums as well as being able to meet with many Ripperologists and members of the media to discuss my work.
Special mentions should go to Jon Rees, Nathen Amin, Phil Carter, Paul Begg, Bill Beadle, Adam Wood, Gareth Williams, Norma Buddle, Andrew Firth, Kate Bradshaw, John Bennett and Laura Prietto, Trevor Bond, Rob Clack, Robert Anderson, Caroline Morris, Gail Dowle, Jackie Murphy, Jenni and Neal Sheldon, Liza Hopkinson, Mark Ripper, Suzi Hanney, the Cobb Brothers and the fantastic Philip Hutchinson.  All of which kept me smiling at the 2010 Ripper Conference despite the sad news I had received on the train to London.

In the New Year I have been invited to work on many local history and Ripper related projects, and I won’t spoil it, but I will say that 2011 will hopefully be a great year.