S3 – 6_ Mismatch - The Double Event and the Matchwomen's Strike

Commercial Promotions and Regional Advertisements

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• Jody Wilkinson Acura:

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• Burt Brothers Tire and Service:

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The Murder of Elizabeth Stride on Berner Street

• Witness Account - Mrs. Mortimer:

  • Resided on Berner Street; heard familiar steps of a constable on his beat on wet cobblestones.

  • Stood at her front door for approximately a half hour to take in the night air.

  • Observed a man passing by her home moving quickly, carrying a shiny black bag.

  • Noticed the man glancing at the Jewish socialist club located four doors down from her home, adjacent to Dutfield Yard.

• The Discovery at Dutfield Yard:

  • Occurred nearly at $1:00 AM$.

  • The steward of the socialist club arrived in a cart pulled by a donkey.

  • The donkey bucked and shied away from something in the shadows blocking the gateway to the yard.

  • The steward used a match to identify the object: the body of a woman, later identified as Elizabeth (Liz) Stride.

  • Israel Schwartz had fled the scene minutes prior.

• Condition of Elizabeth Stride:

  • She was found dead with a long cut across her throat.

  • The cut was located under a scarf that had been frayed by the knife's edge.

• Initial Police Investigation:

  • The steward alerted the police; constables locked down the club and shut the gates.

  • Police examined the hands, clothes, and rooms of the club for blood.

  • The yard's toilets and neighboring cottages were inspected.

  • Whitechapel's Inspector Reed returned from holiday to oversee the scene.

• Medical Examination:

  • The first doctor arrived at $1:15 AM$.

  • Dr. Phillips (police surgeon from the Annie Chapman case) arrived ten minutes later.

  • Conflict in Profile: Dr. Phillips previously suggested the killer was a butcher or surgeon due to organ removal in previous cases. However, Stride's body had only the neck wound and no missing organs, challenging previous speculation.

The Murder of Catherine Eddowes in Mitre Square

• Witness Account - Joseph Lawende:

  • The rain at Aldgate kept three men (a furniture dealer, a butcher, and Lawende, a cigarette salesman) inside the Imperial Club (a Jewish club across from the Great Synagogue).

  • They left at approximately $1:30 AM$ on September $30, 1888$.

  • Lawende observed a couple in the passage toward Mitre Street.

  • The Woman: Wearing a black jacket and black bonnet; her hand was on the man's chest.

  • The Man: Described as looking like a sailor, wearing a loose salt-and-pepper jacket, a red neckerchief, and a gray cloth cap with a peak.

• Discovery by Constable Edward Watkins:

  • Watkins' beat took approximately $15$ minutes to walk; he had been patrolling for $3.5$ hours.

  • He passed through Mitre Square at $1:30 AM$ and saw no one.

  • At $1:45 AM$, he returned and flashed his lantern on a dark corner by a framing shop's coal chute.

  • He discovered the crumpled body of Catherine Eddowes in a pool of blood with her clothes pushed above her waist.

• Mutilations of Catherine Eddowes:

  • Extensive facial and abdominal wounds.

  • Upside-down $V$ shapes carved into each cheek.

  • Slices across the lower eyelids.

  • The nose was cut off.

  • Intestines were pulled out and draped around her.

Biography and Background of Catherine Eddowes

• Early Life and Family:

  • Born in Wolverhampton to a cook and a tinplate worker.

  • One of $11$ siblings.

  • Parents both died while she was a teenager, leading to the family splitting up between workhouses and industrial schools.

  • Briefly worked at a tin works in Wolverhampton before being fired for stealing.

• Relationship with Thomas Conway:

  • Conway was an Irishman and former British Army soldier who served in India (Bombay and Madras).

  • Discharged at age $24$ ($1861$) due to a diagnosis of heart disease.

  • Together they entered the "story business," selling chapbooks and gallows ballads (pamphlets about criminal executions).

• The Execution of her Cousin:

  • In January $1866$, they attended the hanging of a man in Wolverhampton who had murdered his lover.

  • The executed man was actually Catherine's cousin.

  • They sold ballads of the event to a crowd of $4,000$, making enough profit to order $400$ more copies and for Catherine to buy a new hat.

• Decline and Later Life:

  • The relationship became violent; Catherine often had black eyes and bruises.

  • Catherine struggled with heavy drinking and addiction.

  • Separated from Conway in $1880$, leaving two sons behind. Pushed her daughter away and lost touch with her sister (last seen in $1877$).

  • Moved to Spitalfields in the East End by $1881$, living a life of domestic work in Jewish homes and occasional sex work.

  • Partnered with John Kelly; they picked hops in Kent every summer. In $1888$, they returned from the harvest but were already out of money by late September.

The Matchwomen's Strike of 1888

• Catalyst:

  • Socialist journal The Link published an article by Annie Besant titled "White Slavery in London" in late June $1888$.

  • Exposed conditions at the Bryant and May match factory on Bow Road, including low wages and high shareholder dividends.

• Phossy Jaw (Phosphorus Necrosis):

  • Caused by white phosphorus in the factory.

  • Symptoms: Decay of the jawbone, stinking abscesses in the gums, and bone fragments working their way out.

  • Exacerbated by a lack of separate dining rooms, causing workers to ingest phosphorus particles settled on their food.

  • Management Response: Fired symptomatic workers to claim the condition did not exist in their factory.

• The Strike Action:

  • The Bryants tried to force workers to sign pre-printed statements calling Besant a liar; the women refused.

  • A woman was fired on a pretext; the workers laid down their tools and walked out of the Fairfield Works.

  • Over $1,000$ women joined the strike.

  • Strike leaders, including Mary Driscoll, were elected from the workshops.

• Outcome:

  • A committee of $50$ matchwomen marched to Parliament to meet with $MPs$.

  • An independent investigation proved conditions were worse than Besant reported.

  • Bryant and May conceded due to plummeting stock prices and public pressure.

  • Results included better pay, a safer workspace, a separate dining room, and the formation of the Matchwomen's Union.

Jurisdictional Conflicts and the Goulston Street Clue

• Police Fragmentation:

  • Metropolitan Police: Established $1829$ by Robert Peel; commanded by Charles Warren; answerable to the Home Office.

  • City of London Police: Established $1839$; separate jurisdiction for the city center; operated under the Lord Mayor; no obligation to share data with the Met.

• The Bloodied Apron and Graffiti:

  • At approximately $3:00 AM$, a Metropolitan constable found a piece of Catherine Eddowes' apron in a doorway on Goulston Street.

  • Above the apron, white chalk graffiti read: "The Jews are the men that will not be blamed for nothing."

• Charles Warren's Decision:

  • Concerned that the message would incite anti-Semitic riots during the busy Sunday market.

  • Ordered the writing to be scrubbed away before it could be photographed, despite protests from City of London police detectives who wanted it preserved as evidence.

Questions & Discussion

• Discussion on Victim Identification (Paul Begg):

  • Question regarding whether the woman seen by Joseph Lawende was actually Catherine Eddowes.

  • Response: Lawende identified her by distinctive clothing, but there remains a margin of time where Lawende's companion could have left her, allowing her to encounter "Jack the Ripper" in the shadows of Mitre Square.

• Next Week's Preview:

  • The use of bloodhounds in the investigation.

  • Increased criticism and righteous anger directed at the London police for their failure to capture the killer.