The Jack the Ripper Location Photographs: Dutfield's Yard and the Whitby Collection (2 page)

Walter and Gertrude Whitby at a social event. The woman in the fur is the mother of aviator Amy Johnson, who was also from Hull
(Courtesy Margaret Whitby-Green)

123 Boothferry Road, Hull
(Courtesy Mike Covell)

At the outbreak of the Second World War, John became a navigator in the RAF and during the conflict he found himself based in Egypt and Greece. The only two current known photographs of him date from that time, 20 years before he took the series of photographs in London. Whilst stationed in Egypt, John became engaged to a member of the Egyptian Royal Family. Following his decommission, he returned to Hull and his fiancée began to send him gold ingots through the mail. Not only did Walter disapprove of the potential marriage, but he was also aware that this act of altruism and affection was actually nothing short of smuggling and insisted that the bullion was returned to source. He never married.

John Gordon Whitby in his flying gear, April 1941
(Courtesy Margaret Whitby-Green)

John Gordon Whitby on active service during World War Two
(Courtesy Margaret Whitby-Green)

Passing the Parthenon in Greece during World War Two. John Gordon Whitby sits in the navigator’s seat in the plane in the foreground
(Courtesy Margaret Whitby-Green)

Pyramids on the banks of the Nile, taken by John Gordon Whitby in the Second World War
(Courtesy Margaret Whitby-Green)

The crossing in Boothferry Road where Walter Whitby was killed
(Courtesy Mike Covell)

Settling back into civilian life, John became a dental mechanic and continued to live at the Boothferry Road address. He specialised in making false teeth and a great deal of moulds and paraphernalia were kept in the house. John was a very quietly spoken man and had a passion for jazz music. Paradoxically, he also had an interest in bullfighting and had a collection of photographs relating to the subject.

His mother, Gertrude, succumbed to cancer in the late 1950s. In 1962, his father (now elderly) was crossing the road in front of the family home. He was hit by a heavy goods vehicle and killed and the driver responsible for his death was fined just £20. It soon came to light he had killed another pedestrian in a similar manner in 1960.

From this point, John lived at 123 Boothferry Road alone. He and his brother Guy shared an interest in true crime. Their passion covered all aspects of criminal activity, especially trials. It is because of this that the collection of photographs known as The Whitby Collection exists.

John died of cancer in June 1977, whilst Margaret was in hospital giving birth to one of her children. Although a veritable Aladdin’s Cave, the house was cleared within the space of a week to save having to continue paying rent on an unoccupied property. Walter Whitby had owned a Steinway piano and this had remained in the house after his death in 1962. The instrument was sold back to the shop from which it was originally purchased.

Nearly all of John’s possessions were disposed of; most things were thrown away. Margaret remembers that John had a very large collection of books and, given his interest in true crime and his clear knowledge of exact locations relating to the Whitechapel Murders, it is disconcerting to consider that amongst the volumes may have been some of the most desirable early books published on the case. Undoubtedly, he would have held copies of Leonard Matters and Edwin T. Woodhall amongst his cache. It is almost unbearable to suggest that an extremely rare William Stewart or Tom Robinson may have ended up in a dustbin – or even some original publications from the period.

Besides two photographs of John and a handful of photographs he took during his time in the RAF, all Margaret possessed of her uncle was his collection of Ripper photographs. During the 1977 house clearance, Guy had found the envelopes and – with a canny realisation of their significance, thankfully made evident by the interest he shared with his late brother – handed them to Margaret as a safeguard, keepsake, and legacy.

This series of images represents all that is known to remain of Whitby’s Ripper collection. It is almost certain that he took many more photographs than those that survive but these no longer exist. There are not even any negatives.

However, Ripper research owes a huge debt to John Gordon Whitby. He may be the earliest known example of a Ripper historian and enthusiast taking multiple photographs of the locations who wasn’t an author himself.

The collection consists of 27 photographs. Whitby kept them in 10 envelopes and wrote brief notes on the front of each in black ink, presumably shortly after they were taken. 18 of the images measure 5” x 3.5” and the other 9 are 3.5” square. All are gloss photographs with white borders. The set covers at least four different rolls of film (Kodacolor, Kodak Velox – both 3.5” and 5” sizes – and Ilford, though there is the possibility of a fifth roll without a visible backstamp). These will be indicated in the captions. It should also be noted that the photographs were not all taken on the same day, presenting the possibility and likelihood of Whitby making multiple trips to London.

Although appearing arbitrary, the photographs are here presented in the order in which they were originally received by the author. The images are presented with the original flaws intact, at full size, and without any selective cropping. The photographer’s grammatical errors from the envelope fronts are retained.

John Gordon Whitby’s handwriting on the front of one of the ten envelopes.

ENVELOPE 1: ‘looking towards Dorset ST from Thrawl st.’

(Courtesy Margaret Whitby-Green)

(Kodak Velox) Unusually for this collection, a few people are visible in the distance on both sides of the street. There is a single car further north, at the entrance to Duval Street. Most of these buildings on Commercial Street still stand, as can be seen in the 2009 image below.