Jump to content

User:D2272/sandbox

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
< User:D2272
This is an old revision of this page, as edited by D2272 (talk | contribs) at 21:26, 26 December 2023. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Edward Druitt
Born(1888-09-08)8 September 1888
Wimborne Minster, Dorset, England
Died21 March 1918(1918-03-21) (aged 29)
Edinburgh, Scotland
Allegiance United Kingdom
Branch British Army
Years of service1914–1918
RankLieutenant Colonel
Commands16th Battalion, The Manchester Regiment
Battles / warsFirst World War
AwardsVictoria Cross
Distinguished Service Order
Military Cross
Mentioned in Despatches

Lieutenant Colonel Edward Druitt (19 April 1859 – 25 July 1922)[1] was an English military engineering officer known for who was a deputy inspecting officer of the Railways Inspectorate in the early twentieth century.

Early life

Montague Druitt was born in Wimborne Minster, Dorset, England. He was the second son and third child of prominent local surgeon William Druitt, and his wife Ann (née Harvey). William Druitt was a justice of the peace, a governor of the local grammar school, and a regular worshipper at the local Anglican church, the Minster.[2] The Druitts lived at Westfield House, which was the largest house in the town, and set in its own grounds with stables and servants' cottages.[3] Druitt had six brothers and sisters,[2] including an elder brother William who entered the law, and a younger brother Edward who joined the Royal Engineers.[4]

Medieval stone church at Winchester College
Winchester College Chapel
Photograph by Christophe Finot

Druitt was educated at Winchester College, where he won a scholarship at the age of 13, and excelled at sports, especially cricket and fives.[5] He was active in the school's debating society, an interest that might have spawned his desire to become a barrister.[6] In debates, he spoke in favour of French republicanism, compulsory military service, and the resignation of Benjamin Disraeli, and against the Ottoman Empire, the influence of Otto von Bismarck, and the conduct of the government in the Tichborne case.[7] He defended William Wordsworth as "a bulwark of Protestantism",[8] and condemned the execution of King Charles I as "a most dastardly murder that will always attach to England's fair name as a blot".[7] In a light-hearted debate, he spoke against the proposition that bondage to fashion is a social evil.[7][8]

Druitt circa 1875–76.
Photograph by William Savage.

In his final year at Winchester, 1875–76, Druitt was Prefect of Chapel, treasurer of the debating society, school fives champion, and opening bowler for the cricket team.[8] In June 1876, he played cricket for the school team against Eton College, which won the match with a team including cricketing luminaries Ivo Bligh and Kynaston Studd, as well as a future Principal Private Secretary at the Home Office Evelyn Ruggles-Brise. Druitt bowled out Studd for four.[9] With a glowing academic record, he was awarded a Winchester Scholarship to New College, Oxford.[10]

At New College, Druitt was popular with his peers and was elected Steward of the Junior Common Room.[11] He played cricket and rugby for the college team, and was the winner of both double and single fives at the university in 1877.[12] In a seniors' cricket match in 1880, he bowled out William Patterson, who later captained Kent County Cricket Club.[13]

Druitt gained a second class in Classical Moderations in 1878 and graduated with a third class Bachelor of Arts degree in Literae Humaniores (Classics) in 1880.[11][14] His youngest brother, Arthur, entered New College in 1882,[15] just as Druitt was following in his eldest brother William's footsteps by embarking on a career in law.[16]

Career

Pen and ink drawing of the Inner Temple in winter: to the left a large gothic building with spire and castellations; to the right a tree bereft of leaves; between them pedestrians and a pony and trap
The Inner Temple, 1895
Sketch by Herbert Railton

Druitt came from an upper-middle-class English background, and studied at Cheltenham College and the Royal Military Academy Woolwich. After graduating, he served as a military engineering officer until being ap.

Druitt's father died suddenly from a heart attack in September 1885, leaving an estate valued at £16,579 (equivalent to £2,262,000 today).[17][18]


Death

On Friday 30 November 1888, Druitt was dismissed from his post at the Blackheath boys' school. The reason for his dismissal is unclear.[19][20] One newspaper, quoting his brother William's inquest testimony, reported that he was dismissed because he "had got into serious trouble" but did not specify any further.[21] In early December 1888 he disappeared, and on 21 December the Blackheath Cricket Club's minute book records that he was removed as treasurer and secretary in the belief that he had "gone abroad".[22]

On 31 December 1888, Druitt's body was found floating in the River Thames, off Thornycroft's torpedo works, Chiswick, by a waterman named Henry Winslade.[23][24] Stones in Druitt's pockets had kept his body submerged for about a month.[25] He was in possession of a return train ticket to Hammersmith dated 1 December, a silver watch, a cheque for £50 and £16 in gold (equivalent to £7,000 and £2,300 today).[17][26][27] It is not known why he should have carried such a large amount of money,[28] but it could have been a final payment from the school.[19][29]

Some modern authors suggest that Druitt was dismissed because he was a homosexual or pederast and that may have driven him to suicide.[30] One speculation is that the money found on his body was going to be used for payment to a blackmailer.[31] Others, however, think that there is no evidence of homosexuality and that his suicide was instead precipitated by a hereditary psychiatric illness.[32] His mother suffered from depression and was institutionalised from July 1888.[33] She died in an asylum in Chiswick in 1890.[34] His maternal grandmother committed suicide while insane, his aunt attempted suicide, and his eldest sister committed suicide in old age.[35] A note written by Druitt and addressed to his brother William, who was a solicitor in Bournemouth, was found in Druitt's room in Blackheath. It read, "Since Friday I felt that I was going to be like mother, and the best thing for me was to die."[36]

As was usual in the district, the inquest was held at the Lamb Tap public house, Chiswick, by the coroner Dr Thomas Bramah Diplock, on 2 January 1889.[37] The coroner's jury concluded that Druitt had committed suicide by drowning while in an unsound state of mind.[38] He was buried in Wimborne cemetery the next day.[26][39] At probate, his estate was valued at £2,600 (equivalent to £365,800 today).[17][40]

It is not known why Druitt committed suicide in Chiswick. One suggested link is that one of his university friends, Thomas Seymour Tuke of the Tuke family, lived there. Tuke was a psychiatric doctor with whom Druitt played cricket, and Druitt's mother was committed to Tuke's asylum in 1890.[19][41] Another suggestion is that Druitt knew Harry Wilson, whose house, "The Osiers", lay between Hammersmith station and Thornycroft's wharf, where Druitt's body was found.[42]

References

  1. ^ "Archive, Cricket Ireland". Cricket Ireland. 26 December 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ a b Cullen, p. 224; Leighton, pp. 10–12
  3. ^ Cullen, p. 224; Leighton, pp. 10–12; McDonald, p. 80
  4. ^ Leighton, pp. 13, 31; McDonald, p. 80
  5. ^ Cullen, pp. 224–225; Leighton, pp. 15–18
  6. ^ Cullen, p. 225; Leighton, p. 20
  7. ^ a b c Spallek, Andrew (October 2008) "Young Montie: Montague Druitt at Winchester", Ripperologist 96: 4–5
  8. ^ a b c Cullen, p. 225
  9. ^ Leighton, p. 16
  10. ^ Cullen, p. 225; Leighton, p. 20; McDonald, p. 82
  11. ^ a b Cullen, p. 226; Leighton, p. 28; McDonald, p. 82; Rumbelow, p. 155
  12. ^ Leighton, p. 24; McDonald, p. 82
  13. ^ Leighton, pp. 24, 169
  14. ^ Oxford University Calendar 1895, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1895, pp. 228, 328
  15. ^ Foster, Joseph (ed.) (1888) Alumni Oxonienses, London: Parker and Co., vol. I: "Abbay–Dyson"
  16. ^ Leighton, p. 31; McDonald, p. 83
  17. ^ a b c UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  18. ^ Cullen, p. 227; Leighton, pp. 43–44; McDonald, p. 90
  19. ^ a b c Spallek, Andrew J. (July 2005) "Montague John Druitt: Still Our Best Suspect", in Norder, Dan; Vanderlinden, Wolf; Evans, Stewart P. (editors) Ripper Notes: Suspects & Witnesses Issue 23, Madison, Wisconsin: Inklings Press, ISBN 978-0-9759129-4-2, pp. 4–21
  20. ^ Begg, The Facts, p. 325; Fido, p. 203; Leighton, p. 90; McDonald, p. 92; Whitehead and Rivett, p. 106
  21. ^ Acton, Chiswick and Turnham Green Gazette, 5 January 1889, quoted in Begg, The Definitive History, p. 261; McDonald, p. 142 and Evans and Skinner, p. 588
  22. ^ Quoted in Begg, The Definitive History, p. 260; Leighton, p. 91 and McDonald, p. 147
  23. ^ Acton, Chiswick and Turnham Green Gazette, 5 January 1889, quoted in Begg, The Definitive History, p. 261; Evans and Skinner, p. 588; Leighton, pp. 93–94; and McDonald, p. 141; Thames Valley Times, 2 January 1889, quoted in Evans and Skinner, p. 589
  24. ^ The County of Middlesex Independent, Wednesday 2 January 1889, p. 3, quoted in Cullen, p. 222 and Leighton, p. 93, said the waterman's name was Winslow.
  25. ^ Whitehead and Rivett, p. 106
  26. ^ a b Southern Guardian, 5 January 1889, quoted in Cullen, p. 223; Dorset County Chronicle and Somersetshire Gazette, 10 January 1889, quoted in Evans and Skinner, p. 590
  27. ^ The Acton, Chiswick and Turnham Green Gazette, 5 January 1889, quoted in Begg, The Definitive History, p. 261; Leighton, p. 94; McDonald, p. 141; and Evans and Skinner, p. 588, says there were two cheques for £50 and £16 respectively and £2 17s 2d in cash.
  28. ^ Cullen, p. 231; Rumbelow, p. 156
  29. ^ Leighton, p. 96; Rumbelow, p. 156
  30. ^ Eddleston, p. 209; Marriott, pp. 233–234; McDonald, pp. 142–144
  31. ^ Rumbelow, p. 156
  32. ^ Begg, The Facts, pp. 324–328; Cornwell, pp. 184–185; Rumbelow, p. 155
  33. ^ Begg, The Definitive History, p. 260; Begg, The Facts, p. 324; Leighton, pp. 47, 84; McDonald, p. 91
  34. ^ Begg, The Definitive History, p. 260; Begg, The Facts, p. 324; Cullen, p. 230; Leighton, p. 87; McDonald, pp. 91, 142; Rumbelow, p. 156
  35. ^ McDonald, p. 144
  36. ^ Inquest testimony of William H. Druitt reported "to this effect", indicating that it is not an exact quotation of the letter, in Acton, Chiswick and Turnham Green Gazette, 5 January 1889, quoted in Begg, The Definitive History, p. 259; Evans and Skinner, p. 588; Leighton, p. 94; and McDonald, p. 141
  37. ^ Begg, The Definitive History, p. 259; County of Middlesex Independent, Saturday 5 January 1889, quoted in Cullen, p. 223
  38. ^ Cornwell, p. 185; Cullen, p. 234; Leighton, p. 94; Acton, Chiswick and Turnham Green Gazette, 5 January 1889, quoted in Evans and Skinner, p. 588 and McDonald, p. 141
  39. ^ Though suicides were not usually buried in consecrated ground, exceptions were made for people found insane (Leighton, p. 100).
  40. ^ Begg, The Facts, p. 324; McDonald, pp. 143–144
  41. ^ McDonald, pp. 91, 142–143
  42. ^ Leighton, pp. 70–74; McDonald, p. 143
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:D2272/sandbox&oldid=1191965367"