If February holds any significance in terms of Ripper folklore, it must be because it is the month in which Frances Coles met her end. Our cover is therefore appropriate on two levels.; Although only considered by a minority to be one of Jack the Ripper's victims, Frances Coles was certainly one of the eleven murders that make up the 'Whitechapel Murders' as a whole, and her sad end came shortly after 2.0 o'clock on the morning of 13th February 1891. Not only is the month topical, but it is also alleged that she was picked up by Thomas Sadler, thought by some to have been her murderer, at the Princess Alice - the very same pub in which we now hold our Club meetings. Bernie Brown has contributed an article which focuses on this crime (page 21) and we also include commentary on the aftermath of Frances Coles' death from the Pall Mall Gazette on page 19.

The other topicality is that Inspector Reid was involved in the Coles case (as he was in most of the other Whitechapel murders) and on page 13 we feature a discussion with the two authors of a book detailing this man's life and connection with the murders. The book is The Man Who Hunted Jack the Ripper (available 1st March); the authors are Nick Connell and Stewart Evans.

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