The Life and Death of Martha Tabram - Was She A Victim of Jack the Ripper?

Martha Tabram was murdered in the early hours of Tuesday, 7th August, 1888, in George Yard, Whitechapel, and. today, there is debate over whether she was the first victim of Jack the Ripper.

This video tells the story of her life, from her birth on the 10th of May, 1849, in Southwark, and on through her doomed marriage to Henry Tabram, which ended on account of her heavy drinking.

We then follow her, as she becomes involved with William Turner and heads for the East End of London, where the couple lead a transient life, alternating between rented rooms and the common lodging houses, of which there was an abundance at in the district at the time.

Martha and William became hawkers, selling trinkets and other wares on the streets of Victorian London, and you will learn the story of their life together as they struggled to survive against the obstacles that life threw at them.

Having told of the last poignant meeting between the couple, on 4th August, 1888, we follow Martha Tabram through the events of what would be her last night. Having met with local resident "Pearly Poll", the two met with two soldiers, in whose company they went drinking, and, having separated into couples, we follow Martha as she goes into a dark Whitechapel thoroughfare, little realising the danger that she was in.

We discuss the discovery of her body, on a dark landing in an apartment block called George Yard Buildings, and then outline the events that followed, from the description of her injuries that was given by the doctor who was called to the scene of the murder to the police efforts to identify the body of the, at the time, unknown victim.

Having covered the inquest into her death, we finally pose the question, was Martha Tabram a victim of Jack the Ripper? You will hear the evidence both for and against her having been a victim - and, therefore, his first victim - before learning of the impact her murder had on the residents of the Victorian East End, as they began to realise that something untoward was occurring in Whitechapel.

The video features footage of the locations as they are today, as well as evocative contemporary photographs and illustrations that help you gain an understanding and impression of what the area was like at the time of a crime that, in many ways, spelt the beginning of what would be Jack the Ripper's reign of terror, one of London's greatest true crime mysteries.