Don't read this if you don't want to know the plot of From Hell, the 2001 Johnny Depp movie about Jack the Ripper.
I saw it last week for the first time.
After numerous twists and turns, the person responsible for the five gruesome Victorian murders turns out to be Queen Victoria's physician Sir William Gull, splendidly played by Sir Ian Holm.
Now, when Sir William died in 1890, his Times obituary said he'd been an Old Blue.
Can this be true?
When the horrors of life allow, I'll try to have a hunt through a few reference books and report back to you.
After all, in these sad times a suspected serial killer is considered a rather exciting thing to be, and surely CH wants to be at the cutting edge, no particular pun intended?
Even if he wasn't Jack the Ripper (and he was 71 at the time of the murders, and in seriously declining health), Gull would be the third Old Blue to be portrayed on screen by a knight of the realm.
Sir Louis Cavagnari (CH 1851-56)* was played by Sir John Gielgud in The Far Pavilions (1984), and Sir Barnes Wallis (CH 1900-04) was impersonated in The Dam Busters (1954) by the future Sir Michael Redgrave.
Or does anyone know of a fourth?
* This link is to a photo of the school's own bust of Sir Louis. Click on the image to enlarge it, and the detailed text on the plinth should become legible.
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