Letters to my sons.

Dear Son,

I’m watching a program on Channel 4 regarding Wearside Jack. I was only about 9 years old when the tapes were made public and as the program discussed it contents were made available far and wide. I remember waking up early one morning, putting in my ear piece and switching on my little transistor radio. I don’t remember which radio station I was listening to but they played the Ripper Tape and I started listening to it before a huge wave of fear came over me and I had to switch it off. I remember it being very early but also light so it must have been during the summer.

Fear is a very nasty thing, even more so to a nine year old. There was no way that the person doing the murders could harm me via a tape recording broadcast on the radio but as a child logical doesn’t matter. At the time lived a couple of hours drive from where the murders had been taking place and we visited the area regularly to see family so maybe it was all a bit more real to me.