| |
 |
Welcome |
If
you are visiting this website over the Christmas
holiday, it may be that you are one of the
millions of people who are alone this time
of year. |
| |
It
is my sincerest wish that by reading these
pages you will become hugely inspired by the
story of Joseph Merrick. |
| |
Joseph's
legacy to us becomes so very clear, it's one
of hope, love and forgiveness. |
| |
Jeanette
Sitton, author |
|
| |
Most
people who are aware of Joseph Merrick's
existance,
first heard of him by watching David
Lynch's film, 'the Elephant Man' (1980).
Since then, there have been several
stage productions by the same title
and even an opera. |
|
Joseph
Merrick, 'the Elephant Man was a 19th-century
Englishman who suffered disfigurement
from a still-incurable disease - which
is believed to be Proteus Syndrome.
Though his physical and mental suffering
was great, he remained courageous, cheerful,
gentle and was never bitter. Over a
hundred years since his death, Joseph's
shining legacy continues. |
| |
Millions
of people around the world - the disabled
and able-bodied, have at some point
been encouraged and have found strength
in Joseph's story. Attitudes towards
those with disabilities have changed
immeasurably since Joseph's days, but
there is still so much room for improvement.
For example, lack of public amenities,
such as access points, disabled toilets,
pavement (sidewalk) ramps, etc. |
| |
| |
| Sensitively composed |
| |
The
Webmaster, Jeanette Sitton, apologises
in advance if anything here causes you
distress or offense. Every possible
precaution has been taken to prevent
this, for example, wherever possible,
pages are sensitively composed. Also,
there are absolutely no medical/anatomical
images of Joseph on this site. Such
images are only supplied to those who
satisfy the webmaster's criteria. |
| |
However,
in order to provide an accurate, as
possible account, and to illustrate
text, commissioned artwork by Audrey
Kantrowitz is included. Audrey
is often referred to, by the Webmaster,
as Joseph's no.1 admirer. She has read
just about everything there is about
Joseph's life and for this reason, she
is also the FofJCM (Friends of Joseph
Carey Merrick) archivist. |
| |
|
|
| |
| Joseph's
Life Story |
| |
|
|
| |
Anyone
who has ever read the story of Joseph
Merrick, could not fail to be captivated
by this man's incredible sensitivity
and courage. He was an intelligent individual,
not only being able to write and speak
eloquently but also able to read. The
ability to read was a rarity amongst
the poorer classes of the 19th century
and therefore one can only further admire
Joseph for his inner struggle to become
educated and to pull himself out of
his impoverished background and circumstances. |
| |
Born
in Leicester, England, in 1862, Joseph
first began to develop tumors on his
face before his second birthday. |
| |
Joseph
lived with his Mother (Mary Jane Merrick);
younger brother (William
Arthur) and sister (Marion Eliza) during
his childhood. Mary Jane died on 19th
May 1873 of bronchial-pneumonia when
Joseph was just 11. 'Unfortunately,
by all historical accounts, no actual
photograph of Merrick's Mother is reported
to have survived the passage of time'.*
Interestingly though, according to family
& eye witness accounts, she too
was 'crippled'. The photo presented
in the film ,'...is that of Phoebe Nicholls,
(the actress who portrayed his Mother)'.* |
| |
Joseph
had lived in several places, one of
these was a Workhouse' where he was
forced to publicly work for his keep,
(despite his appearance). [The above
hyperlink is not to the Leicester Union
Workhouse
where Joseph stayed, but is a wonderful
example, and a great walk-around]. Another
place, was living with his father and
step-mother. His father certainly
didn't really want him around and there
were untold rows over him. As far as
the step-mother was concerned, Joseph
was just an embarrassment and inconvenience
and she finally gave her husband the
ultimatum of, "it's either him
or me". If they were going
to give Joseph a roof over his head
they at least expected him to work for
it. He was forced to 'street-hawk',
selling shoe-black along cold, cobbled
neighbouring streets. It was hard enough
for him to walk on even surfaces, but
cobble stones were a real hazard. His
form was a source of great amusement
for the scores of children that would
follow him from street to street, taunting
him and calling out cruel names. His
condition quickly worsened as bulbous,
cauliflower-like growths grew from his
head and body, and his right hand and
forearm became a useless club. |
| |
In
later life, (previous to his involvement
with the Whitechapel Hospital), Joseph
was most of the time unemployable, destitute
and stripped of all his self-worth by
the ignorance of the people of the day.
He was prepared to take any job that
would offer him a crust.As a last resort
he took a job as a side-show 'freak'.
However, 'there were no ritual
beatings, and neither was he kidnapped
from the London Hospital (that part
is a product of Mr. Lynch's artistic
lisence - I'm certainly not knocking
'the Elephant Man' film - it was superb
and I wholeheartedly recommend it).
I've dedicated a page to the film and
there's a film trailer too. |
| |
The entrepreneur
Tom Norman (right),  who
took Merrick under his wing, was anything
but the monster Bytes depicted in the
film. In reality, he treated Merrick with
great care - afterall, Joseph was his
livelihood. Joseph's three page
autobiography makes no mention of beatings
or mistreatment. In fact, the experience
left him rather well off (he'd amassed
some £200 - that was a heck of alot
of money in those days). |
| |
 Surgeon
Frederick Treves (later to become, Sir
Frederick Treves) of the Whitechapel Hospital
(now Royal London Hospital), came to hear
of Mr. Merrick and paid him a visit. He
privately viewed him at 123 Whitechapel
Road, opposite the then Whitechapel Hospital
- now, an Indian Saree Shop (left). 'Treves
expressed scientific/medical interest
in Merrick, presenting him before the
London Pathological Society (December
2, 1884), and then sent him back on his
way. |
|
Joseph
arrived at London's Liverpool Street
railway Station in June 1886. He had
been earning a living in the only way
he knew how, as a freak. Freak Shows
had become outlawed in the UK by this
time, so he worked across the Channel
in Belgium. An Austrian showman, not
connected with Tom Norman, robbed Joseph
blind, and left him destitute in Belgium.
The Police found Dr. Treves' business
card in Joseph's pocket. |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
The
mission of this site is to introduce you to
the courageous and inspiring life story of
Joseph Carey Merrick and to sensitively raise
the profile of those with disabilities. These
pages have been created with love and in the
hope that we all may learn from Joseph's unique
life experience. |
| |
| |
|
was
erected to Joseph Merrick |
on
15th May 2004 |
| |
| |
After
campaigning for four years, the Webmaster
finally succeeded in having Joseph formally
and publicly commemorated, by way of a plaque.
The plaque was unveiled on 15th May 2004,
by the Lord Mayor or Leicester, in Joseph's
hometown of Leicester...... CLICK
HERE to read more. |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
| continued from left
column |
| |
Having
been unrelentingly taunted by children, and
attempting to escape from a number of acrimonious
adults, Joseph was crumpled on the floor in
a heap, starving and breathless. [Simple words
cannot describe this scene.The best way the
reader can understand, is to watch the 'Elephant
Man' film, as it almost precisely depicts
the way things happened at the station]. Joseph
was taken to the London Hospital (Whitechapel
Hospital). He was taken directly to the Hospital's
isolation ward, so as not to alarm other patients.
Some time later (unknown when), plans were
made to secure a final home and resting place
for Joseph. In those days hospitals had the
policy to never offer their beds to 'incurables'. A
permanent home was what was needed. Through
Treves' work with Joseph, they had both become
quite a celebrity. Philanthropists and well-doers
from every corner of Britain and Europe were
writing in to the Whitechapel Hospital (London
Hospital), offering all kinds assistance,
in addition, large amounts of money were offered
to look after Joseph. Enormous pressure was
placed on the Whitechapel Hospital to give
this 'Child of England' a permanent home.
|
| |
A
home was given. The ground floor of the East
Wing of the Hospital became Joseph's PERMANENT
home. The happiest years of Joseph's adult
life were spent at the London Hospital, cared
for by his friend Dr. Treves and accompanying
nurses. Joseph felt respected and loved. He
was very comfortable there. His small annexe
in Bedstead Square was adapted to his personal
needs. A specially designed armchair was built
by the Chief Engineer, William Taylor. If
there ever was a true example of human kindness,
it was here. They went against all the rules
to help our beloved Joseph. |
| |
|
Rare
photograph taken from the movie, signed by
John Hurt. Hurt played the part of Joseph
Merrick in "the Elephant Man". |
| |
Joseph
was unable to mingle in finer circles because
of his appearance. Even although he was self-educated,
he had to rely mostly upon his imagination
of social events. His dignified attitude
would certainly be no less than that of an
able bodied English Gentleman of the time,
and his manners equal, if not superior at
times, to those of more well-to-do backgrounds.
Much of the time he was delightfully childlike,
tending to over-simplify things. To
wind away the many hours at home, often alone,
(a very small price to pay for safety and
comfort), he found ways to put is wonderful
imagination to use. The Card Church. |
| |
Joseph
constructed a card kit church of German origin..
The film 'the Elephant Man' shows Joseph building
it, basing it upon his restricted view of
nearby St. Philips church. This wasn't the
case - it came in a very 'fiddly' kit form. One
can only imagine the difficultiees he had,
as one hand and arm was unusable. Read
on |
| |
Joseph
died on April 11th, 1890. There was a small
and very private Ceremony. Soon after, plaster
casts were taken of his body for scientific
scrutiny. Samples were taken too and preserved
in formaldehyde. Unfortunately, they were
destroyed during the WWII Blitz. Also, some
parts were buried in an unmarked grave, (location
unknown). Last, but by no means least, his
skeleton remains at the Royal London Hospital
(Whitechapel). It stands vertically in a glass
case. The bones are somtimes drilled in the
possibility that one day, some 'up and coming'
scientist may make a name for him/herself,
by finding something useful to extract. So
far, nothing positive has been found. The
webmaster, Jeanette Sitton, once asked the
Hospital's archivist, Jonathan Evans, if there
existed any Document of Consent, (signed by
Joseph, to say he agreed to leave his body
to science). She was told that, to their knowledge,
there is nothing to prove or disprove that
permission was given. Joseph was a devout
Christian. So, would he have wanted a proper
Christian burial? We may never know. |
| |
Here is something worth mentioning and that
is, Merrick's speech was never as clear as
it was shown as becoming in the film, and
though Treves and some others learned to understand
him with little hindrance, Treves had often
to act as an interpreter for people who weren't
able to understand. He remarks also that it
was always difficult for strangers to Merrick
to understand him - everyone had to aclimatise.
|
| |
'It
has been suggested that Sir Treves, suffering
from memory loss caused by old age, may have
become confused about many facts when he published
his memoirs in 1922. There is however, no
historical evidence to support that his Joseph's
name was ever anything other than Joseph Carey
Merrick.' * |
|
|
