Sir William Gull

Verified background

Biographical facts with sources.

• Retrieved Stroke 1887. ○ Weakly supported claim: Sir William Gull suffered the first of several strokes in 1887.[1]

Opportunity and timeline

Where the person is documented to have been, and where the record is silent.

• Inference Age and health argue against the physical demands; whereabouts undocumented in sources accessed. ○ Weakly supported claim: Sir William Gull suffered the first of several strokes in 1887.[1]

Strongest supporting evidence

The best case proponents can make from the record.

• Inference None documentary. ● Well supported claim: The royal/Masonic conspiracy naming Gull originated with Joseph 'Hobo' Sickert, who told the Sunday Times on 18 June 1978 'It was a hoax; I made it all up'.[1]

Strongest contradictory evidence

Evidence that tells against the theory.

• Retrieved Joseph Sickert: 'It was a hoax; I made it all up' (1978). ● Well supported claim: The royal/Masonic conspiracy naming Gull originated with Joseph 'Hobo' Sickert, who told the Sunday Times on 18 June 1978 'It was a hoax; I made it all up'.[1]

Disputed and missing

Points in dispute, and records that do not exist or were not found.

• Inference Knight's research found some names real but not the plot. ● Well supported claim: The royal/Masonic conspiracy naming Gull originated with Joseph 'Hobo' Sickert, who told the Sunday Times on 18 June 1978 'It was a hoax; I made it all up'.[1]

Assumptions required

What a reader has to accept for the theory to work.

• Inference A coordinated state conspiracy left no trace. ● Well supported claim: The royal/Masonic conspiracy naming Gull originated with Joseph 'Hobo' Sickert, who told the Sunday Times on 18 June 1978 'It was a hoax; I made it all up'.[1]

What would change the assessment

Evidence that, if found, would move the picture.

• Inference None foreseeable short of genuine documentary evidence of the alleged plot. ● Well supported claim: The royal/Masonic conspiracy naming Gull originated with Joseph 'Hobo' Sickert, who told the Sunday Times on 18 June 1978 'It was a hoax; I made it all up'.[1]

Bottom line