re. Captain Jack's article 'The McCormick Incident'
From: Anthony Smit [aezlove@primusonline.com.au] 03 Jun 09
Yes I would like to add to Lola's comments about the conduct of Ned. There are many stories told by people who encountered the boys of Ned's kindness and gentle behaviour. Mrs Devine the wife of the Jerilderie policeman described him as"The Kindest man I ever met". Because she was expecting a baby he would not let her carry anything heavy and he and the boys did a lot of the household chores for her. When the Jerilderie publican's daughter was terribly distressed at her beloved horse being taken from the stable, Ned took it back to her personally, which shows that you might take a bank manager's horse or a policemans but you don't pick on a little girl or those more weak and helpless than you. Any time the boys were going to a town they were always told no one is to touch any of the women or rob any of the civilians. Bank staff or Police would have been seen as enemy combatants and therefore fair game but you never saw the boys rob homesteads or coaches or travellers on the roads, even though they had ample opportunity to do so. As a matter of fact there is plenty of evidence of them actually paying for goods that they acquired from local storekeepers. Something very special and unique about that.

Blast From the Past
From: Alan Crichton [rcr87285@bigpond.net.au] 03 Jun 09
Dear Mr. Webb, I would like to take but a moment to thank you for bringing two old schoolboy chums together after more than forty odd years. I received an email recently asking if I was the same Alan Crichton who attended a certain primary and high school back in the early 60s and the athletic fellow who excelled all boys in sport. I must admit, I did excel in sport, but must also admit I was ten years older than most of the other students in my class. But getting back to the point Mr. Webb, my long lost school chum had Googled my name and came up with Australian Ironoutlaw.Com. Through your internationally acclaimed site on all things Kelly, he was able to find me after all these years.

He then proceeded to ask me what I had been doing with myself since we last met. Not meaning to sound like some braggart, I told him I was now my good fellow the roving reporter for Ironoutlaw.Com. Internationally acclaimed site for all things Kelly. From memory he wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer at school, so I asked him the same question with tongue firmly placed in cheek. He then proceeded to tell me he had been working for the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Commission conducting applications in non-destructive testing and analysing moon rocks for NASA. He then asked me for the two shillings I had borrowed from him for a pie with peas and potato from the tuckshop back in 1959 along with all accumulated interest amounting to the sum of $3259.52. So again Mr. Webb, thank you so much.

Captain Jack's article 'The McCormick Incident'
From: Lola Rowe nee Lloyd [lolars@bigpond.com] 02 Jul 09
Brad and all, a great article written by Capt. Jack, in case othes don't read it, I would like to include the last paragraph in your "feedback" "An interesting exercise would be to look at all things NED KELLY did NOT do in the years of his outlawry. Rather than use this as an excuse for revenge, Ned Kelly avoided such confrontations. There were no raids on the stately homes of squatters, no vengence against the likes of the McCormicks. His enemies were no longer those who had personally crossed him. After the goaling of the Sympathisers and the denying of selection to local farmers, Ned fought against the institutions that in Kelly's eyes opressed all !!" Yes, the mysterious Captain rivals our own Mr Crichton as a true wordsmith...