Thomas P Bellchambers - new article in the Passenger's Log

I was pleased to receive the latest issue of the Passenger's Log, the journal of the Sydney Passengers. It contains my second article on the people ACD met in Australia, the first being on Victor Cromer (https://221bcooee.blogspot.com/2023/08/plans-for-articles-on-wanderings-of.html).

This second article is on Thomas P. Bellchambers. I'm slightly embarrassed to say this article in 7 pages long, but it was an absolute delight to write. Thomas P. Bellchambers was an intriguing man who marched to the beat of his own drum. He lived in the Australian bush, protecting animals, communing with nature, and making a modest living for his family. One reason this was enjoyable to research and write is that Doyle's visit to Bellchambers resulted in multiple articles providing different perspectives, and there are some wonderful articles about Thomas, and by him, in Adelaide newspapers. I sourced a book that compiled articles written by Thomas (I have another to find), and was very happy to find a published biography of T P written by his descendants. Best of all, I made a connection with Fran Zilio at the Museum of South Australia as a result of my searches, that led to an enjoyable correspondence.

My article draft was so long that it required some editing. In the blog post I'm posting the original draft prior to some much needed editing by Erin at the Passenger's Log that led to the final improved polished article. Everyone should consider joining the Sydney Passengers - it comes with this wonderful journal: http://www.sherlock.on.net/Membership.html 

I recognize that creating biographies of people ACD met in Australia is niche, but I'm pleased to find that I'm shining a light on some intriguing personalities who may not have received attention in decades.

The Passing Acquaintances of Arthur Conan Doyle - Part 2: Thomas P. Bellchambers

Matthew D. Hall

During his tour of Australia and New Zealand, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle interacted with many people, and spoke to tens of thousands in his audiences. Yet ACD’s book describing the tour, ’The Wanderings of a Spiritualist’, mentions relatively few people by name. This article is the second in a series that shines a light on those people ACD mentions by name on his visit. Why did ACD choose to mention those that he did? Who were these Australians? The biosketches presented aim to address these questions, and point to more detailed resources. 

The second individual mentioned is Thomas Paine Bellchambers (page 68, see Note 1), and he receives a significant amount of attention. What is immediately striking is that ACD sought out a meeting with Bellchambers while in Adelaide, specifically to discover whether someone “who was so near nature might know something of nature's more occult secrets”. ACD outlines the meeting in some detail in his book:

There was one man whom I had particularly determined to meet when I came to Australia. This was Mr. T. P. Bellchambers, about whom I had read an article in some magazine which showed that he was a sort of humble Jeffries or Thoreau, more lonely than the former, less learned than the latter, who lived among the wild creatures in the back country, and was on such terms with our humble brothers as few men are ever privileged to attain. I had read how the eagle with the broken wing had come to him for succour, and how little birds would sit on the edge of his pannikin while he drank. Him at all cost would we see. Like the proverbial prophet, no one I met had ever heard of him, but on the third day of our residence there came a journalist bearing with him a rudely dressed, tangle-haired man, collarless and unkempt, with kind, irregular features and clear blue eyes— the eyes of a child. It was the man himself. "He brought me," said he, nodding towards the journalist. "He had to, for I always get bushed in a town."

This rude figure fingering his frayed cap was clearly out of his true picture, and we should have to visit him in his own little clearing to see him as he really was. Meanwhile I wondered whether one who was so near nature might know something of nature's more occult secrets. The dialogue ran like this:

"You who are so near nature must have psychic experiences."

"What's psychic? I live so much in the wild that I don't know much."

"I expect you know plenty we don't know. But I meant spiritual."

"Supernatural? "

"Well, we think it is natural, but little understood."

"You mean fairies and things? "

"Yes, and the dead."

"Well, I guess our fairies would be black fairies."

"Why not? "

"Well, I never saw any."

"I hoped you might."

"No, but I know one thing. The night my mother died I woke to find her hand upon my brow. Oh, there's no doubt. Her hand was heavy on my brow."

"At the time?"

"Yes, at the very hour."

"Well, that was good."

"Animals know more about such things.' '

"Yes."

"They see something. My dog gets terrified when I see nothing, and there's a place in the bush where my horse shies and sweats, he does, but there's nothing to see."

"Something evil has been done there. I've known many cases."

"I expect that's it."

So ran our dialogue. At the end of it he took a cigar, lighted it at the wrong end, and took himself with his strong simple backwoods atmosphere out of the room. Assuredly I must follow him to the wilds.

This, then, is ACD's first meeting with Bellchambers, presumably at the Grand Central Hotel in Adelaide. ACD then moves on to describe his first lecture in Adelaide, and other activities in Adelaide. A few pages later in Wanderings, ACD returns to Bellchambers, and reveals that he repaid the meeting and did 'visit him in his own little clearing', spending a day with Bellchambers at his nature sanctuary, and providing some insight into the life of Bellchambers.

"I refreshed myself between lectures by going out to Nature and to Bellchambers. As it was twenty-five miles out in the bush, inaccessible by rail, and only to be approached by motor roads which were in parts like the bed of a torrent, I could not take my wife, though the boys, after the nature of boys, enjoy a journey the more for its roughness. It was a day to remember. I saw lovely South Australia in the full beauty of the spring, the budding girlhood of the year, with all her winsome growing graces upon her. The brilliant yellow wattle was just fading upon the trees, but the sward was covered with star-shaped purple flowers of the knot-grass, and with familiar home flowers, each subtly altered by their transportation. It was wild bush for part of the way, but mostly of the second growth on account of forest fires as much as the woodman's axe. Bellchambers came in to guide us, for there is no one to ask upon these desolate tracks, and it is easy to get bushed. Mr. Waite, the very capable zoologist of the museum, joined the party, and with two such men the conversation soon got to that high nature talk which represents the really permanent things of material life—more lasting than thrones and dynasties. I learned of the strange storks, the "native companions" who meet, 500 at a time, for their stately balls, where in the hush of the bush they advance, retreat, and pirouette in their dignified minuets. I heard of the bower birds, who decorate their homes with devices of glass and pebbles. There was talk, too, of the little red beetles who have such cunning ways that they can fertilise the insectivorous plants without being eaten, and of the great ants who get through galvanised iron by the aid of some acid-squirting insect which they bring with them to the scene of their assault. I heard also of the shark's egg which Mr. Waite had raped from sixty feet deep in Sydney Harbour, descending for the purpose in a diver's suit, for which I raised my hat to him. Deep things came also from Bellchambers' store of knowledge and little glimpses of beautiful humanity from this true gentleman.

"Yes," he said, "I am mostly vegetarian. You see, I know the beasts too well to bring myself to pick their bones. Yes, I'm friends with most of them. Birds have more sense than animals to my mind. They understand you like. They know what you mean. Snakes have least of any. They don't get friendly-like in the same way. But Nature helps the snakes in queer ways. Some of them hatch their own eggs, and when they do Nature raises the temperature of their bodies. That's queer."

I carried away a mixed memory of the things I had seen. A blue-headed wren, an eagle soaring in the distance; a hideous lizard with a huge open mouth; a laughing jackass which refused to laugh; many more or less tame wallabies and kangaroos; a dear little 'possum which got under the back of my coat, and would not come out; noisy mynah birds which fly ahead and warn the game against the hunter. Good little noisy mynah! All my sympathies are with you! I would do the same if I could. This senseless lust for killing is a disgrace to the race. We, of England, cannot preach, for a pheasant battue is about the worst example of it. But do let the creatures alone unless they are surely noxious! When Mr. Bellchambers told us how he had trained two ibises—the old religious variety—and how both had been picked off by some unknown local "sportsman" it made one sad.

We had a touch of comedy, however, when Mr. Bellchambers attempted to expose the egg of the Mallee fowl, which is covered a foot deep in mould. He scraped into the mound with his hands. The cock watched him with an expression which clearly said: "Confound the fellow! What is he up to now?" He then got on the mound, and as quickly as Bellchambers shovelled the earth out he kicked it back again, Bellchambers in his good-humoured way crying "Get along with you, do!" A good husband is the Mallee cock, and looks after the family interests. But what we humans would think if we were born deep underground and had to begin our career by digging our way to the surface, is beyond imagination.

There are quite a clan of Bellchambers living in or near the little pioneer's hut built in a clearing of the bush. Mrs. Bellchambers is of Sussex, as is her husband, and when they heard that we were fresh from Sussex also it was wonderful to see the eager look that came upon their faces, while the bush-born children could scarce understand what it was that shook the solid old folk to their marrow. On the walls were old prints of the Devil's Dyke and Firle Beacon. How strange that old Sussex should be wearing out its very life in its care for the fauna of young Australia. This remarkable man is unpaid with only his scanty holding upon which to depend, and many dumb mouths dependent upon him. I shall rejoice if my efforts in the local press serve to put his affairs upon a more worthy foundation, and to make South Australia realise what a valuable instrument lies to her hand.

Thomas Paine Bellchambers (1858-1929) was a naturalist of  local repute in South Australia, who received significant press attention in Australia and in international publications. Today we might refer to Bellchambers as a prominent 'citizen conservationist' who was driven to protect Australia's unique fauna and flora. It is surprising that T.P. Bellchambers does not have an entry in the Australian Dictionary of Biography, but a biography was published by a descendant (Note 2), and there are first-hand accounts of Bellchambers' life and motivations in two books that gathered published articles - the first published in 1918, and the second in 1931 following his death (Note 3 and 4). There are also newspaper interviews that provide supporting information. Bellchambers' books are solidly focused on Australia's fauna and flora, and do not mention ACD. 

Figure 1. Portrait photograph from 'A Nature Lovers Notebook' (Note 4).

Bellchambers was born in Walworth, Surrey (south London) in 1858, the son of Naomi nee COLLINS and George Thomas BELLCHAMBERS (married in Surrey UK 1855). Thomas' parents appear to have been primarily based in or near Brighton where the family were in the 1861 census: Thomas' father was listed as a 'journeyman tailor'. His father died in 1871 (the family still in Brighton), and the family evidently were in financial difficulty. Like so many others, Thomas emigrated to Australia, sailing with a friend on the 'Lightning' for Adelaide in 1876. The four-month journey on the 'Lightning' provided a tumultuous end, as Thomas' reminiscence years later relates:

"JULY, 1876 found my mate and me in Adelaide looking for a job. We were straight from a stranded vessel in the Gulf. We had a drunken captain, and lively and exciting had been the experiences of the last few days. We were strangers in a strange land and when my mate told me of the work on a road contract he had acquired, we decided to stick together." (Note 5).

Bellchambers became fascinated with the Australian wilderness during his work in the districts around Adelaide, exemplified by an early prize for his entry in the 'drawing from nature' section of the Crystal Brook Exhibition in 1884 (Note 6). He was joined by a brother in 1880 (who died shortly afterwards), and his widowed mother and remaining brother and sister joined him in 1884. Arriving with Bellchambers' mother was 'a girl his mother had adopted' named Eliza HARMER, and they were married in 1887: 

"BELLCHAMBERS—HARMER.—On the 5th November, at Mannum, by the Rev. W. R. Milne, Thomas Paine, second son of the late T. G. Bellchambers, to Eliza, third daughter of Thomas Harmer, both of Brighton, England." (Note 7). 

The Bellchambers family lived and made a living from the great Murray River, before settling in Humbug Forest (subsequently named Humbug Scrub) about 50 km northeast of Adelaide.

By 1905 the 'Humbug Scrub Sanctuary' had been established, centered around Bellchambers' goal 'to teach Young Australia to love God's creatures, who all have a place in His great scheme'. Interviews and articles indicate that this mission arose from a love for Australia's wildlife, and concern for environmental damage that were well before his time, including the introduction of foreign species (fox and rabbit), shooting and trapping ("that wantonly pulls the trigger on any living thing, nothing being sacred"), and land clearance. At the Sanctuary, Bellchambers rehabilitated wounded animals and birds, and through years of careful observation and experimentation he became the first person to successfully breed the Mallee fowl in captivity. Bellchambers churned out articles and letters published in newspapers, gave educational lectures, and hosted visitors to the Sanctuary. His income appears to have been derived from providing animals to zoos - either bred in captivity or caught in the wild ("You would hardly think of him catching and grappling the deadly tiger-snake.... but he will catch you one and send one to a zoo for a Ten Shilling Treasury Note"), and a committee of prominent South Australians formed a committee to help him financially. 

In 1918 Bellchambers published a collection of articles originally published in 'The Saturday Journal' aimed at young people, titled 'Nature: Our Mother', and the book was placed in every school library in South Australia. ACD's visit to the sanctuary was covered by reporters (see below), and publication of Conan Doyle's Wanderings furthered Bellchambers' international audience. Remarkably, in 1925 Bellchambers gifted a breeding pair of mallee fowl to the King, and these were placed in the London Zoo (Note 8). Bellchambers also formed the Nature Lovers' League of South Australia in the same year. Bellchambers was respected for his scientific observations and work, and regularly appeared in newspaper articles. His death at home on 18th July 1929 aged 72 resulted in multiple obituaries and letters to newspapers lamenting his death. His wish that he be buried at Humbug Scrub was granted, and his grave remains at the sanctuary and can be visited to this day (Figure 2). The 'roughness' of ACDs trip to the sanctuary had not improved in the decade since he visited, and at a rainy funeral "the roads were so bad that many arrived when the service was over. One car had to be left three miles from the house, and the occupants tramped through the mud to the burial place" (Note 9). Bellchambers had a large family, with four daughters and five sons alive at his death, and the family continue to operate the sanctuary. 

Figure 2. Grave of Thomas Paine Bellchamber (1857 - 1927) and his wife Eliza Mary Harmer (1887 - 1930), at the Humbug Scrub sanctuary that he founded. Source of photo: playfordspast.recollect.net.au .

What was the "article in some magazine" that inspired ACD to seek out T.P. Bellchambers? While ACD is a little vague, the journalist Rufus' (Ernest Whitington (1873-1934), Note 10) accompanied ACD on the trip to Humbug Scrub and published an article on the visit in 'The Journal' (Note 11). Whitington comments that that "When Sir Arthur Conan Doyle called on the Editor of The Observer he mentioned that there was one man in Australia he wanted to meet, and that was Mr. T.P. Bellchambers, whose nature work he had become deeply interested in through reading an article in My Magazine by his old friend, Arthur Mee" (Note 12). Passenger Mark Jones in the UK was kind enough to visit the British Library to inspect the indexes of 'My Magazine', and identified that the article in question was published in the July 1920 issue, just months prior to the Conan Doyle family departure for Australia. Possibly the magazine was one ACD's son had read, or the issue was laying about on the long journey to Australia by ship.

Figure 3. The opening pages of the article in 'My Magazine' on T.P. Bellchambers that ACD read. Photograph by Passenger Mark Jones.

The trip ACD took to visit the sanctuary was something of an event, and his enquiry led to a party of three cars accompanying ACD. Based on the available articles those on the trip from Adelaide included:

• ACD and his sons Adrian and Denis

• Mr. Edgar Ravenswood Waite, Director of the Museum of South Australia

• Evan Kyffin Thomas and wife Mary, General Manager of the family-owned Register newspaper

• Ernest Whitington, journalist (nom de plume ‘Rufus')

• W. Sidney Smith, press photographer

• Dr. W. Munro Anderson (a guest Mr. Smith visiting from Japan)

• Carlyle Smith, ACD's agent for the tour who accompanied the Doyle family

• Major Alfred Wood, ACD's private secretary who accompanied the Doyle family

Rufus 'exclusive' coverage of the party's visit to Humbug in 'The Register' (Note 11) that was accompanied by the photographs in Figure 4 (likely taken by press photographer W. Sidney Smith). The article provides a lively perspective on the trip and the banter between ACD and Bellchambers, and the charming insight that the orphaned juvenile possum held by ACD when it "crawled on his shoulders, got inside his coat, and eventually found a resting place in the great literary man's pocket". 

Rufus (Whitington) revisited the event in July 1930 in the Observer when marking the death of ACD (Note 13), and noted that "Sir Arthur asked me what I thought was the best way in which he might help the keeper of the sanctuary. I asked him to write an article for The Register telling of his visit to Humbug Scrub. He consented, and although tired by the long day's trip, he sat down at night and wrote an article which he handed me at the Grand Central Hotel. Conan Doyle's closely-written six pages of copy were penned without a correction." This article by Conan Doyle was first published in The Register on the 1st of October 1920, and is reproduced below (Note 14).

Figure 4. Left: A full page of photographs in The Observer on Saturday 9 October 1920 covering ACD's visit to Bellchambers' sanctuary, accompanying an account of the visit by ACD elsewhere in the same edition. It is likely all the photographs were taken on the visit (see comments regarding photographer in this article). Right: Only one of the eleven photographs in the spread is of ACD, captioned "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with a "joey" possum" (Note 15).

Figure 5.  Photographs of "Sir Conan Doyle" at Humbug Scrub. Left: holding the possum. Right: ACD at center, with his private secretary Major Alfred H. Wood at right. Source: South Australian Museum Waite Collection AA 356.

The Verities of Nature.

[Written for The Register by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.]

Before ever I reached Australia there was one man whom I had made up my mind to see. This was Mr. Bellchambers. I had read an account of him in some English magazine, and I knew him to be one of those men who were very close to Nature, who loved her as their mother, and who found in her communion a treasure which no worldly success could equal. Now I have not only met him, but I have seen his little domain out in the Humbug Scrub (is it too late to alter the name of that unlucky tract of country!) I will not easily forget my day.

Bellchambers is a mixture of the New Forest Brusher (see Note 16), a famous character whom I knew in my youth, who lived and died in a bark hut in the forest, and Thoreau, the American philosopher. He is half-way between those points — more refined than the first, less literary than the second. He is a kind-eyed, -unkempt man in the fifties, with no thought of appearances, but with the look and the voice which bespeak the gentle soul within. There is the real gentleman — that much-abused word; the man too gentle to be harsh to living creature, or to take pleasure in slaughter.

"Yes, I am mostly vegetarian, except fish," said he; "you see, I know the beasts so well that I can't bring myself to pick their bones."

I have come back from a long day with mixed impressions. There are vivid colour impressions — deep green of the Australian spring; late grey of eucalyptus trunks with untidy moulting bark; light yellow of budding wattle; purple pink of the carpet of knot grass; and everywhere the familiar home flowers, but all a little altered in their new home — the dandelion, the buttercup, the mustard plant, each imprinting its tiny yellow dot upon the variegated ground work of Nature.

Of my conversations, too. I had the same mixed impression. It was nature-talk. We spoke or those things which may seem slight to the world, and yet are more permanent than thrones and dynasties. I learned of the strange storks — the "native companions" who meet 500 at a time for their stately balls; of the bower birds who decorate their homes with glass and pebbles; of the little Ted beetles who fertilize the insectivorous plants without being eaten like other insects; of all manner of nature secrets. Some deep things were drawn from Mr. Bellchambers's store of knowledge.

"Birds have more sense than animals. They understand yon, like. They know what you mean. Snakes have least of any. They don't get friendlylike the same way."

Then I have the same mixed memory of the things I have seen. A blue-headed wren; an eagle soaring in the distance; a hideous lizard with a huge open mouth; a laughing jackass which refused to laugh; many more or leas tame wallabies and kangaroos; a dear little 'possum which, got raider the back of my coat, and would not come out; noisy mina birds which fly ahead and warn the game against the hunter. Good little noisy mina! All my sympathies are with you! I would do the same if I could. This senseless lust for kitting is a disgrace to the race. We of England cannot preach, for a pheasant battue is about the worst example of it. But do let the creatures alone unless they are surely noxious! When Mr. Bellchambers told us how he had trained two ibises — the old religious variety — and how both had been picked off by some unknown local "sportsman," it made one sad.

We had a touch of comedy, however, when Mr. Bellchambers attempted to expose the egg of the malice fowl. He scraped into the mound with his hands. The cock watched him with an expression which clearly said — "Confound the fellow! What is he up to now?" He then got on the mound, and as quick as Mr. Bellchambers shovelled the earth in he kicked it back again, Mr. Bellchambers, in his good-humoured way, crying — "Get along with you, do!" A good husband is the mallee cock, and looks after the family interests. But what we humans would think if we were born deep underground, and had to begin our career by digging our way to the surface, is beyond imagination.

Might I, a visitor, take the liberty of giving a word of advice to the Government of this beautiful State? In Mr. Bellchambers you have a very rare and valuable man. Yon are wasting him. I have travelled far, and I know that both in Canada and the United States, by the time that Nature reservations have occurred to the powers that be, they have become economically impossible, save as spots so far from centres of population that they are useless to the average man. Here you have the very thine within, a drive of Adelaide. My advice is this. Let the State acquire several blocks round Bellchambers's area, and let the whole be enclosed. Let him be ranger with adequate remuneration. Let the roads connecting up be improved. All this would cost very little; but see what you would have in return! You would have a show place which folk would come from far to see. You would have a wonderful pleasure resort for the people of Adelaide. Finally, you would leave in the very best and most loving hands those numerous birds and other creatures which are seriously threatened with extinction. Do this, and your grand children will extol your wisdom. Don't do it, and in 10 years it will be too late.

No account of my day could be complete which did not acknowledge the company and teaching of Mr. E. R. Waite, Director of the Museum, who placed his stores of knowledge at my disposal. I admire learning, but I admire still more a man who Is a man; and when I learned that this gentle naturalist had gone down 60 ft. in Sydney Harbour to steal the egg of a shark, I took off my hat to him. That's a form of bird-nesting that's worth doing.

In this brief account for the newspapers Doyle wrote “I admire learning, but I admire still more a man who is a man”. This provides some key to what drew Doyle to Bellchambers. Bellchambers was certainly the central non-spiritualist interaction of ACD's time in Adelaide. A number of artefacts likely remain to be tracked down from Doyle’s naturalist jaunt. The first is ACD's "closely-written six pages of copy" for the Register - does this survive? Similarly, the sanctuary kept a visitor's book that ACD signed (Note 17), does this book survive? ACD's visit resonated in Adelaide for many years. A 1953 interview with press photographer W. Sidney Smith (aged in his 80s) shares that "Among Mr. Smith's treasures is Sir Conan Doyle's book, The Wanderings of a Spiritualist, autographed and sent him by the author in October, 1921... He readily gave Conan Doyle permission to use in photographs in the book" (Note 18). This copy of the book is possibly still sitting on a shelf in Adelaide.

ACD's visit to Adelaide left a lasting legacy on the reputation of Bellchambers and his sanctuary, and T.P. Bellchambers clearly left an impression on Conan Doyle. Earlier in his literary career, Doyle wrote stories (The King of the Foxes, 1901) and poems (A Hunting Morning, 1898) celebrating the thrill of hunting foxes. It is remarkable then to read of Doyle lamenting that “This senseless lust for killing is a disgrace to the race.” Did Bellchambers influence Doyle’s attitudes to hunting for recreation? A tribute from Doyle lies in ACD’s third Professor Challenger novel in 1926/ The "Land of Mist" tells a tale in which scientific empiricism is applied to shine a light on the spiritualist phenomenon. In the book, three men spend a night investigating a haunted home in Dorsetshire, owned by Mr. Belchamber.

References

Note 1. I am using the 1988 reprint published by Ronin Publishing, Inc. Berkeley CA.

Note 2. Phillip Bellchambers, "The Wizard of Humbug Scrub, The Story of Thomas Paine Bellchambers 1858-1929", self published, 1998. Author's copy.

Note 3. T. P. Bellchambers, "Nature: Our Mother (Reprinted from the Saturday Journal)", W.K. Thomas & Co., Adelaide, 1918. Digital copy available at National Library of Australia.

Note 4. T. P. Bellchambers, "A Nature-Lovers Notebook", The Nature Lovers League, Adelaide, 1931. Author's copy.

Note 5. T.P. Bellchambers, "Hindmarsh Island Long Ago", The Register (Adelaide, SA), Tue 16 Apr 1918, page 6. Digital copy available at National Library of Australia: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/60350215

Note 6. The Area's Express (Booyoolee, SA), Tue 15 Jan 1884, page 3. Digital copy available at National Library of Australia: trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/218913329

Note 7. The Express and Telegraph (Adelaide, SA : 1867 - 1922)  Tue 6 Dec 1887, page 2. Digital copy available at National Library of Australia: trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/207711436

Note 8. Illustrated London News, Sat 24 Jan 1925.

Note 9. Observer (Adelaide, SA), Sat 27 Jul 1929, page 16. Digital copy available at https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/164896515

Note 10. SA Newspapers: Pen names of SA journalists and cartoonists, maintained at State Library of South Australia: https://guides.slsa.sa.gov.au/sanewspapers/pennames

Note 11. Rufus, "Mr. Bellchambers at Home. Visited by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle". The Journal (Adelaide, SA),  Sat 2 Oct 1920, page 11. Digital copy available at National Library of Australia: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/200888266

Note 12. Arthur Mee (1875-1943), English writer, journalist and educator. Published a range of children's periodicals and encyclopedia's including The Children's Encyclopædia which ACD contributed articles to. 

Note 13. Observer (Adelaide, SA), Thu 17 Jul 1930, page 53. Digital copy available at National Library of Australia:  trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/164797612

Note 14. The Register (Adelaide, SA), Fri 1 Oct 1920, page 7. Digital copy available at National Library of Australia:  https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/57918477

Note 15. Observer (Adelaide, SA),  Sat 9 Oct 1920, page 25. Digital copy available at National Library of Australia: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/165911424

Note 16. New Forest Brusher, also known as ‘Brusher Mills’ was Harry Mills (1840-1905), a resident of the New Forest in Hampshire England. Mills was a snake-catcher who lived in the forest and made his living catching snakes, and became a local celebrity. New Forest was a matter of miles from Portsmouth where Conan Doyle resided for eight years, and based on the phrase ‘whom I knew in my youth’ it is possible Conan Doyle sought out and met Mills.

Note 17. The Mail (Adelaide, SA),  Sat 24 Sep 1927, page 1. Digital copy available at National Library of Australia:  https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/58530391

Note 18. The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA),  Fri 6 Feb 1953, page 4. Digital copy available at National Library of Australia:  https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/48301772

 

Curtis Armstrong's B-list villains - Red Circle March 2024

At the March 2024 luncheon of the Red Circle scion (www.redcircledc.org) at Alfio's La Trattoria in Chevy Chase, we were privileged to have Curtis Armstrong BSI as our presenter. Curtis has appeared in numerous stage, television and film productions including Risky Business, Revenge of the Nerds, Supernatural and Ray. Curtis has written extensively on Sherlock Holmes, P.G. Wodehouse and Washington Irving. 

Curtis delivered a speech at the 2024 Baker Street Irregulars annual dinner in New York. The presentations at the BSI dinner are not recorded. Thankfully, Curtis travelled to DC to reprise the presentation. In fact, it wasn't just a reprise for the Red Circle, as Curtis added to his BSI speech.

Curtis examined the Canon's "lesser" villains, and provided a detailed and irreverent overview of the "The B List" villains who didn't quite reach the top (or is it the bottom?) of the ignoble heap. Every Sherlockian is familiar with The Great Detective's most notorious opponents: Moriarty, Moran, Milverton (his collection of "M"s is a fine one!) and the venomous Baron Gruner. But what of the lesser lights? What of all those run-of-the-Canon miscreants? 

This wasn't a speech, it was a performance! It was hilarious, Sherlockian, and true to the canon. It is a masterpiece. I recorded Curtis' presentation, and my close mate Kyle Brimacombe produced the video. With Curtis' permission - it is posted on the Red Circle Youtube channel and is now available to watch, right here. Enjoy!!

My first toast - Watson's Tin Box meeting for April 2024

The Watson's Tin Box of Ellicott City, Maryland met on Monday night, April 15 2024. The story up for discussion at the meeting was The Adventure of the Yellow Face. 

Each Tin Box meeting includes a presentation by a member. The highlight of the evening was a wonderful presentation by Olivia Millunzi who gave a stunning and detailed presentation identifying the times and places of events in The Yellow Face, and even identified which yellow fever epidemic was responsible for killing John Hebron! To do all this Olivia used her knowledge of American records, newspapers and genealogy records to systematically nail down the details of the Georgia backstory. I'm very much looking forward to seeing Olivia write this up for publication.... somewhere! I think it should be in BSJ - it was the best Sherlockian research presentation I've seen in a while.

The other item I wanted to post was my toast to "The Woman". This is the first time I've written an original toast (I've given one or two others at meetings, but used a simple "To The Woman", or used a toast (with credit) from the excellent Sherlock Toast Database run by Ross Davies (http://www.rossdavies.org/toasts). But this is my first toast, and I've submitted it to the database!

To Watson, Mary Morstan may have been "the woman"

But, it turns out there were quite a few "the woman"s over time...

and across the globe.

Do we toast each of Watson's "the woman" ?

We don't have that much brandy!

So let us turn to one that does not risk multitudes of toasts.

To the King of Bohemia she was "the well-known adventuress".

To Sherlock Holmes "she is always the woman".

That woman was the "late Irene Adler".

"With a face that a man might die for"

As Sherlock taught us, “When a woman thinks that her house is on fire, her instinct is at once to rush to the thing which she values most. A married woman grabs at her baby; an unmarried one reaches for her jewel-box."

And as Sherlockians we would of course grab for our drinks. Let us do so, and toast.... "The Woman" !!

Reflections on the Cottingley Fairies by Frances Griffiths

I have always been intrigued by the Cottingley Fairies and the beautifully composed photos. What I didn't know until I entered the Doylean world is the role that Arthur Conan Doyle played in bringing these photos to the world through articles in the Strand Magazine, and ultimately his book titled 'The Coming of the Faeries'. 

I was recently reminded of the fairies when reviewing ACD's memoir of his Australian spiritualist tour titled 'Wanderings of a Spiritualist'. That trip to Australia began in September 1920. Before departure Doyle had submitted his article revealing the photographs to the world. He took slides of the Cottingley fairies with him to Australia too: "I have the famous fairy photos also, which will appear in England in the Christmas number of the Strand. I feel as if it were a delay-action mine which I had left behind me. I can imagine the cry of "Fake!" which will arise. But they will stand investigation." 

They did stand investigation. 

The photographs were taken in the village of Cottingley in Yorkshire were cousins Elsie Wright (1901–1988) and Frances Griffiths (1907–1986). Quite remarkably, the two young girls who took the five photographs in 1917 and 1920 using cardboard cutout fairies (and a goblin) maintained that the photographs were genuine from the time they were taken until 1983. 

The photographs brought an incredible amount of attention on the young cousins. As Doyle relates on his return leg to the UK from Australia in 1921: "At Colombo I was interested to receive a Westminster Gazette, which contained an article by their special commissioner upon the Yorkshire fairies. Some correspondent has given the full name of the people concerned, with their address, which means that their little village will be crammed with chars-à-banc, and the peace of their life ruined."

Of course, the story is complex, but the girls had taken the first two photos to convince their parents they'd seen fairies. It was meant to end there, but later the photos were shown to a local group of theosophists, and news spread. Conan Doyle latched onto the news and worked with others to provide a camera for the girls to reunite and take more photos, which they did (the girls never met Conan Doyle). Sworn to secrecy, the two girls did not admit the trick, and were soon not in control of circumstances.

This attention followed the two women as the Cottingley fairies were occasionally re-visited by the media - first newspapers, and then television into the 1970s. In the early 1980s a few events intersected: a photographic expert showed that the original photos had been manipulated to improve their quality (probably by Edward Gardner) ; the younger cousin Frances began to write a memoir that included revealing the secret truth about the photos ; and in doing so Frances corresponded with a Professor of Sociology named Joe Cooper. Cooper jumped the gun and published his own article blowing open the news that the girls had faked the photos in 1982, and how they had done this. 

This TV pieces provides a nice summary of Cottingley fairies, how they were faked, and includes interviews with both Elsie and Frances:

 

When Cooper published his article, Frances abandoned her memoirs, and died shortly afterwards in 1986. The manuscript stayed with the family, and Frances' daughter Christine Lynch coordinated the publication of Frances' account in 2009. 

The book itself is composed of two main sections, along with an excellent series of photographs. 

The first section of approximately 72 pages is a memoir-style narrative written by Frances. Aside from the Cottingley incident, or perhaps it is better to say preceding it, Frances provides a wonderful description of the uncertainty of life as a young girl in England (transplanted from South Africa) living in a village during the First World War. Frances' father was on the Western Front, and she and her mother lived with Elsie's family in one small house. There are some incredibly poignant moments, such as the friendship Frances made with a young man home from the war who she'd visit each afternoon, till he finally succumbed to TB. Frances relates how she was in trouble for playing in the beck (a type of stream) and getting wet, and explained to the adults that she went to play with the fairies. The parents joked about this, and so her cousin Elsie created a fake set of fairies for Frances to pose with - the joke was meant to end there. In the next few years as they gained attention of theosophists, spiritualists, and Conan Doyle, Frances relates the strain of media attention, being followed by reporters, and the feeling of simply being used to serve the end goals of others. The section ends abruptly as Frances describes renewed media attention in the 1970s (when she decided to stop writing after her story was leaked). The narrative is one of a lie told, a promise kept, and a situation totally out of the control of two young girls.

Perhaps the most remarkable point to make is that while the girls both freely admitted in the 1980s that they had faked the photos, Frances explains in her memoirs that she really did see 'little people' in the beck. They were mainly seen out of the corner of the eye (not directly), and largely were made up of small people in regimental file. Given the strain of her father at war, one wonders at the psychological circumstances at play in a very lonely child's mind.

The second section of about 42 pages is a series of recollections of Frances and the fairies related by Frances' daughter Christine (who arranged for the book to be published). Christine describes how the story and events cropped up in her mother's life from time to time - a very unwelcome and stressful event. This section includes sections of letters including from people in Conan Doyle's circle of friends. This section is highly illuminating, shares anecdotes her mother related, reinforced that her mother saw fairies (not the ones that were faked), and her frustration at her cousin Elsie for enjoying the attention that the Cottingley fairies brought.

Arthur Conan Doyle receives mention in the book. Christine states that "Frances constantly expressed amazement that the creator of the famous detective Sherlock Holmes did nothing to encourage the girls to find out more, other than look for more photographs. Doyle never knew that it was Frances and Frances alone who saw fairies. This is because it was Polly Wright (Elsie's mother) who had made the photographs known. Most correspondence was conducted through her and her husband (Frances' aunt and uncle), so it was thought that Ms Elsie, as Doyle called her, saw fairies too, and Elsie did nothing to enlighten them!"

 

Cover page of Reflections on the Cottingley Fairies - Frances Griffiths - In Her Own Words, with additional material by her daughter Christine. Foreword by Patrick Fitzsimons. The cover image is a close-up on a single fairy from the fifth and final photograph taken by the girls, 'The Fairy Bower'.

Title page of Reflections on the Cottingley Fairies - Frances Griffiths - In Her Own Words. The illustration is shows three individuals from Claude Arthur Shepperson's illustrations of dancing girls, from Princess Mary's Gift Book. It was this original illustration that Elsie traced to adapt into the fairies used in the photographs. Through an interesting twist, a story by ACD was included in this book,

Top: Frances' cousin Elsie aged 15 (just prior to the first photograph being taken). Bottom: Illustration from Princess Mary Gift Book that Elsie adapted to create her fairy cut-outs (used in the photo immediately below).

Comparison of two versions of the first Cotingley Fairies photo, with Frances as the subject (well, technically ONE of the subjects along with the fairies).

Frances Griffiths aged 9 in 1917, aroumd the time the first two photos were taken. This photo is a poignant demonstration of just how young Frances was. Her cousin Elsie was around 16 at the time.

It is frustrating that a publication such as this is relatively uncommon. It is certainly ACD-adjacent and an intriguing event for so many reasons. The personal story shared by Frances is wonderful. Her writing is presumably unedited as her draft never went through an editing process in her lifetime. I sincerely hope that a re-print is possible at some stage.

New book - this world of storytelling

A new Arthur Conan Doyle manuscript has been published in facsimile form, which I received in the mail this week. 'This work of storytelling' is not a facsimile of a Doylean story, but non-fiction: the manuscript of a speech that ACD delivered to the Authors' Club in London on June 29, 1896. The book was prepared and edited by Cathy and Glen Miranker, who own the manuscript in question (you see Glen's wonderful talk to the Red Circle scion on why he collects books here: 221bcooee.blogspot.com/2023/05/why-does-glen-miranker-collect-books.html ). 

The book is published by Wessex Press and can be ordered here: www.wessexpress.com/html/Miranker2.html . The book is nothing short of beautiful, containing 62 pages of highest quality glossy paper (I'm sure Sherlock could examine the watermark and tell us more), casebound (i.e. hardcover) with a white dust jacket, and color illustrations (including of the manuscript pages) throughout. The publication quality is magnificent.

Along with the manuscript images and facsimile, the book includes a wonderful set of essays: 

"Clubbable Friends: Arthur Conan Doyle and Douglas Sladen" by Peggy Macfarlane Purdue and Cathy Miranker

"Arthur Conan Doyle at the Author’s Club" by Andrew Lycett

"Better Things: Conan Doyle in 1896" by Daniel Stashower

"The Adventure of the Misplaced Inscription" by Michael A. Meer

Image of the dust jacket front cover.

Image of the dust jacket front cover.

Image of the first pages of the facsimile and transcription of This work of storytelling'. The facsimile is shown and the facing page displays the transcription text.

Image of the first page of Peggy Macfarlane Purdue and Cathy Miranker's essay on Douglas Sladen and his relationship with ACD.

Example illustration displaying Conan Doyle's annotated dinner menu.

Sherlock Holmes and the Shadow of the Wolf

I recently received some booklets from an exceptionally kind person who will remain nameless, and I try to ensure I pay that bookish kindness forward.

Among the items was a chapbook entitled 'Sherlock Holmes and The Shadow of the Wolf' by Ron Weighell (1950-2020), which I've been keeping an eye out for as part of my interest publications from the Sherlockian Society called The Northern Musgraves (see 221bcooee.blogspot.com/2024/01/my-musgrave-monograph-monomania-second.html). This small publication contains a pastiche titled 'Sherlock Holmes and The Shadow of the Wolf'. I recently spoke to Chris Roden who informed me that WEIGHELL was pronounced like 'Whale'. Weighell was a writer of the supernatural, fantasy and horror genres, but also produced a series of Sherlockian stories that incorporated supernatural and horror elements.

Cover of 'Sherlock Holmes and the Shadow of the Wolf' by Ron Weighell. Chapbook with red cover.

Weighell published a Sherlockian supernatural story titled The Case of the Fiery Messengers in 1990. In 1992, the Northern Musgraves Society organized ‘Aspects of Holmes’ weekend Sherlockian conference, which took place in Bradford, England. As part of the weekend's events, the organizers commissioned Weighell to produce a story to be read out at the society's annual dinner. That story was 'Shadow of the Wolf', and it was also 'published and presented to members attending the Society's Aspects of Holmes weekend on 28 March 1992'. 

The book was edited by David Stuart Davies and Kathryn White, and type-set by Chris Roden. I can find no mention of the publication of this book in Northern Musgraves periodicals, nor does the review of the 'Aspects of Holmes' weekend contain a mention of Weighell. I can also find no advertisement of the publication being for purchase, nor reviews on the story. The description above notes it was 'presented to members', and so the print run is unknown but may be relatively low.

The story was so positively received that Weighell to wrote more Sherlock Holmes stories and these (including both 'Fiery Messengers' and 'Shadow of the Wolf) were collected as The Irregular Casebook of Sherlock Holmes, published by Calabash Press in 2000 (and re-printed in 2018 by Zagava Press).

Detail of the 'wolf' from the cover of 'Sherlock Holmes and the Shadow of the Wolf' by Ron Weighell. 

There is a plot summary available at www.schoolandholmes.com/weighell.html that provides a summary of the plot (SPOILER ALERT): "Holmes is summoned to Yorkshire to investigate an apparent werewolf killing. The victim was found in his bedroom, the house surrounded by unmarked snow. His mother keeps a conservatory of exotic plants, some of which have recently started dying. Also in the house is the boy's invalid artist father who tells Holmes that a werewolf curse has been passed down from his ancestors and that he is responsible, and his sister who believes that her mother is responsible for her brother's death. Holmes sets up a night-time vigil, but is unable to prevent another death. Holmes tells Watson of his visit to Tibet during the hiatus, his attempts to track the yeti at the request of the Dalai Lama, and of a murder that occurred on the hunt, and which he has allowed to distort his judgement in the current case. A cutlery theft finally puts Holmes on the killer's trail."

Title page of 'Sherlock Holmes and the Shadow of the Wolf' by Ron Weighell. 'This story was specially commissioned by the Northern Musgraves Sherlock Holmes Society and was published and presented to members attending the Society's Aspects of Holmes weekend on 28 March 1992.'

'Ron Weighell has contributed stories to many magazines and anthologies . His much admired tale, The Case of the Fiery Messengers, in which Holmes and Watson encounter the supernatural, appeared in Mystery for Christmas (edited by Richard Dalby: Michael O'Mara Books, 1990). Ron's collection of antiquarian ghost stories, The Empty House, was issued by Rosemary Pardoe's Haunted Library imprint in 1986. His novella, The White Road, will be published by Caermaen Books later this year. Ron lives in Portsmouth, not far from the house where Conan Doyle had his first medical practice. He is now working on a third story in homage to Holmes.'

Finally, the book credits Colin Langeveld for illustrations. I have included two wonderful illustrations below (along with the wolf detail from the cover above). Langeveld provided illustrations for the Northern Musgraves periodicals, and the Shoso-in Bulletin (Japan), among others.