The Collect or's Digest VOLUHE 10 , NUMBIB 110. PRICE 1s . 6d .

FEBRUARY l 956

"M oxon ~udden ry due h is s:, urs ln to h ie ho rse ;,,nd d.\r ted away :•

• C. t--i. CHAP.\\AN. •

REPROWCl'ION of a C.R. C!!AR1AN drawing for 'Moxon the Mystic t BI G BllroET, July 8th , 1905 , ar,d a sketch of l'.r. Chai:uian as he then was. ·---- -

,. ............ _________ ..... , ...... _ .. _ .. ~ ........ ,_,,.., ... __ ,_,._~ .......................... _ ...... __ .. ___ .. _ i IRilll MlAJR1fllN WO!UJ) F~OUS l 93 HILLSillE . " LO!IDON, N. YJ.l O. FOR OLD BOYS' BOOKS J •Phono , KLGor 3230. Cables : SUPERB USED,LO!lDON ;.~ .................. ,-~-"""""'""' ! FEBRUi,RY 1956 OFFffiS I LOI' o' Ft~I 1907-1914 24/ - Dozen j Young Ladies Journals 4 ! C

Jhe ~ollec tors' D igest Vol . 10 llo. 110 Pr i ce l s . 6d.

FEBRUARY 1 1226 Edi tor, HERBERT LECKENBY,

c/o YCllK WPLIC ATING SERVI CES, 1, The Shambl e s I Yffil

1683 ( tl'lo copie s ) Sorr y llil l .

************** l..'Y l!E)JORY SERVED !,IE: Some time ago e. letter appeared in t he Sunday :&press and held my a t ten ti on . I t referred t o Si r Henry I r ving , t hat great ac t or of ol d, but what particula r ly interested me was the signature .. It \78.B Di ck Milton . "Dick Milt on ? 11 said I to mysel f , "'nby som3one of that name once had a l etter i n the "Union Jac k". It uas a l ong time ago, of course, but aornehcr., I remem-bered it clearly . The m-1 t e r wa.e reo s~ tbe ve r y fi r st Blake stor i es .e.nd I had thought &t the time thnt he certainly kne'IT' -.:?ha t he wan tnlkin g about . Anywey I though t tha t it '"'" a pre t ty snf e b et that t he rr.riter of the l ette r i n tho 11Sundny Express" r:ae the same individual even though he t78S i.Ti ting about p. different sub -ject . I decided to =itc t o him and prompt l y got a rep l y . I'll quo t e from his l e t ter .

Dear !.lr. Lockenby, Thanks for :,ours of t he 17th inst . Your surmise is co rr ec t. I am the identical Diok 1ill t on r:hoso r orniniaoent lette r ,,as published toge t he r Tti th cy po r t r ait in tho ol d 11i.Jni on Jack " in 1932 . I a.m tru l y a.mazed t hat you shou l d be.ve reca l led my name after 23 years . It r:iay in t erest you to hear thn t I stil l possess th o old pape r . Tho ll l e.ko ;ram is by Donald Stuart, a fino examp l o of hi s Tvork. "

Well, that set us off on a corr espondence fo r from other t hint,s he to l d me i t Vias evident that llr . Milton knew quite a lo t about the old ps.pera, quite apart from the "Union Jack 11• Mr. ilil ton ki!'ldly offe r ed to \7r i te some of hie reco ll ec t i ons fo r us . Hi s first artic l e appears on anoth er page o.nd Mo t her on Sexton llla!::e 1'1111 folloo , pr obab l y in April.

One other in t eresting thin g about 1.ir. llil ton is hie sple ndid handwriting , the r eal coppe r- pl a t e ki nd one seldom sees ncmada.ys , real l y rema.rkn.ble for n man of 76 . If possib l e I'l l r eproduce a specimen jus t to sho·;· you . l' 11 bet a lot of you wish I could ,: r ite l i ke i t .

Your s sincerely ,

iiER113RT L3CKE!IBY.

VI All T E D Champion Library . Also for Exchange . Boye F:rio nd Li br arie s wel comed. PRICE, Grocer, 22 liORi::EDOC!N ROAD, li!ARGATE, KEl71'.

•

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THE "Al~'UAL" BALLOl'

PRESENT STATE OF POLL

1. Streets of Memor ies 108 5. \'ihartons of Winfor d .66 2. s. Walk.oy. 79 6 . Tboso Remarkable Serials 64 3 . Those Blue & llhite i.!"8Jlet a .. 77 7 . U,,,n Prom Baker Street 56 4. l7h1te Cover Deya 70 8. Restoring Cltda-atRookuood 52

9 - I I.rust Have Been Tough _51 All others uoll supported.

These are glcu1cee back along th e viate. o f nep.rly seventy yep.rs to the London, a.a I remember it , in the mid r.Jld lata • eighties , ga;;r colourful •nineties ta.nd early nineteen hWldrods . I t ~.-r.s a London of horse-bussee e.nd boreo-trams, he.nsom cabs , ponny-fa.rtb..ir..g bicycles , l ong skirted, bustlo - waaring ~omen, and billy-coc k , tight-trouso r od mon. Ja.r.d , above all, i t rras a. London of th e at r oa and rm.1sic- halls whore melodrama , hot a.nd strong, was to bo beho ld at tho formor end good , rollick i ng, melodious songs hoard et tho l etter. iJld besides t! . e ee div ersions ,' th e boys of those days wore tr eated t o long succession of cheap publicat i ons , dram atic tales , served up weekly w1 th sanguinary snuce - narra t iv e s de alin g v,ith pirates, highwaymen , intrepi d so l di e rs nnd sailors, In dians, storiea of the gold fiolda, e.nd other cxci ting ye.ms . Then t he re uere school t alcs, detecti ve stories end t hoso of soienti.tio inte r est -al l of thoso seloct and ta s ty dishes "g"OXO i ncluded i n t ho mo.nus of such ca.torers as 11Ed.r1in J . Br ott 11 , 11Chaa. Fox " , "The JJ.dino 11 Co., and later, th e Junalga.mr.t ed Press, and the " Hogarth House" publ i ca -tions .

In tho la t e ' eighties re - is s-.1ea of Brott' e completo t ales f/G r o publishod, nhicb I devourod vora.ciously1 "Rark6'""1eys Schoo l deys" , and 11aft or 11 and a lon g sorios of his edventuros at homo e.nd abroad . il l tho populer che.r?.Ctors wero re t ttined in those o.xoi ting no.rre -ti vos; Ha.rvoy, Emily , Hunston , tho bully, r.nd the rest . J...nd

--------------,38)-- - ------ - -

nne d Nimbl e" also delighted me, bo s ido s "Tom Floroma.ll ' e Sohoo l doye" , o.nd "Tom i n search of hi s Fnt ho r " . The n r,fo ha d "Tho Spic e of th o Schoo l " , 11Fo l loo - my- LOl'.der ", "King of t ho Schoo l 11 , 11Ri vnl Schools ", ' 'Tom De.ring" , "Je.ck Rushton , o r alone in the pi ra t e s ' l e.ir 11 ( a thr ill or do luxe }, and Gile s Evor green . The histo r ical stor i e s war e qui te equ al to the o ther s in bo!h l ite r ary style, in to r os t and vivid adven t ures in ol d cna t loe , '!.7hor o men rre;re inc arc er a t ed i n foul dungeons inf os tod i t i th r ats and ot he r ver min . Row f e.a-cina. t in g trere t hese ,1oird yarn s . There was as I r emember an air of veris imi l i t ude about them whi ch , as I perused th e m in bed by sur r epti t ious cendleli ght , hold my att ontiont until , as the oendle slo"":ly b"Uttered out (I bed no furt hor su pply J, I oxperioncc d a foo lin g of as:a Md, dr am.ng the cl othos ovor my curl:r hoed, I l ey quak in g unt il gradually I fe ll as l ee p and dreame d of my heroes, sometimes cu l minating in ni ght mare s . I r oca..11 many favourite booics : "The ~:o ii.PI,Jr onticea 11, 11Rupert D.roadnou ght" , 11:Sy the Quoon ' s Cocrne.nd", 11Uight Guar d" , "Je.c!c 0 1 t ho Cudgel ", " Str ongbor, , th o Boy Chi :Jf " end others of starling mer it .

In 1894 ilrett bro ught out "The Surprise " (¥. . ) which became very popul a r . ?be famou s pub l isher bad already given u s "The Boys of »i gland " , "Young !·!en of Gt . Br i tai .n 11 , "Boys Comic Journal 11 , and a wornrm ' s weekl y entit l ed 11\7eddin g Bells ". I a lao read thi s I excit i ng ;rublioe t ion which was dramatic and intense , the storie s b eing v;ritten by ue ll-kn oon authors . ;.... groat fol l or, , Edci n J . Br et t , r.ho , I boliove , amase od a fortune out of h i e on t orp r ise , and purcha. sod a large es t ate i n or noa.r Broadstairs . He wae , i ndocd 1 n f r iend of al l boys u ho lovod good , sound , v irilo an d sti rri ng tal c s of adventure . I r aise my hat to salu t e a t!!!.s_ of publishers , ca t eri ng fo r youths of the l a st thre o decades of t he ni neteenth centu ry - E~7IN J . BRE'l'T.

I !IJUSt not omi t ment i on of t he ".il d.ine 1s " - "O' er Land and Sea " Lib r a.r,J, "Garfie l d Li br ary" , "Tip To,p Tale o 11, Deadwood Dick 11 , "Buf fa l o Bi l l" , "Boys Fir s t Rate Library 11,UHal f Holid i\.Y11, 11Choerfu l " and t ho "Fr ank Reado " series . In 1893 t hey publi shed fo r the f irst ti ne Harcour t Burr age ' s 11Lamls of Li t tl e oo t c" , in ponny number s . In 't!f3' op ini on t hi s was , and st i ll remains , ono of th e fin es t schoo l ta les over wri tte n . I t is , I opin e , eu~rio r t o that pro li fic a:i.;.t hor ' s other booko : "Tom Tar t ar ", "Ching Ching" , "Boys of Birchsm Schoo l ", "Handso me P.arry 11 , "On and off t he s t age " , etc . "The Lambe " wn.s f ol lowed by another origi nal s to r y, "The

·-- - ·- - ------ (39)- -- -- -----Island Schoo l 11, a clover tale , bu t which nevert he l ess did not in popularity equal th e forme r. There was o r i valry be tween Emmett and Bur r age , but both writ e rs, i t ia admitted, shone c onepiouo uely in th eir respectiv e s t yl e s of narratio !':. "Tom Wild.rake 's SChool-days11 enjoyed an immense vogu e, and a large c ircul a ti on ~ongst our dads and, also, their sons. But of th e two 1VTi ter e my vote r1as and is for Bur r age .

And how about Fox ' e publ ication s? Tho se f ier ce ta l es of ol d London , "av een ey Todd" (or iginal ly brought by Llo yd i n the 'f or t ies of la st ce!ltury) . And "Blaok Bea s ", "The Black Higlm ay-man11, ''Spr i ng Heeled Jack" , 11Cartouche 11, and t he "r est of the b l oods" ?

Years later, during my young manhood, th e "ildine " publishe d a fur t her aeries of Highwaymen tal~in 11lli.ck Turpin", "Claude DJ.val" , and "Bl:o.ckbe ard, the Pi rate 11• The names append ed, as au t ho r s, wer e Charlt on Lea and Stephen Aeneu . I uas inf orm ed by several ent husi a sts t hat the former rrns Harcourt Burrage , usi ng a nom-d e- plume, but on this poin t I am uncertain .

I knew and had deal in gs with many ooll octors , most of them no~ , alr.a! "passed on " .. To enumere.te onl y a fEITTt Henry St ee l e , Pe tri ck i!ulha.11 , Wilson of Liverpool , Simpson of Lei c es t er , and , above all , the ran g of 11Dreadfule 11 - Barry

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BLm(J~J/~ Conducted by J OSEl'HI!IE PAC!a.:All

27 1 Archdale Ro'"1 1 East llul wioh 1 London , S. E. 22 .

The cunent S. B. L I s se em to be goi.ng from bad to worse -Blake ' s absence would aoa.rce l y haw been missed in t he January i ssue s. To make t hings worse the A. Pre ss are get tin g ver y care -l e ss in reporting forthcomi.ne numbers. 3oth the January issues give a dif f erent au t hor for one of the stories to be pub l ishe d in February . )lot a very good omen for th e New Year .

AB t he Blake Circle t1ill shortly be meetin g to discuss ond prepa r e a programme for their feature in this year 1e C. D. Annual, I do aek all 1IiY read ers to l et mo kn ow which th ey prefe r - st atis-t ics or articles . Pleaae do this for mo - a postcard i s all that is necessary . Thank you!

In r eg ard to forthcomin g issues of our section of tho c. Diges t , I am ple nsed to soy I no\"I have sevor.?..l fine a r ticles i n hand . I do , howover , again earnestly ask you t o sup port Blak ian e ( p,nd me) m. th your contri butions . I particule;rly ap poe.l to some of t he c ontr ibut ors uho di d er ticle s f or my pr edecesso i-, but uho hnve , for aome unkno,;m r ea son n ever written anythin g for mo. liOT"t nbout it, rn:y chums?

J OSIE P,1c10.1:.u.

TH?: B.IJlllLINGS OF BI.RD:lLL by Victor Colby

Soxton Bl 3ke surpriaod his f'.Ssistan t P.nd his housok oopor in cl oao conflP.bul ntion just insido tho dining room door .

"Anythin g urong? " ho ask e d . "~pparontly oo _ho.vo o. Toddy Boy on th o doorstop ", Tinker

gr i nned "at l ol\St so Mrs. Bnrdol l e03"s. 0 111l.n' Io i s nn' r~ll Ur . BlP.ko II confirmed t ho goo d l n.dy bor -

self . "0 'ny ' o (nan 't go t ' is t eddie s on if you knw. t?hai I mo.:m. 11

1.t tha t hour of th o mo:rning !Jre. Be.rdoll hore olt' "" " no mean figuro o f se..rtor i P.l splendour , being in ,, hat she c all ed hor 11brok faat dieha. b ilit i o s 11 - ub icb SlUllO consiste d of r. vol uminou s rod fle.nnol dro soing gcmn, Clll'pot slippors , en d e.n,Ythi.ng up t o n coupl e of do zen hp.ir-e .urlors by t:'Q.Y of hood docor~t i ons .

"Got a nas t y eye •e 1ae , and l ook s pre tt y de epr i t", aha add e d "an ' 1e ea.ye ' e want s t o oonou l t you more hur gen t t han hurge ntl y 11•

"She ea.ya he 1 a e. Dane" , put in Tinke r . "Dane?" eohood Blake. "Yoe, tba t' e righ t ", beamod l!rs . Bardel l , "tha t' s TI'hat •e

ea.i d. 1 I 1m Ri chard t ho Dano ', ' e sez - t hat' s 1 00 I knou •o n ae ono o • t h Gill the ro Toddy Boys .

It tr1111apiro:i that tho clion t • a nM>O """ Ricbnrd Dono, and ho 1:1as ,"'\. vory worried man, but ho bore no rosombl t".nco -:1br.t ovo r t o Mrs. Bardo n• • Toddy Boy .

(s . B.L. 3rd ecrioe No. 326 "Tho l4e.n from l!e.ybriok Road") ............................. THE BEST - .i.llD THE WORST

by lV. H. Goodbead

~ Fir s t, there r.ae the t heft of 1-~a . Ven iCrll."l'ler's nec klace , an

ingenious coobinatio n of confidence tricke ry 0,."ld s t age illusion, in • hich Blake not only r ecovored the nac.k l aoe bu t discove r ed t ho identi t :r of t ho . .co .

!!ext, tbe:-a " "" t he equally intrigui:1g affair of the Di et atypo or talking type--uri ter . Ostensibly a mechanism for th e direct t ra."laferrenoe o f speech i nto typesc r ip t wi t hout hWD8l'l e.id , i t was i .n reality an p,ttempt to suindlo a number of legi. ti~ t o typo-wri to r companies on a gr end eo&le . ?lot onl y did Bl ake sea through and expose the sohem9, but he a ct ual l y managed to capture and hand over to the law both I,e:noir and Cold Brick Dann, r. se que nce of eventu which caused Kerl t o announce to hie depleted ranks "Sexton Bll\k:o iru.et be removed P..t once . lie is e. distinct manao e".

The whole story of t he Doubl e Four is a moat cocplex one , tUJd it ,rould be ioposoi ble t o doscriba in detai l the re.mifica t ion o, pl ots and count.or-plots which go to nWrope, 'llld tho reigning toa s t of the 13~.llc:Ma, ebe br;d remrJnod fMC Y freo unti l she hs nnoned :to

~~~~~~~~~~~-----42 ),~~~~~~~~~~~~

meet Philip Carew, t ho !laval a ttach • at Krako v, t he oapital of Serbovia .

It was always understood in my youth t hat no be 8lltiful Balkan Princess would ever dream of fpJ. lin g in lovo vii. th anyone e ls e t'1hila t an Englishman was in th e offer i ng , so it ce.me es no sur pr ise P.t all when , in sp ite of th o f'nct t hA.t King Ker l ua. e payin g court to hor in no hp.l f - hoartod DlUltler, she confessed ho r l ovo for this e.l most po.'1nil oss ll'svfll Officer .

Karl , ho,·,ever, was e. dangerous rival to have around, and re t a l iated in c. oompar etive ly mild wa::, by having Ce.raw· accused of cheating at c :u-de and recalled to En.gland . .Absence , appare ntl y, made the heart of th e f ... ir Sonia. grow even fonder, and ".1 though Carow seems to hnve beon a pretty poor sort of fish, ent ir ely lacking in t he Rudol ph Rossendy ll sp ir it , she gave no sign of re -spond i ng to Kar l I e ful l -b l ood.ad rrooing . "Son ia , Sonia, why are you so cold - so pa ss ion less ? I have offe r e d you e crown , a ki ngdom over whic h t o rule, a heart t hat overf l otts with love for you! Kiss me, Sonia . Kis s me". Rad it not been for Kar l's criminal t endenc i es, met hinks Soni a couJ.d .have do ne fo.r wors e than given hi m a break .

Horiever, refu se him she did - possibly she got r at her tired of he r ohoeks being oontinually fanned by bis hot br ea t h.

Consequent l y , reve rt in g to his normal vi l lainous se l f , he took t he further stop of f r emine Carer, very convincingly for the murde r of a very na st y type of blac kmai lor by t he name of Channing . This part o f th o proc ee dings i s e littl e diff icu lt to sor t out, but Karl was l of t with his rival in tho condcmnod. ocl l a\7ai tin g oxo-cu ti on, and tho supposedly murdered man tuc ked a,7ccy" in soco rcmot o hi de- out .

Moki ng the r.ioat of t he situation , this !1nchiavellian ar isto -cr a t struc k a bar gain with t he disdainful objec t of his affection s -he wou ld aavo Carew fro m t he gallows if she would consent to a State marriage wi th hi.Cl. (Karl 1e: intentions , it s eemed, we r e po li tical as well r..s persona l. )

Hr.ving, by pl r.n ting the dead body of Channing on the scaffo ld of liandfor th Gaol (st i ll m,.rn, mark you), pu ll ed off this moet d.iabol i ceJ.ly in geniou s pln. "17 Kar l improved up on it in a mos t epecte.culr.r mennor. ., .~:.-ton Bl ['..ko, r:hi let on his '1a3 to inter vi&':7 t he exhausted Ce.rt:./ I:. 1Jide n tally , the Home Secretp.ry eventual l y gave up tr ying t o make sense of the whol u business and gave hi m a fr ee pard on fo r a crim e he had not committed) , ua s j ostled by n

~~~~~~~~~~~(43)1~~~~~~~~~~

blind beggar ( tho infe;nous Scarlatti in one of hia many disguises) and punctured by a hypodermic syringe conceale d in the ru.bber f errul e of t ho blind man I s stick . \7hat ever the drug was in the syringe, by delayed action it cmsed Blako ' s heart to s i op bee. t ing , and soon the news agencies of the norld uere ringing wi 1h the news of Sexton Blake I s dea t h.

The official nen s of the unfortunate demise of t he gree. t ee t enemy of crime t1 as no doubt received 'rli th j oy a..nd relief in al l the crime cent r es of E>.Jrope, but nor:here c ould it havo been ce l e -brated r,i. th moro enthusiasm Pnd satisfaction then at the le.t es t meetin g of the Double Four in the Rue Gorbi, Krn.\c.ov.

Kin g Kar l, havi ng officially en dorsed the initiation of the latest recruit to hie thinning rank• ( a remarkabl y accomplishe d gun,-man froo America, by the way) threv1 baok his handsome he ad and gave the following t oast a 11Here ' a to th e Doub le Four . Long may -rte flouri3h ! Our arch-enem,y- is doad . We movo on t o greater triumphs . The Double Pour is inwlnereble, and between us ve tli ll conquer t he wor l d 11•

From Karl I e point of view, no doubt al l this confidence in t he future v1ae fu lly justified . His po si tion as th e ru l er of his country \?as about to be iDllleasurably- strengthened by his forth-comin g marria ge ITT. th tb.e beautiful and popular representative of one of t he most el i gible (if defunct) royal famil ie s in Europe , his criminal organisa t ion had been augmen ted by t he admission of an extremely promising smal l arms expert from th e U. S. A. , and above all , the civilised countries of E>J.rope (at least, the law-abiding sections of the popula t i on ) had b een pl un ge d int o t he depths of despair by th e e.nnouncome nt of the death of his arch-onoo:y Mr. Sext on Blake .

Had Kar l but known , howev e r, this prosperity v.-a.s purely i llu-sory , a.'"ld ther e we r ~ actually f er. ground fo r c omplacency. His erstu h ile loyal subjects, howeve r much th e pageant r y of the for t h-coming ro yal ..-adding might appeal t o th e ir si mple Slavonic souls , had had just about enough of th oi r blue-blooded bandit king , an d not only r.ras th e army simmeri ng r1ith revo l t eome\ihere in t he Serbovian hinterland , bu t the l oc el brench committee of t he Revol -ution r..ry Movement had at a r ecent meet i ng decided t o express t heir off i ci al disapproval of the politic al ei tuation in Serbovia by t he ti me honoure d method of heaving a bomb at the Roye.l \?edding Pr o-oesa ion . A counte r -p r oposal t o uti l ise the more up -t o-de.ta and

~~~~~~~~~~-(44) ~~~~~~~~~~

l ess wasteful met hod of a ssassin ation by l:ul l et had been rejected by t he conservative and tradi t ion respecting majori ty of the party.

Furt hermore, it would have corne as a very nas t y surprise to Karl had he known that the rec en t ly acq_ui r ed r ecru it to his ranks who had ao oheerfu ll ;y signed - as a guarante e of his good fai th and a t e stimonial t o his own charac t er - a written confession to at le3st two cold-b l ooded murders in t he Bowery area of New York, v.ras none other thsn Ruff He.nson, the ori ginal Tough Guy from Toughvi lle, .America , a Secret Service J.gent and staunoh :friend n.nd al l y of Sexton Blake .

But the piece of information ,mich wa.e destined to be most disturbing t o Karl ' s piece of mind, end wns ns yet ui tr .held fro m btm, was that Saxton Blnke rtas not only alive but 1 very much kicking • . When th e prison doctor A.t Hand.forth Gaol had pron ounced t he f a t p.J. words "Mr. Bln..'.nt i."8.S t o prov e tc be t he decisive ph as e of his strugg lo ,nt h the Double Four ,

It had become pa i nf'ully obvious to the autho r ities that in t heir eff orts to combat the Double Four, the y YJere h~ dicapped in c wiique mrumer, in t hat th o Ace, ae n. r eign i ng monc..rch, co u ld not be i mprisoned or brou« ht t o justice . AJ>par ont l y ('..."l impa s se ha d bee n ro ached , bu t Ble.ke , spurr ed on no doub t by t !i'3 re cent at t empt upon hi e l ife , propounded a daring yet simpl e s o l u tion : if, ea e reigning monarch Kar l was immune f rom arr os t , he must therefo r e cease to !?.!. 2. r eigning rnonc.rch. This proposi t ion received un -official approval , if no t offi cial sanction, nnd p nusin g only l'.'t Paris to nsa\Ule , by speC i P.l arrang ement with t he Su.rate, t ho identi ty of :Monsio ur Jules Bont emps, a recent l y incnrcerat od French ngitator, he r.ied2 his wcy by eir to Sar bovia. Tho local Bevo l u t ionE1..ry Uova'"";n t, it eooms, had en t husiasm in pl enty but wns s •.dl;y lacking in dir~~t ion . Blak e i ntende d t o givo it t hnt dir-oction ..

ilmost the firs t pe rson he met on landing was hie o ld comrade

~~~~~~~~~~~---.45)~~~~~~~~~~~-in =, Ruff Haneon. The tentacles o f the Doubl e Four had begun to e:rtend even acroe a the Atlantic, and the F. 13. I . , alrend,y full7 occupied in coping "1th its oon p,.rticula r home-gro,m brand of kidnapping , boo tlegging and t.ha t-he.ve- ycu , took a rather dim vie,, of this enc roachment on the !.imroe Doctrine. Conaoquent17, Ruff found himself in Serbovia , charged r.ith the p atri otic clllt7 of di&-ooureging this pn.rticulRX t om of exportatio n .

Be had begun bis s t ay in Sorbovia in a ty.i,ical l y apeotae ular manner by saving none other than King Karl himeelf .froro a.esassina -tion at a fomy dress ball , pl ugging one of the courageous but rather ineffi cient members of th e Revolutionary J.iovement in the process . Ka.rl1e express i ons ot gratitude , we may safely fl.Beume, were for once genuine , end l'.ft er e. carefu l P.ppraisal of the 1'l8Jed and ent erprising nEr.tCOQer , had offered him one of th e vacancies in th e ranks of the Double Four csueed by the ince.roore.tion of Gaston Lemoir end Gol d llrick Dann. :u.thougb be i n g ra t her undor -etendin gly cbiuTy o f cocmitting himself t o such a sto p , on the advice of Sexton lll~o he decided to avail hi C1Self of the offo r . !lo doubt be kep t his fingers croaeed whilst pr e eenting hi s c redenti als, 1n this case e signed c onfession to doubl e murder .

Blake re cai vod e. further reinf orcem e nt in the shape of the Bloodhound of Fle e t Street , Spl aeh P089 . ilth ough primarily a crime ~.nd war repor t er , Spl ash had pereu :-.ded bi a editor to eond bim over to cover the Royr.1 i-'·edd.ing . J..e things wer e to 1nca out , Soc iety Gossip was the l ,.st thing Splaoh was to b e OP.ll ed up on to furnioh •

• • • • " •••••• •********** ..... *** ....... *****'***************"**"***"** ..... l"a,,ted alr.2.Ys for Cash . Chw,s 1906/7, l9, lllJU!Qll, lilDDLESEX.

W/JliTED, Odd copio s of moat b ooka to form specimen collection . 1.lso R1111gor , llul l say o and Surprieo (1931~ ) . J Ofill GEJ.L, 277 Kil!GS RO.tJ>, KIJIGSTON Oll T~, ~JRREY.

}JF)fJ)Jtf OfJJF)fJF) Compiled by lie rbert Leckcenby

IN • !'UNCH' t.GJJN: Berne. r d Hollowood Punch 's redio critic in the issue of Je.nuary 4t h said this :

" In this fami ly, Bil l y Bunter of Greyfriers School is w"a.rml y app r ecia t ed. The old FrMk Richnrde yarns tra.. "lsla.te "10st effeoti vely, nnd the drrnvings that used to embellish the pages of t he Magnet becoms m>nder fully aniClnted in the padde d person of Gereld CMlpion, in Rnf de l e. Torre ( old Quelch), Brian Roper, John Chnrlesrrorth et al. The re -production is f ,iithful even down to t he detail of Bunter ' s cheok trousers . A period piece thnt goes rlell r; ith the current revival of th e Charl eston."

i.Jld on our cover you 'rlill hP.'T9 seen an ..oxample of the work t he artist who made Bunter 1e check t roueero fAtnous \"."as doing fifty years 8

*•**** * BE' s DWE IT ,,G,cIN, 1uJ you will s ee from the lat t er part of t he fol1 01Ving article , our sleuth Bi ll Lofts has solved an o ther mystery "Who ~ns Prospe r Hooard.? 11 I don• t mind admitting it surprised me for I hed no idea th at H. :... Hint on wrote stories . But as you will eee , Bill got the in formation from llr. ii .J . Gar r ish c;ho probably Y.nowa more of the inside story of Fleetncy .House and its predecess -or s than anyone nw 11 vin g .

bny mor e problems for lli ll? You knorr t ho address o f his consul tin g room.

!!ORE .lllCOT THOSE GREYFRI1JlS STORIES IN CHUCKLES

by W. O. G. Lof ts In my article 11The Greyf riars Stor i es in Chuckl es" {s ee

Jonuary 1956 C. Dige st) I aaid that it was hoped t.o pub l ish a full list of titles of the Greyfriars and Claremont stories when space \'las avai lable.

It is Q8rCed t hat th e Claremont ti t l cs ere of secondary 001>-> s1do r at1on 1 but I t h1·!k. t hf'.t th ose o f Gr eyf r ia.rs a.re rather impor-tant, for three r easons: First l y beccus e t hey ~.uJ e n ovc r been

~~~~~~~~~~~-1~)>~~~~~~~~~~~

published in any magazine devotod to the Collecting Hobby; Secondly beo8Uee t here ie no donying tho faot that storioe of Greyfria.re are always much sought after t Thirdly- because it is usefu l in-formation for tho se who keop complete records of t itloe .

Horbe rt Lockenby has therefore kindly "82'•cd to publish th ose det ails, the accuracy of which I can vouchsafe for . Her o, then, are th e 1i tlcs.

{Number 1 dated 10 J~nu ar,y 1914 ) , 1, The Founder of tho FoA.at z 2. Jo.pi.."lg Aunt Jomime.1 3. Tho ?l'Oil Boy t 4. h.aking For It: 5, Tho Raidod Rciders 1 6. The Courtfield Challongo , 7, Running th o Gauntlott : 8. In .lxmour Cled : 9 . Tho Cliff liouao Football MAteh (Cliff Houso }, 10. Caught on th o Wire: 11. Condomnod on Suspici on (Cliff Houso} : 12. Spoof i ng the Scouts : 13, The Silly Six , 14, The ilot Cross Bun Raide rs : 15, Bunt e:-• s Ds,y Out : 16 . Good Old Trumper, 17 . Bunter ' s Revenge, 18. The Gr ey:fr iars Ventrilo quist , 19. Trumper •s Trophy , 20 . Tho :Enemy's Camp, 21 . Fairly Done: 22. Tit for Tat: 23. 'I'rw!lpo:r1 e Trap : 24 . Tho Spoofer , 25 . Out Msnoeuver ed , 26 . To T'.oe Resoue , 27, A Shocking Affair , 28 . Paid Qit , 29 . Retribution , 30, Shunting Bunter, 31, Soft Sawder , 32 , Bunter The Scout , 33, Tho Ventriloquid 1 s Trick , 34, The Maid of Athens , 35, Tho Yankee ' s Race : 36 , Mauly • s Mistake: 37 . Slightl y Mixe d.

(Nearly all the stories featured tho boys of Courtfiold Council Schoo l in edd i tion to Qr eyf riara ). SPECIAL NOTE, Since writing these detai l s , posi ti Ye information baa ool!le t o hand revealing the identity of "Prospe r Boward 11 • Thia was none oth er than the la t e Ii .A. lilNTON! In reply to a letter t o 11r. H. J . G~sh who is IIOli a direotor of th e A, Preoe (he has bee n with them for over 50 years, and has alao written hundreds of stories wider various pen-n8!llee suc h as : John Edmund Forduyoh, Harold Gerrish, etc , ), he says that I.Ir, H.A. Hinton wrote all the "Prosper Rorie.rd" stories in "Chuckles". Mr. Hinton left the A. Presa not l ong after. He na e kil l od as the result of an accident when alighting from a train in th e dark.

Tbua at long last another myst ery has been solved . There has been muoh speculation for many years as to tba identity of "Prosper Howard", and it is pleasing to know that this i nf ormation (with permission} is bein g released through t he medium o f our grand little magazine, the Collect or's Digest.

*** •A·**II 11•1 II •••• II II 11a

~~~~~~~~~~~--\48)-~~~~~~~~~~~

AB I said laet mont h Bill Jard.ine's articl e "The Al l Star XI 11 crea t ed a l ot of in t ere st . Here in the form o f an open l et t er writ t en in r eal ra,:;y style .Bill Chnmpi on expre sse s some forthrigh t vi ews. Seeing he br ings St. Fre.nka 11ell t o t he fore I think 1 t s a good idea t o put the two s oct io ns t ogethe r this month .

Dear Hr . Jardine, It t7es m. th gr ee~t interest that I r ead your ar t icle in tho

December C. D., and I must P.dr.iit tha t you "-PPB•.r to have put in qui to an amount of reaec.reh wor k in your endeavour t o selec t c perfec t ter;n fr om the fo ur bi g schools . From r1ha t I romomber , th e four r epr oacnta t ivo ol evens you br.vo l is t ed ar e pr ob ab l y t ho Pick of t he Bunch, ti.nd I think your fL"tnl s oloc ti on is n pr o tty use ful si de - --ono, in faot , tr..at t'l'Duld tako some holding, l ot alone defeati ng. Ilowowr , from t ho thirty-thr ee pl cyors l oft , I bo li ovo, I could buil d n team th~t rroul d prove srorthy challengers t o your

To co mmence with, your de liberations on Squ iff and Ra'rlson are extremel y sound, bu t, unlike you, I have never found Sandy t o be s o oonaiatent in spo rts {perhaps more '7here cric ke t is concerned than f ootball) that he ehould hs ve a prior ol air.i to Fatt y l1yru, for t he ~ positi on of cus t odian : by t he same t oken, I dou bt very much r,;hether .II the tubby Ner: House junior muld ove r- eat beforo an important mat c h 1WI t o an e.xtent l ikely t o i mpair his game . Thor ef ore, I unbet;i t at-ingly place Wynn betuecn the " stick s" ..

Next we come to full-backs, for t'thic b Pos i tion I have al '7a.ye been in favour of bralm., and eve n more br a.rm. In my search, th ere -fo r , for two fira t-cl aee st oppers, I don't th ink I can do be tt er t han put dor.n the name a of Bull and Burton .

Again , with ths t all - impo rt ant poai tion of c ,mtra - half, I once more want b r awn, but , this tim e , coupl ed ,-,ith abso lu te fear -lessness garnished \71 t h a cool , calcula t ing brain - - and uho better than t he one and on l y John lluaterfi old Boots , t he !Cing of Hustle r s? In my ter..m he t1ill be most ably supported on eithe r flank by Red.fern and Lot"rther .. I am quite confident that Red.forn cann ot be icproved upon at right - half , but I must confe ss t hRt it r.raa mo.re or less a. t oes-u p botr.-een Lowth er and :Brc,:;n on t he l eft , '1ith De Val eri e on'; f a fraction beh ind.

And now t his for ward lin e i In my opinion, "hre e of the ce ntr e-f orward9 3.re head - and -

shoul dere above the f ourth, and of t he se thr ee you havo alr ea dy

~~~~~~~~~~-.49) --~~~~~~~~~~~ chosen '1harton . But , even had Wharton been availabl e f or this posi tion, I should have pounced on th e inimit able Nippe r. Yea, lik e you , I say "Sorry, Tom", tor, of all the eohoo l boys iD fictio n, Tom Merry ha s always been z d always wil l be my sup reme favou r i te -but my inme diato t ask i a to pick a t eam to beat youra, and al though the uni vereally popular Tom has al waJ,-e hel d the rei.Jla with a 1'i:na grip at St . Jims, t here ia no po ssi bl e doubt t ha t Hamil t on has that in de fin able qua lity of' l eade rship whi ch demands his place in the middle of the fron t li.'l e . He will 1'leo b e skipper, and he is bound to pay di vidend a !

!·;Y word ! jus t fancy you making me a gift of Reg gie Pi tt : Pitt, whos e glor i ous rune do1m the touchline have for so long de l i ghted the crwod r ound tho ropes, and th e readers of the Nela on-Lee . Oh yes, definitely Reggie on the righ t wing . knd now a. 11aop t o Cerberus" : I am putt in g Tom i n a.t ins i de -r ight , t1ber e I think he m.ll fit in very nic el 7, thank you. Call it a gambl e if you l ike, but my be t is it m.ll come off.

Inside -l eft? Tea, 'Q"e1 ll gi ve Roob;-ood a look in : the leade r of the Threo Tornrnys has jus t about go t tho measuro of Blake -and I don•t think Ogi l vy· is a real conten der.

Now v-;e come to FuJ.l\"lOod or Burree Singh on t he left win g . 'l'b be perfec tl y hones t, I ac completely undecided s t he gen ial Nabob baa certainly proved. his north consistently in th e pa.at -no one be t ter, and yot --

Remember Fullwood in l9l5 , when he pl ayed t ho game of his li fe eg ainet th e River House SOhoo l t1hen practical l y hors-de--0011>-bat with • nu? J4y ,vord, what a gome ! The amazing Rel ph Les li e not only scored a couple of goals himself, but he so ir.spi:rod the rest of tho t eam that t ho S.q.ints ran out uor t hy winnors by f ive goels t o four, af t er being thr oe goe1o down jus t after hr.lf - time .

~lol l, then, baro is my toam :

GOJ,l,: RIGH'l' BACK: LEFl' BACK: RIGHT !!ALF:

-~~-----( 50) ~~~~~~~~~~

Jlnd na;; T:o've progre esod eo fRX, r,hy not go n l ittlo fur t her? I mean t o aa.v, horo ,ro are with tm woll-ba.la.nced f ootball-teams fairly etrPJ.nin g P.t t he ler.sh, yours in t1hite shirts, raino in rod (i n honour of my ha.i r ! ) , the day is crisp e.nd cloar , the Blue Cnisadore fnmous f ootbal l-p itch , gonorouel ;r lot-.ned for t ho oco a.sio n , 111 loo king Rt its bes t, tho atnnde a.ro air.1ply packed r.ith ochool -boys \7hoso mmiy-co loured oops arc llD.k:1ng a b r a vo ah em, and Goorge i7ing,q,to is at tho r oa.dy", comploto ,rt th tthiatlo •••••••••••

There oomes e. deep -t hro ated roar frol'!I t he crowd as, having l ost the toss, Kipper set s t he bal l in rno~i on -and the game is on :

In the be at circles, the first quartor-o f -an-hour of a game i s usually a ding -d ong affair , with everyone finding his fee t, as it wore and gett ing the measure of his opponent . Today' e game is no oxoep ti on , with praotioal l y ove r y man provin g his r i ght of i.."'.lolue-i on in his taJ?I, and go norelly pr oviding good football that was a r ep~ pleasur e to m t ness . Jus t over fif'toe!'l minutes have passe d wi t h no goals scorod , when the excitement sudden l y mounts - -Tr c.vers ha.a cleverly tr cpped n f ast, l oo ball fror.i Todd, and is &1s::,, ,;Jith th o Bounder keeping po.co . Boots is thero , howovo r, end k.norling Tre.vors, tc>,Cklos according l y . Unfortunntoly for t ho f orcer, Travers has clso go t Boots fairly uoll sized-u p , c>nd ' Vemon-,Smi th hA.s cl.roc.d y co ll ected tho bo.11, EU'ld is mM.oeuvring m th Burton 't7hilst th o r ost of hie li no moves up . \;1 th a noto -\·;orthy sid e-stop, th o Romovit o is r ound hio opp()nont nnd oont r os , t h~ boll is dofloctod goal.war ds off Trrwe r's head , Boo ts ond Whnrton l oap t o6othor bu t just mies canto.ct -- and Christine pouncos . Hi.a shot , a h...rd , Emorvin g one, strike& th o cross-bar to th o l oft and roboWlc!.s int o pl e..y, r,'i th ~1ynn wall beaten . Bul l fU'ld Christ in a both go for the ball , and it bounces out and lands almos t at Cbss;r's fe et, His shot disappears in t he tan gle of le gs before th e goal-mouth, behind whioh Fat ty l7ynn is prancin g about with tha t sur pris -ing agility wi t h v,hich m, e.re all so familiu-, Agai n the ba ll ffl"ling e out of irmled.ia te danger and Boot s atte1D:pts t o olear , but his shot is somwhat luckily be aten down by Silv er , i7hO has come up to he l p hie forwards, and tho next ins t M t th o Rookwood jWliO r he.a _passed to ~·!harl on who whirls and kicks sinrul t :"neous l y . The ball flashes unerr i:ig l .r to th e ri gh t -band t op corn•r of t ho goal -mouth, end the cro. 11d ·· J pra.otically shou ti ng "goal!" ,,h en rtynn brir .gs off one of th ose superhum.rut eaves for r,·hi cb both he an d ~~Y are famous. lie lands ni th some foroo on t op of 'Ula b all,

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~51,__~~~~~~~~~~~~

and ie immediately surrounded by a host of attackers an d defenders , when \'lingate runs up, b lowin g hie wh istle .

11Tha.t .1a.s close!" confides Ni pper t o Tom, as t hey tro t baok: tov,ards th e centre-end t hen there is a real ro ar as Pitt co l lec t s the goal-kick , and i s tmay . His run is, a.a usual , dazz li ng , and he eludes Lovell, Silv er E'.nd Todd in turn , befo r e trying e. snaP-ehot which Almost catches Handy -- but not quite .

So it goos on , ,;;a,.nning up , unt i l fivo minutes from half - ti.mo, uhe n, m. th the ecoro st i ll 0-0 1 Whar t on, Christin e and Tre.vers , moving like well - piled ml\Chinery, cut their w e;y through the Red • s dofenco with a serioe of short, accura t e grOW'ld passes that a.re a delight to witness . f.'i t hi n t en yards from goa l, WhAr ton s r.rorwe to the l oft , and th an , l iked greasod li gh tnin g , t o the ri gh t , e.nd hi s lor:-, ha.rd shot really g ives Fatty Wynn no chanco .

A terrific roar goes u p as Winga t e points to t he can tre . 11Goal! 11 110h , ,·.,.ell done! " "Bravo, Whart on ! tt 11Let I a heve some more ! 11

But no more goals ar e forthc oming before the whist l e signifie s half- ti me.

The interval s oon passes , and th e players reassamb l .a on "the pi tch t o th e accompaniment of sundry shouts of encouragement an d advioe, advio o tha t io not like l y t o be hee ded .

\7i ngato blms his whis tl o , an d a hi gh ball jus t e luding Lowthor , gOOa into t ouch . Re 'thrcme it in, and the Bounder ju.s t beats ful l m>od to it and c arri

~~~~~~~~~~~52) -

eafet ,r. Ins t ead , he is l ucky onough t o ge t hie big f ist t o i t, and b .Jat it dOrn'l and al7a;y fro m tho croud r owid th e gop.l.moutb .

But Tom l!e rcy is tbero . He et end i oo himse lf and shoo t s hard end t ru o ---end Handy i a nt lo.st beaten .

110b , good man!" p3ll ta Ni pper , grabbin g Tom' s hand . "That was groa t ! 11

11R~t s ! 11 chuck l oa Tom. 11'1bat 't':as you r gonl - - nnd Dodds nnd F\llluo od s. 11

Feol in g c onsid er ably hezu-te ned, tho Rede lino up n.gAin , but al t hou gh thr i lls oorno e 'pl e nt y , with oheno oa tek on Md missed on b 1t b sidos tho sc or e steys 2-1 \l.."1til w1 thin t en minutes f r om th e and of t ho gemo. And t hen ,:,. r.eve o f excite ment sweopa the on-l ookers, es ?i tt , havin g beaten man after In?.n, c entres with sup erb P.ccuraoy .

Todd or.d Sil vcr aro just two far ar1m·, but Nipper i s on tho apc t . Ho is onside , t oo, dos pi t o one or t\7 0 s hou ts that go up fro m t ho st ands -- wd he doc sn I t rla st o P.. moment. :ic runs on nth t ho bal l, is tnc kl od by Figgins r1ho hns r e.c od across , PJld than , at t he crucial moc,ont , back- hee ls t o Tom - Md t ho ao d i vi donds , .. .r e pn.10. in full! Tom is t here , and ready . He side-s t eps S'Nif'tly and is th.rou gh , wit h only !fondy t o bont . Handy rushes out, t ry i ng t o narrow th e nngl e , but again Tom eide-ste;,s , swerves rou.11d JL."".Jldy - \7"~0 makes a !hlrculean e ff ort and tnists r owid mndl:r , an d rwia on titil. th e ba l l a.t his feet, over t ho line .

11Goal ! 11 11Tom! Tom! Good old Tom! 11

"Come on - - just one moro ! 11 11Let I e hear froo yo u, Wh.:l.rton ! 11

?!y r1ord., with a more five minutes to go , t he t ension i s simply terrif i c , ;; i th both ai des going al l ou t for t he wi nning goal. In f act, so t1ell have the representative tea.ms played , i t seem s a drtm ·.-1111 be th e onl,Y fair r esult . l'li th tr,o minutoo to go , a dr 81'1 aaoms ce r tain - but , then his t ory r epea t s itself . M.lr.-oo d i s arrn.y.

Froo midfi old ho st r oo.ks f or goal; it ie ono of t he moat spect acular rune over soen - ovon on th a t f&e.ous pitch . flith r.hat aoems lik o supr crae ca.au, ho go to t ho bett or of Charr y and Lovell, and con ti rruos on his r;ay r.i.tt.out a pp.use . Todd is pr ac t i c -ally on hi m, e nd o,· ,3 ... ;v'Jody cxpocta to soo hi s dash brought t o an end .

"Oh, good man! II The exci t ement is at fever pitch, and swoeps round the ground

like e st or e . Todd is tr icke d c ooll y and cunningly ; but ovon n0\7 t hor e is dange r , for Figgins ie rushing up to c l ear. Fullvoo d pauses , s i de - kicks, Md is mey nimbl y af t er t he lea t her, be f ore George Figgins knotts t1hat is ha.pponing .

"Shoot ! Shoot! n FullTtood noeds no urging . In fact , he hears nothing . He

aoes t h e goal in front of hi m, and the dancing He.ndy -- ar.d ho knows be 1 s going to score. Be can't holp himself . Ha kicks, and such is the foroo of the sh ot , ho goes spinning over .

But t ho bal l hisses i nto th o net m. th such apood that helf the onlookers didn • t soo it. But the yoll from t he noar ost spocta.tors tolls its 0'.7Il story . And then th o rthi,gtlt'\ bl0t1s for f'ull-tiroo .

"Goel .• • 11

"Goal !" "Oh, -:.ell done, Fully ! " gasps Nip per, runni ng up a..'ld grnbbin&

Fulwood • a hand . "Splendid! " pants Tom Merry , i8Dd the rest coo.o crow.rding round. 11Here, out of t he 'rr8Y, there! 11 bel l O'i7s Eduard Omald Handfo r th ,

as he conos chEt.rging up. "Give us your fist , Fu..lly, you bo\Uldor! I nevor a~-1 that bl eaaod ball after it loft your foot ! 11

**** And that's that! I'c frightfully sorry, old man, but it was a good game--

anybody ' e ge.m~, in fact -- and t he l uck was on my side . Anyway, uo shol l haw t o have a re play sometime, eit her on the Brighton GroWld, or hero on El.m-Pe.xk, at Ree.ding, ;-1bon, uho knC1.1s, i t may be tho turn of th e Reds to bito th o dust .

l7cll, I Imlstn' t wast e any more of your t imo . I' 11 c l ose by m.shing you all the vory boa t -- and long lifo to the good old C. D.

I n::i , Yours sincere l y ,

W. F . Cll.U!PION • .111111 )(III If II .II ii******** .. ********* ******************** ~ ** .......... **** .l!A.Gr.EI' TITLES {Cont ' d), 1533 Tho llad Hat of tho Rooovo, 1 534 Bob Chorry •s.Eurden : 1335 Eerring llob Chorry , 153 6 Spoof i ng tho Scho ol: 1537 The Boy qbo eeco be.ck: 1538 Tho Invisiblo Schoolboy, 1539 Tho lloy llohind t ho Scon e s , 1540 Vlibloy \\'i ns Through , 1541 Tho Sinietor Dr . Sin , 1542 Tho i!ous o of Peri l,

---------- - _ (54)_ . _____ ___ _

J'1elson [ee

C:?o/umn * . . . * * • *

oy J i.CK \lOOD llO~ iJI , 328 Sto ckto n Le.ne,

YORK.

ZZR.~ Q.UIRXE

Ey Jr.mes , . Cook ( cont . from l as t mont h )

~7e als o learn Sing l eton I s pre viou s sohoo l wns calle d Bag gley . Lord Pi pp in gton, the fa bulously wealt hy but slor; wi tt e d sohoo lb oy (who was to pl e.y a minor pnrt i n the downfall o f Ezr a Quirke ) oloo c c1..'ne from t here . An.ot her go,n of informatio n is t hat Tubb ' e uni -fo rm is gr ee n an d thn.t t he r e ' a al so n page boy cal l ed ril li ame. If I did knOI': th at th en I hc d for gott en 11. Willi e.r.> Napolenn Browne , rmo pl r .. y s no smnll part in th ose sto r ioe, r:as nt Oxt on pri or to St . Franks .

iJ'ld there is weal th of information about omens of bad l uok -I didn 1 t Y--ncm t here 'rrere so many .

l.1 th ough Qui t,ce causes n b i g sensa ti on by hi s magi cal por,e rs, his superstitious beli ef in signs and :,or te nt a ar e all r i dicu l ed and he ld in ope n contempt by a cert ai n sect ion of th e boys. .But it is notic ed that ,·,hene ver Cpirke I s ':"1o.rnin g s arc disregnrded his scof f or e invar i ab l y suf f er so me misfo rtun e ~ft ol"\:a rds.

The sect i on who r egs.rd him l7i th distru st and op en ho stility f orm them se lve s into a soci e ty ,;,hich they call th o 13 Club. Com-pose d of thirt een boys, th o 13 Cl ub sots out to vi ola t e nll the popular omens kn

t his boy i e an ill usion . I t de.fies expl ana t io n. Ol d timers l ike Marrio t , Uorr oll, Canham, Si lllllonds, Cl ifton ,

Armstr on g, El l more , Hubbard , Skel t on , ar o r..11 t ho r o. These l esse r li ghts of St. Fr anks como t o tho fo r e i n tho se

yar ns and it is a welcome cbMgo moot in g t horn ag ai..~ . They aro emong the sot VTho bo li eve in QJ.ir kc . Tb.oy accep t

hi s eso t er i c doc t ri .no . Socming l y , boing lesser l igh t s , t he y roadi l.y ac c opt hi s gi bberish o:bout the Occu l t. Jlut t he in fl uo noo of tho ne,, boy and hi s dabbling i."l Bl ack lo!e.gi c so on bei ngs t o drl'.W su ppo rt er s fro m th e mor o lo vol- headod jun i or s and. tho 13 Cl ub i s woe.kened .

Obvious l y , Bro oke, i n dea l ing wit h auoh f'.ll unu aulU id oe. fo r those se r ies h&d of nocces it y to 1· sof t-p ednl 11 on mcny of th o econee of dovi l- ~ r sh i p , whi ch Quir ke pr esented for his aud i ence . Though a.t t imos t ho tempo of t he na.rrati vo r efuse s t o bow down an d auoh is t he str ength of t he thomo i t t'tould come a s no e~ priso if a Wit ch • s Sabbe t r,as r opo rt od. taking place beh in d t ho Gyn •

..'..nybody :7i th the ca.x;,aci t y of fi ve seconds of consecutive th ought rri ll app r eci a te that the }i.:LSON LEE LIBRJJlY ven tur ed in t o n ve r y t ricky fie l d of lite r ature in pr esentin g such a t otal l.y fo r oign subject f or a boys ' journe.l. and I em v er y sur prised at t he smp.11 voices of accle.im from the Ol d Timer s in t he C. D.

HO\v they could no t know e 1:out the :S:ZJ"a Quir ke s to r ies • ••• how t hey coul d not b o ar:are o f t hem, .lu.lP.b. el.o ne knoms. Thi s rem ar k ab l e an d en thral l ing achie vomont should not pn.ss in to obl ivion . Tho story is neve r da t od and fi ta ve ry snug l y in t o presen t day e ven ts .

If al l the supe r la t i ves abou t t he quali t y of th e Ezr a Quir ke sagn wer e u se d they would str ot ch from t he Fl eeWay Hous e to Flee t St r ee t . li7ith t he disso l ution of t he 13 Cup, !li pper , Pitt , Napo l ean Br oune and a fe \7 othera , fo r m t ?J.emsel ve s i nto a Compact of Ten ,aith t he avowe d objec t of exp os in g Qui r ke a s an impost e r and a tr icks t er.

In Bro wne , Q.tirke ha.a a. seri ous ri val a s a mc.gi c i an , only Brorme A.dmi ts that he obtA i ne hi s il l u sio ns by me.t ori al means .

One of the hi ghlig ht s at t h.is junc t ur e in t he ser i e s i s u her e Z.iipper ob t ei ns an impres s ion of Quir ke ' s key whi ch e na bles Nip pe r t o invee ti gr.t o the cellar of sec r ets "1bore Qui r ke holds his mee tin gs ti t h his Occul.t soci e t y .

Traps ar e lo.id , an d pots a.nd pane an d c ot ton a r e f ixed 80 t h at any di sturban co wi ll b e e vi den t . h.B to th a r e sul t of th i s

.............(56) ol abora t o sc hema I cannot d.o bo tte r than to quote Church who romark.s at th o end 11! b eli ovo he ' s in 10 8,8\I.G with th e spirits af t er "11 . •

For th e emAzj_ng dono u •r.icnt of t his grnnd sorio a, th e finnl st ory is en t i tlod "The Broken Spell " uhi oh accurn. t c l y GUJ1lS up t h e fa scin ati on th at haa grip pe d you from the cormnoncemont .

All t hi s time llols on Lee hns bee n working in the back gr ound an d he li f ts th o curtain to rovea.l n mos t ox-ti-a.ordinary n.tt ornpt to msko Sing le t on t he vi c t im of a hll8 o confidence trick.

Expla.nntions foll oc, and t he bouts of ill - luc k th at had des -ce nded on t he sc.bool end th e stran ge ac cidents and i ncident s t hat occurred to Quirk e ' s unbelievers ar e accounted for ..

T!icre is not one du ll moment in th e so stu pendous tal e s . You are ind ee d lucky if you e.re able t o say " I httve r ee.d t ho

Ezr a Quirke seri e s". Don't bo misl ed by tho ye a.rs th at hr.vo pass ed since Ezr a

Q.,.ir ke beg e.n. After nl l, t'rhat is ti me? Somebody he,$ ren a.rkod t ha t 11Ti roo i s l ik e a snail crawlin g thr ough t ar . 11

I l".rn indebted t o Mr. F .. Vernon Ley who l oaned mo this s eries , p.nd f or the unso li ci t od permiss i on of th o Am~l gl!Jllr'.tod Pr oss t o qu ot e ox tr r..cts . But most of n.11 I a.m tho.nk.ful to Edwy Son.rl os Brooke ..

(Noto, In a l a t er l e tt er to mo, Jim Cook tan t nl ising l y tolls mo that Ezra. Quir ko had a r eal l i fo count crpnr t rrho sc npJDO m>.a Eri c r.nd uho married t ho gra."ld--0.aught cr of th e Po.ris Posto' ' a Gonorel ! In apit o of having pe r mission to quote tho fu l l story of th o r oAl lif o Ezre, Jim Cook fools th a t tho "rtholo business bria tl o a with t oo r.i.any di f ficultie s . So t hc ro, so nonr nnd. yot so f ar , t ho roal sto r J must and . \That n pity ! J i m also .3nc l os c s e. SUndr.,y Dispa t ch s tory of Docor.,ber 11t h , 1955 "do - bunk ing" th o M~c Bo::r: t boory , but of f er i ng no concrot o oxplen a.ti on . J .r;! .. )

***********************·*********************************"********** ' AllNU,U,' CORRECT I 0!15

Pr.go 124 : Gcrnld illis on • e nddrooo should rond, 7 SUL!Ii:rl!FIELD CilRD.ENS, ERJJa!LEY, LEEDS, 13.

P,80 125 , Ern es t Alox en d.or llubbo.rd ' • ad droos should r oad , 58 S'llJTH Vll!JJ CRESCEm, SEEFFIELD, 7 .

Pago 23, lin o 20, shou l d road • f or sovornl yo;,..re ' no t r.ooks • ..........

'

OLD BOYS. BOO K CLUB LONDOll SECTION

1,Joong t hoso proson t nt tho first mooting of 1956 hold in the offioo o f .llr. Chips, l7ood Groen, rn,re l!eary ':7illio and Tired Tim, Portlsnd Bill, Dreamy Daniol and e. host of ot hers from tho =ndor-f'ul collcc1:ion of Arthu r Harris, tho fortune.to owner of po:rbaps tho la.rgost co l loctioo of comics in tho cowttry . Togcthor ¥11th his good lo. etali7 art a from attending . It .1as al l rathe r unf'o r tW1ate for we bad the Midland Clul:la Quiz t o tscklo . However, :;e rn>n' t make ixcuaee and after business had been disposed of ue gsthore d i n a half c irc le roun d a cosy f:ire and got d"'7tl t o it . Secretary Te d Davey had told us thnt Harry Broe t er ~es res pons ible for most of t ho queotions . Whan wo had had a look a.t t hco I fe.ncy I beard somoone s ay geod humouredly , of oouree, "Ho ' s a bea st, but o. just bea.st. 11 Possibly by this t ime someone a t llidltt.nd wi l l he.VG said

~~~~--~~~~(%t

something s imi l ar abou t t hos e responsible at northern . i,nyway the resul t of the battle of brai ns wil l 8J)pear shor t ly . Mte r r ef r eshmen t s r{e h.-'ld a hwnourous readin g b y J. Breeze Bent ley f'r om a lfa6net i n which Pe ter Todd pla,ye d a prominent part, followed by a sentence building game.

~Jl enj oya ble evening deE{) i t e the u eatbor . !lext meeti ng, Feb ruar y 11 th . It is my tum to g ive a talk ;

subject 11Tbe C. D. md !5yself" . Wel l, there 's plen t y of mat eriel i r,he t her o r no I oo.n make t he most of it remain s to be see!'l . I'll do m,y beat .

H. LECKE:iI!Y, llor t hern Section Corr espo nden t.

************* ]!IDL.'.ND s::cTIO!I MEEl'ING. D.ilCEMB;R 19th

There r.as an exce ll ent at t endance for this Eve-of -Chr istmas meet ing r.hiob opened wi th th e usual fo r oal matters except tha t t here \7ere , happily , no apologias . Reference u-as oa do by t he r.rito r t o recent contects r.ith Lon Packmo.n, wborn r.o r:cro pleased t o hear is r.nk in g good progres s bll.Ck t o heal th.

Thoro wns qui t e a bumper prograr.l'!lO . :~ qui z by Herry Bro stc:-, J l"lbo ee oca to have qui t e n gonius fo r t his kind of thing, mis won ... by ou r HoRdmnste r (llr . In grem) . /, r oad ing by !Jr . Ee.ndlo y Jun i or 'II of th a.t now famous l ec.dor i n th e "Bi:rrningh:-t.r.1 Post ", doro.lin g ornue-ingly l'li tb tho impnc t of Bunter Books on th o rising gonora.tion in the u . s . s.R . Other i t ems on our progranm,c included another ree.d-ing by Tom Port er , f rom a "Rolidny /~u:!.1 11 , r:i th ver y r ealis t i c sound of fo ots. The ir on ga un tlet dro;,pin g star tl ed us -,).most int o t ho middlo of next l"-/COk ( r:hich ,-,ould br..vo bee n ::-.. pity as t b..m r,,c should hovo r.rl.ssod Chr is tm=:.s ! )

But tb o mnin i t ern on t ho p r ogrnmmo wns e. nove l one in the fom of a musice.l tour of Greyfria.ra r e ndered on 2. tape r eco r der by our Chairman . Very well done t oo , in quite B. B. C. Commentr.t o r style . L:r. Cor bett quo t ed v,..rious paeaagos of music v1hich r eminded. him of the SChool n.nd its onvirons . Thus 1111imrod u, ( t o quot o ono exr.rn.ple) r eminds Mr. Corb e t t of t he sta tely ol d lle r.d standing bo ni gn and silver haire d against ~ bo.ckground of thu School . J.n intoroat i ng idea., nl t hough nntur r.l l y everyone would hP.vo diffe r ent mont el pictures .

Dori ng th o eve ning ret.1 Magnet Chri s ti:,as weathor ,·:i th anm develope d , an d we broke up in gcod tit10 thus ra t he r c urtailing our

- ----- - - -- ---159 )----- -----en joyment e . La.st but no t loao t our grateful thanks are due to Miss Russel l ubo Ott.tared oo splendidly f or us . Those special rofres hmenta -r10re prime! Al.s o Ur. Handley , Soni or, very k indly provided win e f or our s ea.aone ble toasts . So t1e said good bye t o 1955.

EIJW!,Jill Di.VEY • ....... ****** .... ******

:mJtSEYSIDE SECTION A3 is tbe usual cu.atom, the Ja.rru.ary meeting t ook the f orm of

a new Yeer Par ty. . After an excellen t sp read, ably pr epare d by Mrs. Webster, some 20 members and frie nds , disp osing of Hamilton ian, etc. f or one e vening, "let t hei r hai r dam" nid were soon engaged in fUn and frolics . L.rnongst the gu o sts WRB e yoW'lgater of 12 t1ho had aubmi tted a poem t o t he l ocal Fr eas about Jli ll y Buntor . When she wee presented with a Maanet, well - - - The Pe.rty did.n I t see m quite t l:.e same ll"ith out the two Franks ( Fran k Cass and Frank Umtin) , and ue certainly ci ssed our usual "Dornl You Go 11•

~a e result of recent correspondence in "The Liverp ool E):)ho 11

re our hobby , ne gained a. nm1 me!!l.ber in Ur. Harington , who dis-tinguish e d hiraa el:f at the Pnrt y, and should prove an aoquiaition, and the Clu b also received a quantity of Magnet s , unfo r tuna tel y in a state needin g repeir. They h e,d been l)'lllg in a drawer for 15 year o !

!!ext Meeting - SUnday, February 12th , 7 . o p. m. promp t . D. B.W.

*****************************************************"************* ~ , 120 Gema 1932 - 38 for S. 0. L' a , Gr ayf riar a and Rookwood. Will give t hree Gems f or one S. O. L. ;J.so !~e ts ~ . an~ ld . red covers -ror oth er early copies one for one. J. SHEPHERD, 43 ST.lSION RO.lD, KILLi.lllt,R .s!!, SilEFFIELD. ~anted Urge~tiy t ho fo .ii~~ ... ;;Ravenacar11 st orie~ · i~ .. ·-~·Piu~k·~··"{id~·5 Noa. 173, 176 and 184. J . :.. J EYES, 108 .lD:II'lT ROi>.D, NC11TJUJ.IPTOll.

FOR ZXCHJJ,GE Ol!LY: 50 "GEl,lS" betwee n 1934/39, 4 POPIITu'..RS (2nd Ser ie s) . LIST OK :.PPLIC...TION TO:- B. M

- ---- - - -- ---{ 60)-- ---------~· B. O. P. Volo . 43 (192o.-:?1) and 63 (19 4~1) , to complete sa t 1 and loose copiao Septe mber 1924, and :.ugus t nnd Sept ombar 1935. JUao 11BRar.HERS" by Hor .'.".CO V3che ll; ucoDFREY ll.'.i.RTEI:!, SCHOOLBOYfl by Charles Turl ey ; "TilE BEliDillG OP T!ii: T!lI G" by Desr.,ond Coko •

.:.NTi!Ol!Y Bl.KER, Cl!U11Cl! CHURCH VlC.:IL.GE, B:JUlFi', HERTS. FOR SI.LE, Tho Mint Condition copie s c . Dige st J!oa. 35 - 109 (110. 41 miso ing) 9d. each. Also C. D. i.nnua1·• • 1950, 52, 53, 54, - 5/-ench . I.nyonc tokin g the lot, a 1923 Holi dny i.nnuol Th:rom> in fr oo . (4 . 0. 0 pos t paid. F ,C. Jlj,i.RDSELL, "PLYllSTOCK", ROSS ;_Vlll,1JE1 DAV::Ill'o;IT, STOCKPm,rr. 'ph cno St oppi.:11.8. Hill 2139 . Pant ed t o compl ot o coll ecti ons ; 1'i1riumphs' Nos . 1-19 0; 11Champions 11, 1-35 0. R. J . '.,c CART!lY, ",IBTL:JIDS, ;,UGl.T!il>LLA, ~!SL;J:Jl, AOSTR:.LIA.

LE T T E R BO X NOT lllJU!Y CLIFTOII

Roso Lcmi , King ss~to--0n-sen, Bro edetP.irs, Kent .

Dol\l" Ecrbor t Lockenb y ,

Thnnk you f or tho C. D. Sooe vary int e r e stin g .?.rti clee . f l'.r. Loft ' s on 11Chuokl oa 11 rovivod. so ma vory ol d ~o ri o a. The anor.or to th o que s tion in tho ortiola is in tho n ogc.tivo , "ll,,rcy • Clifton" whoow r !to me:y AAVO boon, cert ainly v;ns not F . R.

l.!nny t hanks t o J r.ck \7ood for his killd r oviowa . I havo ,.. apooial liking for "Jack 11, ~d am vory gl nd to aoo hi.c out at Ul et . :.s th o oth a r Jnck s ey s, fi vo yonrs io n lo ng t imo. But I hope th:t.t tho furt her volumoe wi ll o.ppear 1n ~. l?k".ttor of months .

Rogor 'a nrti cl a on Rook:rt0od nl so st i rs up n l ot of :rominis-oonce o. It 'tr,(J.y int e rest Roger to knC'.! t h.~t hia 3Urtllso is oor-reot : r.otuelly th e id on nt t he ti rae une to tran sfer t ho Roc lmoc d oerio s to CMad.a. But other c ounsels pr oveil cd lr. t ar , 11.nd hooa t hoy ceJilO ngnl.n .

Fi t h kind rcgnrds ,

Vary si noero l 7 ,

:rn:J !l'. Ric,~·.Rns • ... . •• I I I . 11111 I 1111** '****'*****"********* 1111 I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I . 11 I I I. I*

H:.VE YOO FORGOTTDI YOOR SUB. FCP. TlIB 1JIIIIJiJ.?

YORK DUPLIC/.TING S!l\VICES, 7, Tho Shomblas , Yem:. Tol , 25148.