Firstly, as Green said, I exclude princes who were enthroned, namely, George IV (1762-1830, Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay), William IV (1765-1837, Duke of Clarence and St.Andrews) and Ernest I of Hanover (1771-1851, Duke of Cumberland). If one of them were Clay’s grandfather, Holmes would have said his grandfather “was a king.”
Four other princes remain. The eldest prince was Frederick Augustus, Duke of York and Albany (1763 - 1827). He was the second son of King George III. He had a mistress, Mary Anne Clarke, and married Frederica Charlotte Ulrica Katherine, daughter of Frederick William II, King of Prussia, but their marriage produced no offspring. The Duke of York and Mary Anne Clarke were involved in the Duke and Daring Scandal, and it was believed that this was the cause of the madness of King George III.
It is said that Captain Charles Hesse might be his illegitimate issue, but there is no evidence to substantiate this. Captain Hesse was killed in a duel with Count Leon, the bastard son of Napoleon I, Emperor of France.
Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent and Stratheam (1767 - 1818) was the fourth son of George III. He married Victoria, daughter of Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfield, and had Queen Victoria. Before his marriage, he had a mistress named Adelaide Dubus and their daughter was Adelaide Victoria Augusta (1789 - 1790). Edward also had a son or sons with Julie de St Laurent when he was in Canada. It is said their children were adopted at birth. John Clay had “been to Eton and Oxford.” As he was educated in England, it is not probable that one of these sons was Clay’s father, making Clay a Canadian.
Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex (1773 - 1843) had an illegitimate child by Miss Tranter of Windsor, Lucy Beaufoy Tranter. However, it is not probable that she was John Clay’s mother, as she would have been too old to have given birth to John in the mid-nineteenth century. Augustus married Augusta Murray, daughter of the fourth Earl of Dunmore. This marriage was declared null by the Arches Court of Canterbury, but it did have issue. Augustus Frederick d’Este was born in 1794 and died in 1848. Augusta Emma d’Este was born in 1801 and married Thomas Wilde, first Baron Truro of Bowes, and died in 1866. It is probable Augustus Frederick d’Este had had a child in his last years. However, it is improbable that Augusta had a child when she was in her forties. John Clay had no title, and he would not be a child of peers. The Duke of Sussex married Cecilia Laetitia, daughter of Arthur Saunders Gore, second Earl of Arran in 1831, but had no issue.
Adolphus Frederick, Duke of Cambridge (1774 - 1850) married Augusta Wilhelmina Louis, daughter of Frederick III, Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel in 1818, and the couple had children. Their first son, George William Frederick Charles, the second Duke of Cambridge, (1819 - 1904) married Sarah Louisa privately in 1847. He had three sons, George William Adolphus (1843 - 1907), Adolphus Augustus Frederick (1846 - 1922) and Augustus Charles Frederick (1847 - 1933), but they were all too young to have been the father of John Clay.
Sarah Louisa had illegitimate children before her marriage to the second Duke of Cambridge. These children were not sired by the Duke, but they might have called themselves the Duke’s family. Charles Manner Sutton Fairbrother (1836 - 1901) and Louisa Catherine, (b.1839?) who married a Captain Hamilton, have a slight possibility of being John Clay’s father or mother.
Adolphus Frederick’s second child, Augusta Caroline Charlotte Elizabeth Mary Sophia Louise, (1822 - 1904) who married Frederick William, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and his third child Mary Adelaide Wilhelmina Elizabeth (1833 - 1897) who married Francis Paul Charles Louis Alexander, Duke of Teck, were of adequate age to be mother to John Clay’s mother, but they were already married when REDH occurred, and Sherlock Holmes would have mentioned that “his mother was a Royal Duchess.” Mary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudia Agnes, daughter of Duchess of Teck married George V in 1893.
As observed above, we have these candidates as parents of John Clay.
1. Augustus Frederick d’Este (1794 - 1848).
2. Charles Manner Sutton Fairbrother (1836 - 1901).
3. Louisa Catherine (b.1839?).
The first one is the real son of the Duke of Sussex, but the latter two are not actually children of the Duke of Cambridge. Considering all the facts, Augustus Frederick d’Este is the most probable person to be the father of John Clay, and the Duke of Sussex was John Clay’s “Royal Duke” grandfather.
Bibliography;
1 Weir, Alison; Britain’s Royal Families, Revised Edition, Pimlico, London, 1996.
2 Kiste, John Van der; George III’s Children, Alan Sutton, Phoenix Mill, 1995
3 Mori, Mamoru; Eikoku Oushitsu Shiwa, Daishukan, Tokyo, 1986.
4 Doyle, Arthur Conan; The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes, edited by Richard Lancelyn Green, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1994.
5 Weller, Philip; Elementary Holmes, Sherlock Publications, 1994.
6 Baring-Gould, William S.; The Annotated Sherlock Holmes, Clarkson N. Potter, New York, 1967.
(The Shoso-in Bulletin vol.8, 1998)
Tom, the “Tai-jin” Sherlockian
Note:
Our fellow member, Fred Levin, informed me by e-mail of the sad news of Tom L. Stix Jr. It was not unexpected news, as I heard he had been hospitalized, but I cannot believe his departure came so soon. In Japan, it is said all people who pass away become Buddhas, but Tom had the virtue of a Buddha before he passed away. I explained this as “Tai-jin” in my article published in the Baker Street Journal, as he was not a Buddhist. However, his contribution to the world of Sherlockiana and his big heart would make it possible for him to meet not only God, but also Buddha. And I believe Tom solved the big Sherlockian problem of Holmes’ travel to Tibet, through an interview with the Buddha.
This article was first published in the Baker Street Journal, Vol.47, No.1.
***
Many articles and books on the Baker Street Irregulars have been published, especially during the last few years. I have enjoyed reading these books very much. Vincent Starrett, Christopher Morley, Nathan Bengis, Julian Wolff and many more Sherlockians have appeared in these pages, and they helped me, a new member of the Baker Street Irregulars, to understand the history of our society. I also attended the fiftieth anniversary weekend of B.S.I., and saw many old photographs of the annual dinners of the B.S.I.’s Golden Age. I found the historical Sherlockians mentioned above, and also found the younger faces of the famous Sherlockians of our day.
However, for me, all of them are merely history. I know Vincent Starrett and Christopher Morley only from books and photographs. I have never seen Julian Wolff or Issac Asimov. They are very famous and they made splendid contributions to the world of Sherlockiana, but they are familiar in the same sense that illustrious historical characters like Washington or Lincoln are familiar. For most young generation Sherlockians, including me, Tom L. Stix, Jr. is the Baker Street Irregular.
Tom’s contributions to the Baker Street Irregulars have been a greater achievement than it is possible to say in these pages. I would like to concentrate my point of view to his decision to open the door of the B.S.I. more widely.
There were several foreign Sherlockians who received their investiture before Tom became Wiggins; for example: Henry Lauritzen of Denmark in 1961, Naganuma Kohki of Japan in 1962, and Stanley MacKenzie of Britain in 1967. However, until recently most of members of the Baker Street Irregulars were American gentlemen.
Tom changed this tradition. His wide viewpoint caught earnest non-American Sherlockians and female Sherlockians.
Most of living Japanese Sherlockians, such as Kobayashi Tsukasa, Ueda Hirotaka and I, received our B.S.I. investiture from Tom. Who could imagine that so many Sherlockians from the Far East would receive these shillings? It is true there are more than twelve hundred members in the Japan Sherlock Holmes Club, but because of the language barrier, it was very difficult to pay attention to this small eastern country. However, Tom di
d it.
But not only Japan benefited. Tom’s eye did not overlook other important Sherlockian countries. It was a great joy for me to learn that my friend Alan Olding of the Sherlock Holmes Society of Australia received his investiture in 1988. Another friend, Jean-Pierre Cagnat of France was investitured in 1993, with me. Many British Sherlockians (or Holmesians) were awarded this honour during Tom’s leadership of the B.S.I.
It was 1991 when I went to New York to attend the annual meeting of the Baker Street Irregulars, as a guest. Before the official schedule began, Tom kindly invited me to lunch on Thursday, at The Players. I was only twenty-eight years old at that time, and it was only the second time I had attended a foreign Sherlockian event. When I entered the building, I was overwhelmed by its splendid interiors, and moreover I was awed to find so many “real” Sherlockians. They are all some decades years older than I; they are from my father’s generation. Their names are very familiar for an earnest Baker Street Journal reader. It was the first time for me to meet Tom. He was a man of dignified appearance, and I got the impression of what the Chinese call, “Tai-jin.”
It is difficult to translate this word into English, but my dictionary says “a man of virtue,” “generosity,” or “big-hearted.” However, that does not encompass the whole meaning of the term. I think it also carries a philosophical depth and conviction. A world-wide or cosmopolitan point of view is important to be a Tai-jin, too. It is essential for every leader, but few leaders possess this virtue. Tom is a man who possessed this splendid element, and only a Tai-jin can bring progress to new generations.
I still vividly remember the splendid lunch. I had brought the first volume of my magazine, The Nezire Zanmai International (now called The Shoso-in Bulletin), and presented it to all the attendees. I also asked them to sign their names to my copy so I might treasure the memory. It is in front of me now. Tom and other eminent Sherlockians received my gift, and encouraged me to continue my publication. I had not decided to continue publishing this magazine, but I made so many encouraging friends in New York that I decided to publish the second volume.
Now, The Shoso-in Bulletin has grown to be an international Sherlockian magazine with contributions not only from the United States and Britain, but also from many European, Asian and Oceanic countries. Thank you, Tom, for making it possible to continue our international project.
(Baker Street Journal, Vol.47, No.1. and The Shoso-in Bulletin vol.8,1998)
Sherlockiana in Japan
It is frequently mentioned that Japan exports everything. Your car in your garage might be a Honda or Nissan. On the other hand, the field of Sherlockiana is over-imported, because of the high wall of language. We study the English language for three years in junior high school, and three more years in high school, but there are only a few people who can speak or read English. It might be the same case as the study of Latin with British students. Most Japanese Sherlock Holmes fans enjoy reading Sherlockian books only in Japanese, and perhaps a few original books published in English or German. It is lucky for them that there are many translations of Sherlockian books: for example, Baring-Gould’s The Annotated Sherlock Holmes; The Oxford Sherlock Holmes series; Edgar W Smith’s Profile by Gaslight; Matthew Bunson’s Encyclopedia Sherlockiana; Ellery Queen’s The Misadventures of Sherlock Holmes; and Robert L Fish’s The Memoirs of Schlock Holmes. This selection is only a part of books published, and one of my bookshelves is occupied entirely by Japanese books. Compared to speakers of other languages, the Japanese are lucky in this field.
In the first paragraph, I did not write “Sherlockians,” but “Sherlock Holmes fans,” to refer the members of the Japan Sherlock Holmes Club. You may wonder if there is any difference between them, but there is a significant gap. “Sherlock Holmes fans” are those who like to read Sherlock Holmes stories. They treat and enjoy the works of Conan Doyle as fiction. “Sherlockians” are different. They are players of “The Game,” and “The Game” has rules. These rules are “Sherlock Holmes is alive,” and “The Canon is the true stories written by John H. Watson, MD.” That is the reason why we Sherlockians call Conan Doyle “the literary agent,” who supported Dr. Watson.
You may recall in “The Pink Panther” series, Inspector Clouseau. was attacked by his servant Kato with Karate. The Inspector tells Kato that he may attack any time and anywhere, for the training of Karate. In this way, Sherlockians should say “Sherlock Holmes is alive” at any time and anywhere, when asked “Is Sherlock Holmes a fictional character?” That attitude might cause a misunderstanding. Even a professor of English literature at a Japanese university wrote; “There WERE Sherlockians who believed Holmes was a real person.” If we really believe he was a real person, we are a cult group. It is clear Sherlock Holmes is a fictional character, but that it is the rule to treat him as a real person to play the game. If we frequently meet and communicate with western Sherlockians, there would not be such misunderstandings of the rule, but as our country is in the Far East, it was not easy to attend Sherlockian meetings in USA or UK, and we “learned” Sherlockiana from books only. This makes for some funny misunderstandings. If the rules are strictly applied, there would be less than 25 Sherlockians in Japan. The other nearly 1200 members of the Japan Sherlock Holmes Club would be only “Holmes fans.”
Another trend in Japan is “Victoriana.” This might be a fate for people who do not have the tradition of Victorian cultures and societies. For Vincent Starrett, Christopher Morley, and S. C. Roberts, the first generation of Sherlockian are real Victorians. The second generation Sherlockians could ask their fathers or grandfathers about the Victorian world. Even now, in England and America, there are many Victorian buildings remain, and so much information is still available. However, in the Far East, it is not easy to find historical information on the Victorian world, and we have no Victorian traditions in our life, though the era was in progress when Japan was modernized. It is the first step to have knowledge of the Victorian world to understand the Canon, but in Japan, the means of understanding is often mistreated as the main purpose. It is a great disappointment when I read an article in The World of Holmes, the magazine of the Japan Sherlock Holmes Club, and find no Sherlock Holmes or Conan Doyle there.
But Japanese Sherlockiana has its own virtues, and not only in translations of western books. Even now, the most popular book for elementary school pupils is the Sherlock Holmes series. There are many children’s adaptations of the Canon published in Japan with full original illustrations. Collecting children’s adaptations is an important field for Sherlockian collectors in Japan. It is the main purpose for one of the Japanese members of the Baker Street Irregulars. For me, the adaptation series by Yamanaka Minetaro was my first meeting with Sherlock Holmes. This series was first published around the 1950’s, and the stories were changed for easy understanding by children. For example, Holmes and Watson use a car for their transportation. This may be due to the influence of American movies shown in Japan these days. It was not faithful to the original, but it was enjoyable and kids were so excited by the stories. It is a shame that this series is now out of print because some Japanese Sherlockians complained about changing the original stories. However, there are other adaptations available, and collectors cannot stop buying these books.
It is well known that Japan produces many animated films and cartoons, and Sherlock Holmes is no exception. The biggest series was “Sherlock Hound,” produced with an Italian production company. Its Holmes and Watson are those of the dog world, and Professor Moriarty in a white cape always appears as the counter part of Holmes. Mrs. Hudson is young and beautiful, and many kids help Holmes with his detections. Its early episodes were made by Miyazaki Hayao, who is now famous for his splendid animation films, “Totoro” and “Porco Rosso.” The “Sherlock Hound” series was broadcast in many nations and sold as videotapes, so that some of you might have seen some of them before. It is one of the best Sherlockian products in Japan, and wi
ll not be forgotten among Sherlockians.
These years, the number of Japanese Sherlockians who attend Sherlockian festivals in the USA or UK is increasing, and a few western Sherlockians recently visited Japan and communicated with Japanese Sherlockians. In particular, there were six guest speakers: Michael Whelan, Peter Blau, James Webb, Catherine Cooke, and Jane & Philip Weller invited to the last year’s Japan Sherlock Holmes Club’s grand meeting. It was the landmark convention of these twenty years history of our society. These communications will accelerate the growth of Japanese Sherlockiana, and I hope western Sherlockians also will be interested in our activity.
(The Strand Magazine No.7, 2001 in Italian, & The Shoso-in Bulletin vol.9, 1999)
The Japanese Sherlock Holmes Statue Now
My friend Mr. Keith Webb’s fine article explains the construction of the Sherlock Holmes statue in Japan so well - some of the facts Keith mentions were unknown to me until I read his article - that I shall confine myself to writing other trivial things about it.
I dare say that this statue is the most unfortunate one of the four in the world. I visited two of the others, in Edinburgh and Meiringen, both in the centre of town and both having many visitors. The new statue in Baker Street should be the most visited of all, being in the very centre of Sherlock Holmes’ world. However, the Japanese statue is in the countryside, and only a few people visit it each day.
Oiwake, where the statue stands, is a country town with summer villas for long-stay holidays, and there are a few casual sightseer, most of whom stop at Karuizawa, a larger town with many hotels and shopping streets. The district is also covered with snow for half the year; and in summer, as Keith says, there is a danger of thunder. Dr Watson said of Holmes that ‘neither the country nor the sea presented the slightest attraction to him’ (‘The Cardboard Box’), and added, ‘I had never before seen him show any keen interest in natural objects’ (‘The Naval Treaty’). Holmes might well feel both loneliness and boredom in such a solitary place. (Incidentally, the Karuizawa area is conveniently accessed by rented bicycles. If you visit the statue by this means you are likely to be a solitary cyclist!) When my wife visited the statue during a summer holiday there were so many weeds around it that it looked shabby. She (and myself, of course) had donated towards the statue when it was erected, and it was a shock to her to see it in such a state, and with so few visitors.
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