Crusader Series Part Six - Raymond Sheppard and Isobel M. Knight

Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five

I'm enjoying reading these 50 page schoolbooks as the stories are great fun - mostly boys' adventures, which is interesting. Did Blackie also do a girls' series? I think not, as one of the titles I don't own is "Pamela in Paris" (and to continue that sexist thinking, maybe "Ponies for Sale" - which I can't corroborate as I don't have that one either!)

Cover to "The Mystery of Middle Tree Island"

MYSTERY OF MIDDLE TREE ISLAND by Isobel M Knight

This could be number 10 or 7 depending when you bought it and tracking down when this was first published is a bit easier - it was 1952. Raymond Sheppard had previously illustrated a story by Isobel Knight ("Royal Monkey") in For All Girls.

Raymond Sheppard's first picture shows a dying man - a Chinese clerk, whom 'Uncle Bill' got to help in the past,  being helped by an English officer - Uncle Bill, who coincidentally meets him again in a civil war in Hong Kong. The man tells him to go and see his wife about a tin hidden in their garden. And so the adventure begins. 

Mystery of the Middle Tree Island, Frontispiece
"He struggled to sit up, gasping out his story"

The next image throws us into the adventure with Ming Lo - the dying man's son, accompanying Uncle Bill and his nephew, Jimmy, to England with the treasure map. But someone has attacked Ming Lo in the night! He recovers and they set sail after provisioning.

Mystery of the Middle Tree Island, p.12
"Stretched out on the floor was Ming Lo"

I don't think Raymond Sheppard drew this trasure map but I've included it for fun. My wife guessed the solution from the clue on the "Middle Tree Island" map. 

"Not south, not north, not east, not west, not in earth, or sea or air. Remember thy youth",

Mystery of the Middle Tree Island, p.15
The treasure map

The party of three are exploring the island when they spot another boat on the opposite side of the island!

SPOILER ALERT AHEAD! You've been warned!

 

Mystery of the Middle Tree Island, p.29
"“Look!”, cried Jimmy excitedly. “A boat!”"

And the last image gives the game away as to where the treasure is hidden. After a tuussle and kidnapping by the occupants of said other boat, we get the happy ending for Ming Lo's family, we'd expect.

Mystery of the Middle Tree Island, p.47
"“There's a big hole here – in the fork,” he called"

ISOBEL M. KNIGHT

I thought I'd have a look at Knight's biography but in researching Isobel M. Knight, I hit a brick wall! That is until I found in her book The Treasure Seekers,1969, the copyright statement states "Isobel Lockie" and a dictionary of pseudonymns confirms this, but still that brick wall! That led me to searching a bit wider for more names. The other clue was the dedication in one of her books, similarly named as the one above, "Mystery of the Island". It states "To Fiona, Cameron and Andy". Often mothers might use their own mother's name for their children but in this case I think these are her nephews and niece and Isobel's own mother was named Fiona too - but I'd love someone better than me to confirm or disprove this.  Perhaps she was Fiona Isobel MacLeod Lockie (11 Nov 1932 -18 Dec  2002 died in Edinburgh)?  That stray middle name beginning with an 'M.' sort of corroborates this but I'm still guessing and hoping our Isobel is the same one who appeared on the radio telling of a personal experience in Scotland, please note!

One other interesting piece appeared in The Listener and I thought it worth sharing here:

SOMETHING TO DO WITH TIME?
‘My most frightening supernatural experience was not meeting a ghost—it had something to do with time’, said ISOBEL KNIGHT in ‘Woman’s Hour from Scotland’ (Light Programme). ‘I still do not know whether I re-lived something that had already happened, or was projected into something that has yet to take place.

‘My husband and I were returning from Glasgow to Dumfries. There were so few passengers on the train that we had no difficulty in finding a compartment to ourselves. After a short time we went through to the dining car; then, when we had finished our meal, we started to make our way back to our seats. During the interval in which we had been having tea the train had not stopped at any stations. Now, to our amazement, we could not find our compartment, which should have been easily recognizable because of the luggage we had stacked on the rack. Even more amazing, the previously almost empty train was now filled with passengers.

‘In a kind of daze we ran up and down the corridor, going into each packed compartment. Every seat was taken up; but, strangely, not one person moved a muscle or looked up when we flung open doors and anxiously examined the racks. After travelling the length of the train three times I began to panic. My husband was pale. “Look”’, he said, “where have all these people come from, and where is our luggage? Is there something wrong with us, or has something happened to the train? We'll walk down once again and if we still can’t find our own compartment I’m going for the guard ”.

Shaking like a leaf, I followed him; and yes, the train was almost empty, just as it had been when we got in. Only a few passengers sat dozing over their newspapers. There, with the luggage safely on the rack, was our own compartment, just as it had been when we left to go to the dining-car.

“What happened? ” I asked. My husband shook his head: “ Don’t ask me”. I saw his hands were trembling. “It’s been fantastic—and horrible”. Afterwards I tried to check with the railway to see if there had been any accidents on that line but I could not find out anything. I have no explanation to offer. Perhaps the reason may be that I have Highland blood in my veins, People have told me I have “a gift ”. Maybe I have, but I would rather be without it’

~Listener 23 February 1961

 

ISOBEL M. KNIGHT BIBLIOGRAPHY

 BOOKS

• Stories of Jesus.[Silver Torch Series. no. 53.] Glasgow: Collins Clear-Type Press, 1946
• Stories from the Old Testament.  [Silver Torch Series. no. 57.] London; Glasgow: Collins Clear-Type Press, 1947
• The Mystery of the Island [Illustrated by Lindsay W. Cable] London; Glasgow: Blackie & Son, [1948.]
• Pilgrim's Progress (retold by Isobel Knight) London; Glasgow: Collins, 1948
  
• Robinson Crusoe the Second, London: Pickering & Inglis, 1949
• Friendly Animals [Illustrated by A. E. Kennedy]. London; Glasgow: Blackie & Son, 1951
• Come to the Farm! [Illustrated by A. E. Kennedy]. London; Glasgow: Blackie & Son, 1952
• On our Farm [Illustrated by A. E. Kennedy].London; Glasgow: Blackie & Son, 1952
• Swiss Family Robinson (Retold by Isobel Knight) London: Pickering & Inglis, 1952
• The Mystery of Middle Tree Island [Illustrated by Raymond Sheppard]. [Crusader Series. no. 10.] London; Glasgow: Blackie & Son, 1952
•  Surefooted. [Starling Series.] London: Pickering & Inglis, 1953 
• A Present for Mother Pixie's Birthday [Illustrated by Doritie Kettlewell].[Nelson's Speedwell Readers. no. A 15.] London: Thomas Nelson & Sons, 1954
• Awheel to Happiness.[Starling Series.] London: Pickering & Inglis, 1954
• Come to the Farm, London; Glasgow: Blackie & Son, 1954
• The Piper's Cave [Illustrated by Gilbert Dunlop], [Kingfisher Books. ser. 4. no. 6.] London; Glasgow: Blackie & Son, 1954
• The Bunny Whiskers find an Island [Illustrated by John S. Goodall], [Kingfisher Books. ser. 1. no. 7.] London; Glasgow: Blackie & Son, 1954
• The Circus comes to Town, [Illustrated by R. MacGillivray]. [Heritage Story Books.] London: Longmans, 1955
• The Farmyard Mystery [Illustrated by H. Radcliffe Wilson]. [Heritage Story Books.] London: Longmans, 1955
• The Magic Foxgloves, [Illustrated by Joyce Wellman].[Heritage Story Books.]London: Longmans, 1955
• Holiday at Honeysuckle Farm.[Nature Stories.] Edinburgh: W. & A. K. Johnston & G. W. Bacon, 1955 
• The Runaways [Illustrated by Mary Shillabeer].[Heritage Story Books.] London: Longmans, 1955 
• Rascal to the Rescue [Illustrated by Joyce Johnson]. [New Times Readers. no. A12.] Huddersfield: Schofield & Sims, 1958
• Detectives on Horseback [Illustrations by Joyce Johnson][New Times Readers. no. C10.] Huddersfield: Schofield & Sims, 1959
• Island Adventure [Illustrated by Joan Milroy].[Dolphin Books. no. E4.] London: University of London Press, 1960
• The Young Farmers, [illustrated by J. C. Jarvies], [Far and near readers] London; Edinburgh: W. & R. Chambers, 1960
• Rescue in the snow, [Illustrated by Faith Jaques], [Dolphin books no. C.7] London: University of London Press, 1963
• Three Bangles for Mummy. [Illustrated by Romain Simon].[Robin Books.] Edinburgh: McDougall, 1964
• The Battle with the Dark Invaders. Glasgow: Robert Gibson & Sons, 1965
• The McEwen Brownie, Glasgow: Robert Gibson & Sons, 1965
• Mary Jane's pink straw hat [Illustrated by Jo Crickmay] Glasgow: Robert Gibson & Sons, 1965
• Mermaid in a gym-suit. Glasgow: Robert Gibson & Sons, 1966
• The Adventures of Mr Alf Mouse. Glasgow: Robert Gibson & Sons, 1968
• The Treasure Seekers, [Illustrated by David Grice], London: Epworth, 1969
• Exploring in the Scottish Lowlands [Mystery trail books] Nutfield: Denholm House Press, 1971
• Families [Exploring Your World series]  Edinburgh: Holmes McDougall. 1972
• Yesterday and Today [Exploring Your World series]  Edinburgh: Holmes McDougall. 1972
  

STORIES and BROADCASTS

• "The charm of craftsmanship", "Round the World at Playtime", "Chrismas at home and abroad" and "Queer customs"  The Children's New Illustrated Encyclopedia Collins, 1950
  
• "The Wee MacGowans" on Children's Hour - first broadcast Tuesday 12 August 1952, 17:25 on BBC Home Service Scottish, 1952
• "Royal Monkey" in For All Girls, London; Glasgow: Blackie & Son, 195?
• "Annals of the Loch Ness Monster- review ", Scotland's Magazine, July 1957
• "?" in A Packet of adventures: an omnibus of thrilling stories for girls and boys. Stirling: Stirling Tract Enterprise, [195-?]
• "Ghosts I have Met: by Isobel Knight" Woman's Hour, Friday 30 December 1960, 14:00 on Light Programme [See article above from The Listener]
• "Russians In Russia and Russians in Scotland": Gloria Stewart lived in Moscow and Isobel Knight accompanied twenty-seven Russians on a tour of Scotland, Woman's Hour Monday 14 December 1964, 14:00 on Light Programme
• "It Would Happen to Me: says Isobel Knight", Woman's Hour Monday 3 April 1967, 14:00 on Light Programme from Scotland
   
  

 

Raymond Sheppard and the Crusader series- Part Five

Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four

The Crusader series published by Blackie & Son were for schoolchildren aged between 9-11. I've covered some of the series before - see links above.

Fen Laughs Last - cover with Christmas sticker!

This story Fen laughs last (1952) by John Hornby (who I have mentioned before on this blog) tells the story of two friends whose dog is accused of sheep-killing. Naturally this turns out to be erroneous as two suspicious men are on the Cumbrian Fells and they have a wolf!

My copy came - as you can see - with a Christmas sticker, but that doesn't matter as the covers seem to be all the same knight drawn by Raymond Sheppard! Here are the usual four images from inside the book.

Fen Laughs Last p.00
"Hal dragged the dog back with less than an inch to spare"

An open-backed truck nearly runs over two boys and their dog - and this is after apologising for nearly running into their car!

Fen Laughs Last p.13
"“I'd like to know what they're up to” said Cliff

Cliff and his friend Hal together with Fen - Cliff's dog, watch the two suspicious men on the moors as they are out for a run with Fen.

Fen Laughs Last p.32
"On the ground beside fen lay the body of a dead sheep"

Just at the wrong moment, two local farmers out looking for the sheep-killer hear the ruckus of Fen barking loudly to alert the boys to a dead sheep. He nudges the carcass and naturally gets blood on his snout. The farmers take this as hard evidence and lock up the Alsatian.

Fen Laughs Last p.49
“Fen! You've won!”

The boys decide they don't want the Alsatian shot so run away with him to the High Fell and aim to hide in a cave that Hal knows, but before they can get there, Fen has run on growling and barking. This noise attracts the two suspicious men and also the two farmers who are searching for the boys,. But they are aware Fen has slipped into the cave to attack something or someone - the wolf - and as you can see by the caption Fen wins.

A lovely tale of drama and resolution with four great illustrations by Sheppard - particularly the Alsatian. We don't get to see the wolf (too bloodied for children!) but Sheppard, if you remember did illustrate an article for Lilliput on "The Last Wolf" 

The Ivory Poachers - Hardback!

Now before any collectors rush out to look for hardback versions of the Crusader series by Blackie and Son, this is a one-off - produced by the Henry Compton School, in Fulham, London to stretch the budget by protecting the book. It's nice to think Sheppard's designs - and the story of course - were so well-read they wore out quickly, but I suspect it was because the school had a better budget.

Anyway to the story written by Geoffrey Feild, - note, not 'Field'! The author is a mystery, as, in common with the British Library, I misspelled his surname - now corrected and I've informed the British Library. I suspect given the stories he has written for this series - two, one illustrated by Will Nickless - he might have been Dutch or South African - especially as "Lion's Gold" seems to have been published in Dutch (later in 1958) - and the story in Boy's Fun Annual 1955 sounds similar "Prize Catch by Geoffrey Feild" - well spotted John Wigmans! As a side-note the commentary in a Dutch magazine for schools* mentions "De moeilijke woorden zijn in het Nederlands en Frans gegeven in de omslag" which John confirms means something like "difficult words appear in Dutch and French on the [inside?] cover"! ***SEE BELOW FOR AN UPDATE***

The story is of a boy and his Father who track ivory poachers and rescue a baby orphan elephant who charges their native cook. The boy being suspicious of the latter investigates and follows some poachers who capture him. Rescue arrives at the last minute!

The Ivory Poachers p.00
"It backed a way squealing and lifted its forelegs into the air"

This frontispiece shows the first time the group encounter the baby elephant, Bill watson - Tom's Dad - holding the baby elephant with a rope whilst whispering to it, to calm it down.

The Ivory Poachers p.14
"Mgao covered the ten yards at terrific speed"

Sheppard's drawing of the elephant in action chasing Mgao round the compound is wonderful and the fear in the cook and housekeeper is drawn well too.

The Ivory Poachers p.31
"Kali was leading a file of natives to the east"

Tom is shown on a slight hill spying on the activities of some of the local villagers who are led by the Story-Teller, Kali, the ringleader of the poachers. He follows them keeping his distance.

The Ivory Poachers p.49
"A dark figure stood in his path"

After being captured and held in the hut by the dry river bed, Tom manages to cut his bonds on some sharp edged ivory but escapes just as the men return, including their leader Kali who holds a knife. But luckily for Tom, his Father and the native police have arrived too

I own six more of this series which I will share in due course. The history of the series is interesting as each batch were published over a decade:

• Sheppard illustrated the first twelve, in 1951 and 1952
• Will Nickless started the next four in 1955
• Sheppard continued for four more in 1955
• Then in 1959 and 1962, Nickless and others drew the rest as Sheppard had sadly passed away by then

 --------------------------------------------------

* Het schoolblad. Geraadpleegd op Delpher op 11-02-2025

UPDATE MARCH 2025

"Lion's Gold" photographic cover

As John Wigmans provided some more help and said "Lion's Gold kept haunting me. So I sent an inquiry to the Dutch Royal Library with some questions." Thanks to his efforts we now know that "Lion's Gold" by Geoffrey Feild was published in English with Dutch and French vocabulary lists. He also found out there are no illustrations in this translation, and the text below shows italicised words which can be consulted on the foldover part of the front and back covers.
 
 

English text with italicised words

The explanation that this text can be used in Benelux countries
as Dutch and French vocabulary have been supplied

Others in the series - which don't appear to have ever been published in Britain!

Then we have two examples of vocabulary lists:

It's amazing the rabbit holes we go down as fanatics!. Many thanks to John and to Brina of Klantenservice Koninklijke Bibliotheek - Customer Service of the Royal [National] Library in The Hague.

 

 

 

 

Raymond Sheppard and various Everybody's illustrations

 

Everybody's 2 January 1954 p.11

Today I want to carry on looking at Raymond Sheppard's work in the weekly large format  Everybody's magazine.

"Long, Long Trail of the Eskimo Killers" was written by Roland Wild (in an interview with Constable of the Withers of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police)  and we see the half page illustration above with the caption "Slowly they were surrounded by a ring of impassive men and women, who could kill them in an instant". The story is of how the phrase "The Mounties always get their man" came about and is based in 1915-1916.

I found out that Roland Gibson Wild was born in 1903 in Manchester and died in 1989 (aged 86) in North Vancouver, British Columbia where he was a respected newspaperman, wrote 13 books - working on another at his death - and had the dubious distinction of hitting the Prince of Wales with a "surprisingly long drive" while playing at Britain's Sunningdale golf course.

Everybody's 3 April 1954 p.17

In Everybody's 3 April 1954 "The last stampeders" we have the second tale by Roland Wild. he tells, over two pages, how the survivors of the Klondike Gold Rush meet up. Writing in 1954 he mentions that the 400 men and women present "are a race apart, living on the memories of fifty-six years ago". He then recounts some of the factual stories but mostly tall tales of the "Stampeders". Sheppard's illustration shows one very great legend, whose stories seem to change over time, that of 'Soapy', the bandit prince of Skagway, as he orders "the guards to jump into the river. Both guns cracked". We see three men jumping into river near a boat while two men face each other with rifles. As one Yukonner admits, the tales get "taller and taller".

Everybody's 2 January 1954 p.15

You really need to click on the above picture to enlarge it, in order to see the fantastic detail. Not only has Sheppard drawn historic costume but also rigging on the ship and even rats who are obviously leaving the sinking ship! The two page article is called "When the 'Royal George' sank" and is written by Oliver Warner, appearing in Everybody's 2 January 1954, the same issue as the Eskimo illustration above. Sheppard's single colour illustration takes up half of the second page.The caption describes the scene  "In addition to her full company, the ship was crowded with wives, sweethearts, children and hucksters. Disaster struck with a suddenness so horrifying that even rats came panicking out of their holes. The cannon burst from their moorings and in a moment hundreds were drowning". This is the story behind William Cowper's poem which "does not tell the whole truth about the loss of the 'Royal George' ". This ship was the largest warship in the world at the time of her launch on 18 February 1756 and after seeing action 

on 29 August 1782 whilst anchored off Portsmouth, the ship was intentionally rolled (a 'parliamentary heel') so maintenance could be performed on the hull, but the roll became unstable and out of control; the ship took on water and sank. More than 800 people died, making it one of the most deadly maritime disasters in British territorial waters. ~ Wikipedia

Oliver Warner (1903-1976) is a well-known naval historian and writer and a bibliography of his books is on Wikipedia. If you want to read more about the incident, Roy and Lesley Adkins have written on Lloyd's Register Foundation Heritage and Education Centre's site.