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 1959). As a side-note the commentary in a Dutch magazine for schools* mentions "De moei- lijke woorden zijn in het Nederlands en Frans gegeven in de omslag" which I think means "difficult words appear in Dutch and French on the cover"!

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

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