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