Too little known, too important to ignore: the story of a Fortean.
I know virtually nothing about the personal life of Judith L. Gee, not even what the L stood for. She lived in London. She was born sometime between 1880 and 1920—the earliest letters of hers to national publications I can find appeared in the mid-1940s, the last in the late 1970s. She was married, signing her letters Mrs. She had liberal inclinations and was opposed to anti-Semitism. She was interested in parapsychology and allied fields. She could be somewhat imperious. She was a stalwart Fortean, and also an object of ridicule among some of the men who ran the Society. C’est ça.
Apparently, she was introduced to the Fortean Society by Harold Chibbett, though her connections to Fort seem to date more deeply. In an undated letter to Russell—but from 1948—Chibbett noted, “Talking about Forteans, I have just uncovered a rabid female of the species, whom you might be able to collar as a member if she is not already one. J. L. Gee, 27a, Goldhurst Terrace, Hampstead, London. I am going along to see her in a few day’s time, and will let you know further.” There was no more correspondence from Chibbett on the matter, but Gee herself wrote to Russell on 27 July 1948:
I know virtually nothing about the personal life of Judith L. Gee, not even what the L stood for. She lived in London. She was born sometime between 1880 and 1920—the earliest letters of hers to national publications I can find appeared in the mid-1940s, the last in the late 1970s. She was married, signing her letters Mrs. She had liberal inclinations and was opposed to anti-Semitism. She was interested in parapsychology and allied fields. She could be somewhat imperious. She was a stalwart Fortean, and also an object of ridicule among some of the men who ran the Society. C’est ça.
Apparently, she was introduced to the Fortean Society by Harold Chibbett, though her connections to Fort seem to date more deeply. In an undated letter to Russell—but from 1948—Chibbett noted, “Talking about Forteans, I have just uncovered a rabid female of the species, whom you might be able to collar as a member if she is not already one. J. L. Gee, 27a, Goldhurst Terrace, Hampstead, London. I am going along to see her in a few day’s time, and will let you know further.” There was no more correspondence from Chibbett on the matter, but Gee herself wrote to Russell on 27 July 1948: