A naked Fortean.
I’m breaking my own rule again. I said I would. I have virtually no biographical information on this Fortean beyond his name, his interest in nudism, and his address. But he was very active, and the surviving documents—in addition to what’s mentioned in Doubt, there are mentions in correspondence between Thayer and Russell as well as letters to Russell preserved at the University of Liverpool—sketch out the education of a Fortean.
So, Ed Simpson. Also known as Edward H. Simpson and E. H. Simpson. He lived at 20 St. Thomas Street, Low Fell, Gateshead, across the River Tyne from Newcastle, on the east coast of England. He was there, at least, from the late 1940s to the late 1950s. Nearby lived another Fortean, Tom Elsender. Simpson doe snot seem to have known Elsender at the time, but during some early correspondence Russell apparently suggested that they make contact. As with many others in England, Simpson was drawn to the Fortean Society by Russell’s writing (and advertisements) in the paranormal magazine “Tomorrow,” edited by N. V. Dagg. (From what I have seen, most of those who wrote to Russell after being prompted by what they read in “Tomorrow,” never followed up.) The first connection I have is a telegram from Simpson to Russell dated 4 February 1947. Clearly, though, this was not the first time Simpson had reached out to Russell—though it was very near the beginning of Russell’s involvement with the Society. It read,
“Congratulations [on] your king-pin article great journalistic scoop in January’s ‘Tomorrow’. Stop. When am I to be permitted enrolled [sic] as member of Fortean Society. Your silence is intolerable. Simpson.”
I’m breaking my own rule again. I said I would. I have virtually no biographical information on this Fortean beyond his name, his interest in nudism, and his address. But he was very active, and the surviving documents—in addition to what’s mentioned in Doubt, there are mentions in correspondence between Thayer and Russell as well as letters to Russell preserved at the University of Liverpool—sketch out the education of a Fortean.
So, Ed Simpson. Also known as Edward H. Simpson and E. H. Simpson. He lived at 20 St. Thomas Street, Low Fell, Gateshead, across the River Tyne from Newcastle, on the east coast of England. He was there, at least, from the late 1940s to the late 1950s. Nearby lived another Fortean, Tom Elsender. Simpson doe snot seem to have known Elsender at the time, but during some early correspondence Russell apparently suggested that they make contact. As with many others in England, Simpson was drawn to the Fortean Society by Russell’s writing (and advertisements) in the paranormal magazine “Tomorrow,” edited by N. V. Dagg. (From what I have seen, most of those who wrote to Russell after being prompted by what they read in “Tomorrow,” never followed up.) The first connection I have is a telegram from Simpson to Russell dated 4 February 1947. Clearly, though, this was not the first time Simpson had reached out to Russell—though it was very near the beginning of Russell’s involvement with the Society. It read,
“Congratulations [on] your king-pin article great journalistic scoop in January’s ‘Tomorrow’. Stop. When am I to be permitted enrolled [sic] as member of Fortean Society. Your silence is intolerable. Simpson.”
Russell replied to Simpson on 9 February, but his letter does not survive. Simpson’s return, though, does. It is dated more than two months later—18 April 1947—and there’s a subtle suggestion he had been indisposed during the interval. It was with this letter that Simpson officially joined. (He became member 17774; if there was a method to Thayer’s numbering system, I have not figured it out.) Simpson was not quite sure what he was getting in to, but looking forward to it. He seems to have thought that the Society was closely related in theme to what “Tomorrow” published.” Simpson wrote,
“Further to your kind letter of the 9th February last, I am now free to follow up my desire to join the famous FORTEAN SOCIETY, and accordingly I have pleasure in submitting to you personally the sum of Eight Shillings against my first annual subscription.
“Please do your best ti make me feel ‘at home’ in every way possible. I also look forward to receiving a copy of the official magazine and to reading further smashing articles by you in the future issues of “TOMMORROW’. [sic].
“With kind regards and good wishes, Yours faithfully, Ed. H. Simpson.”
Reflecting the difficulties of international mail in the years just after World War II, Thayer did not acknowledge the new member for another two months, 21 June 1947. Meanwhile, Simpson received a letter from Russell—one of Russell’s letters survive—and the latest issue of Doubt, which would have been Doubt 16, from late in 1946. Simpson enjoyed it—in a post-script he both asked for Russell to stop by if he was in the area, and if the Fortean Society provided badges for its members—but wasn’t quite sure how to read the magazine yet, because of gaps in his knowledge, Thayer’s in-speak, and his unfamiliarity with American dating conventions. He wrote to Russell on 9 May 1947, and the second-half show his confusion:
“Many thanks for your kind letter which you sent with the new issue of ‘Doubt’. This tickles my palate & I am gratified that you & MFS [Tom] Elsender are cited as news-informers. I should very much like to be able to do likewise if only you can help me by giving me the dope upon what to look out for.
“Pardon my ignorance, but I am still strange to the inner meanings of several of the bracketed word (reverse) that features so often in Fort’s scrapboxes? How do I elucidate a date such as 11-15-46 old style? Does the middle figure constitute the particular week instead o month?
“Page 257 Col III mentions ‘Russell Grist’, which of course is yourself, but [where?] & what & who is Dagg and how is he or it tied up with ‘Tomorrow’? Reference meant to American edition perhaps—or?
“Sorry if I’m butting in on your valuable time but I must know, so do try & tell me! Thanks a lot!”
If the second-half of the letter shows he was a neophyte Fortean (and didn’t follow “Tomorrow” especially closely, not recognizing its editor’s name), the first half explained his intellectual background. Simpson belong to that class of Fortean—along with Lou Alt, Hugh Robert Orr, C. G. Patterson, and Edwin Wilson—who came to the Fortean Society out of the free thought movement. This movement had developed in the late part of the nineteenth century and was associated with secularism and resistance to religious traditions—of varying strengths, as the Unitarians were also connected to free thought. After a period of relative quiescence during the first part of the twentieth century, it returned in the 1930s. Simpson was a reader of at least two free thought periodicals—“The Free Thinker,” a British magazine founded in 1881, and “The Freethought News,” which had only put out its first issue in February 1947—and seemed to know the editor of at least one. He started that 9 May letter,
“Dear Mr. Russell, Greetings!
“I verily believe that the pith [?] of a remarkable letter quoted in the ‘Sugar Plums’ column of this week-end’s ‘Freethinker’ is to be attributable to you. I therefore make bold to hasten to congratulate you upon it, and I only wish I could be sure that I have read all that your letters to a Liverpool newspaper contained. In this connection may I mention (if still unknown to you) the existance [sic] of a new forethought periodical—‘The Freethought News’, 174 Manchester Road Bradford, whose editor is—F.J. Corina, a well known anti-Catholic go-getter. He will, I know greatly appreciate any contributions you can put in his way, so please do not neglect this channel.”
Corina wrote to Russell later that month—28 May—sending him all the copies to date and adding him to the subscription list. Whether that was at Simpson’s behest or Russell had reached out to Corina is not known. Meanwhile, Simpson was becoming more intrigued by Forteanism, felt more welcomed into the fold, and was looking for more to read on the subject. He wrote to Russell on 20 June: “After patiently waiting during the past few weeks, I am now pleased to inform you that Headquarters have written and sent me my official membership card. As I have a thirst to imbibe more and more Fortean philosophy, I hope you will try and let me have any old back numbers of the magazine which provides such extraordinary and thrilling reading.”
This letter was likely sent just after Simpson had received Doubt 17—it reached Britain in June 1947—and so he would have otherwise been caught up. Apparently, the membership card was as good as a badge. In lieu of further reading, Simpson (finally) reached out to Elsender, and sent a copy of his introductory letter to Russell as well: “Dear Sir, I herewith send you a copy letter addressed to your colleague at Liverpool from which you will doubtless be interested to learn that I am not a member of the Fortean Society. Mr Russell told me some time ago to contact you, and therefore if I can be of any service please let me know. Yours faithfully, Ed H Simpson.”
There followed a long break in the correspondence. It is likely that Simpson made the personal acquaintance of Elsender, but not that they became fast friends, bonding over Forteanism. A letter to Russell announcing Elsender’s death (dated 7 March 1956) had Simpson referring to him as “Tommy” but also noting “Tommy was always regarded locally as a very queer and eccentric character. Had a pronounced feminine personality, and spoke in a rather high pitched voice. He was very tall, with a mop of silver hair and liked his drop of gin at the local pub that he always patronised, known as ‘The Black Horse’. . . . During the latter part of his life I occasionally saw him, but I never spoke to or accosted him as he insisted upon keeping aloof from me.”
But during this time Simpson seems to have figured out what Thayer wanted for his magazine, and he made his first appearance in Doubt 20 (March 1948), just about a year after his first letter to Russell and ten months since he confessed his confusion. Fittingly, the credit actually went to both Elsender and Simpson for sending in the same story—it must have appeared in a local newspaper. The clipping referred to frogs falling on Towyn, Merionethshire, August 14 1947 during a “thick mist.” Supposedly, brooms and shovels were barely enough to keep the amphibians from invading houses.
Another year passed, from which no correspondence survives—if there was any—and Simpson did not appear in Doubt. But he seems to have continued to learn Thayer’s ways and the Fortean philosophy, and correspond to some extent. He next appeared in Doubt 24 (April 1949), with an excerpt from a letter he sent, printed with excerpts from other letters, under title “Hi-Spots in Mail,” a feature Thayer occasionally ran. Simpson wrote,
“Here is a matter that I regard of being of first cals importance to your English section of our Society, and for that reason, and for others that I will refer to later on, I trust you that you will give it the widest possible publicity.
“Very early on in the Phoney War II it seeped out in the press,—if I remember aright,—that reservoirs intended for storing driving water in England would contain something or other likely to protect it from contamination from enemy action, but no exact details were revealed as to the nature of this substance, chemical or what-have-you. We never did get to know informative details about this preventative until very recently when I spotted an announcement in the English “News-Chronicle” daily, stating that experiments were being made by the Ministry of Education, South Shields, to determine what effect the use of Fluorine added to the drinking water during war time emergency had upon the childrens’ teeth in that area.
“I thereupon wrote a lengthy later to the ’N-C’ people on this matter wherein I pointed out details of the chemical properties of fluorine, and the filthy and corrupt effects it had, in its gaseous condition (NB:—refer to your own encyclopedia for confirmation!) and I intimated that I blamed the use of this ‘poisonous substance’ for being the root cause of a very acute and irritating skin eruption that attacked masses of our children at frequent periods, which resulted in the appearance of large red and watery ‘blebs’ that cause appalling irritation and misery. My own child has suffered agonies through its agency, and still does, but perhaps not quite tot he same extent.
“I also told the ’N-C’ of an occasion a few years back when at a semi-public meeting where a Doctor was to lecture on some aspect of soil fertility, I posed a question to this Doctor on the matter of adulteration of our drinking water and its effect upon our health, but the knowing one, calmly hedged and dismissed the matter as one quite outside his capacity, and vaguely hinting that the point was being investigated elsewhere.
“Despite my hopes the N-C have taken no steps to reveal the substance of my letter, which is not surprising in view of the furious outcry that would have arisen had they published. Later, I sent a condensed version of this theme to the weekly periodical ‘Illustrated’ but here again, I have received no word of reply nor do I think now that this letter will be permitted to appear, in the interests of our public conscience or to protect more important interests hidden behind the scenes.”
I have every reason to suspect that Simpson believed every word he wrote; nonetheless, the letter could hardly have been better calculated to pique Thayer’s interest. (And Russell’s, for that matter.) Russell was constantly going on about the adulteration of modern food; Thayer was concerned with that, too, but was even more bothered by fluoridation of water, which he ranked as one of the top ten concerns for Forteans. Simpson also managed to mock World War II as a hoax. He pointed out the perfidy of the press, the government, and the medical profession. And he expressed a paranoid vision of society, in which the peons are guinea pigs for those who have the power. It was a perfect capsule of Thayer’s socio-political ideas.
Despite this paranoia, there’s evidence that Simpson—like most people—also had to rely on expertise. In April and May 1949, he was in correspondence with K. F. Chackett at the University of Durham observatory. Simpson wanted to know how to get accurate measurements with his barometer, which implies he was also keeping track of the weather. Maybe that was for Fortean purposes, maybe something else. (Note: I have not seen the letters, but only know they exist from a finding guide the records of the observatory, held at the university.)
There’s more confusion with Simpson’s next letter to Russell, which was telegrammed 7 June 1949. “Congrats for your illuminating lunar article in May ‘Tomorrow.’ Sorry hitherto unable to fork out Fortean dues but now enclose Fraud [sic] Stamps to cover previous commission. Be sure to report payment to head office soonest. K.R.’s best wishes. Ed. H. Simpson.”
The confusion: I don’t know who K.R. is. His wife, perhaps? I do not know why Simpson had bene having trouble paying his dues—in fact, I do not know his occupation from this time at all. (Thayer did not acknowledge Simpson’s re-upping in his correspondence with Russell.) That he called the payment “Fraud Stamps,” though, shows that he was still disinclined toward authority. Nor do I know what article in Tomorrow Simpson is referring to. I have no access to the magazine. It may, however, have been a reworking of “How High is The Sky,” an article published by James Blish’s amateur magazine “Tmbrils” in 1948. In that article, Russell first argued that going to the moon was ridiculous—based on science’s own standards: the trip was a quarter of a million miles long, would cost lots and lots of money, and would only succeed—if it succeeded—in placing humans on a barren rock. It then shifted gears, and trumpeted the work of P. A. Pollini and E. I. Azzario, mentioned in Doubt, which suggested, based on arcane reasoning, that the moon was both close than conventional astronomics would have it, and likely populated by humans.
For the next several years, it is only possible to follow Simpson through his activities in Doubt. He is mentioned three times in Doubt 30 (October 1950): first is in a list of members who sent in material on flying saucers; second is in a list of members who contributed stories on “No Such Animal”s, or cryptozoology; third was in a list of members who had contributed articles on whales. Two issues later—Doubt 32, March 1951—his name appeared twice. The first was credit for a story about a journalist in London who called a foreign embassy for some information. No one allowed to speak to her was in, so she asked the person on the phone if he could help her. He responded, “This is nobody at all speaking.” So, again with the paranoia about—and ridicule of—the powers that be.
The second was more substantial. He received his own headline and just under two full pages. The headline was “Simpson’s Grist”—so he had made it, just as he had wanted to do, emulating Elsender and Russell. He did so by extending Fort backwards in time: Fort had set 1800 as an arbitrary floor in his search for anomalous reports. Simpson was going through the “British Annual Register” from 1761, extracting Forteana, and the column was a collection of what Thayer called “the high spots:” inexplicable swells in Loch Ness; a shower of yellow powder; an earthquake accompanied by a rumbling noise; a fire that burned an iron chest buried under sand; a sea monster; a Venusian satellite; more earthquakes; a comet; more unusual waves in bodies of water; huge hailstones; more storms and quakes; smoke for a volcano-like hill in the midst of a storm.
Two issues later, there was a reprise, titled “More Simpson: 1761” with more of the same kinds of reports. It ran for over two pages. This column, though, included, as well, data from a later Register (1819) and the “New Wonderful Magazine” (1794). Later in the issue, Simpson wondered if the Society should “adopt” either of two spots described in a 1859 book about Ireland, both named Charles Fort. As far as I can tell, nothing came of this suggestion. And Simpson didn’t appear in Doubt again for over a year. Perhaps he was busy. The year 1951 is the only one for which I can find him having a profession. He is listed in “A Directory of Dealers in Secondhand and Antiquarian Books.” We can be sure it is the Fortean Simpson because his home address is listed. Simpson was only to be seen by appointment; his specialties were local history and railway time tables. It was not until April 1952 that his name appeared in Doubt again, and that was a generic credit, unattachable to any particular contribution.
The next bit of his correspondence with Russell that is archived in Russell’s papers came a few months later, in July. It was a brief note, an attempt at paying when paying was difficult because of exchange rates and the shortage of cash in England: “I enclose a batch of I.R.C. [International Reply Coupons] certificates the have just reached me from New York. Perhaps these will prove acceptable as payment on my dues to the Fortean Society, but if not please let me know. Kind regards, sincerely, Ed. H. Simpson (MFS).” There was a postscript, showing the math: 20x11’=2 1/5 dollars. There was no mention of the payment in the correspondence between Russell and Thayer, but presumably the payment was good enough, since Simpson remained a member and continued to use the method.
The next couple of years are pretty much a blank. Simpson’s name appears in Doubt 38 (October 1952), but in a long list of credits only. He’s not in the magazine again until Doubt 48, April 1955. He seems to be following the trend of a number of Forteans who became interested in the Society during the immediate aftermath of World War II, but dropped out in the early 1950s. Simpson, though, despite his lack of engagement—or despite Thayer’s not bothering to print what he sent in—continued to have enthusiasm for the Fortean project. His April 1955 contribution was among those Thayer considered for the (mock) first prize he handed out each issue for the best bit of Forteana. It concerned a gold fish which had jumped out of its bowl; replaced, it could not swim, until the owner tied a bit of cork to its back. (A similar story made the news last year.)
April 1955 also saw Simpson renewing his correspondence with Russell, albeit again just to send in dues. On the 28th he wrote, “Herewith please find postal order value eight shillings to cover Fortean Society dues overdue. Apologising for the delay!”
Thayer did acknowledge this catching-up of dues, in a letter sent to Russell in June. He then appeared in Doubt a few months later, issue 49 from August 1955, with two clippings. The first continued the paranoid theme, noting that soapless detergents fatten pigs, but cost more than pork itself. So did the second, an announcement that America’s first supply of commercial electricity from an atomic plant would start soon. Thayer thought the story had been otherwise buried—more craven behavior by the elite.
The following year saw Elsender’s death, which became wrapped up in Simpson’s story, and throws some light on his activities. Thayer attached notice of Elsender’s passing to his last column, issue 52, May 1956, noting in passing that Simpson was a friend. As mentioned above, that probably overstates the relationship. The cause of the death seems to have been pneumonia; Elsender was reluctant to see doctors, and only did so when the neighbor who watch dover him forced him to do so. There was subsequently a scramble over his property, and Simpson was hoping to look at his vast library, but suspected most of it had been sold off. The passing prompted some reminiscing by Thayer:
“So, now Elsender follows Lindner to nowhere. I am very sorry to hear it. This past year has been particularly hard upon friends of mine. Ten or more have gone--with shocking suddenness. . . Elsender had a niche of his own with us. His mystical leanings supplied a vast quantity of data that could not be used.” He was happy that Simpson had written and remarked that Simpson has “a flair for the unusual in data himself. He sends me out of date railway time tables.” If this is even partially true, it may explain why Simpson’s name appeared relatively infrequently during the 1950s. Thayer was making a harder turn tot he political at the time, with less connection to Theosophers and other mystically-inclined Forteans. So he wasn’t using everything either Elsender or Simpson provided, finding it too far from Forteanism as he understood it. Nonetheless, Simpson paid his dues in late 1956 and was credited for it by Thayer in December.
Simpson continued active after Elsender’s passing, perhaps feeling the pressure to fill in for him, who had sent in so much material. He also divulged a bit more information about himself. In June 1957 (Doubt 54), Thayer reported that Simpson was “one of Britian’s leading nudists/naturists” and was looking to correspond with others who shared the interest. That Simpson was a nudist and still considered Elsender particularly odd goes some length in expressing just how strange Elsender must have seemed to others.
He appeared three times in issue 55 (November 1957). The first dealt with the International Geophysical Year (but was otherwise unspecified); the second death with unusual rains (bit was otherwise unspecified); the third dealt with flying saucers (but was otherwise unspecified). He was apparently in correspondence with Thayer, as Thayer asked Russell about a rumor Simpson had passed on, that a single person, H. L. Dor, was buying up all the newspapers on the Isle of Man.
Simpson next appeared in Doubt 57 (July 1958), with several credits. One was considered for Thayer’s fake first prize. It was press release announcing the “discovery”—Thayer’s quotes—of Nobelium. He sent in material on a fiery fall in Holland, footprints on the bottom of the ocean; and other material which is not traceable. Thayer also noted, in a September letter to Russell, that Simpson had paid his dues for the year. In October, his name appeared once in Doubt 58. It concerned the establishment, in Cambridge, of the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory—so named because the company Mullard donated a large sum of money. More perfidy among the elites. Simpson’s final appearance came in the next issue, January 1959. It was a credit—not otherwise specified—for a report about an unusual fall.
Simpson’s last known interaction with Forteanism came in a eulogy for the Society. Thayer died in August 1959, and with it the Fortean Society. Simpson learned of it in a January letter from Russell. He replied on the 5th:
“I am deeply at a loss for suitable words that will convey to you my utmost regrets and sorrow arising from your letter of the 2nd inst, conveying the sad news of T.T.’s sudden passing at Nantucket during his holiday there!
“This seems to me to be little short of being a catastrophe not only to his many friends and relations but to all the membership of the F.S. who, loved him, one and all! [sic]
“From what you tell me, he was, almost in himself, the essence of the Fortean Society, the work of which he seems to have tackled almost entirely on his own, and I cannot help but thing the with his passing, the Society cannot continue, in being, unless adequate steps are taken by his wife with enough help to cope from other members resident in New York, so that the archives can be protected, and the magazine published as hitherto!
“That altogether raises a terrific problem, which will require much combined effort to overcome and discharge, so I am doubtful about the Magazine or the Society being able to continue. Over here in Britain as you rightly say, you and I and the few remaining stalwarts over here are powerless to do anything.
“I appreciate your kind gesture in returning my subs, in the distressing circumstances, and await further news from you as soon as anything cogent is forthcoming.
“When next writing to Mrs Thayer, please convey to he army distress, condolences and deep sympathy.
“With Best wishes, Yours sincerely, Ed H Simpson
“PS: I have a copy of a old book ‘Ancient Sea Margins’ which seems to support the Drayson theory, also Hoerbiger’s cosmic theory. If it is unknown to you and likely to be of any interest, I will send it to you for keeps, whenever you say. I am still wanting the Omnibus, but, alas, am not able to meet the cost of a new volume.”
Simpson’s read of the Fortean Society’s structure and future was spot on, but what catches the attention is the last line of his postscript. He still didn’t have Fort’s omnibus edition—which means he almost certainly had not read the entire Fortean corpus, likely only Lo!, maybe Book of the Damned, but nothing more than that—and perhaps nothing at all. Meaning his entire sense of Forteanism had come through the Society and not Fort at all—well, through the Society and through Russell.
One wishes there was a lot more information on Simpson. Not only his birth and death and what he did for a living, but his intellectual make up. He was a nudist—how did that contribute to his Forteanism? He obviously had developed interests in the paranormal and secularism. How did those interact with each other and with what he got out of the Fortean Society? What did he see in the old rail time tables that he thought to be of Fortean interest?
So many questions . . .
“Further to your kind letter of the 9th February last, I am now free to follow up my desire to join the famous FORTEAN SOCIETY, and accordingly I have pleasure in submitting to you personally the sum of Eight Shillings against my first annual subscription.
“Please do your best ti make me feel ‘at home’ in every way possible. I also look forward to receiving a copy of the official magazine and to reading further smashing articles by you in the future issues of “TOMMORROW’. [sic].
“With kind regards and good wishes, Yours faithfully, Ed. H. Simpson.”
Reflecting the difficulties of international mail in the years just after World War II, Thayer did not acknowledge the new member for another two months, 21 June 1947. Meanwhile, Simpson received a letter from Russell—one of Russell’s letters survive—and the latest issue of Doubt, which would have been Doubt 16, from late in 1946. Simpson enjoyed it—in a post-script he both asked for Russell to stop by if he was in the area, and if the Fortean Society provided badges for its members—but wasn’t quite sure how to read the magazine yet, because of gaps in his knowledge, Thayer’s in-speak, and his unfamiliarity with American dating conventions. He wrote to Russell on 9 May 1947, and the second-half show his confusion:
“Many thanks for your kind letter which you sent with the new issue of ‘Doubt’. This tickles my palate & I am gratified that you & MFS [Tom] Elsender are cited as news-informers. I should very much like to be able to do likewise if only you can help me by giving me the dope upon what to look out for.
“Pardon my ignorance, but I am still strange to the inner meanings of several of the bracketed word (reverse) that features so often in Fort’s scrapboxes? How do I elucidate a date such as 11-15-46 old style? Does the middle figure constitute the particular week instead o month?
“Page 257 Col III mentions ‘Russell Grist’, which of course is yourself, but [where?] & what & who is Dagg and how is he or it tied up with ‘Tomorrow’? Reference meant to American edition perhaps—or?
“Sorry if I’m butting in on your valuable time but I must know, so do try & tell me! Thanks a lot!”
If the second-half of the letter shows he was a neophyte Fortean (and didn’t follow “Tomorrow” especially closely, not recognizing its editor’s name), the first half explained his intellectual background. Simpson belong to that class of Fortean—along with Lou Alt, Hugh Robert Orr, C. G. Patterson, and Edwin Wilson—who came to the Fortean Society out of the free thought movement. This movement had developed in the late part of the nineteenth century and was associated with secularism and resistance to religious traditions—of varying strengths, as the Unitarians were also connected to free thought. After a period of relative quiescence during the first part of the twentieth century, it returned in the 1930s. Simpson was a reader of at least two free thought periodicals—“The Free Thinker,” a British magazine founded in 1881, and “The Freethought News,” which had only put out its first issue in February 1947—and seemed to know the editor of at least one. He started that 9 May letter,
“Dear Mr. Russell, Greetings!
“I verily believe that the pith [?] of a remarkable letter quoted in the ‘Sugar Plums’ column of this week-end’s ‘Freethinker’ is to be attributable to you. I therefore make bold to hasten to congratulate you upon it, and I only wish I could be sure that I have read all that your letters to a Liverpool newspaper contained. In this connection may I mention (if still unknown to you) the existance [sic] of a new forethought periodical—‘The Freethought News’, 174 Manchester Road Bradford, whose editor is—F.J. Corina, a well known anti-Catholic go-getter. He will, I know greatly appreciate any contributions you can put in his way, so please do not neglect this channel.”
Corina wrote to Russell later that month—28 May—sending him all the copies to date and adding him to the subscription list. Whether that was at Simpson’s behest or Russell had reached out to Corina is not known. Meanwhile, Simpson was becoming more intrigued by Forteanism, felt more welcomed into the fold, and was looking for more to read on the subject. He wrote to Russell on 20 June: “After patiently waiting during the past few weeks, I am now pleased to inform you that Headquarters have written and sent me my official membership card. As I have a thirst to imbibe more and more Fortean philosophy, I hope you will try and let me have any old back numbers of the magazine which provides such extraordinary and thrilling reading.”
This letter was likely sent just after Simpson had received Doubt 17—it reached Britain in June 1947—and so he would have otherwise been caught up. Apparently, the membership card was as good as a badge. In lieu of further reading, Simpson (finally) reached out to Elsender, and sent a copy of his introductory letter to Russell as well: “Dear Sir, I herewith send you a copy letter addressed to your colleague at Liverpool from which you will doubtless be interested to learn that I am not a member of the Fortean Society. Mr Russell told me some time ago to contact you, and therefore if I can be of any service please let me know. Yours faithfully, Ed H Simpson.”
There followed a long break in the correspondence. It is likely that Simpson made the personal acquaintance of Elsender, but not that they became fast friends, bonding over Forteanism. A letter to Russell announcing Elsender’s death (dated 7 March 1956) had Simpson referring to him as “Tommy” but also noting “Tommy was always regarded locally as a very queer and eccentric character. Had a pronounced feminine personality, and spoke in a rather high pitched voice. He was very tall, with a mop of silver hair and liked his drop of gin at the local pub that he always patronised, known as ‘The Black Horse’. . . . During the latter part of his life I occasionally saw him, but I never spoke to or accosted him as he insisted upon keeping aloof from me.”
But during this time Simpson seems to have figured out what Thayer wanted for his magazine, and he made his first appearance in Doubt 20 (March 1948), just about a year after his first letter to Russell and ten months since he confessed his confusion. Fittingly, the credit actually went to both Elsender and Simpson for sending in the same story—it must have appeared in a local newspaper. The clipping referred to frogs falling on Towyn, Merionethshire, August 14 1947 during a “thick mist.” Supposedly, brooms and shovels were barely enough to keep the amphibians from invading houses.
Another year passed, from which no correspondence survives—if there was any—and Simpson did not appear in Doubt. But he seems to have continued to learn Thayer’s ways and the Fortean philosophy, and correspond to some extent. He next appeared in Doubt 24 (April 1949), with an excerpt from a letter he sent, printed with excerpts from other letters, under title “Hi-Spots in Mail,” a feature Thayer occasionally ran. Simpson wrote,
“Here is a matter that I regard of being of first cals importance to your English section of our Society, and for that reason, and for others that I will refer to later on, I trust you that you will give it the widest possible publicity.
“Very early on in the Phoney War II it seeped out in the press,—if I remember aright,—that reservoirs intended for storing driving water in England would contain something or other likely to protect it from contamination from enemy action, but no exact details were revealed as to the nature of this substance, chemical or what-have-you. We never did get to know informative details about this preventative until very recently when I spotted an announcement in the English “News-Chronicle” daily, stating that experiments were being made by the Ministry of Education, South Shields, to determine what effect the use of Fluorine added to the drinking water during war time emergency had upon the childrens’ teeth in that area.
“I thereupon wrote a lengthy later to the ’N-C’ people on this matter wherein I pointed out details of the chemical properties of fluorine, and the filthy and corrupt effects it had, in its gaseous condition (NB:—refer to your own encyclopedia for confirmation!) and I intimated that I blamed the use of this ‘poisonous substance’ for being the root cause of a very acute and irritating skin eruption that attacked masses of our children at frequent periods, which resulted in the appearance of large red and watery ‘blebs’ that cause appalling irritation and misery. My own child has suffered agonies through its agency, and still does, but perhaps not quite tot he same extent.
“I also told the ’N-C’ of an occasion a few years back when at a semi-public meeting where a Doctor was to lecture on some aspect of soil fertility, I posed a question to this Doctor on the matter of adulteration of our drinking water and its effect upon our health, but the knowing one, calmly hedged and dismissed the matter as one quite outside his capacity, and vaguely hinting that the point was being investigated elsewhere.
“Despite my hopes the N-C have taken no steps to reveal the substance of my letter, which is not surprising in view of the furious outcry that would have arisen had they published. Later, I sent a condensed version of this theme to the weekly periodical ‘Illustrated’ but here again, I have received no word of reply nor do I think now that this letter will be permitted to appear, in the interests of our public conscience or to protect more important interests hidden behind the scenes.”
I have every reason to suspect that Simpson believed every word he wrote; nonetheless, the letter could hardly have been better calculated to pique Thayer’s interest. (And Russell’s, for that matter.) Russell was constantly going on about the adulteration of modern food; Thayer was concerned with that, too, but was even more bothered by fluoridation of water, which he ranked as one of the top ten concerns for Forteans. Simpson also managed to mock World War II as a hoax. He pointed out the perfidy of the press, the government, and the medical profession. And he expressed a paranoid vision of society, in which the peons are guinea pigs for those who have the power. It was a perfect capsule of Thayer’s socio-political ideas.
Despite this paranoia, there’s evidence that Simpson—like most people—also had to rely on expertise. In April and May 1949, he was in correspondence with K. F. Chackett at the University of Durham observatory. Simpson wanted to know how to get accurate measurements with his barometer, which implies he was also keeping track of the weather. Maybe that was for Fortean purposes, maybe something else. (Note: I have not seen the letters, but only know they exist from a finding guide the records of the observatory, held at the university.)
There’s more confusion with Simpson’s next letter to Russell, which was telegrammed 7 June 1949. “Congrats for your illuminating lunar article in May ‘Tomorrow.’ Sorry hitherto unable to fork out Fortean dues but now enclose Fraud [sic] Stamps to cover previous commission. Be sure to report payment to head office soonest. K.R.’s best wishes. Ed. H. Simpson.”
The confusion: I don’t know who K.R. is. His wife, perhaps? I do not know why Simpson had bene having trouble paying his dues—in fact, I do not know his occupation from this time at all. (Thayer did not acknowledge Simpson’s re-upping in his correspondence with Russell.) That he called the payment “Fraud Stamps,” though, shows that he was still disinclined toward authority. Nor do I know what article in Tomorrow Simpson is referring to. I have no access to the magazine. It may, however, have been a reworking of “How High is The Sky,” an article published by James Blish’s amateur magazine “Tmbrils” in 1948. In that article, Russell first argued that going to the moon was ridiculous—based on science’s own standards: the trip was a quarter of a million miles long, would cost lots and lots of money, and would only succeed—if it succeeded—in placing humans on a barren rock. It then shifted gears, and trumpeted the work of P. A. Pollini and E. I. Azzario, mentioned in Doubt, which suggested, based on arcane reasoning, that the moon was both close than conventional astronomics would have it, and likely populated by humans.
For the next several years, it is only possible to follow Simpson through his activities in Doubt. He is mentioned three times in Doubt 30 (October 1950): first is in a list of members who sent in material on flying saucers; second is in a list of members who contributed stories on “No Such Animal”s, or cryptozoology; third was in a list of members who had contributed articles on whales. Two issues later—Doubt 32, March 1951—his name appeared twice. The first was credit for a story about a journalist in London who called a foreign embassy for some information. No one allowed to speak to her was in, so she asked the person on the phone if he could help her. He responded, “This is nobody at all speaking.” So, again with the paranoia about—and ridicule of—the powers that be.
The second was more substantial. He received his own headline and just under two full pages. The headline was “Simpson’s Grist”—so he had made it, just as he had wanted to do, emulating Elsender and Russell. He did so by extending Fort backwards in time: Fort had set 1800 as an arbitrary floor in his search for anomalous reports. Simpson was going through the “British Annual Register” from 1761, extracting Forteana, and the column was a collection of what Thayer called “the high spots:” inexplicable swells in Loch Ness; a shower of yellow powder; an earthquake accompanied by a rumbling noise; a fire that burned an iron chest buried under sand; a sea monster; a Venusian satellite; more earthquakes; a comet; more unusual waves in bodies of water; huge hailstones; more storms and quakes; smoke for a volcano-like hill in the midst of a storm.
Two issues later, there was a reprise, titled “More Simpson: 1761” with more of the same kinds of reports. It ran for over two pages. This column, though, included, as well, data from a later Register (1819) and the “New Wonderful Magazine” (1794). Later in the issue, Simpson wondered if the Society should “adopt” either of two spots described in a 1859 book about Ireland, both named Charles Fort. As far as I can tell, nothing came of this suggestion. And Simpson didn’t appear in Doubt again for over a year. Perhaps he was busy. The year 1951 is the only one for which I can find him having a profession. He is listed in “A Directory of Dealers in Secondhand and Antiquarian Books.” We can be sure it is the Fortean Simpson because his home address is listed. Simpson was only to be seen by appointment; his specialties were local history and railway time tables. It was not until April 1952 that his name appeared in Doubt again, and that was a generic credit, unattachable to any particular contribution.
The next bit of his correspondence with Russell that is archived in Russell’s papers came a few months later, in July. It was a brief note, an attempt at paying when paying was difficult because of exchange rates and the shortage of cash in England: “I enclose a batch of I.R.C. [International Reply Coupons] certificates the have just reached me from New York. Perhaps these will prove acceptable as payment on my dues to the Fortean Society, but if not please let me know. Kind regards, sincerely, Ed. H. Simpson (MFS).” There was a postscript, showing the math: 20x11’=2 1/5 dollars. There was no mention of the payment in the correspondence between Russell and Thayer, but presumably the payment was good enough, since Simpson remained a member and continued to use the method.
The next couple of years are pretty much a blank. Simpson’s name appears in Doubt 38 (October 1952), but in a long list of credits only. He’s not in the magazine again until Doubt 48, April 1955. He seems to be following the trend of a number of Forteans who became interested in the Society during the immediate aftermath of World War II, but dropped out in the early 1950s. Simpson, though, despite his lack of engagement—or despite Thayer’s not bothering to print what he sent in—continued to have enthusiasm for the Fortean project. His April 1955 contribution was among those Thayer considered for the (mock) first prize he handed out each issue for the best bit of Forteana. It concerned a gold fish which had jumped out of its bowl; replaced, it could not swim, until the owner tied a bit of cork to its back. (A similar story made the news last year.)
April 1955 also saw Simpson renewing his correspondence with Russell, albeit again just to send in dues. On the 28th he wrote, “Herewith please find postal order value eight shillings to cover Fortean Society dues overdue. Apologising for the delay!”
Thayer did acknowledge this catching-up of dues, in a letter sent to Russell in June. He then appeared in Doubt a few months later, issue 49 from August 1955, with two clippings. The first continued the paranoid theme, noting that soapless detergents fatten pigs, but cost more than pork itself. So did the second, an announcement that America’s first supply of commercial electricity from an atomic plant would start soon. Thayer thought the story had been otherwise buried—more craven behavior by the elite.
The following year saw Elsender’s death, which became wrapped up in Simpson’s story, and throws some light on his activities. Thayer attached notice of Elsender’s passing to his last column, issue 52, May 1956, noting in passing that Simpson was a friend. As mentioned above, that probably overstates the relationship. The cause of the death seems to have been pneumonia; Elsender was reluctant to see doctors, and only did so when the neighbor who watch dover him forced him to do so. There was subsequently a scramble over his property, and Simpson was hoping to look at his vast library, but suspected most of it had been sold off. The passing prompted some reminiscing by Thayer:
“So, now Elsender follows Lindner to nowhere. I am very sorry to hear it. This past year has been particularly hard upon friends of mine. Ten or more have gone--with shocking suddenness. . . Elsender had a niche of his own with us. His mystical leanings supplied a vast quantity of data that could not be used.” He was happy that Simpson had written and remarked that Simpson has “a flair for the unusual in data himself. He sends me out of date railway time tables.” If this is even partially true, it may explain why Simpson’s name appeared relatively infrequently during the 1950s. Thayer was making a harder turn tot he political at the time, with less connection to Theosophers and other mystically-inclined Forteans. So he wasn’t using everything either Elsender or Simpson provided, finding it too far from Forteanism as he understood it. Nonetheless, Simpson paid his dues in late 1956 and was credited for it by Thayer in December.
Simpson continued active after Elsender’s passing, perhaps feeling the pressure to fill in for him, who had sent in so much material. He also divulged a bit more information about himself. In June 1957 (Doubt 54), Thayer reported that Simpson was “one of Britian’s leading nudists/naturists” and was looking to correspond with others who shared the interest. That Simpson was a nudist and still considered Elsender particularly odd goes some length in expressing just how strange Elsender must have seemed to others.
He appeared three times in issue 55 (November 1957). The first dealt with the International Geophysical Year (but was otherwise unspecified); the second death with unusual rains (bit was otherwise unspecified); the third dealt with flying saucers (but was otherwise unspecified). He was apparently in correspondence with Thayer, as Thayer asked Russell about a rumor Simpson had passed on, that a single person, H. L. Dor, was buying up all the newspapers on the Isle of Man.
Simpson next appeared in Doubt 57 (July 1958), with several credits. One was considered for Thayer’s fake first prize. It was press release announcing the “discovery”—Thayer’s quotes—of Nobelium. He sent in material on a fiery fall in Holland, footprints on the bottom of the ocean; and other material which is not traceable. Thayer also noted, in a September letter to Russell, that Simpson had paid his dues for the year. In October, his name appeared once in Doubt 58. It concerned the establishment, in Cambridge, of the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory—so named because the company Mullard donated a large sum of money. More perfidy among the elites. Simpson’s final appearance came in the next issue, January 1959. It was a credit—not otherwise specified—for a report about an unusual fall.
Simpson’s last known interaction with Forteanism came in a eulogy for the Society. Thayer died in August 1959, and with it the Fortean Society. Simpson learned of it in a January letter from Russell. He replied on the 5th:
“I am deeply at a loss for suitable words that will convey to you my utmost regrets and sorrow arising from your letter of the 2nd inst, conveying the sad news of T.T.’s sudden passing at Nantucket during his holiday there!
“This seems to me to be little short of being a catastrophe not only to his many friends and relations but to all the membership of the F.S. who, loved him, one and all! [sic]
“From what you tell me, he was, almost in himself, the essence of the Fortean Society, the work of which he seems to have tackled almost entirely on his own, and I cannot help but thing the with his passing, the Society cannot continue, in being, unless adequate steps are taken by his wife with enough help to cope from other members resident in New York, so that the archives can be protected, and the magazine published as hitherto!
“That altogether raises a terrific problem, which will require much combined effort to overcome and discharge, so I am doubtful about the Magazine or the Society being able to continue. Over here in Britain as you rightly say, you and I and the few remaining stalwarts over here are powerless to do anything.
“I appreciate your kind gesture in returning my subs, in the distressing circumstances, and await further news from you as soon as anything cogent is forthcoming.
“When next writing to Mrs Thayer, please convey to he army distress, condolences and deep sympathy.
“With Best wishes, Yours sincerely, Ed H Simpson
“PS: I have a copy of a old book ‘Ancient Sea Margins’ which seems to support the Drayson theory, also Hoerbiger’s cosmic theory. If it is unknown to you and likely to be of any interest, I will send it to you for keeps, whenever you say. I am still wanting the Omnibus, but, alas, am not able to meet the cost of a new volume.”
Simpson’s read of the Fortean Society’s structure and future was spot on, but what catches the attention is the last line of his postscript. He still didn’t have Fort’s omnibus edition—which means he almost certainly had not read the entire Fortean corpus, likely only Lo!, maybe Book of the Damned, but nothing more than that—and perhaps nothing at all. Meaning his entire sense of Forteanism had come through the Society and not Fort at all—well, through the Society and through Russell.
One wishes there was a lot more information on Simpson. Not only his birth and death and what he did for a living, but his intellectual make up. He was a nudist—how did that contribute to his Forteanism? He obviously had developed interests in the paranormal and secularism. How did those interact with each other and with what he got out of the Fortean Society? What did he see in the old rail time tables that he thought to be of Fortean interest?
So many questions . . .
