Rebutting the Nazi Room

The history guide

The latest controversy involving figures involved in the Highgate Vampire case are the Nazi Room allegations made by Sean Manchester's former friend, Kevin Chesham. 

Chesham alleges Manchester secretly admires Nazis and collects associated paraphernalia. There have been two primary rebuttals to Chesham's claims. The first comes from spider-blogger, Steatoda Nobilis. His blog, Kevin Chesham - Triathlete - Fascist, features doctored pictures, Nazi-related images and a letter reportedly from Chesham to an unnamed 'Brother', extolling the virtues of British fascist, Oswald Mosley (1896–1980). Interestingly, Manchester refers to 'Br. Kevin Chesham' in his 1995 book documenting the founding of his church¹; despite Chesham's Buddhist beliefs.

The second rebuttal comes from Manchester, himself. It's titled, well—as of this writing, it doesn't actually have a title. Instead, it features a quote from Chesham: "The struggle can take many turns and directions", balanced off with a quote from William Shakespeare's Henry VI, part III: 'The smallest worm will turn, being trodden on.'

Manchester dismisses the contents of the 'Nazi room' with militaria from other periods. There are two allusions to the Nazi stuff, firstly: 'German militaria is by far the most popular and most expensive. There are, however, certain items from World War Two that were given me by folk I knew when I was very young (who brought them back from Europe) on the proviso that I did not sell them on. I shall honour that request.' Secondly, 'I have in the past displayed my twentieth century militaria, largely but not exclusively Second World War, in a place where they could be viewed by visitors for inspection.' Militaria is defined as 'collected or collectible military  objects, as uniforms and firearms, having historical interest.'

One must question the 'militaria' claim on closer inspection of the room's contents. For instance, a silver-framed picture of Adolf Hitler adorns the wall. Second, a newspaper article—also silver-framed—sits on the desk. It's titled, 'One in four Germans admires the Nazis'. The article does not date from World War 2: it was published in The Daily Mail's 18 October 2007 issue. Indeed, the Nazi room pictures were taken that same year. Manchester's bookshelf, also pictured, is lined with books on Nazism.

Yet Manchester alleges that Chesham—and his wife, Beverley Mason—are fascists. Not him. Manchester believes Chesham 'became drawn to me because I had met Sir Oswald and Lady Diana Mosley in the early 1960s and, like Kevin, found their incarceration without trial during the Second World War to be unjust.' Manchester also mentions his association with people of far-right—and far-left—views, but omits John Pope, who was embroiled in Manchester's 'phoney Nazis' debacle. 'Raggety Ricketts' notes Manchester has retained associated items from this period. For all this, it is Chesham's friendship with David Farrant, that has rendered him a 'Judas'.

Speaking of which, Manchester's 'archenemy', Farrant, also cops a serve, with his preferences allegedly given to the National Front during the 1978 general election. This, in turn, has been refuted elsewhere.

I am also lumped with Manchester's 'detractors'. My posts on The supernatural world forums have been reproduced, sans citation, i.e. this thread and this one. I commented on Manchester's anti-'just war' policy—which is derived from The Grail Church (1995)—and juxtaposed this stance against his pro-self-defence advocacy, 'the implication being that the Brits should've let the Nazis goose-step all over them and Europe during WW2.' Manchester said, 'I fail to follow that logic'. After defending the right to personal defence, he provided a strange amendment to Britain's involvement in World War 2:

Had Great Britain not declared war on Germany in the wake of a conveniently manufactured agreement with Poland that was designed to be violated, perhaps the sixty million people killed, which was over 2.5% of the world population, might for the most part have survived? Hitler certainly did not want a war with Great Britain on whose Empire he modelled his Third Reich. My country's action resulted in the worst and deadliest military conflict in history. It should have been avoided by every measure available.

At best, this is an incredibly naive stance; Nazi apologia, at worst. Despite Manchester's sizable collection of World War 2 books, he fails to conceive—or deliberately overlooks—that with or without Britain's involvement, Hitler's 'plans' for Europe were quite clear from the get-go. Indeed, Britain was seen as a major obstacle to their aim, despite attempts to avoid war with Germany. This, of course, culminated with Operation: Sea Lion. Rather than model his Third Reich on Britain's empire, he was inspired by the ancient Roman template. Thus the criticism Manchester levels at Britain, is stretching the bounds of credulity.

All up, it doesn't paint a pretty picture for Manchester's rebuttals. If Chesham was, indeed, pro-fascist as Manchester alleges, a similar charge could be levelled at Manchester, consistent with Chesham's own allegations. Add Manchester's pro-BNP sympathies and nationalist leanings to the mix, and you've got a heady cocktail.

What makes these tendencies especially unusual, is Manchester's support for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and criticism of the National Front. You'd think he'd know better. It just goes to show that when it comes to Highgate matters and its associates, things aren't always so clear-cut.

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^{1. S Manchester, The Grail Church: its ancient tradition and renewed flowering, Penmachno, UK, 1995, p. 128.↩}

Caught in the headlights

Pajiba

One notable aspect of the Highgate Vampire case is what I call the 'caught in headlights' trope. Several variants are related by David Farrant and Sean Manchester. They all share the same characteristics: a person is walking past the cemetery at night, they are attacked by a supernatural force, but 'saved' by the the headlights of an oncoming vehicle.

The earliest version I'm familiar with, appeared in the Hampstead & Highgate Express, 15 October 1971:

Mr. Farrant said that last March a girl waslking past the cemetery in Swains Lane was knocked to the ground by a tall, shadowy figure which then disappeared as a car arrived. The road was lined by 12-foot high walls at that point.

The girl reported the attack to police, who could find no trace of her attacker. She had abrasions on her arms and knees but no other marks.¹

In 1975, he expanded the account in an article for New Witchcraft:

A young girl who was walking past the cemetery in the early hours of the morning was suddenly thrown to the ground with tremendous force by "a tall dark figure" which had appeared behind her from nowhere. Luckily at that moment a car came along, and the girl was taken to Highgate Police Station suffering from shock and abrasions to her legs and elbows. The police immediately made a complete search of the area (the road is bordered by 12ft high walls) but were unable to find any trace of her attacker. The figure had "vanished" in the glare of the headlights.²

In 2005, her vocation was revealed as nurse. The account is expanded, further still, on the Friends of David Farrant:

Reports were coming into the Society that a young nurse had been 'attacked' by the 'vampire' in Swains Lane which runs alongside the cemetery. Eventually, the girl's identity was discovered and I arranged a meeting with her. Although reluctant to discuss the matter at first, I assured her anonymity and she gave the following account:

She was returning home in the early hours walking down Swain's Lane. As she passed the cemetery, a little way further on, she was suddenly 'thrown to the ground' with tremendous force by a 'tall black figure' with a 'deathly white face'. At that moment, a car stopped to help her and the figure 'vanished' in the glare of the headlights. She was taken to Highgate Police Station in a state of severe shock suffering abrasions to her knees and elbows. The police immediately made a thorough search of the area but could find no trace of her attacker. More mysterious still was the fact that where the figure had vanished, the cemetery was lined by 15 foot high walls.

However, in 1973, Manchester published a similar account of his own. 'Jacqui Frances, a pretty 22- year-old blonde'—who I've previously mentioned—had been visiting friends in Highgate Village and was making her way 'down the lane past the graveyard', i.e. Swains Lane. She passed the cemetery gate, turned, and saw a 'tall figure of a man with a deathly-white face' staring at her 'from within the cemetery'. She began walking faster, only to notice that the figure had seemingly materialised from the gate and started following her a few yards behind.³

As it closed in, she noted it stood about 7 feet tall and was 'darkly clad'. It also seemed to be hypnotising her. 'Had it not been for the roar of a sports car tearing down the lane, I might have entered a hypnotic trance there and then.'⁴ As with Farrant's account, the spectre disappeared with the car's headlights—except, in this case, it reappeared once the car was gone. When Francis ran to get away, she inadvertently dropped a 'large silver crucifix' she wore. The last 'sign' of the spectre was a hissing sound—atypical of vampire movies—and 'a glimpse of him as he faded in the darkness of the graveyard's 12 foot high brick wall.'⁵

No date for this attack is mentioned, but we can pinpoint it to 1970, as it is mentioned in conjunction with media coverage given to the case that same year. Strangely, Manchester didn't include Francis' account in his contribution to Peter Underwood's 1975 vampire anthology. Instead, the victim appears to have undergone a sex-change:

In first week of February 1970, a twenty-four-year-old man was knocked to the ground and attacked by something which "seemed to glide" from the cemetery. He was much too shaken to write to the press, but it, nevertheless came to my attention via someone he confided in. The description of a "tall figure which swooped" down upon him with the countenance of a "wild animal" was somehow not altogether unfamiliar.⁶

He, too, was 'saved' by the headlights of an oncoming car.

On the surface, it seems Manchester's borrowed Farrant's account for his own and changed a few details. But Manchester's saved from this conclusion by the disclosure of another similar account. Last year, Farrant mentioned the following on The supernatural world forums:

The BPOS into the frequently witnessed seen in and around Highgate Cemetery had in fact been in progress since early 1969. During the course of this, many local people were interviewed that year, and indeed, I published some of these accounts in my first book on that case in 1991. During 1969, the figure repoprted [sic] at Highgate Cemetery was that of a ghost - albeit a fairly malevolent one. The local newspaper (the Ham & High) had taken a serious interest in all the local 'ghost reports', maybe helped by the fact that a similar 'tall dark figure' had been reported locally just a few years earlier. That was said to haunt the Flash [sic] public house and Ye Olde Gatehouse pub. I told that newspaper at that time, that these reports might well be connected.

Then in January a Ham & High reporter contacted me to say they'd received a Press Release to the effect that a lone student (I was only told his name was 'Richard') had been 'attacked' one night by a spectre as he was passing the gates of Highgate Cemetery. The newspaper automatically contacted myself assuming it had come from my Society, but it had not. You surely don't need three guesses to know who was really responsible! This report was never published to my knowledge, although the person responsible for it was to acknowledge this occurrence about a year later on BBC television. This begs the question, of course, as to how hw [sic] could have known about the Ham&High notification if this had never been published?

He elaborated on the Richard account on his Facebook forum, The Highgate Vampire Society:

I know of 3 incidents back from the early 1970’s of people being ‘attacked’ in – or just outside – Highgate Cemetery. The first one occurred in January 1970 and I know about this because a reporter from the local Ham & High newspaper telephoned to ask if my Society knew anything about this. In fact, we didn’t but I was given basic details by this reporter who told me that he was a young student called Richard who attended the North London Polytechnic (as it then was). He had been knocked to the ground quite violently (in Swains Lane just outside the cemetery) by a ‘tall dark figure” which then just promptly disappeared.

The 'person responsible', i.e. Manchester's appearance 'on BBC television' is our lead. Farrant is clearly referring to the 15 October 1970 episode of 24 hours. Here's what Manchester said on the matter: 'As far as we know, it has only physically attacked one male person who had passed by the gate.'

In making a making a correlation between Manchester's comment with the Richard account, Farrant acknowledges that the Richard account actually pre-dates his own with the 'young girl'/'nurse'. Therefore, what I said about the possibility of Manchester borrowing from Farrant's account, now applies to Farrant, instead. We're left with two possibilities. 

Either one of them 'borrowed' the other's account and added their own embellishments, or two separate people encountered an entity—or entities—along Swains Lane, which they were saved from, in nearly identical circumstances. What do you think happened?

I'd like to thank Redmond McWilliams for his assistance in writing this blog entry. Cheers, mate!

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^{1. 'Nude exorcists sought vampire', Hampstead & Highgate Express, 15 October 1971, p. 3.↩}  

^{2. D Farrant, 'Invoking the vampire', New Witchcraft, vol. 1, no. 4, pp. 33–4.↩}  

^{3. S Manchester, 'The world of the vampire', Witchcraft, vol. 2, no. 8, 1973, pp. 53–4.↩}  

^{4. ibid., p. 54.↩}  

^{5. ibid.↩}  

^{6. S Manchester, 'The Highgate vampire', in P Underwood (ed.), The vampire’s bedside companion: the amazing world of vampires in fact and fiction, Leslie Frewin, London, 1975, pp. 105–6.↩}

Bananaskins

I recently discussed Della Farrant's comments on Kai Roberts' write-up of the Highgate vampire case. She took issue with the coverage Roberts gave to David Farrant's 1970 trial for being in an 'enclosed area for an unlawful purpose', i.e. intending on breaking into tombs [to stake a vampire] at Highgate Cemetery.

I contrasted her criticism—'. . . when referring to David Farrant’s arrest for ‘vampire hunting’ in 1970, Kai omits a crucial point. David was, as everybody will remember, acquitted of this charge. The charge itself was being [caught] in an enclosed area for an unlawful purpose'—with what he actually wrote, and quoted a relevant passage.

However, my counter was a bit short-sighted. Roberts wrote more on the case than I realised at the time of writing the blog entry. I should've paid closer attention to his text. My goof. Anyway, here's what he added:

When Farrant's case finally came to trial, he was discharged after his lawyer successfully argued that hunting a vampire was not in itself unlawful and that a cemetery did not satisfy the legal definition of an enclosed space.¹

It's this particular definition Della was unsatisfied with, which is why she added:

Kai was apparently misinformed when he summarises that David was acquitted on 2 technicalities, namely the definition of an enclosed area, and the fact that it is not actually illegal to hunt a vampire. This was not in fact the case. The main indictment in that case was the element of unlawful purpose. That was the only reason David was arrested by police who attempted to persuade the court that his purpose was to break open coffins in search of the reputed vampire. The police evidence (again given under oath) was that David had later told the arresting officer that he intended to drive a wooden stake through the vampire’s heart and then ‘run away’ . . . However…David denied making this statement, in court, and the stipendary [sic] magistrate obviously did not believe the police evidence and so the unlawful purpose element was thrown out of court. The conclusion is clear: that David was not acquitted because it is not illegal to hunt vampires, but because the court did not believe that he was trying to do so in the first place. To inadvertently misguide the reader over this important point is regrettable, as it contrasts sharply with many of Kai’s other points which he has investigated thoroughly.

If Roberts was 'apparently misinformed' about this matter, the 'blame' falls squarely on his source: 'Ellis, p26'², i.e. Bill Ellis' 'The Highgate Cemetery vampire hunt: the Anglo-American connection in satanic cult lore' (1993). Though the source isn't directly correlated with her critique, he does cop a serve—on an entirely different matter: his 'angle regarding the validity of contemporary claims that most of the damage at Highgate Cemetery during the late 1960s and early 1970s was caused by “adolescent gangs expressing rebellion to adult norms or carrying out dares or hoaxes.”'

While her criticism of the way Roberts covered Farrant's acquittal seems reasonable, one can only wonder why she sidestepped Roberts' coverage of the trial's aftermath. After focusing so much on this aspect of the case, you'd think she'd have something to say about it:

Following his acquittal, Farrant made his intention to continue hunting the vampire perfectly clear. The ensuing blaze of publicity saw him holding a nocturnal vigil in the cemetery, accompanied by a reporter [Barrie Simmons] from the Evening News. The article was published on 16th October under the headline "Midnight date with Highgate's Vampire", alongside photographs of Farrant wielding a cross and stake.³

Indeed, Farrant's 10 January 2012 comment to a recent Hampstead & Highgate Express article boasts this event as the first time the cemetery's undead denizen was explicitly labelled the 'Highgate Vampire':

As a matter of interest, the title “The Highgate Vampire” first appeared in an article published in connection with myself in the London Evening News on October 16th 1970. This headline ran “Midnight Vigil for the Highgate Vampire” [sic] and followed a BBC television transmission the evening before which featured myself and my investigation into a ‘vampire-like figure’ that had been sighted in and around Highgate Cemetery.

Roberts mentions the transmission—and Farrant's 'investigation', too:

The previous day, the BBC had broadcast a segment on events at the cemetery as part of their flagship current affairs programme, 24 Hours. It featured reconstructions of both Manchester's exorcism in the vault and Farrant's fateful vampire hunt of 17th August, in which he is once again seen brandishing a cross and stake.⁴

Farrant's YouTube channel features relevant 'excerpts' from this episode—with Manchester's participation cut-out:

Fortunately, Kev Demant's website provides a full transcript of the vampire segment. Instead of an 'investigation into a "vampire-like figure" that had been sighted in and around Highgate Cemetery', the clip features a much more literal rendering: 'Now, in spite of all attempts by the cemetery owners to bar him Farrant and his friends still maintain a regular vigil (of the ?) catacombs in the hope of sighting either the vampire or the Satanists.' Not the first time Farrant's commentary on contemporary coverage doesn't tally with what's represented.

That said, the Simmons article appears to be the first public source to confirm Farrant's unbelief in vampires. At least in 'the commercial sense of the word'; mainly because Farrant clearly believes in a different type of vampire. This explains why he repeatedly emphasises 'bloodsucking vampires' when ridiculing Manchester's account; to take the heat off his own vampiric allusions and publicity-seeking antics. Perhaps Della's critique should've been asking: who was 'inadvertently' misguiding who?

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^{1. K Roberts, Grave concerns: the follies and folklore of Robin Hood's final resting place, CFZ Press, Bideford, U.K, 2011, p. 96.↩}  

^{2. ibid., p. 196, n 39.↩} 

^{3. ibid., p. 96.↩} 

^{4. ibid.↩}

Ja, mein Bischof!

Kevin Chesham - Triathlete

There've long been rumours of a 'nazi room' in Sean Manchester's house. In a comment on his son's blog, David Farrant says: 'The mysterious 'black magic Nazi room' is of course an open secret by now and has been witnessed by many many people, the nazi paraphernalia included.'

However, little has been provided in the way of evidence—no witnesses are named; no photographs shown. Indeed, it's difficult to determine how this rumour began. 

About the best 'proof' I've seen for Manchester's Right-wing sympathies was his involvement in the 'phoney Nazi scandal'—covered by Kev Demant—and his plagiarised blog entry about US President, Barack Obama. The subsequent cover-up didn't help Manchester's case, either.

Until recently, it's been slim pickings, evidence-wise. But the ante's been raised by Kevin Chesham—a former friend of Manchester's—with the publication of the first extract from his upcoming autobiography. His allegations are startling, to say the least:

Sean was a fellow lifeguard and we became friendly. The season at Finchley ended in September and the pool closed. Sean went back to his milk round, but he was sacked and reinvented himself as Lord Manchester, attempting to take candid photographs of passers by, and accosting them for money. He was pitched up on Holloway Road next to a newspaper stall run by a friend of his, known locally as the Eggmane.¹ Sean was told by the police to cease this behaviour on pain of arrest; he then came to me (I was now working at Hornsey Road Public Baths) asking if I could get him a job as a lifeguard.

And that's the tip of the iceberg. From thereon in, Chesham's recollections become decidedly more sinister:

He [Sean] was a great coach but a hard taskmaster. If I was not training hard enough he used to shout "Schnell, schnell ...dummkopfen English, eggs and bacon Englishman”, and when he really got angry..."You vill be shot at dawn"... At the time, I thought it was just his strange sense of humour, although I did find it somewhat disturbing, and it was certainly embarrassing as he often shouted this sort of thing in public (at that stage).

We're then lead to the 'phoney Nazi scandal', coverage of his Church's membership and his animosity toward Farrant. Chesham claims Manchester 'was always very reluctant to discuss the Highgate Vampire case at group dinners et cetera', but I'm aware of one notorious exception. What's particularly disturbing, however, is the kind of table talk Manchester (allegedly) would make:

but I do remember that often, just when the conversation was being diverted away, he would find some reason to slip in one of his favourite Goebbels quotes; that is: "If you tell a big enough lie and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it." I never had much interest in the vampire business by which Sean made his name, but I do recall that whenever he used this phrase, even in unrelated contexts, he and Eggmanne would smile and exchange knowing looks, which made the rest of the party feel rather left out and uncomfortable through their ignorance.

Joseph Goebbels (1897–1945)—for those not-in-the-know—was the Minister for Propaganda under the Nazi regime and 'one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers'.

It gets worse from there. Chesham claims Manchester implied violent actions should be taken against Farrant, 'as long as there was no actual involvement or come back for him.' There's also a discussion on alleged 'cyber warfare':

He boasted about the list of aliases inscribed upon it, and how he used them regularly in a form of cyber warfare, in that, as he described it, he would search the internet for any forum which mentioned himself, David Farrant, or the Highgate Vampire. His modus operandi as he described it was to create an argument, then argue against it under up to 4 or 5  aliases until the conversation got so heated that the forum was closed down.

This certainly puts Craig Adams' compilation of usernames in a whole new light. In internet lingo, such 'identities' are called sockpuppets; 'online identit[ies] used for purposes of deception.'

At this point, you might be wondering why Chesham still chose to remain friends with Manchester, if these allegations hold water. According to him, the turning point came when he and his wife were visiting Manchester for Christmas dinner in 2007. While there, they were invited to a 'locked room upstairs' and—take a look at the photos in Chesham's extract. You'll see for yourself.

As of this writing, Manchester hasn't commented on Chesham's allegations, but is certainly aware of them. But a blogger named 'Steatoda Nobilis' has risen to the challenge. Previously known for their blog, Friends of David Farrant, a compilation of photographs publicly identifying many of Farrant's alleged friends—many of which have been cribbed from Facebook pages—recently created a blog called Kevin Chesham — Triathlete (not to be confused with Chesham's blog of the same name). It is frequently revised, but clearly intends to give the impression that Chesham, himself, has—or had—fascist sympathies, too.

The anonymous blogger's counter-'evidence', however, is flimsy at best. For instance, one entry states, 'Kevin Chesham paying homage to Adolf Hitler in Berlin, a place he has visited many times', but the only 'homage' shown, is Chesham standing next to a picture of Hitler.

Interestingly, the blogger suggests a personal familiarity with Chesham, even though no such thing is disclosed in their profile or in the blog. Apart from reproducing pictures not found in other online sources, Nobilis is even able to provide dates ('Kevin Chesham posing in a blackshirt alongside Third Reich militaria in 2003') and reproduces a letter allegedly written by Chesham in 1998. Unfortunately, many of the images are tainted by Nobilis's horrible 'photoshop' skills.

Interestingly, Nobilis' profile mentions spiders of their genus are 'have a reputation for biting people, although in truth, this is quite a rare occurrence', adding, 'You would need to be very unlucky, or go out of your way to be bitten. They only bite if mishandled or provoked.' What Chesham—or Farrant's friends, for that matter—have done to 'mishandle' or 'provoke' Nobilis, remains unclear.

Further counter-allegations have been made by a member of the Facebook group I co-admin, The Highgate Cemetery Vampire Appreciation Society. Vebjørn Hästehufvud, despite professing no affinity with Manchester, also makes tends to make claims on his behalf, like the following explanation for the prevalence of Nazi paraphernalia in Manchester's house:

He has militaria from medieval times right up to the two world wars. From what I can see, there is little space given to 20th century militaria by comparison to previous centuries of similar material. Anyone visiting would obviously know that, and pictures taken in most of the larger rooms (which he has uploaded) show the 19th century predominating.

This doesn't explain the silver frames surrounding a picture of Adolf Hitler and an article titled 'One in four Germans admires the Nazis' (Daily Mail, 18 October 2007). Nor does it explain the prevalence of Nazi paraphernalia or books. Hästehufvud's idea of a 'little space' is an entire wall and bookshelf crammed with writings about der Führer; mingled with works on vampirism, horror and the occult, no less.

Interestingly, one of the photographs features a portrait of Manchester wearing an armband representing the Christian Nationalist Movement. 'Raggety', a contributor to Chesham's blog suggests the picture was taken 'opposite the house of Br [sic] Sean’s late parents!' This, despite Manchester's claim that 'at no time owed political affiliation to any party', adding 'I have absolutely no faith in the political system and suspect I would be found unacceptable to most parties making an approach today as my allegiance is not to Caesar but to God.'

In that case, you gotta wonder why Manchester's name appears here, especially as he's also the patron of The English Society, which was 'Inspired by a love for English culture, language, history, heritage and Christian Faith with a sense of pride in all that is unique and wonderful about England and the English people', and lined with alarmist articles.

According to Raggety's comments on Chesham's extract, the final work will be 'a free E-Book', although a publication date has not been set.

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^{1. 'Eggmanne' [sic] is mentioned several times in Chesham's extract. I'm not sure why Chesham sticks to the pseudonym, as 'Eggmanne''s identity was already established in Seán Manchester's The vampire hunter's handbook: a concise vampirological guide, Gothic Press, London, pp. 62–3: Tony Hill [Anthony Arthur Robert Hill]. The book is also cited on Manchester's Holy Grail Church website. See: http://www.holygrail-church.fsnet.co.uk/FarrantFacts.htm.}   

^{Demant also discusses the Hill-Eggman connection—see: http://plan9.150m.com/whiteghost.htm—and Farrant refers to 'The Eggmanne' as 'an old friend of mine', see: http://davidfarrant.org/TheHumanTouch/?p=645.↩}

Diminishing responsibility

BBC

It seems Della Farrant's got an axe to grind with Barbara Green. For some reason.

Green's president of the Yorkshire Robin Hood Society and believes Robin Hood was buried at Kirklees Hall Estate.

She also has the rare distinction of being aligning with both sides of the Highgate vampire case's feuding overlords, Sean Manchester and David Farrant. They've both served as Patrons of the YRHS; the latter as part of a 'calculated snub', in Kai Roberts' opinion.

As of this writing, Della's devoted three blog entries to Green's 2001 book, Secrets of the grave (here, here and here), all of which take potshots at her; increasingly personal in attack. Indeed, the latter post makes several jibes about her mental state—'Anyway, a parting treat is presented below for any of you who can stomach it – it might help if you are a fan of the film ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’'—etc.

Della never really explains her 'beef', but perhaps the clue's in her aggrandising coverage of David's role as patron. She 'lets him off' scott-free: 'As a well known psychic investigator of some standing, and ‘considered the sane one of the bunch’ viz the YRHS, David Farrant (who was at one stage persuaded against his better judgement to act as  Patron for said ‘society’) has benefited from a mutually reciprocal relationship over the years with Dr David Hepworth, a close friend and practical and academic advisor of Lady Armytage (referred to by some as her manager).'

It's rather strange she'd give her husband 'innocent fair maiden' status, chaste as the driven snow, as 'persuaded' waylays the reader into thinking he was somehow conned into the role. Far from it, it's something he openly embraced. 

I'm sure, for instance, that no one made him take part in a 'blessing ceremony' at the gravesite on 20 April 2005 in the presence of film cameras, any more than anyone made him pen this letter to the Halifax Courier in 2008. I'm equally sure no one made him promote Green's article on the supposed Kirklees conspirary in 2009—even though he pooh-poohed the idea two years before, voicing scepticism the day after that post, yet still choosing to be the society's patron.

Della also overlooks the fact that he attempted to arrange another visit to the gravesite—in 2010 (part 1; part 2). If these were mere blips in David's 'better judgement', then let me remind you he maintained his role as the YRHS's patron over a ten year period.

Indeed, the tenth year, 2010, marked a turning point. He was replaced—David says he 'resigned'—by a new Patron: John Pope de Locksley, better-known as John Pope.

Could this all stem from a case of 'sour grapes'? If not, why did David align himself with the society for so long? Perhaps the answer's in his latest post on his involvement with the YRHS: 'There has also been renewed activity on the filmed project involving Gareth J. Medway, Barbara Green and a couple of other assistants on the subject of Robin Hood’s (reputed) grave at Kirklees. I understand this film is now near completion, and will be released publicly later this year. Maybe even at the Brighouse Gala? – and I cannot think of a more glamorous and appropriate setting for its debut.'

It's the same film for which the camera's rolled on David's blessing ceremony in 20 April 2005.