Bro. Robert T. Runciman wrote an article (bv
the same title) that was published in Vo/. /04,
Ar.s Quatuor Corollatf)rum for the Year ]991.
This STB was taken from that article.
In Beeton's Christmas Annual of 1887, Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle presented to the public A
Study in Scarlet, his first Sherlock Holmes
story. From this beginning there followed fiftysix short stories and three novels with Sherlock
Holmes and his 'Boswell,' John H. Watson,
M.D., as the principal characters. From the
'canon', as the short stories and novels are
referred to by Sherlockians, there have emerged
'writings upon writings' upon every topic imaginable, including references to Freemasonry.
Arthur Charles Ignatius Conan Doyle was
born on 22 May 1859 at Picardy Place,
Edinburgh, the son of Charles Doyle and Mary
Foley. He was the first in a family which
included three sisters and a brother. The father,
Charles Doyle, was a civil servant and an artist
who was unworldly and impracticable, and his
family suffered because of it. His mother was
the guiding force in the family and in Conan
Doyle's life.
Of his boyhood, Conan Doyle recalls that it
was spartan. At the age of I0 he was sent to
Hodder, where boys were prepared for entry to
Stonyhurst, a prominent public school in
Lancashire.
When he was ready to pursue his higher education it was decided that he should enter medical school at Edinburgh University. He entered
in 1876 and graduated with the degree of
Bachelor of Medicine in 1881. As part of his
medical studies, he spent seven months as surgeon on the whaling ship Hope in the Arctic in
1880. After taking his medical degree Doyle
sailed to South Africa for four months as ship's
doctor on board the Mayumba.
Conan Doyle married Louise Hawkins in
1885. From that union were bom two children.
His wife, whom he called 'Touie' died of tuberculosis in 1906 after a thirteen-year illness and
despite recuperative treatment at several loca-
tions. In 1907, he married Jean Leckie and there
were three children of that marriage.
Conan Doyle is reported to have been able to
write his stories in a variety of situations and
circumstances, for example, while riding on a
train or in a room full of people, and his hand-
written manuscripts indicate that they required
very little revision.
Although he is best-known for the Holmes
canon, Conan Doyle considered himself to be
an historical novelist and that is where his pri-
mary interest lay. Among many such works
from his pen were Micah Clark, The Firm of
Girdlestone, The White Company, and The
Refugees. He also wrote many short stories,
including those about Brigadier Gerard and Sir
Nigel and others on the themes of mystery and
terror. There is a further collection entitled
Round the Red Lamp which relates to his med-
ical practice and The Stark Munro Letters
which are autobiographical in character. But his
real autobiography was Memories and
Ad ventures.
He was quite irritated that his detective stories
received more attention than his other work. In
1923 he wrote: 'I believe that if I had never
touched Holmes, who tended to obscure my
higher work, my position in literature would at
the present moment be a more commanding
one.'
Indeed Conan Doyle became so disenchanted
with Sherlock Holmes that in 'The Final
Problem', written in 1893, Holmes was killed in
a fall over the Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland
while in deadly combat with Professor
Moriarty, the 'Napoleon' of crime and his arch-
enemy. Holmes's death dismayed readers so
much that letters of complaint poured in. In one,
a lady addressed the author as 'you brute' and
even his mother begged him not to kill Holmes.
Some men wore black armbands in mouming!
In 1903, Holmes was restored to life in 'The
Adventure of the Empty House'. From August
1901 to April 1902, The Hound of the
Baskervilles appeared in serial fomm in The
Strand Magazine, but Conan Doyle remained
adamant that Holmes was dead and this was a
previously unchronicled case.
He was also a prolific writer on various topics
of current interest and wrote innumerable letters
to the Press. He was responsible for introducing
downhill skiing into Switzerland, the introduction of metal helmets for combat soldiers and
the inflatable life-preserver for sailors. He was
also an energetic champion of divorce reform
and was one of the first proponents of a tunnel
connecting England and France. Although he
was too old for active service in World War 1,
he was actively engaged in the war effort on the
home front and wrote and spoke about the
hostilities.
Arthur Conan Doyle was initiated on 26
January 1887 at the age of 27, passed on 23
February 1887 and raised on 23 March 1887 in
Phoenix Lodge No. 257, Southsea, Hampshire.
He resigned in 1889 and rejoined in 1902 but
finally withdrew in 1911 without having made
further progress in the Craft. The records of the
United Grand Lodge of England contain no
indication of his having affiliated with any
other lodge.
The October 1901 edition of Masonic
Illustrated, page 29, indicates that Conan Doyle
attended a lodge at Bloemfontein with Rudyard
Kipling during the Boer War. Upon his retum
home in the same year he was made an honorary member of The Lodge of Edinburgh
(Mary' s Chapel) No. I in Edinburgh. This
membership was conferred upon him when he
accepted an invitation to speak at a Bums'
Night Dinner. In this speech he confimmed the
many reports which had been received of the
value of Freemasonry on the battlefield.
Prisoners on both sides, when found to be
freemasons, were invariably treated with more
courtesy and consideration than would otherwise have been the case.
We will use two examples of references to
Freemasonry in Conan Doyles work:
THE ADVENTURE OF THE MUSGRAVE
RITUAL (The Strand, 1893)
Reginald Musgrave, an acquaintance of
Holmes, asked him to apply 'those powers with
which you used to amaze us' to something
strange and inexplicable in his ancestral home
in Sussex. The butler who had been given his
notice cf dismissal for prying into family affairs
had disappeared without a trace and Holmes
was retained to find him. During the investigation Holmes took possession of a ritual which
had been in the Musgrave family for generations. He used it to locate both the missing butler and an ancient crown of the King of England
(Charles 1).
The document which Holmes took into his
possession was described by its owner as 'the
strange catechism to which each Musgrave had
to .submit when he came to man's estate'. He
read out the questions and answers:
Whose was it?
His who is gone.
Who shall have it?
He who will come.
Where was the sun?
Over the oak.
Where was the shadow?
Under the elm.
How was it stepped?
North by ten and by ten, east by five and by
five, south by two and by two, west by one
and by one, and so under.
What shall we give for it?
All that is ours.
Why should we give it?
For the sake of the trust.
Professor Jay MacPherson of the University of
Toronto is of the opinion that this catechism
had its origins in Freemasonry. Barrett G.
Potter, in his 'Sherlock Holmes and the
Masonic Connection' also believes that the ritual had its roots in masonic catechisms used for
the instruction of the brethren.
THE VALLEY OF FEAR (The Strand, 1914)
This full-length novel was written by Conan
Doyle three years after he resigned his membership of Phoenix Lodge. In it Holmes was
called in to investigate the death of John
Douglas and his wife at Birlstone Manor,
Sussex. Among the clues were a card with the
symbol V.V.341 scrawled upon it and a brand
mark on the deceased's arm. The V.V.341
referred to the Ancient Order of Freemen, the
'Scowrers' of Vemmissa Lodge No. 341. In the
course of the story lodge proceedings are discussed and the following ensues with reference
to Birdy Edwards (alias John McMurdo):
'John McMurdo', said the voice, 'are you
already a member of the Ancient Order of
Freemen?'
He bowed in assent.
'Is your lodge No. 29, Chicago?'
He bowed again.
"Dark nights are unpleasant', said the voice.
'Yes, for strangers to travel', he answered.
'The clouds are heavy.'
'Yes, a stomm is approaching.'
'Are the brethren satisfied?' asked the
Bodymaster.
There was a general mummur of assent.
'We know, Brother, by your sign and by your
countersign that you are indeed one of us',
said McGinty. 'We would have you know,
however, that in this country and in other
countries of these parts we have certain rites,
and also certain duties of our own which call
for good men. Are you ready to be tested'?'
This is a catechism somewhat similar to that in
'The Musgrave Ritual'.
Other stories with Masonic references are:
A STUDY IN SCARLET ( 1887)
A SCANDAL IN BOHEMIA (The Str(md,
1891)
THE ADVENTURES OF THE REDHEADED LEAGUE (The Str~lnd, 1891 )
THE STOCKBROKERS CLERK (The
Strand, 1893)
THE ADVENTURE OF THE YELLOW
FACE (The Strand, 1 893)
THE ADVENTURE OF THE NORWOOD
BUILDER (The Strand, 1903)
THE ADVENTURE OF THE RETIRED
COLOURMAN (The Strand, 1927)
The name Sherlock Holmes conjures up
images of Victorian England, swirling fog and
a tall thin detective with a deerstalker hat, magnifying glass and a pipe with a curved stem.
For Sherlockians he lives and their writings
have produced voluminous comments upon the
man. Vincent Starrett, a leading Sherlockian, in
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, observed
that 'The existence of Sherlock Holmes is,
however, something more than a matter of
mere faith. That he emerged from the pages of
a book may be a concern for scholarly regard,
but it can hardly be denied that he has taken his
place in the living world.'
It is reported that the French General
Humbert, famous in World War 1, asked of
Conan Doyle: 'Sherlock Holmes, est-ce qu'il
est un soldat dans l'arme'e anglaise?' [Is
Sherlock Holmes a soldier in the English
army?] There was an embarassing moment and
then Doyle replied: 'Mais, mon gene'ral, il est
trop vieux pour le service' [But, General, he is
too old for active service].
Conan Doyle died on 7 July 1930 at
Crowborough in Sussex and was buried in the
garden of the family home at Windlesham in
Surrey. The headstone was of British oak and is
inscribed only with his name, his date of birth
and the four words 'Steel True, Blade Straight.'
Eighteen years earlier, without realizing it, he
had written his own epitaph: 'I have wrought
my simple plan, if I give one hour of joy to the
boy who's half a man or the man who's half a
boy.