Did you know? Masonic Philately

Sir George Cathcart No. 617

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930)

Scottish Physician, Novelist, and Detective-story writer,

 

 

 

 

Creator of the unforgettable master sleuth Sherlock Holmes.

Conan Doyle was born on May 22, 1859, in Edinburgh and educated at Stonyhurst College and the University of Edinburgh. From 1882 to 1890 he practiced medicine in Southsea, England. A Study in Scarlet, the first of 68 stories featuring Sherlock Holmes, appeared in 1887. The characterisation of Holmes, his ability of ingenious deductive reasoning, was based on one of the author's own university professors. Equally brilliant creations are those of Holmes's foils: his friend Dr. Watson, the good-natured if bumbling narrator of the stories, and the master criminal Professor Moriarty. Conan Doyle was so immediately successful in his literary career that approximately five years later he abandoned his medical practice to devote his entire time to writing.

Conan Doyle served in the Boer War as a physician, and on his return to England wrote The Great Boer War (1900) and The War in South Africa: Its Causes and Conduct (1902), justifying England's participation. For these works he was knighted in 1902. During World War I he wrote History of the British Campaign in France and Flanders (6 vol., 1916-20) as a tribute to British bravery. After the death of his eldest son in the war, he became an advocate of spiritualism, lecturing and writing extensively on the subject.

He also sailed as Ships Surgeon in the “Hope” to the Arctic

His autobiography, Memories and Adventures, was published in 1924. Conan Doyle died in Crowborough, Sussex, England, on July 7, 1930.

 

Bro. Arthur was a member of Phoenix Lodge No. 247. Portsmouth.

Initiated:-  Jan.  26th.  1887.

Passed:-    Feb.  23rd  1887.

Raised:-    Mar.  23rd  1887.

Resigned from lodge 1889 but continued to visit other lodges as an “unattached mason”

1901 Made an Honorary Member of The Lodge of Edinburgh ( Marys Chapel) No1

1902 rejoined his mother lodge

1911 withdrew from Freemasonry

 

Stamp  Issued:- Great  Britain  2009  S.G.  No. 2976