Victor L. Whitechurch 1868-1933 The Reverend Albert Philip Cornwall was a 4th generation descendant of Peter Monamy. He died in 1924, and the beneficiaries of his will, first drawn up in 1919, were his great-nephew Geoffrey Walton Cornwall; his nieces, Constance May Davis, a widow, living in Preston, Lancashire; Blanche Ethel Cornwall, living in Farnham, Surrey; and his nephew, the Reverend Victor Lorenzo Whitechurch, then at The Vicarage, Aylesbury, Bucks. The will was witnessed by M.L.Buckell, of West Pallant House, Chichester, his cousin. Victor L. Whitechurch was the son of the Rev Albert P. Cornwall's unfortunate sister Matilda. He became the author of over 26 books, some of which have never been out of print. In 1911 (or 1909?) he published Concerning Himself, an autobiography à clef; which he prefaced with the curious note at right. (From the 1911 edition.) It is rather strange that he first refers to the book as an "autobiography", and also that much of the story is based on "realities". At the same time, he remarks that he "often wondered" what course the life of Gerald Sutton, apparently his alter ego, would take. The puzzle is to what extent, and in what way, the life of Gerald Sutton represents his own life. It was written when Whitechurch was about 40. To the left is a page from a letter written by Canon Whitechurch's cousin, Blanche Ethel Cornwall, born 1869, who lived in Farnham. Victor Whitechurch had clearly written to her, giving some notes of the Brome-Walton family history. The text reads: "..... Nicolas Mercator was the King of Spain's Muster Master. His daughter married my great-great-grandfather, General Brome-Walton, the Master Gunner of England. She was in a field tent at the battle of Fontenoy, in which her husband, his father, & her brother (also Nicolas Mercator) were engaged. In that tent she gave birth to my great-grandfather, Lieut-Col. of the First Life Guards (afterwards a General) & also, Master Gunner of England." V.L.Whitechurch Bertha James These photographs of Victor Lorenzo Whitechurch appeared in Sussex Life, November 1970, where he is the subject of an article by Philip Bober. Brief details about him can be found on the net: here, and here. He wrote: "many mystery and detective short stories, mostly featuring railways. Several were published in The Strand magazine. Later on in life he wrote several full-length detective novels. His most famous detective was Thorpe Hazell (created to be as unlike Sherlock Holmes, as possible)." The only child of Victor and Florence Whitechurch was Bertha (incorrectly described by Bober in the Sussex Life article as the "Canon's sister"), who married Philip James, sometime Arts Director of the British Arts Council. To the left is a portrait of Bertha, painted by her daughter Caroline in 1955. Outside Blewbury Church back to 1725-1828 back to peter monamy cornwall back to eusebius cornwall cornwall descendants in australia & new zealand george cornwall's descendants buckell, harrison, harrison-wallace article 1981       article 1983 introduction artistic range monamy website index top © Charles Harrison Wallace 2007 all rights reserved seafarer