James Lennox Kerr, Pimlico

I have just written an obituary for Adam Kerr (actually in real time this is two months later) but I have scheduled the two items to appear together. I collected the writings of Peter Dawlish in the 1980s, and once I had discovered (in the late 1990s) that his real name was James Lennox Kerr I went on to collect his other works. Many were in his own name but he also wrote as Gavin Douglas, crime thrillers to start with in the 1930s.

The one book which evaded me was  A Tale of Pimlico by Gavin Douglas (Robert Hale, Publishers, 1948). To be sure I had read it. On my annual visit to Lamorna (I would guess about 2008) I begged to read Adam's copy before I left for home and took copious notes. A few months ago, as I was taking in the news of his death I looked again and secured a reasonably priced copy. It actually came from the library of my childhood, Kesteven in Lincolnshire. It was bought in 1948, rebound and re-guillotined in November 1953 and last lent out in November 1956. Where it has been from then till now is anyone's guess.

James Lennox Kerr started out as a socialist writer in the 1930s. One book I would pick out of the 1930s is The Woman of Glenshiels, a story of an enterprising but starving woman on Clydeside trying to make ends meet, but encountering the recalcitrance of the body distributing welfare, madeup of course by rich aristocrats. More on that later when I find my review.

A Tale of Pimlico has curious features. It is partly autobiographical in that Kerr left sailoring, and settled in Pimlico to write, where he produced a book a year. In this story, Captain Douglas had written a few articles in Blue Peter (I found this one and gave it to Adam) and Nautical Magazine (which I haven't found). In this story, as Captain Gavin Douglas, he rents a room in a seedy guest house, tries to write without success, and in the end goes back to sea. That's where the autobiography finishes, since in his real life he became a successful writer, found and married his wife and continued until war broke out.

In the story the author is also narrator. Captain Douglas arrives in Port Bellamy in South America (modelled on Belize/British Honduras) and discovered that he had known the Bellamy after whom the port was named. In his Pimlico guest house there is a resident called Bellamy. We hear his story told, which has two directions. When Douglas the narrator knew him, he was a bum, cadger, pimp and ponce (in the language of the book). That is, he was living on immoral earnings of a young woman who prostituted herself. One has to say she did so willingly. There was no love lost between the narrator and the bum Bellamy. This is where the socialism kicks in. Bellamy was from an aristocratic family, had a wife who expected him to make her rich and comfortable but he had the wanderlust and roamed free (and despite his popularity was cadging even then. He expected food on his table and had no way of providing for himself, and no incentive to do so. So he cadged. His room was a tip because there were no servants to clean it. His wife became an awful busybody chairwoman of some patronising society and his children became insufferable prigs

The second perspective is when Douglas arrives in South America in the republic of Porto Bellamy.  Bellamy had encouraged the locals to develop the port themselves and not let the major powers develop it and take out the profits (although this colonialist project was exactly why he was sent out).. Bellamy was looked up to as a national hero with statues all over town. He had also seduced most of the women.

Douglas had a secret. I will not reveal it, even if the likelihood of you finding a copy is remote. The memory of Ballemy helps to solve some political issues of some sensitivity. Lots of insight into aristocratic attitudes and socialist responses. Jimmy Kerr died before ever I could have known him but we were very happy to have known Adam and Judith.
to be continued...