Monday, Dec. 22, 1947
Died. Anthony William Hall, 53, village police inspector, pretender to the throne of Britain as King Anthony I (he claimed direct descent from Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn); of a heart ailment; in Little Dewchurch, England. Hall, who leaves no heir (his older brother Don, once renounced all claims to kingship in the event of Anthony's success), campaigned for the throne with dignity but persistence, addressed some 2,000 outdoor meetings. At various times he sent a notice to King George V to quit, plumped for the return of the American colonies to Britain, and tried to build up the royal exchequer by selling "pound notes"--redeemable after the restoration--for a penny each.
Died. Will Fyffe, 62, pawky,* keg-shaped idol of the British music halls; of injuries sustained in a fall; in St. Andrews, Scotland. A court favorite, "Our Wull" had a latter-day career in radio and cinema, but had already won early fame & fortune from another generation of variety enthusiasts as a wry, sly, spry character comedian.
Died. Henry James, 68, winner of the 1930 Pulitzer prize for biography (Charles W. Eliot), eldest son of Pragmatist-Philosopher William James, nephew and namesake of Author Henry James; of a heart ailment in Manhattan.
Died. Pierre Petit Cardinal de Julleville, 71, gaunt, intellectual Archbishop of Rouen and Primate of Normandy; in Rouen. A leader in French Catholic education, he became a medical corps sergeant in World War I, later served as a chaplain, was twice decorated for bravery under fire.
Died. Franz Xavier Schwarz, 72, pudgy bald treasurer of the Nazi Party from its 1925 beer-hall days to the finish; in a Regensburg, Germany, internment camp. Never famous himself, faithful Partyman Schwarz had one of the best-known mailboxes in Europe: Munich #33--where Nazis sent their party dues and contributions.
Died. Earl Baldwin of Bewdley (Stanley Baldwin), 80, thrice Prime Minister of Great Britain; in Stourport-on-Severn (see FOREIGN NEWS).
Died. Arthur Machen, 84, British author; in Beaconsfield, England. Deeply affected by the death of 5,000 British soldiers in the Battle of Mons (1914), he wrote a mystical short story, The Bowmen, which inspired a sincere belief in many Tommies that they had actually seen Saint George and his archers striking down the Germans on the battlefields.
* Pawkiness (Fyffe definition): ". . . economic irony; the way a Scot looks at you when you ask him how the world is treating him and he answers 'very seldom.' "
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