|
Harold Francis Davidson (14 July 1875 – 30 July 1937), generally known as the Rector of Stiffkey, was a Church of England priest who, after a notorious court case in 1932, was convicted on charges of immorality and defrocked. Davidson strongly protested his innocence and to raise funds for his reinstatement campaign he exhibited himself in a barrel on the Blackpool seafront. He performed in other sideshows of a similar nature and died after being attacked by a lion in whose cage he was appearing in a seaside show. Before his ordination in 1903, Davidson had a brief career on the London stage as an entertainer. As a young curate he became actively involved with charitable work among London's poor, an interest he maintained following his appointment in 1906 as rector of the rural Norfolk parish of Stiffkey. After the First World War, in which he served as a naval chaplain, he devoted himself almost exclusively to his London work. Styling himself the "Prostitutes' Padre", his declared mission was the rescue of young girls he considered in danger of falling into vice. In this role he approached and befriended hundreds of girls and, although there was little direct evidence of improper behaviour, Davidson was frequently found in compromising situations. His neglect of his parish and family strained relations in Stiffkey; after a formal complaint, the Bishop of Norwich instituted disciplinary proceedings. Davidson's defence was severely compromised by his own eccentric conduct and was damaged beyond repair when the prosecution produced a photograph of Davidson with a near-naked teenage girl. After his defrocking, Davidson's later career as a showman earned him much notoriety but little money. His attempts at legal redress were unsuccessful, despite recognition even in church circles that he had not been fairly treated in the court hearing that had condemned him. The case continued to attract public interest decades after his death, with fictional and stage representations. His descendants have continued to assert his innocence of any wrongdoing, and later commentators have generally accepted that however unwise and inappropriate his behaviour, his basic motives were genuine and that he did not deserve the humiliations he endured. ==Family background and childhood== Harold Davidson was born on 14 July 1875 in Sholing, near the south coast port of Southampton, to the Reverend Francis Davidson and his wife Alice.〔Tucker, p. xiii〕〔Cullen, p. 26.〕 Francis Davidson was the vicar of St Mary's, Sholing, a post he had held since 1866; as many as 27 members of the Davidson family were or had been Anglican clergy. Alice Davidson, née Hodgskin, was a great-niece of the educationist and Rugby School headmaster Thomas Arnold.〔Tucker, pp. 1–2〕 Sholing was a poor parish, with a mixed population of dock labourers and itinerant workers many of whom had little interest in churchgoing. Francis Davidson, described by Harold Davidson's biographer, Tom Cullen, as "a tiny man ... with a luxuriant beard that gave him the appearance of a gnome",〔Cullen, p. 27〕 served the parish for 48 years.〔 Although he could be pugnacious when necessary, according to a former parishioner he was a true pastor, willing to offer help whatever the circumstances.〔 Davidson's family assumed that he would follow his father in becoming a priest and he was brought up strictly.〔 When he was six he began attending Banister Court School in Southampton, an establishment founded initially for the sons of Merchant Navy officers.〔 In 1890 Harold was sent to live with two maiden aunts in Croydon while he attended the Whitgift School.〔Cullen, pp. 28–30〕 Here he became an enthusiastic amateur actor, encouraged by his friendship with a fellow-pupil, Leon Quartermaine, who later won recognition on the stage and in films. In February 1894 the pair appeared together in a school production of the farce ''Sent to the Tower''.〔 Under his aunts' influence, Davidson became a part-time worker at Toynbee Hall, an East End charity founded by Samuel and Henrietta Barnett which attracted many volunteers from schools and universities. Because of these distractions he neglected his school work and failed to win a scholarship that would enable him to attend Oxford University and study for holy orders. In the face of his father's disapproval, he decided to pursue a career as a stage comedian.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Harold Davidson」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|