John H Watson MD

Author: the Literary Agent

  • I have even contributed to the literature on the subject [REDH]

    David Martin Dakin’s 1972 book, A Sherlock Holmes Commentary, critically examines Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous detective stories, exploring their content, themes, and inconsistencies. Dakin, a scholar and a dedicated Sherlockian, analyses each story in the Holmes canon, taking a humorous yet thorough approach that highlights Doyle’s writing’s strengths and quirks.

    Following a brief Foreword, each story is discussed in order of their first publication, addressing the date that the adventure is thought to have occurred, followed by essential considerations arising from the story.

    Two stories published at the same time as Watson’s reminiscences but not attributed to Sherlock Holmes are covered at the end. Two appendices round off the book – a chronological table and a list of people from the stories with beards and/or moustaches.

    Detailed Analysis of Each Story

    Dakin reviews every Holmes story in the canon, often focusing on plot structure, character development, and the realism (or lack thereof) in Holmes’ deductions. He also identifies and discusses narrative inconsistencies within the stories, a hallmark of traditional Sherlockian scholarship.

    Insights into Conan Doyle’s Methods

    Dakin examines Doyle’s storytelling techniques, such as his use of red herrings, recurring themes, and particular settings that create a distinct atmosphere. He also assesses Doyle’s approach to Victorian society and views on justice, often reflected subtly in Holmes’ actions.

    Exploration of Character

    Dakin delves into Holmes and Watson’s personalities, their relationship, and the evolution of their characters for the stories. He compares the detective to real-life figures of the time and analyzes Watson as a reliable narrator and a somewhat overlooked character in his own right.

    Sherlockian Traditions and Canonical Playfulness

    Dakin’s commentary is rooted in the Sherlockian tradition of treating Holmes and Watson as real people. He addresses many of Doyle’s puzzles and contradictions, such as the dating of certain cases, conflicting timelines, and “errors” in Watson’s narration, which Sherlockians playfully analyze as part of the Holmes mythos.

    Critical but Affectionate Tone

    Dakin approaches the stories with respect for Doyle’s genius and a critical eye on the flaws and inconsistencies. His commentary is both scholarly and accessible, making it a valuable resource for fans and researchers alike.

    About the Author

    My copy of Dakin’s book is signed by the author “With the compliments of the author,” and below that, he quoted Holmes from The Red-Headed League, “ . . . and have even contributed to the literature of the subject.” However, in this case, it is solely the study of tattoos, having noticed the fish tattooed on Jabez Wilson’s wrist and deducing that he had been in China.

    Dakin was the first Brain of Britain Series Champion in 1954 and is reported, in addition to his extensive knowledge of Sherlock Holmes, to have been able to quote the chapter and verse number of any verse from the Bible.

    He served as a Religious Education teacher at Dagenham County High School, Dagenham, Essex.

    He died in 1979, aged 71, four years after signing my copy of his book.

  • Very sincerely yours, Sherlock Holmes [FINA]

    After the tragic events of May 1891, it was a couple of years before Watson could publish the account in The Final Problem. He found even the mention of Switzerland, Meiringen, and especially the Reichenbach Falls profoundly upsetting, and any thought of returning to that fateful locale was abhorrent.

    We will never know whether or not he had the opportunity to return and take the brave step of staying in a hotel in the town and exorcising his fears by looking upon that swirling torrent at the falls.

    The Parkhotel du Sauvage in Meiringen has a plaque claiming that it was the Englischer Hof where Holmes and Watson stayed in 1891, but this claim is false, as is the town’s claim to have invented the meringue. The hotel is large and prominent and not the sort of place they would have wanted to stay for fear of attracting the attention of Moriarty or his henchmen.

    Most of the town was destroyed by a massive fire shortly after their visit (was this the work of Moriarty’s henchmen avenging the death of their master?), and therefore, the town has changed a great deal. Still, the town of Meiringen has many references to Holmes and Watson, and underneath the English church next to the Parkhotel du Sauvage is a museum that reconstructs their rooms on Baker Street. In front of the church is a statue of someone you may recognise!

    Back at the Falls, the many re-enactments of Holmes’s fight with Moriarty have been carried out in the wrong location because those staging these events have primarily been interested in the protagonists’ safety. They have generally not managed to climb the steep footpath which winds its way up the left-hand side of the falls when looking at them from below. This is the path that Holmes and Watson followed, and Sidney Paget’s drawing, based on Waton’s sketches, is reasonably accurate.

    After visiting the Falls, Holmes and Watson intended to visit the tiny hamlet of Rosenlaui where the Hotel Rosenlaui still dominates the hamlet as it did in 1891. You can still obtain refreshments there before returning to Meiringen or continuing up the valley to the Grosse Sheidegge, which has some spectacular views.

    If Holmes did follow this latter route after escaping Moriarty’s clutches, then he would have had no problems in either following the winding road or in following the more direct footpath which leads through the woods, even in the dark, for it would have been dark soon after he set out. There are, however, other paths in the woods above the Reichenbach Falls which provide more accessible routes towards Italy.

  • The Ocular Helmsman

    The Ocular Helmsman was a website titled “A Vede Mecum Upon the Personal Effects & Environs of Sherlock Holmes & John H. Watson of 221B Baker Street for the Victorian Layman”.

    For those who do not speak Latin, a “Vede Mecum” is “a handbook or guide that is kept constantly at hand for consultation”. Unfortunately, the website no longer exists. It went offline around March 2016. It contained much helpful information and was often quoted by other websites and publications as a useful reference.

    Archive

    The Internet Archive includes a beautiful facility called the Wayback Machine. It allows you to go back to 1996 when they began archiving the Internet itself, a medium that was then beginning to grow in use. Like newspapers, the content published on the web was ephemeral – but unlike newspapers, no one was saving it. The Internet Archive has over 28 years of web history accessible through the Wayback Machine.

    Not all websites are archived there, but The Ocular Helmsman is one of them!

    Website Content

    The website has 14 sections, and here is the front page (Index):

    The Index and Contents pages are self-explanatory, but the other 12 sections are worth exploring in more detail.

    The author explains that the website was continually updated, but that further work was planned.

    Transport

    This section covers the different modes of transport, including horses and carriages, trains, bicycles, cars and ships.

    221B Suite

    This section examines the exterior of 221B and Baker Street and then the interior, including the sitting room, furniture, and newspapers they would have perused.

    Sustenance & Spirits

    This section examines the food they might have eaten, the restaurants they visited, and the spirits, wine, and other drinks they occasionally drank.

    Tobaccana

    This section examines how tobacco is prepared, the variety of pipes used, and other types of tobacco, such as cigars and snuff.

    Attire

    Attire looks at the fashions of the day for men and women, walking sticks (typical in the Victorian Era), and the attire of Holmes and Watson.

    Acquaintances

    This section starts with the other residents at 221B Baker Street. It then covers family, neighbours, army acquaintances, school friends, other detectives, unofficial assistants, Watson’s early acquaintances, and mutual acquaintances and ends with Sherlock’s arch-enemy, Professor Moriarty.

    Mr Sherlock Holmes

    This section begins with an analysis of Holmes’s character and then details his personal effects, family, the arts and music, his writings, his travels and his pastimes.

    Dr John H Watson

    A similar analysis follows for Dr. Watson, including his character, family, personal effects, art and travel, and his writings.

    Art in the Blood

    This section covers the arts and sciences of deduction. Among the more prominent of these arts are Tracking, Handwriting Analysis, Cryptography, Studies of Paper & Watermarks, and Tobaccana (which is analyzed elsewhere on this website).

    Monographs

    This is one of the few empty sections where one thought Holmes’s monographs would be listed.

    Lost Archives

    This is a long list of the unpublished cases mentioned by Dr Watson.

    Essentials

    This is a list of the barest essentials of web resources relating to Holmes and Watson, though some of these may not be current.

    There are many links to other websites from the pages of this website, some of which are no longer working, but again, Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine still provides access to these now archived web pages.

    Authorship and Future Use

    I do know the author’s identity, though I do not know why the website has not been maintained. There is much helpful information there, so I plan to use it for the purpose for which it was designed—as a vide mecum.

  • The Oxford Sherlock Holmes

    Setting aside for the moment the question of whether Holmes went to Oxford, or Cambridge, or both, the Oxford Sherlock Holmes has been my favourite annotated collection of the stories for many years.

    Owen Dudley Edwards (General Editor) Edition

    The original set of nine volumes, with Owen Dudley Edwards as the general editor, is not available new but second hand copies are still around.

    Some of the volumes were republished later as paperbacks but not all nine volumes in this format – only A Study in Scarlet, The Adventures, The Memoirs, The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Return, The Valley of Fear, and The Case-Book.

    To further confuse matters, some of the volumes are available in Amazon Kindle format, but again are hard to track down as they are not all marked out as part of the actual Oxford Sherlock Holmes collection on Amazon – you have to scan through the sample pages looking for the required details to confirm they’re the annotated versions.

    To help, I have compiled the following list to help anyone trying to buy the set or add to their existing collection. But please take care if you order second-hand copies to stipulate that you require the Oxford Sherlock Holmes editions as these are the annotated versions. A well-meaning but unaware bookseller may send you another version without the detailed notes.  Those that are available are listed below and the links lead to them in the Amazon catalogue with the ISBN for books and ASIN for Kindle versions.

    Darryl Jones (General Editor) Edition

    In March this year, Oxford World Classics announced a new set of annotated versions to be published over the next year or so.

    So far, three have been published, A Study in Scarlet, The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Return. The Adventures is due to be published next May and publication dates for the remaining five volumes are not yet available.

    The following list will be updated with the remaining volumes when their publication dates are known.

    • Volume 1 – A Study in Scarlet
    • Volume 2 – The Sign of Four
      • Paperback not yet available
      • Kindle not yet available
    • Volume 3 – The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
      • Paperback not yet available
      • Kindle not yet available
    • Volume 4 – The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
      • Paperback not yet available
      • Kindle not yet available
    • Volume 5 – The Hound of the Baskervilles
    • Volume 6 – The Return of Sherlock Holmes
    • Volume 7 – The Valley of Fear
      • Paperback not yet available
      • Kindle not yet available
    • Volume 8 – His Last Bow
      • Paperback not yet available
      • Kindle not yet available
    • Volume 9 – The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes
      • Paperback not yet available
      • Kindle not yet available

    There are, at present, no plans to produce hardback versions or a boxed set of all nine volumes.

    If you want to read an interesting discussion about Holmes’ college years, please refer to Dorothy Sayers, Unpopular Opinions, pages 134-147.

  • The Missing Dispatch Box

    In the final collection of stories called The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes is The Problem of Thor Bridge. At the start of Watson’s recounting of this case, he mentions a travel-worn and battered tin dispatch-box inscribed with his name “John H. Watson, M.D., Late Indian Army” painted on the lid. Despite many claims by authors purporting to have found one of the many Sherlock Holmes cases that Watson chose not to make public in this tin box, it has never been found.

    To ascertain its true whereabouts, consider the following. Watson says that the dispatch-box is somewhere in the vaults of the bank of Cox & Co., at Charing Cross.

    The founding of Cox & Co dates to 1758. Lord Ligonier, Colonel of the 1st Foot Guards, appointed his secretary, Richard Cox, as regimental agent. Cox was responsible for the payment of officers and men, and the provision of clothing and the marketing of officer commissions. He operated the business with the help of two clerks at his house in Albemarle Street, London until his death in 1803.

    The firm continued and went from strength to strength. By 1815, it had become agent to the entire Household Brigade, most of the cavalry and infantry regiments, the Royal Artillery, and what was later known as the Royal Army Service Corps. The company had moved to Craig’s Court in Whitehall, in 1765. But by 1888, Craig’s Court was no longer large enough to accommodate the staff, which had increased to 150. So, the firm moved to bigger premises at 16–18 Charing Cross. This is where Watson had deposited his dispatch-box.

    Between 1905 and 1911, Cox & Co. expanded further, setting up branches in India, Alexandria, Egypt, and Burma. The business expanded dramatically with the outbreak of the First World War. Its staff increased from 180 in 1914, to 4,500 in 1918. With a third of the original work force having joined up, the firm had to recruit women for the first time. The branch had around 250,000 men on its books. At the height of the conflict 50,000 cheques a day were cleared.

    Cox & Co. took over the firm of Henry S. King in October 1922, and the bank was renamed Cox’s & King’s. Despite the merger with King’s, Cox & Co. was in serious trouble as it was unable to sustain the large expansion undertaken during the First World War. By 1923, the bank was recording losses of more than £1 million a year, against a capital and reserve of roughly the same amount. After receiving assurances from the Bank of England, Lloyds Bank was persuaded to step in and take over the firm.

    Leslie Klinger, in his Annotated Sherlock Holmes Volume 2, mentions that at 48–49 The Strand is the Charing Cross branch of Lloyds Trustee Savings Bank, and a sign above the entrance declares “Cox & Co.” and that for this reason this location has been traditionally identified this location as the home of Watson’s dispatch-box.

    This assumes that, at the takeover of Cox & Co, Lloyds were diligent enough to move all the assets of Cox & Co to their new location. This also assumes that the records of Cox & Co mentioned Watson’s dispatch-box and that Lloyds were thorough in moving all such items from 16–18 Charing Cross to 48–49 The Strand. As the dispatch-box has not come to light since the takeover, the only logical conclusion is that it was not moved from the vaults at Charing Cross or, if it was moved, its identity was lost and therefore the value of its contents. Also, at the time of the takeover, Watson was in no fit state to take possession of his dispatch-box even if it had been asked of him.

    As well as the large number of papers relating to Sherlock Holmes cases, the dispatch-box is thought to contain the only surviving manuscripts of the three volumes of the Reminiscences of John H. Watson, M. D., late of the Army Medical Department. A Study In Scarlet, the first story that Watson published, is from the second of these three volumes of the doctor’s writings.

  • Behind every great man is an even greater woman, demanding rent

    Following the success of their book, Mrs Hudson’s Diaries: A View from the Landing at 221B: Behind the Apron with Sherlock Holmes’ Land Lady, the writers Barry and Bob Cryer, brought Mrs Hudson (played by Patricia Hodge) on to the radio in her own series (well, two episodes, anyway).

    As Dr Watson was reminded by the good lady many times, she was their landlady – not their housekeeper, and in the BBC Sherlock series, viewers were also reminded of Mrs Hudson’s standing. She has always been “an independent woman, who was taking advantage of the change in the law that allowed a widow to inherit her husband’s property for the first time” as Bob Cryer points out.

    The radio cast with Barry Cryer, Bob Cryer, Ruth Bratt, Miriam Margolyes, Patricia Hodge, Orlando Wells, Stephen Critchlow and Jeremy Limb

    The writers suggested that the radio series may move to television but that now seems less likely with the sad passing of Barry Cryer.

    The two episodes are listed on the BBC website but the recordings are not currently available. To whet your appetite for when they do become available, here are the synopses of the two episodes.

    Episode 1 – A Rare Medium

    When her tenant, a magician known as The Great Mysto, goes missing, Mrs Hudson is suddenly in urgent need of rent money and new lodgers.

    This half hour episode sees Mrs Hudson attempting to reclaim her lost money and encountering everything from crooked showgirls and Music Hall eccentrics to German strongmen and dodgy clairvoyants. Meanwhile, Mrs Hudson’s maid Martha (Ruth Bratt) has secretly advertised for new tenants and it’s not long before a doctor (Stephen Critchlow) and a consulting detective (Orlando Wells) come knocking.

    Time is not on her side as villainous Sir Charles Swift is ready to swoop and reclaim her house if she doesn’t pay her ground rent.

    Episode 2 – Wild Geese

    In this second episode, a dead goose and a battered hat are found by Inspector Lestrade (Bob Cryer) lying in the middle of Baker Street. It’s not long before Mrs Hudson is leading her friends out into the night on a very silly seasonal adventure.

    However, one thing you can be sure of, Sherlock Holmes (Orlando Wells) and Dr Watson (Stephen Critchlow) are never far away and usually ahead of the game.

    So come in from the cold, turn on the wireless and make a date with Mrs Hudson.

    But don’t forget to wipe your feet first.

    Did I say it was a comedy?

  • Circumstantial evidence is a very tricky thing [BRUC] 

    The publication of the 1921 Census in 2022 prompted me to published my reading of the 1901 Census in relation to Arthur Conan Doyle.

    The 1901 Census was taken on March 31st and the return for that date shows us that Arthur Conan Doyle was staying at the Ashdown Forest Hotel in East Grinstead in Sussex. The entry for the hotel is at the bottom of the following image.

    Along with Arthur were Mary Foley Doyle, his mother and the new lady in his life, Jean Leckie. Arthur’s wife Louise was very ill and his liaison with Jean’s presence seemed to have the approval of his mother. The transcript of the relevant entries appears below.

    In Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters, edited by John Lellenberg, Daniel Stashower and Charles Foley, Arthur’s letters to Mary talk of his plans to spend three days at the hotel, ostensibly to play golf with Jean’s brother, Stewart, and asking his mother to invite Jean to join them. Arthur was still fiercely loyal to Louise and had already told Jean that he would not leave nor divorce Louise and he would neither hurt not be unfaithful to her.

    Holmes and Watson do not appear on the 1901 Census, as often seems to be the case with the census. They were presumably away from Baker Street and out of the country on the night of the census. Watson had been a widower for nearly ten years by then and may have been abroad with his new lady friend who was soon to become his second wife.

    Both Holmes and Watson might have been busy with the case of the Ferrers Documents and the Abergavenny Murder was coming up for trial. Holmes may have gone to France and taken with him the manuscript of The Hound of the Baskervilles which was to be published by Conan Doyle later that year. Holmes was shortly to return to take up the case of the Duke of Holdernesse that would be later published in The Return of Sherlock Holmes as The Priory School.

  • Jeremy Brett

    For some people, Jeremy Brett, will always be the Sherlock Holmes. He portrayed Holmes over 40 times in what the creator of the Granada Series, Michael Cox, meant to be the genuine article. 

    There was a dangerous and eccentric edge to his playing of the role which fascinated men and attracted women. His portrayal included some mannerisms that are so uncannily similar to those that are described of Holmes in the original stories. 

    The programmes spanned six series plus five feature-length episodes and a short episode broadcast as part of Telethon ‘92. The latter has never been officially released though it is available on the Internet. 

    The whole project started with the best intentions – of keeping true to the stories as Watson had recounted them – but the commercial considerations of the powers that be at Granada and Jeremy’s failing health meant that the promise was not to be fully realised. 

    Some liberties were taken with the Canon. For instance, it was decided that Watson should not be married. So at the end of The Sign of Four, Mary and Watson go their separate ways. 

    In The Mazarin Stone (from The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes), the penultimate episode to be shown, Jeremy was too ill for filming having collapsed at the end of filming , sadly somewhat prophetically, The Dying Detective (from His Last Bow). The script was rewritten using Holmes’ brother Mycroft in his place. The script also includes elements of the Three Garridebs (from The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes) with the result that David Stuart Davies (see below) calls it “a mess”. There was also a lost opportunity to bring in the poignant moment from The Three Garridebs where Holmes thinks that Watson has been shot. Mycroft also appears to take Watson’s role in The Golden Pince-Nez (from The Return of Sherlock Holmes). 

    Two of the feature-length episodes strayed too far from the Canon for most people’s liking. These were The Last Vampyre (based perhaps too loosely on The Sussex Vampire from The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes) and The Eligible Bachelor (based on The Noble Bachelor from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes). 

    The Hound of the Baskervilles was another two-hour episode that was so disappointing that Jeremy Brett wanted to do it again. David Stuart Davies refers to the hound jokingly with a reference to Silver Blaze as “the dog that did nothing in the ratings”. The Sign of Four was the only feature length episode that provided a creditable performance. 

    In the midst of all this, in 1988 and 1989, Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwicke toured with a stage play entitled The Secret of Sherlock Holmes in which it is proposed that Moriarty is just a figment of Holmes fevered brain. 

    You can judge for yourself as the Granada series is available on DVD as Sherlock Holmes – Complete Collection. 

    If you want to know more about Jeremy Brett, his life and career, I can recommend two books. The first is my favourite as it’s written by someone who knows Holmes and Watson very well, David Stuart Davies, Bending The Willow. There is a revised 2022 edition now available (but not yet on Amazon). David’s enthusaism for Holmes led him to become a founding member of The Northern Mugraves Sherlock Holmes Society. He has also published Holmes of the Movies surveying the Great Detective on film. 

    The second is The Man Who Became Sherlock Holmes by Terry Manners – his first foray into the world of Holmes. 

    None of these books appear to be available new so you will need to consult a good second-hand bookseller to obtain a copy – or maybe your local library. The Sherlockian holds further information about Jeremy Brett as Holmes.

    Few people realise that one other person called Brett also portrayed Holmes. It would be an erudite scholar who knew the answer to that little puzzle! 

  • Sherlock Holmes – Playboy?

    Not very likely!

    However the then newly-published Playboy magazine had in its first issue of December 1953, an Introduction to Sherlock Holmes with the opening section from The Sign of Four entitled The Science of Deduction and stating, that “with the next issue, Playboy will present a series of the most famous adventures of Sherlock Holmes”.

    This was followed in the January 1954 edition of the magazine with A Scandal in Bohemia, and in the February 1954 issue with The Copper Beeches.

    As far as I can determine, that was the end of the series.

    All three adventures can be found on the Library page of this website. Earlier versions of the documents on the Library page were incomplete. They have now been updated and are complete.

  • An Experiment in Stereophonic Sound

    Early experiments

    From the earliest days, the BBC was experimenting with stereophonic sound. But in the late 1950s, these experiments became a full-scale programme of broadcasts, in stereo, of music and drama. One of these broadcasts, in November 1958, was of a specially-written play, “Scenes from Sherlock Holmes”, itself based on the play “Sherlock Holmes”, written by William Gillette, famously with permission from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. No recordings of the test transmission are known to exist, but again we have an example of the BBC pioneering new technology and bringing Sherlock Holmes to the public in an innovative format.

    Test transmissions

    The story of stereophonic broadcasting by the BBC began in the 1920s with test transmissions of opera from The Opera House, Covent Garden, in London. There was no means of broadcasting two channels over a single network station in those days, so the left channel was transmitted over the 2LO frequency and the right over the Daventry frequency. Anyone wanting to listen to the broadcast would need two radio sets that were in range of both transmitters.

    Headphones (binaural) sound

    Writing in Wireless World in June 1958 about these early experiments, Capt. H J Round, says that they had no idea if anyone heard their broadcasts, but that they gave valuable insight into the difference between listening to stereo from loudspeakers and from headphones. The location of broadcast sounds heard from loudspeakers matched the location of the original sounds in relation to the placement of the microphones, whereas the location of sounds in headphones seemed to be partially determined by their frequency. A soprano voice (high frequency) seemed to come from in front of the listener, but the orchestra (mixed frequencies) came from behind. Male voices (low frequency) also appeared to come from behind with the orchestra. More bizarrely, someone walking from the left microphone to the right microphone appeared to walk over the listener’s head rather across in front – but this only when listening on headphones.

    Sherlock Holmes

    What this has to do with Sherlock Holmes will not be obvious at this stage but, about twenty years later, in 1978, the BBC was again experimenting using Sherlock Holmes stories, broadcast in “binaural sound” specially engineered to the be listened to with stereo headphones. A future article on the Barry Foster/David Buck Sherlock Holmes Series first broadcast in 1978 will explain further.

    By the late 1950s, many people had a television set as well as a radio, and the BBC’s experiments could reach a wider audience by using the television broadcast channel for the right-hand channel and the radio for the left. Such a series of experiments were carried out over two and a half years from January 1958. Not all of these broadcasts are listed on the BBC’s Genome database, perhaps because they were broadcast only in the south and the regional versions of the Radio Times used to populate the Genome database are not always from the south. The earliest listings of “Stereophony” broadcasts in the Genome database are from July 1959 but a full list of the broadcasts is given in a BBC Engineering Department report from 1961.

    This lists a variety of programmes, mainly consisting of orchestral music, but listed for 1st and 2nd October 1958 is a drama entitled in the report simply “Sherlock Holmes”, performed at Broadcasting House, Studio 6A. These dates may be rehearsals, recording sessions, or actual broadcasts but the only reference to the public hearing these programmes appear in the Daily Express for 12th November 1958 where listeners are promised, on Saturday 15th between 10:15am and 11:15am, the sounds of a “knife whizzing right across the room, the passing hansom cab, [and] the sound of Holmes’s violin at one side of his study as Watson enters through the door at the other.”

    Having your listening equipment set up correctly was important and the BBC printed this guidance in the Radio Times:

    Raymond Raikes

    But what of the programme itself? For his 1899 play, the American actor, William Gillette, had asked Arthur Conan Doyle for permission to adapt some of Holmes’s stories for the stage. He telegraphed Conan Doyle asking “May I marry Holmes?” and Conan Doyle famously responded, “You may marry or murder or do what you like with him”. It appears that Gillette’s play, which introduced some novel elements of its own (the curved pipe, which has become iconic, though Holmes never used one to my knowledge) was chosen for this new presentation by one of the BBC’s most innovative producers, Raymond Raikes.

    Raikes had a reputation with the BBC’s listeners for delivering “a spirited production of the highest quality which would be both hugely entertaining and probably educative. It would also be directed with utmost professionalism and incorporate the latest developments in sound technology”.

    He had produced a programme based on Gillette’s play for the BBC Home Service on 3rd January 1953. This starred Carleton Hobbs as Holmes and Norman Shelley as Watson. The programme lasted ninety minutes so must have been shortened to fit into the sixty minutes for the stereophonic broadcast. Whether this utilised a recording, the same actors in a live performance, or other actors is not known. The fact a studio was used implies a live performance. The programme is also referred to elsewhere as “Scenes from Sherlock Holmes” implying some abridgement of the original broadcast.

    Although Raikes maintained a prodigious output for the BBC, including the station’s experimental quadrophonic broadcasts in 1974, he never produced another Sherlock Holmes story for the BBC.

    An update to this story appears in the Winter 2022 edition of The Sherlock Holmes Journal, published by the Sherlock Holmes Society of London.

    References

    Operational Research on Studio Techniques in Stereophony, BBC Engineering Division, October 1961

    The influence of loudspeaker directivity and orientation on the effective audience area in two-channel stereophonic reproduction, BBC Engineering Division, January 1963