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Category Archives: King George V

Medals of the 1911 Prince Henry Tour and Arthur Conan Doyle

Medals of the 1911 Prince Henry Tour and Arthur Conan Doyle

“It’s my race anyhow…”

– The Adventure of the Silver Blaze (SILV)

During the summer of 1911, Prinz Albert Wilhelm Heinrich von Preußen of Prussia arranged for a multi-country auto race as a gesture of goodwill for the upcoming coronation of King George V. Starting in Hamburg on July 4, 1911, the Prince Henry Tour ended in London on July 1, 1911.

Prince Henry was one of the 37 German teams competing in the race against 28 English teams. In an interesting twist, a member of the opposing team had to ride along in each auto entered in the race.

Why am I telling you about this race? Well, Arthur Conan Doyle was a participant in the race, driving #52, which was his green 16 horse-power Dietrich-Lorraine. You can learn more about ACD’s partiicipation in the race by clicking HERE.

At the end of the race, which the British team won, successful participants were awarded medals by both  the Imperial Automobile Club of Germany and the Royal Automobile Club of Great Britain.

The Imperial Automobile Club of Germany Prince Henry Tour Medal

The Royal Automobile Club of Great Britain Prince Henry Tour Medal 

Somewhere out there, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s participation medals from the Prince Henry Tour are waiting to be rediscovered.

We first learned of these medals by reading this post, and we have blatantly stolen the pictures of the medals from that post. Copyright & ownership of those photos belong to that original author, who we have unsuccessfully try to contact.

The Coinage of Sherlock Holmes (2013)

The Coinage of Sherlock Holmes (2013)

Sherlock Holmes was the fictional consulting detective of Victorian England invented by the author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Immensely popular in the days of his publication, Sherlock Holmes remains an icon of literature, detective procedure, and adventure, known to almost everyone today through the original stories and numerous modern adaptations in literature and on the… Continue Reading

Holmes and Watson in the Great War: The Decorated Duo of Rathbone and Bruce

Holmes and Watson in the Great War: The Decorated Duo of Rathbone and Bruce

The noteworthy British actors received military honors NIGEL BRUCE (left) AND BASIL RATHBONE portrayed Dr. John Watson and detective Sherlock Holmes in the 1939 film adaptation of THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES. From 1939 to 1946, well-known British actors Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce costarred in 15 films and 220 radio programs as Sherlock Holmes and… Continue Reading

Charlie Chaplin Honored as Knight of the British Empire

Charlie Chaplin Honored as Knight of the British Empire

“… Holmes refused a knighthood …” – The Adventure of The Three Garridebs (3GAR) As we learned in Peter Jacoby’s recent post, Charlie Chaplin role as Billy the Page in William Gillette’s Sherlock Holmes laid the foundation for his future career in the theater and movies. Chaplin would go on to great fame and receive many… Continue Reading

Military Decorations of Lt. Basil Rathbone

Military Decorations of Lt. Basil Rathbone

“This fortress – built by nature for herself; This blessed plot, this Earth, this realm, this England!” – Sherlock Holmes and The Secret Weapon Phillip St. John Basil Rathbone was born on this date in 1892.  To many Sherlockians, including your author, he is the personification of Sherlock Holmes. In this post, we will discuss… Continue Reading

Faces of Holmes: Christopher Lee

Faces of Holmes: Christopher Lee

“The stage lost a fine actor…” – A Scandal In Bohemia (SCAN) Sir Christopher Lee died, earlier this week, at the age of 93. Lee would be involved in 5 Holmesian films, playing 3 different characters. In the 1959 film, Hound of the Baskervilles, Lee would play Sir Henry Baskerville. Three years later, Lee would play… Continue Reading

Faces of Holmes: Ian McKellen, Part II

Faces of Holmes: Ian McKellen, Part II

“… the actor in some strange drama …” – The Adventure of the Yellow Stain (YELL) With the release of the most recent trailer for this summer’s upcoming Mr. Holmes film, it reminded us that we need to revisit Ian McKellen and discuss his decorations.  We had earlier discussed the many coins that featured McKellen from his… Continue Reading

The Case of the Winthrop Legend – November 29, 1954

The Case of the Winthrop Legend – November 29, 1954

In 1954, Ronald Howard and H. Marion Crawford would star as Holmes and Watson in 39 episodes of a syndicated Sherlock Holmes television series. The 30 minute episodes were produced by Sheldon Reynolds, who would later do another Holmes series, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, in 1980 and would reuse many of the same episodes. Many of… Continue Reading

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the Mystery of the Lost Bag of Golden Coins (2012)

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the Mystery of the Lost Bag of Golden Coins (2012)

THE MYSTERY of the missing bag of gold was a case over which Sherlock Holmes might have pondered with the aid of his violin, his hypodermic syringe, and a couple of pipes of the strongest tobacco. And, of course, the support of the ever-faithful Dr Watson. But this was a mystery which the famous detective… Continue Reading