A Message from Beyond

Taken from Harry Edwards – The Life Story of the Great Healer, by Ramus Branch

Chapter 10

It is interesting to reflect upon what might have been the outcome for Harry Edwards had his political fortunes been a success instead of a failure. After all, not only did he have that ‘fire in his belly’ inspired by his idol Lloyd George, but his prowess as a speaker and political fighter of the day was such that he had actually been deputized on one or two occasions to step in and speak for Lloyd George himself, and there could perhaps have been no higher Liberal accolade than that.

However, the facts were simply that his political ambitions were in ruins, but it was to be a very strange phoenix that arose from the ashes of defeat.

Any competent bar-tender knows that the two topics likely to disturb the bonhomie and good companionship of an evening at the pub are politics and religion, and it is inevitable that when one probes into the character and life of anyone being the subject of a biography, that person’s political views and religious beliefs must inevitably come under scrutiny.

That Harry Edwards was an avowed Liberal right from his boyhood days up to the time of his passing there can be do doubt. As to his religious beliefs, it is necessary to go back a little.

The family belonged to the Church of England and apart from his mother insisting that all the children regularly attend Sunday school, there was no particular emphasis upon any religious activities as would be found in the average family. However, Henry found the allotted Sunday school somewhat boring, so he used to play truant and go to the Salvation Army Sunday school instead.

He was confirmed at the age of 14 after his second attempt, for he failed to qualify on the first occasion when asked the question ‘who wrote Revelations?’, to which he replied ‘Moses”. However, despite this rather shaky start he became a strong supporter of the High Church in South Lameth, and it was shortly after his confirmation that his fighting spirit was aroused when he found his Church being attacked by a well-organised open-air campaign by a movement hostile to high Church practise. Gathering some support from fellow communicants, he led a strong heckling campaign and on one occasion the opposing speaker’s stand went over.

Henry’s father was a rationalist and whilst believing in the existence of God, had no belief in a hereafter. Henry himself never lost faith at any time in the existence of the Creator, but likewise tended towards the rationalist view that we were all minute items of life in the Universe and it was presumptuous to think that a hereafter had been prepared for us. So much so did Henry adhere to these views that at the age of 17 he wrote a paper which he gave before a Society on the Universality of Religion – rather heave stuff for one so young; but its theme was passionately believed in and this was that all religions were the expression of a national idealism and that they were not God-given but arose from man’s fears and hope of reward. However, his views were to be drastically revised, especially as far as any after-life was concerned, for the subsequent events that took place at the family home, No 11 Childebert Road, Balham, in south London, were virtually to shape Henry’s entire future.

In the mid-thirties, Spiritualism was a constant target for attack and ridicule. How the family regarded the two aunts, Emily and Adelaide, both of whom were psychically gifted, I do not know, except that the father’s sister, Aunt Emily, could go into a trance and so contact those ‘on the other side’. As to Henry’s father, he was totally disinterested in the whole thing, but there seems to be little doubt that Henry’s mother was psychic and occasionally liked to see communication by means of the tumbler and alphabet. That she used her psychic gift on occasion for healing purposes there can be no doubt, for Henry’s sister Ivy, being somewhat delicate and often the sick one of the family, can recall how she would feel her mother’s hands on her head in a gesture of directing healing help, always to good effects.

Adjacent to Childebert Road was Cloudsdale Road and here there was a small Spiritualist church where Henry’s two sister, Ethel and Marjorie, frequently went with a friend of his sister-in-law’s, which was basically the two ground-floor rooms of a house, separated by folding doors.

As I have said, Spiritualism was the target for ridicule and there was no exception in this case either, for Henry would have his two sisters in fits of laughter at his antics in mimicking the guides who came through the attending mediums.

It has often been thought that Henry’s first contact with Spiritualism was at a Spiritualist Church in Clements Road, Ilford, Essex, but it was a Couldsdale Road in south London where his interest really began.

It was in Henry’s nature never to take anything for granted, and if a statement was made to him about anything, he demanded its substantiation and encouraged others to do likewise. It was all part of his rationalist outlook and when he turned his enquiring gaze towards Spiritualism, his attitude of curiosity about it was only heightened by his knowledge and skill in conjuring and manipulation, at which he was considerably adept, so much so that he often entertained at parties and concerts having a little conjuring routine which always went down well. I recall at the age of 80 how he gave an hour long impromptu magic show to a group of healers with an exceptionally good line of patter as well, and his skill with the tricks was quite remarkable.

It was when he was visiting Ilford with some friends that he was invited along to the Spiritualist Church at Clements Road, and he readily accepted for here was his opportunity to expose the phenomena of Spiritualism as trickery. Thus it was a very skeptical Henry Edwards who took his place amongst the ‘sitters’, not knowing quite what to expect but certainly being determined that he would not hesitate to condemn any trickery.

The ironical thing was that it was he who was to be the subject for observation by those whom he could not physically see… those would see then that, amongst the people present wishing to communicate with their loved ones who had passed on, was a young man whose innate qualities were in later years to bring healing help to thousands.

As the séance progressed, the lady clairvoyant made many statements to Henry which referred to his past and present circumstances, statements that were all true and realising that she could not possibly have known about him beforehand, made a great impression upon him; but he could not release from his mind that somehow there was possibly collusion on the part of the medium or clairvoyant. However, a little reflection forced him to acknowledge that for the medium to be able to carry out her Spiritualist work in this way in a large number of places all over the country, it would have entailed on her part a very large number of confederates and hat sooner or later the ‘system’ would have broken down and such collusion be discovered.

It was an experience that certainly gave Henry immense food for thought, but the extraordinary thing is that, although he found nothing to ‘expose’ on the other hand, a period of 14 years was to elapse before he once again came into contact with Spiritualism. What he was to learn on that next occasion was the spark that ultimately became conflagration.