L. H. Branson
MajorLionel Hugh Branson(8 April 1879 – April 1946) was a Britishmagicianand officer of theBritish Indian Army.[1]
Biography
[edit]Educated atBedford School,between 1890 and 1895, Lionel Branson was commissioned asecond lieutenantfrom theRoyal Military College, Sandhurst,into theRoyal Munster Fusilierson 11 February 1899 and was promotedlieutenant15 September 1900. He transferred from the 2nd battalion the Royal Munster Fusiliers to theBritish Indian Armyon 17 February 1901, joining the9th Bombay Infantry.
He served with the 9th Bombay Infantry during theWaziristanoperations of 1901-02 on theNorth West Frontierand wasmentioned in despatches(London Gazette 8 August 1902).[2]He transferred to the10th Bombay Infantry(later110th Mahratta Light Infantry) on 30 May 1902.
He was promotedcaptainon 11 February 1908 and made a company commander on 1 October 1910. He landed inMesopotamiawith his regiment in 1914 and was wounded in action on the 3 December 1914.
He was appointed Assistant Censor (graded as a General Staff Officer, 3rd grade) from 20 December 1914 to 31 March 1915 and Assistant Censor (graded as a General Staff Officer, 2nd grade) from 1 April 1915 to 31 March 1917. He was then given a Special Appointment (graded as a General Staff Officer, 2nd grade) from 1 April 1917 to 23 October 1917. In late 1914 he founded and was the editor of The Basrah Times, a newspaper.
Branson was promoted temporarymajorin July 1916 and was confirmed as major in April 1917, with seniority from 1 September 1915. He was mentioned in despatches in the London Gazette 5 April 1916, 10 May 1916 and 12 March 1918. He retired from the Indian Army on account of ill-health 22 June 1923.
Branson had incorporated his magic skills into his military service.[3]His stage magician name was Lionel Cardac.[4]He was a member ofThe Magic Circle,and devoted a whole chapter to debunking theIndian rope trickin his bookIndian Conjuring(1922).[5]He offered a large sum of money to anyone who could perform the Indian rope trick, nobody ever won the money.[6]
Branson was a debunker ofspiritualism.He wrote thatmediumshipwas the result of conjurer tricks and fraudulent phenomena.[7]
He was an author of magic books under the pen name Elbiquet. He wrote a biography of himselfA Lifetime of Deception: Reminiscences of a Magician(1953).
Publications
[edit]- A Text Book of Magicas Elbiquet (1913)
- Supplementary Magicas Elbiquet (1917)
- Indian Conjuring(1922)
- A Lifetime of Deception: Reminiscences of a Magician(1953)
References
[edit]- ^Obituary,The Times,26 April 1946, p.7
- ^"No. 27462".The London Gazette.8 August 1902. pp. 5089–5093.
- ^Coleman, Earle Jerome. (1987).Magic: A Reference Guide.Greenwood Press. p. 169.ISBN978-0-313-23397-5
- ^Siegel, Lee. (1991).Net of Magic: Wonders and Deceptions in India.University of Chicago Press. p. 201.ISBN978-0-226-75687-5
- ^Dare, M. Paul. (2003).Indian Underworld.Kessinger Publishing. p. 18.ISBN978-0-7661-4231-2
- ^Fulves, Karl. (1922, reprinted in 1995).Big Book of Magic Tricks.Dover Publications. p. 103.ISBN978-0-486-28228-2
- ^Branson, Lionel Hugh. (1953).A Lifetime of Deception: Reminiscences of a Magician.Hale. p. 85
External links
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