CAPT A. S WILSON PASSES

Opotiki News, Volume I, Issue 64, 1 August 1938, Page 4

CAPT A. S WILSON PASSES

NOTED LAWSUIT ECHO EDWARD .VII. A WITNESS PRISONER IN GREAT WAR * . Captain Arthur Stanley Wilson, who died not long ago in a London nursing home, aged 69, wa s a well-known Yorkshire sportsman and former M.P. who figured in two events that caused national sensations. The first was the Tranby Croft baccarat mase of 1891, in which King Edward VII., then Prince of Wales, appeared at the Law Courts as a witness. Captain Wilson was 22 when his father, the late Mr Arthur Wilson, a Hull shipowner of great sporting interests, gave a big house pjirty at Tranby Croft, his home near Doncaster, during St. Leger week. Tile guests included the Prince of Wales, who took part in a game of baccarat. Captain Wilson was one of the players, and he came to the conclusion that Sir William Gordpn-Cumming, a lieutenant-colonel of the Scots Guards, was cheating. He confided in his mother and some other members of the party, watched a subsequent game. They also believed that Sir William was cheating. Strenuous Denial. The Prince of Wales had been act-

irig as banker, and was not aware of the incidents, 'but when allegations were made against Sir William the ■ Prince interviewed all who had taken. ; part, and sent for Sir William. '■!/. He strenuously denied that lie had cheated, but agreed to sign declaration that he would not play cards for money again. The understanding was that in return for this pledge the matter would be kept secret and a great scandal avoided. Soiiie months later, however, Sir William received an anonymous communication, which showed that the matter was being talked about, and he brought an action for slander against live persons, who included his hostess and her son, Captain Wilson. The proceedings were /heard by the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Coleridge,, and Sir William was eiiiphatic in dfe-" nying that lie had cheated. He called the Prince of Wales as a witness, and after a hearing that lasted seven days a verdict, was given for the defendants. Sir William Gordon-Cumming died in 1980. War Time Incident. A quarter of a century after the Tranby C'roft affair Captain Wilson, then an M,'.P., figured in a war adven- . ture. 'V He had .left London -in November, 1915, With' despatches for Malta, via Rome, and his ship, a small Greek, steamer named the Spezia, was' stopped in the,;.Mediterranean by .a Ger- '' '• -7 ■ X v V

man submarine flying > the Austrian flag. ;r. . Y%!> V . "Av A • Captain, Wilson • made a desperate attempt to prevent the capture of . the official hags. The heaviest lie dropped over the side, but to his horror it continued to float. Two others he secreted in a hold-all, the fourth he left with an ,American woman' passenger, who had a son at Cambridge University and was eager to help the Allied cause. The Germans apparently knew there were three British officers in the Spezia, and they were ordered to go aboard the submarine. One of them, as a member of the R.A.M.C. was allowed to return, but Captain Wilson and an army colleague, were taken away .in the.-submarine which subsequently pickled up the “floating despatch bag. The other bags, however, which had been left in the Spezia were safely returned to the War Office. Asked fOT inquiry. Captain Wilson remained a prisoner of war more than 18 months, and when he reached London in August, 1917, lie asked for a military court of inquiry in consequence of certain criticisms.'' This was held ni November, 1917, and the Army Council subsequently exonerated him from any charge of misconduct or any blame for the loss, of his despatches.

Captain Wilson belonged to a family of shipowners, whose Wilson Line, consisting of 80 steamships of about 200,000 tons, was acquired by the late Sir John Ellerman. He was educated at Eton and Magdalene College, Cambridge. Business made little appeal to him, and he developed a passion for racing. In spite of the manyi horses he owned he never had the good fortune to have a really good one, and major prizes always eluded him. He was- perhaps, “the best loser” the Turf has ever seen.