BROTHER KEVIN REVISITED

If you’re not familiar with the Brother Kevin case, he was outed on this site by numerous Old Boys in the last five years or more as an Abuser. It then transpired that he had been driven out of his village by local youths because he was seen there as an Abuser.

He is now suffering from dementia and is ending or has ended his days in a home in Ipswich.

All this has some relevance to my interest in Kearney, my old chemistry teacher.

First, let me show you some relevant comments about Kevin that I think are extremely important, otherwise I wouldn’t be publishing and republishing them.

ONE. I received this comment this morning from an Old Boy. Many thanks! I don’t think it requires any further comment from me.

There was a creepy old woman by the name of Ashton, with an even creepier character. Why she was employed as a school matron, I have no idea. It was always such an arduous chore if any of the kids got ill. She would often join Kevin in the boys shower block and strangely watch us all having a shower. Did she know what Kevin was up to after lights out, I couldn’t honestly say, but she certainly wasn’t playing with a full deck I was abused at the hands of Kevin and believe it is not possible to leave it in the past and forget. I went on to have a very long and successful career in the Royal Marines, and seen many horrors in the world. Discussing my abuse helps me as a survivor, deal with it and ‘move on’. It is certainly something one can never forget

TWO. This comment came from a lady back in 2017, presumably before Brother Kevin was forced to leave his village.

I’ve checked her email address and Angela is indeed Angela Ashton.

	Angela commented on IN THE LA SALLIAN TRADITION 3 I wanted to write a new post in response to further comments on my About page from St Joseph’s old boys Nick and NW1 – … Another pupil of Br. Kevin contacted me about your comments. We were both appalled to read them. I was in charge of the boarding in the 80’s at Oakhill with Kevin and am in touch with people of that time. My son had been a boarder before my time. The boarders were a very happy bunch on the whole and Kevin very popular and we can honestly say completely trusted . I saw him constantly with the boys and everyone was completely relaxed round him. We are absolutely convinced nothing of the above mentioned went on. As my son and his friends and other pupils say, Kevin was the very last brother they would suspect. At the end of the holidays the boys from unhappy homes would run up to him as they were so thrilled to be back to what they felt was safety and it was. The years I had there with the boarding were very happy. I stayed some nights if anyone was unhappy and if I wasn’t there Kevin was there for them and if I’d suspected anything with having 3 boys myself I’d have gone straight to the top. My son tells me he was homesick the first night of the term and would go to Kevin’s room but then gave that up as the other boarding master had better comics! Kevin didn’t know me then. He came out of the Order and settled locally and is a very popular figure in the community. My twin grandchildren would call on him after school, other children in the street would run up to him. Nobody had any worries.when he left Oakhill, before me, he had the largest number of presents and letters I’ve seen. When the police questioned him many of his old boys wrote to the police to support him as they were horrified and some are still in touch with him and visit him, some from way back.The solicitor you refer to was not organised by Kevin but by friends. I don’t know who. The school dentist visited the school professionally and socially and knew Kevin as well or better than me and he still talks about the happy place. I know these phaedophiles can hide their ways and are clever but none of us believe Kevin is one and I can’t obviously comment on the past but it is all so far from the Kevin we all know. Surely if you are a paedophile you just don’t stop?

THREE. At the time, I wrote back to Angela in some detail and pointed out:

It’s often hard for survivors to come forward and share what happened because they feel they won’t be believed. Sometimes we doubt our own memories because they don’t square with the public persona that abusers have. And all too often they are supported by respectable members of the community or by other boys who weren’t assaulted.

But we only have to look elsewhere in the media to see how that can be quite fake.

I don’t pretend to be an expert, but as a survivor of another DLS abuser, Brother James, and clerical abusers, I can certainly say abusers are very good at covering their tracks or ensuring their victims remain silent. And  the reaction of others is invariably disbelief until enough people come forward and confirm it happened to them, too.

I’d have thought three survivors accounts, independent of each other, was sufficient to make the case and for this matter to be taken seriously

                           ……………………

Angela didn’t reply to me.

Regarding Angela’s agenda, in the light of the first comment, once again I don’t think it requires any further comment from me.

We can all draw our own conclusions.

But I think both needed highlighting and are extremely relevant to us Survivors today.

They show just what we are all up against.

I personally need to understand how easily Abuse can be covered up and I think it is shown very clearly here.

The whole matter of Brother Kevin is now proved and closed because of his dementia. It’s a great pity because I know NW1, several Old Boys like the first commentator above, and another survivor in LA rightly wanted justice for Kevin’s crimes against them.

They should have had their day in court and I’m sorry they didn’t.

(Needless to say, everyone’s email above remains private and confidential and I won’t pass on to anyone.)

                                    …………………..

The personal relevance for me is that a similar process may now be taking place where Kearney is concerned.

A while back, one lady wrote to me and asked where my research and evidence was going regarding Kearney.

Now another lady, an Old Girl of St J’s, has asked me the same thing and  seems to want to know more, too.

Both women said how Kearney was ‘strict but fair’ and a good guy, which is not my experience of him.

Or indeed the experience of many Old Boys, one of whom said he was ‘terrified’ of him.

Clearly Angela above had her own personal agenda in defending Brother Kevin.

This has made me wonder whether the two women wanting to know about my research into Kearney have their own personal agenda – e.g. are they connected with Kearney or his family in some way.

As I’ve explained to them both, I’m happy to be as transparent as I possibly can.

Revealing the Truth is the full extent of my own personal agenda.

Until then, I can’t, as the Old Girl suggested: ‘Get on with my life’.

The Truth has to come out first, I’m afraid.

But if they have any questions I’ll happily enter into a dialogue with them and tell them something of my truly grim experiences of Kearney privately.

Do ask away, ladies. I promise you I will treat your questions with respect. And, if you knew Kearney well, perhaps you can answer some of my questions.

There may well be details I’ve got wrong that you could correct.

I’m genuinely sorry if it’s unpleasant and upsetting for you, but I’m sure we all, ultimately, want the same thing: the Truth.

Not a cover-up.

And do please consider – why would I waste my time laboriously writing about Kearney for these past few months and more unless it was true?  

What other possible motive could I have after all these decades?

So here’s where I’m currently at:

I have a very comprehensive account of my experiences at the hands of Kearney.  And I think I’ve got the whole thing down on paper now, although there may be one or two details I’ve missed or I may have the exact order of events wrong.

Some of it is quite shocking.

That’s why I’m waiting for someone else to reveal other aspects of Kearney, apart from his extreme violence (punching a 13 year old in the face), and his racism, both of which are now a matter of record.

I’m trying hard not to be too mysterious here. So here’s the kind of thing I’m looking for – his possible use of chemicals outside the lab, for instance.

Because I don’t think it’s right to put up such a shocking account without some independent corroboration of at least some elements of my story.

My word is not enough, I feel. Look at the Cardinal Pell case and how he got off on appeal because it was just one person’s word for what Pell had done.

It’s why I waited years in the case of Brother James and the Knights of Columba and what they did to me until others had ‘spilled the beans’ first.  Then- and only then – did I tell my story.

For those Survivors’ courage in coming forward, I thank them from the bottom of my heart.

Based on these previous testimonies, it could take a few months, even a year, before an Old Boy comes forward with his recollections of Kearney. Meanwhile, there are other avenues I’m also pursuing regarding my old chemistry teacher.

It all takes time, so do be patient, ladies.

‘The most horrific case of mass child abuse ever uncovered.’

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-26/boystown-abuse-survivors-justice-legal-action/12336012?nw=0

An account by ABC News of the De La Salle Brothers and their running a Boys Town in Oz.

To quote from it:

‘It would take until 2017 – 55 years after the first alleged child sex offence at Boys Town – for anyone to be jailed.

Brother Francis Brophy was sentenced to eight years for sexually abusing nine orphans, one under the cover of private guitar lessons.

The following year, teacher Stephen Anthony Gray received 11 years after preying on vulnerable children  in their sleep, including a 14-year old boy he raped.’

There seems to be no limits to the crimes of the De La Salle Brothers and the lay teachers closely associated with them.

I thought I’d put this link up because yesterday an Old Girl from St Joseph’s advised me to put alleged abuse behind me and get on with my life.

I had, in fact, put it behind me and gotten on with my life until my mid-40s. That’s when this stuff usually comes up for most Survivors. We can’t block it out any longer and we have to deal with it.

She also felt I shouldn’t accuse the dead who aren’t there to defend themselves. I guess, with her perspective, we shouldn’t accuse Jimmy Savile.

Even when the evidence is out there from several testimonies about Kearney, she still either ignored it or dismissed it, demanding more information from me.  That would be premature, not least because I prefer to find a second testimony that supports my own experience.

Such is the challenge we Survivors face when some Old Pupils of the school try to discourage us and support Abusers.  It’s happened very rarely on my site, but it does make me wonder about their agenda and motivation. Why would they bother? Seriously? Are they just being rather troll-like, coming out with straw arguments as above, which is hardly a basis for objective analysis and comment .

Or is there a personal connection, for instance, that motivates them?

Thus I recall there was a woman who I think had been a matron at St Josephs. She wrote in to say that she knew Brother Kevin, said he was a lovely man and would entrust her children, or possibly grandchildren, with them.  She seemed to live near him in his village.

Subsequently, an Old Boy told us that Brother Kevin was driven out of his village by youths incensed by his abusive behaviour, entirely separate to the numerous accusations here.

There’s clearly a back story there which we’ll never know about.

Anyway, this account about Oz reminds us of the reality.  And why we have to go on uncovering the truth. And ignore the Trolls – whatever their motivation.

CATHOLIC PAEDOPHILE RING IN IPSWICH

This study in Australia shows how Catholic Paedophile Rings worked in Oz.

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/study-identifies-16-child-sex-abuse-rings-in-victorian-catholic-church-20200215-p54158.html

It describes 16 Catholic child sex abuse Rings.

Here is an account of a similar Catholic child sex abuse Ring in the USA.

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/grand-jury-report-about-catholic-priest-abuse-pennsylvania-shows-church-ncna900906

I found this headline – in 2018 – particularly disturbing.

THE GRAND JURY REPORT ABOUT CATHOLIC PRIEST ABUSE IN PENNSYLVANIA SHOWS THE CHURCH IS A CRIMINAL SYNDICATE.

The Catholic Church Hierarchy systematically covered up the abuse of at least 1,000 kids by 300 priests over 70 years.

The  article goes on to say:

Sexual abuse has been institutionalized, routinized and tolerated by the church hierarchy for decades. If you think this statement is hyperbole, consider that the grand jury report includes, but is by no means limited to, the case of a ring of pedophile priests in Pittsburgh, who raped their male victims, took pornographic pictures of them and marked them by giving them gold crosses to wear so that they could be easily recognized by other abusers.

The article is written by Anthea Butler, an Associate Professor of Religious Studies.

There’s more on this story below.

https://www.post-gazette.com/news/faith-religion/2018/08/14/grand-jury-pennsylvania-sexual-abuse-pittsburgh-diocese-george-zirwas/stories/201808140141#:~:text=Post%2DGazette-,Grand%20jury%20report%20describes%20a%20’ring%20of%20predatory%20priests,in%20Pittsburgh%20in%20the%201970s&text=That%20%E2%80%9Cring%20of%20predatory%20priests,sadism%20in%20raping%20their%20victims.%E2%80%9D

Grand jury report describes a ‘ring of predatory priests’ in Pittsburgh in the 1970s

Included among 99 abusive Pittsburgh diocese priests identified in the grand jury report was a ring of them, operating in the 1970s and 1980s, who shared intelligence about their victims and sometimes even shared the victims themselves.

That “ring of predatory priests” made their own child pornography in church rectories, the grand jury said, and used “whips, violence and sadism in raping their victims.”

They also marked their victims, the grand jury said, by giving their favorite boys gold cross necklaces to wear.

“The grand jury observed that these crosses served another purpose beyond the grooming of the victims: They were a visible designation that these children were victims of sexual abuse,” the report said  “They were a signal to other predators that the children had been desensitized to sexual abuse and were optimal targets for further victimization.”

Let me repeat that last sentence.

“They were a signal to other predators that the children had been desensitized to sexual abuse and were optimal targets for further victimization.”

It shows that a Ring is much more than a number of perverts sharing notes and kids.

It involves a lot of planning, sharing intelligence and thought. That’s relevant to my own experience.

And perhaps to others.

For example, making sure the Parents are neutralised or on-side, I’d have thought was crucial to Abusers.  In my case, my Mother, a widow with mental health issues, would have been an easy target for them. Over the years a number of promises were made to her. Financial and probably personal. Then, knowing it’s safe, the Abusers can turn on the kid…

The general relevance to Catholic survivors in the UK  is that these reports are firm evidence of actual Clerical Paedophile Rings in Oz and the USA.

They are not the usual ‘lone wolf’/’one rotten apple’  which is how Catholic abuse is presented in the UK, unless I’ve missed some reports.

Yes, organised Catholic cover-ups in the UK are well known and reports of several abusers who just happened to be at one school at the same time are well known, but this is very different.

It’s far worse.

These articles are spelling out Catholic crimes that have NEVER been reported in the UK mainstream media to my knowledge.

That Catholic Abusers acted in unison as an organised Ring to abuse children.

As a Survivor, the Oz and USA Rings strike an unpleasant chord with me.

If it happened in Oz and the USA, then it bears out my claim that it happened in the UK, too.

Specifically, I’m a Survivor of a Catholic Paedophile Ring in the 1960s associated with the Catholic Church, notably St Marks RC Church, a school chaplain, teachers at St Joseph’s College and members of the Knights of St Columba, Ipswich.

The Ring’s prime targets, I believe, were Catholic children on Chantry Council Estate, poor kids like myself, rather than boarders at St Joseph’s.  But I could well be wrong here – any vulnerable Catholic child could have been a target. I would hardly be in a position to know.

And there seems to have been ‘overlaps’ with other sexual abuse at St J’s, based on past testimonies on this site by other Survivors than myself.

Only the deaths of everyone concerned prevents the Ring being formally investigated.

But that could change if the Ring was shown to be in existence in later years and some Abusers are still alive.

The evidence is accumulating.  Some I’ve already posted, which proves the Ring’s existence beyond any reasonable doubt, and there’s more to come.

The key question that is certainly on my mind is… When did this Catholic Paedophile Ring in Ipswich stop?

Or did it stop?

Perhaps it just changed its modus operandi and its personnel in recent years or even in our own times.  

I’d prefer to think it stopped in the 1980s, that would be such a relief, but that could be wishful thinking on my part. 

As the Oz study shows, these Rings are ALWAYS transgenerational, with younger members taking over.

It’s a primary reason why I can’t let this subject drop.

All of us, I’m sure, want to be sure that it stopped.

The silence from the relevant parties is noted.

I imagine I’m not the only one who finds their silence a matter of concern.

RECOVERED MEMORIES

The issue of False and Recovered memories came up on another St Joseph’s Survivor’s site. https://birkfieldstory.blogspot.com/2020/07/beginning.html?m=1

I know it’s caused a lot of people anguish, so if you need to know more, drop me a line. I’ve had to become an expert on the subject – not something I wanted to be, but there was so much propaganda in favour of the completely bogus False Memory Syndrome I had to investigate it and I’ve read every damn thing on the subject, for and against.

There’s a summary below, but let me just add to it that the originating American False Memory society had a leading paedophile on its board. It was formed out of a family feud and is now defunct.

The reason people hold onto False Memory Syndrome is because they have been misled by the British press, almost certainly because journalists have been ordered to lie by their bosses. The American founding FMS organization is now defunct as are others. Only the UK FMS org continues. To understand them, I attended two of their meetings and they are founded by people with money, power and important media connections. The truth has been provably withheld by the press, especially by the Guardian. So none of the proven info in these links below has appeared in the UK press. This is more than a sin of omission.  Deliberately deceiving the British public  about FMS has had tragic consequences because survivors think they must be insane or evil for their memories. This, of course, suits Catholic Paedophiles very well and it has been used in their defence. The British press should be held responsible for their actions. Anyway, here are the links which prove recovered memory beyond any reasonable doubt.https://blogs.brown.edu/recoveredmemory/case-archive/legal-cases/  And https://www.newswise.com//articles/recovered-memories-true-or-false 

ANOTHER ST JOSEPH’S COLLEGE SURVIVOR’S WEBSITE

So pleased to see this site go up!

https://birkfieldstory.blogspot.com/2020/07/my-story-here-we-go-then.html?m=1

The more of us who come forward and highlight the serious crimes that took place at St Joseph’s in the past, the sooner we can all have closure.  And then we can celebrate the considerable achievements of the College.

I’m reminded of the famous quote:

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.’

And I’m as guilty of this as anyone.  Here’s a recent example:

In our gated community there is an oldish exhibitionist who regularly goes out onto his second floor balcony in the nude.  He’s been doing this for the last couple of years.

At first I thought he was a nudist or something, but recently he’s been doing rather more than just standing naked in an area where children could clearly see him.

My initial reactions – when he first began his relatively discreet exhibitionism – are interesting and I’m sure mirror what many of us Old Boys think where abuse at St Js is concerned

‘Someone needs to complain about him. But not me.  Someone else will do it. It’s not my problem. Because what if he’s connected to the management of the community. He could make trouble for us.’

Now it’s becoming rather more serious and so it can’t be ignored,

My wife filmed him because – as she said – supposing ‘he’s doing worse elsewhere? There needs to be a record. He has to be reported.’

She’s just reported it, with the film evidence, and I wholeheartedly agree with and support her decision.

Not least because I can hardly ask Survivors to write in here about all the truly evil things that went on at St J’s in the 1960s and which seem to have continued through to the 1980s, at least, if I don’t practice what I preach.

So it’s great to see this new blog from another St Joseph’s College survivor. Bravo!

I hope other Old Boys feel the same way and can help with their recollections of the Abuser referred to or the Abusers from my earlier era.

This problem is not going away and St J’s school governors and administration would do well to deal with it now.

By acknowledging the past, what happened, and assisting where they can.

Despite the changes of management, there will be some records and some relevant recollections that some people connected with St Js today will at least be aware of.

Particularly as, in my case at least, there was a Ring which – academic studies show – is transgenerational.  

And which testimonies here have proven existed beyond any reasonable doubt.

So we need to know: when did it stop?

And there needs to be a proper explanation about the role of the Knights of St Columba as previously detailed.

The old religious order excuse of ‘All the records are gone or been destroyed. We know nothing. We know nothing,’ won’t stand up today.

As I’ve said before:  Please don’t wait to be fetched before you belatedly acknowledge the past. Your pious words and hand wringing will come across as phoney and be condemned as such.

Just like Brother Laurence’s in a similar situation where he had to be fetched. (See an earlier post)

Do the right thing.

KNIGHTS OF ST COLUMBA – THE SECRET RITUALS

The Knights of Columbus KOC  came first  (American)…. Then the Knights of St Columba KOSC (UK)… and the Knights of  St  Columbanus  KOSCL (Ireland)

All three have or had similar rituals. 

Detailed below are some of the KOC rituals. The KOSC would have been similar, but with American elements changed, like the secret serviceman.  I would assume they had a different role-playing character, maybe a police officer.

I haven’t included the preliminary material because it’s not directly relevant except for background.

Sorry if it’s a bit of a pain to read below but you’ll get the idea.

If you find it of interest, the FULL transcript is here.

 Full text of “Knights of Columbus: A complete ritual and history of the first three degrees, including all secret “work.” By a former member of the order.”

https://archive.org/stream/knightscolumbus/knightscolumbus_djvu.txt

I also have a KOSCL ritual which bears out the premise that these Knights are all drawing on each other. So it can’t be dismissed as ‘weird Americans’, much as I would love it to be!

The similarities between the three organizations is comprehensive. It’s far more than just the names.

Bear in mind the Knights are ‘covering themselves’ in this transcript by not doing anything actually illegal. Although it’s borderline. Even so, they are clearly messing with a candidate’s head.

Here’s this quote from the ritual

‘Break the spirit of all, if possible’,

Their skill at doing this has serious implications, particularly for grooming children.

And it is a VERY unhealthy ritual that warrants detailed analysis by someone better qualified than myself.

To me, it’s just sick games by arrogant rich Catholic businessmen and a precursor to other far worse rituals that, understandably, have never been written down.

Note the masks and robes. And the organ playing. It’s like something out of Eyes Wide Shut.  But the Ipswich KOSC  were after children. Imagine the effect on kids of even an adapted form of this nonsense. They were scary, truly evil bastards! I still find it hard to understand how I and others survived.  I guess kids have survived a lot worse.

One St J’s Old Boy has presented a strong case and evidence to me that the KOSC actually go back much earlier than their supposed origins date and I’d say he was probably right.

Some points I would add.

A similar ritual to this would have been used across Britain, linked to Catholic churches and to the Knights at least up to the mid-60s.

It’s obviously Masonic. According to Wikipedia the KOSC stopped these Masonic rituals when they modernized in the late 60s. I’m pretty certain I saw the masks and robes etc, but I very much doubt that I would have witnessed these exact rituals. These are for new members and I don’t think I was even considered as a Squire who would have had their own initiation rituals.   

Why wasn’t I a Squire?

 Because I was just another victim of their organization hunting for children in St Marks, Chantry Estate.  Currently I’ve counted up one Catholic girl (see the Darkest Knights) and six Catholic boys including myself who were ‘harvested’ by the Ipswich Knights of St Columba for paedophilia purposes on our council estate in the early 1960s.

I firmly believe that I and the other children on the Council Estate were seen as nothing more than ‘trailer trash’ to be used and abused.

That’s how these vile people saw the poor who they were supposedly helping with their charitable work.

Just like their fellow Knight of St Columba Savile who did so much for charity.

So there was no reason to make me a Squire.

I’m sure that was the primary purpose of the Knights’ presence, lurking at the back of the church – to check the children out and see who they could target next. When they were old enough. One or two children would clearly not be enough for them.  My figures are probably on the low side. The use of the large building on the border of of the council estate I’ve previously described – what I used to call the ‘Gingerbread House’ – would suggest this was quite a big operation.

I find this deeply upsetting and this post is dedicated to those children and their memory.

I hope they survived the disgusting and arrogant crimes of the Knights of St Columba.

If you are one of them and you’re reading this, do get in touch. I guarantee your anonymity. Or do tell someone in authority who may be able to help or advise you further. It was a long time ago, but I know just how triggering it can be. These scum still need exposing, despite the passage of time. The truth sets us free.

Finally:

Please don’t forget the Ipswich KOSC were intimately connected with St Joseph’s College, Ipswich, from its very conception, see earlier posts, which raises another whole raft of questions that need answering.

Someone, today, should answer for the crimes of their forefathers on whose traditions and organizations they have built and prospered.

Don’t either of these organizations today have anyone in them who has a conscience?

 It would seem not.

The secrecy – and the vows of silence – described in detail in these rituals continues to this day.

THIRD DEGREE — PREPARATION.

THE TEAM.

The personnel of the team which gives

this degree is as follows :

A Captain of the Guard in command

of the team.

A Decoy Priest. He wears the ordin

ary street dress of the priest, with Roman

collar and rabbi.

A Secret Service man incognito.

Enough initiated members to scatter

through the candidates and urge them to

action.

HOW ROBED.

Several robed assistants. The robe is

made of any black cloth, fitted with a

peaked cowl like a monk’s habit.

Several doctors attired as for the

operating room.

THE MEMBERS.

All members will wear black robes,

entirely covering their regular habit, and

will be masked.

The Grand Knight will appear as usual

his ribbon of office his only adornment.

In the center of the Council Chamber

will be a table with surgical instruments

and bandages.

A small room leading from the Cham-

ber will be made as warm as possible.

This room is known as the Hot Box or

the H. B.

When all is in readiness, the Grand

Knight will direct the Captain of the

Guard to send his men to their work.

The assistants go to the ante-room,

where the candidates are gathered.

Their work is to stir up the candidates

to anger if possible, using the decoy priest

as a last recourse.

THIRD DEGREE — FIRST SECTION

Line up the candidates in such a surly

manner that they will take offense and re-

fuse to go into line.

The line-up may be made according to

seniority or in any fashion the team may

judge efficient.

Often an old priest, if any priests are

to be initiated, may be called to head the

line. The assistants may try to confuse

and anger him by mispronouncing his

name or calling attention to his position.

Generally, it is not wise to push the priest

too-far. Laymen are better subjects, and

the dignity of the priesthood must be

preserved.

The best method to obtain results is

to treat the candidates as though they

were a crowd of school-boys, who needed

a severe censure for every move made. If

a candidate does not obey any order given

to him, such as to stand for a certain posi-

tion behind his fellow in line, to look

straight ahead, etc., it is good to send him

to the rear and hint that he may not be

allowed to go on.

Break the spirit of all, if possible, and

make all obey timidly the smallest com-

mand of the team members.

If the candidates rebel and refuse to go

on, the Captain of the Guard will be

called. He will enter, wearing any seem-

ingly disreputable robe, such as a bath

robe, which has been soaked in whiskey,

and giving the candidates the impression

that he is drunk. The decoy members

will artfully stimulate this suggestion.

The Captain of the Guard will brutally

inquire the cause of the trouble and when

he has listened to the charges of the can-

didates and the answers of his assistants,

he will deliver his judgment.

This is left to his ingenuity and histri-

onic skill. He will invite the candidates

As a last recourse to stir up the candi-

dates, the decoy priest will leave the line

and walk away.

The Captain of the Guard will angrily

question him :

“Why are you leaving your place?”

D. P. “I am sick. I want a glass of

water.”

C. G. “Go back to your place. No

one may leave his place for any considera-

tion.”

D. P. “But I am sick and I must have

a glass of water or I shall faint.”

C. G. “Faint then.”

He orders his assistants to take the de-

coy priest back by force if necessary.

Meanwhile, the Secret Service man

slips away and comes back with a glass

of water, which he hands to the decoy

priest. As the decoy priest takes it, the

Captain of the Guards leaps forward,

angrily, and knocks the glass from his

hand.

f the candidates have not yet gone be-

yond control, this always stirs them to

fury, and they break ranks in angry con-

fusion, struggling and shouting against

the insult to the priest.

The decoy members of the team skill-

fully urge the stronger-willed candidates

to shout defiance against the Captain of

the Guard and his assistants.

They suggest that he is drunk and that

it is an outrage — it is an insult to the

priesthood.

Many refuse to go on, and threaten to

break down the door and leave for good,

if they are not released. Some try to

catch the Captain of the Guard, but are

skillfully kept away by the decoys.

The candidates are to be aroused to the

last extreme of fury, but are to be handled

so that they cannot do anything.

He will see that the man is punished if

he is guilty. If they will be patient and

allow the work to go on, the case will be

taken care of in due time.

Then he goes back into the Council

Chamber. The decoy priest helps to calm

the candidates, by excusing the Captain

of the Guard on account of his condition.

He is not so much to be blamed because

he is drunk. Gradually the candidates

are calmed and go back into line.

THIRD DEGREE — SECOND SECTION.

They are all blindfolded. They put

their hands on shoulders. The guards

give the signal, the doors are opened, and

the candidates march into the Council

Chamber. The organ is playing. They

are marched around the room several

times and halted in a hollow square fac-

ing the center. The blinds arc removed.

The doctors are seated around the table

covered with surgical instruments and

writing paper. The Grand Knight sits

near the table.

The members of the Order, all covered

with black robes, stand behind the candi-

dates.

The chief surgeon stands up and calls

several of the candidates and decoys. The

guards lead them to the table.

Chief Surgeon — Before you may go

further, you must show that you are

worthy. You must submit to a test of

your strength that will satisfy the Order

that you are in earnest.

He calls on one of the decoys to take

the first test.

Chief Surgeon — I have here a copy of

the pledge which you must take to this

Order. I have also a dagger (picking up

from the table a dagger) . You will take

this dagger, bare your arm, prick your

veins and sign this pledge with your own

blood. Are you willing to take the test?

Decoy feigns reluctance, and plays that

he is afraid to take the test.

Chief Surgeon — You must take the test

or you cannot go on. Are you afraid of

a little blood? There are doctors here

who will see that you do not injure your-

self. Do you call yourself a man — afraid

of pricking a little vein?

Decoy — I cannot take such a pledge;

you have no right to ask it.

THIRD DEGREE— THIRD SECTION.

The organ plays, and the guards lead

the candidates to the Hot Box. When

they are all in, the door is fastened, and

masked guards are stationed inside and

outside of the door.

The Hot Box must be small enough to

make it difficult to move about easily

without jostling. The Captain of the

Guard is found inside and mingles with

the candidates. He is as surly as he was

in the ante-room, and the candidates feel

their anger rising against him.

The decoy priest soon complains of the

heat and asks to be let outside. The Cap-

tain of the Guard refuses to let him go.

They quarrel, and the decoy priest says

he is going to go out whether the Captain

of the Guard likes it or not.

The guards and decoys keep between

the decoy priest, the Captain and the can-

69

dictates. As the decoy priest starts to push

the Captain aside, the Captain slaps him

over the mouth.

The decoy priest reels from the blow

and blood seems to flow from his mouth.

He has had some red gum in his mouth,

which gives his sputum the appearance

of blood.

At once there is an uproar. Some of

the decoys shout to be let out, others

pound upon the door, and the candidates

are roused to fury, and try to reach the

Captain of the Guard. The inside and

outside guards and decoys must protect

him and see that the door is opened be-

fore it is broken down.

Then all rush out into the Council

Chamber, shouting and gesticulating.

They rush to the table, where the Grand

Knight and the doctors are sitting.

THIRD DEGREE — FOURTH SECTION.

If necessary, a decoy starts the part.

He stands on a chair and bitterly de-

nounces the whole procedure. They came

as gentlemen, as Catholics, to enter an

Order that has been approved by the

Church, and they are subjected to the in-

dignities of drunken brutes. Even the

sacred character of the priest himself is

not respected. God’s holy anointed is

brutally insulted and even struck by a

drunken wretch.

He demands that the Captain of the

Guard be summarily punished and

thrown out of the meeting and the Order,

and that the real work of the Order be

taken up.

As many as wish may make speeches.

The most hotheaded and devout generally

make the best talks. Some of the priests

make especially eloquent pleas against the

whole procedure, and many of the lay-

men are discovered to be eloquent plead-

ers, who never before had dared to speak

in public.

When all have finished, the Grand

Knight stands upon the chair and begs

them to be patient. He deprecates the

unfortunate occurrence. The man will

be tried at once. Seven men will be

picked from their number as a jury. The

charges will be made in due order, and

the verdict of the jury will be received as

final. Are they willing to abide by such

a procedure?

They answer yes.

The candidates are then told to sit

down in the chairs around the wall and

the jury is selected.

The secret service man is one of the

jurors.

The seven are called to the middle of

the chamber and lined up before the

table. Grand Knight — Gentlemen, you must

give up all your valuables, and have your

pockets entirely empty so that you may

hand nothing to one another during the

trial.

I must ask the Captain of the Guard to

go among you and receive all that you

have on your person.

The Captain, amidst wild glares and

murmurs, begins to take the things that

the jurors hand over to him. Some gen-

erally are very angry at him and show it

by their manner; some do not care to

hand him anything.

The secret service man, especially,

shows resentment, and at first refuses to

give up anything. He objects to the pro-

cedure. One of the guards comes up to

him and runs his hands over his clothes.

He resists, and the guard calls out that

he has a revolver in his pocket.

The Grand Knight asks him if it is

true that he has a concealed weapon. He

says that it is true. He is a secret service

man and always carries a revolver.

75

The Grand Knight — You must give

it up.

Secret Service Man — I will not give it

up. 1 am under orders to carry it and

never to allow it to pass from my posses-

sion.

The Grand Knight — Captain of the

Guard, you will see that this gentleman

gives up his weapon.

The Captain steps up to the secret serv-

ice man and asks him for the weapon.

Secret Service Man — You dirty brute,

I would not give it to you in any case.

The Captain catches hold of him and

76

tries to drag the gun from his pocket.

They struggle, and the guards close

around them.

Suddenly the revolver comes out in the

secret service man’s hand. Captain

catches the hand and pulls it down, and

then there is a flash and the sharp report

of the weapon. The Captain reels back-

ward, and blood pours out over his chest.

He falls into the arms of the guards.

77

The Captain of the Guard has a rubber

bag full of red fluid under his robe. This

is pierced by a knife just before the shot,

and gives the delusion of blood flowing

from his breast.

Confusion reigns in the chamber. The

priests rush to give the man absolution,

some of the guards hurry away the secret

service man, and the wounded Captain is

carried out into the ante-room and the

crowd is closed in the chamber.

Experience has shown that the body of

the candidates is always in a strange con-

dition of mind during this period of wait-

ing. The members go about and whisper

of the terrible accident, and hint of the

scandal if the newspapers find out about

the affair. If the secret service man dies,

it will be the end of the Knights of Co-

lumbus.

The dramatic climax is worked up nat-

urally until all the candidates are con-

sumed with anxiety to know the worst.

After ten or fifteen minutes the door of

the ante-room is opened, and the Grand

79

Knight walks into the chamber, followed

by the doctors, the secret service man, and

a well-dressed, clean looking man, whom

all recognize as the Captain of the Guard,

and the decoy priest.

The Grand Knight takes the middle of

the floor, with the others around him, and

begins to speak:

Grand Knight — Gentlemen and Broth-

ers : When I have given the solution of

the strange adventures which you have

gone through this day, you will learn the

most telling lesson ever devised to teach

you that things are not always what they

seem.

He turns to the decoy priest, and pulls

off his collar and rabbi, saying:

Grand Knight — Our good friend and

brother here is not a priest at all. He

bore all the outward marks, but the inner

seal of the sacrament of Orders has never

been imprinted upon his soul. He was

playing a part, and that he played it well,

I know. For I can see upon the faces of

all of you, the expression of relief which

comes to those who awake from a terrible

dream and find that it was only a dream.

And this good brother (turning to the

secret service man and taking him by the

hand) is not a desperate criminal, with

the blood of his fellow upon his head.

Our old friend, the Captain of the Guard,

stands here beaming upon us. A short

time past, you wished almost to tear him

to pieces. You thought him a brute; you

believed him a sacrilegious wretch who

dared to raise his hand against the Lord’s

anointed. It was a delusion. The good

Captain and the good pseudo-father had

conspired together to deceive you. See

how they love each other! (The two

shake hands heartily.)

Brothers, take this lesson to heart, and

bear it with you in all your activities of

life. Judge not by appearances. Things

may not be what they seem. Suspend your

judgment until there can be no mistake.

Then act. Remember this lesson. Cherish

it in your hearts.

You have seen that men are led. Un-

der certain conditions men will do things

that they never would do if they were

alone or stopped to realize what their acts

may lead to.

We asked you to take this dagger and

let your own blood and write with your

own blood your acceptance of our Order.

We had no right to ask you to do such a

thing. If you had insisted upon taking

the pledge, you would have discovered

that this dagger is a trick also. You could

not have hurt yourselves. It is filled with

red fluid, and when you pushed it against

your arm, the red fluid would have flowed

out and looked like blood (demonstrates

with dagger). But it would have been

wrong in intention anyway. If it had

been a real dagger, some zealous brother

would be sure to cut himself badly.

Learn the lesson of your rights as an

individual. You are responsible before

your conscience to God alone. No one

has any right to ask you to do an act which

is evil, no matter for what purpose. Re-

member this lesson.

n dramatic form for you on this occasion.

You were many. The guards were few.

Yet they were able to control you from

the ante-room to the climax you have just

witnessed. Why? They were an organ-

ized unit and knew what they were doing.

You were unorganized and did not know

what to do. If at any moment, one or

two of you had taken the lead and had

gathered the forces of your body about

you, you would have controlled and

beaten the guards. Without leaders you

were simply a mob, expending a great

deal of energy, but accomplishing noth-

ing.

Extend this lesson to your daily life.

Study and work to be leaders of men.

The world is sick because there are not

enough in the active life of today who

can visualize the meaning of life for man-

kind. As Knights of Columbus, you must

be leaders. You are sons of the old

Mother Church, who is the divinely ap-

pointed mother of men.

Study her; learn her ideals, her God-

given means of saving the world, and as

laymen be missionaries in every walk of

life. We must assist our clergy in their

laborious work of saving souls. They are

our spiritual guides and leaders. We

must become leaders of the world, under

their direction, and bring to this sad earth

the kingdom of God and the brotherhood

of man. All must be united in one grand,

glorious band of humanity under the one

mother church.

” ‘I now solemnly pledge myself to

keep sacred the secrets of this Order; to

be a loyal and true son of the Church, and

a faithful member of the Knights of Co-

lumbus. I will always be ruled by

knightly courtesy in my relations with

my fellow men. I pledge myself to God,

to His Holy Church, to my country, to

mankind, to be always a true Knight.

Amen.’

“It is well, brothers. I shall now de-

clare this Council adjourned.”

The secret work is made a part of the

regular council meeting for the benefit of

new members, usually at the first meeting

following the initiation.

It is generally demonstrated by the

Grand Knight, under the head of New

Business.

The new members are led by the Cap-

tain of the Guard to the Grand Knight’s

chair.

The Grand Knight addresses them:

“Brothers, as duly accredited members

of the Knights of Columbus, it is your

right and your duty to become acquainted

with the secret work of the Order.

“The password is important. It ad-

mits you to the Council Chamber. It

must be kept a secret from all outsiders.

89

“The word is changed once a year. For

the present year it is: (One password

was ‘Knights of Columbus shall rule/)

“When you come to a council meeting,

attract the attention of the Outside Guard.

Whisper in his ear the first half of the

password. He will admit you into the

ante-room. Rap upon the entrance of the

Council Chamber. The Inside Guard

will open the wicket and you will whisper

into his ear the last half of the password.

He will then admit you to the Council

Chamber. You will walk to the center

of the chamber and salute the Captain of

the Guard with the usual military salute.

When he returns the salute, you may take

your place among the members of the

council.

“The Grip : The grip is given by shak-

ing hands in the ordinary way, and giv-

90

ing two distinct pressures with all the fin-

gers. This is answered by one sharp pres-

sure. The question which goes with the

grip is, What council do you belong to?’

“If any brother is in distress or needs

aid to accomplish any work, generally in

a crowd, he will call out, ‘Are there any

good men here?’ If there are any Knights

of Columbus present, they will answer,

{ Yes I 1 and come to his assistance.

“The training in the Third Degree will

make it easy for a few to accomplish won-

ders even in a large crowd.

“Brothers, you are now duly accredited

members of the Knight? of Columbus.

You are initiated into the secvets of the

Order. You may come in and go out as

children of one family. I charge you to

be faithful to the Order; true to your

pledge. Never reveal our secrets to out-

siders.

“As Catholics you have all the sanc-

tions of the Church to keep you faithful.

We have the approval and blessing of the

91

Church. The Pope himself, our Most

Holy Father, has given us his Apostolic

benediction. If then — which may God

forbid! — anyone is tempted to reveal our

secrets, let him think well before he acts.

Such a one would surely incur the curse

of God. His name would become a by-

word and a reproach among all honorable

men. He would be shunned and cursed

by all his former fellows, the conscience

of a guilty wretch who has sold his soul,

would sooner or later come home to him,

to chastise him day and night until he

made his peace with God and did true

penance for his crime.

“It is impossible to imagine a brother

who could be guilty of such an act. He

must first become a renegade and an un-

believer, and join himself to the forces of

the devil, who prowls about the world

seeking whom he may devour.

“He deserves the reception which the

devil himself received from God — to be

cast into eternal torture. Only the Infi-

nite Mercy of God can save him from

such a fate. Think well, then, brothers,

THE DARKEST KNIGHTS

Below are images of Jimmy Savile’s funeral.

You may be wondering why am I writing about Savile when this site primarily focuses on the teachers at my school St Joseph’s College, Ipswich, and clerical abusers in Ipswich from the 1960s through to the 1980s.

But regular readers  will know that the Ipswich Knights of St Columba  were part of the Catholic ring of paedophiles in the 1960s and, quite possibly, later decades. They were also intimately associated with St Joseph’s.

And it seems likely that Savile was a Knight of St Columba. So bear with me while I go over the background here.

If you’re a regular reader you will know there is an independent testimony – see an earlier post –  that identifies at least one sexual abuser who was listed as an Ipswich Knight of St Columba.  Namely Father Jolly, the school chaplain, who liked to tape record children’s confessions so he could listen to their ‘impure thoughts’.

Plus there’s my own testimony.

In the independent testimony, by another St Joseph’s pupil, he makes it clear he was the subject of a complex cover up, following Brother James’s violent and very serious sexual assault on him.  Furthermore there are clear indications  in his testimony that there was a sophisticated system by the Knights already in place to deal with problems of this kind.  From his testimony it would seem that  such assaults had happened before, not just in Ipswich and had been covered up.

There’s also a private testimony sent to me by a St Joseph’s Old Boy which explains in great detail how the Knights were operators behind the scenes, the good that they did, just how much power they still have, and he warns me not to ‘piss them off too much or they could bring me much pain.’

I don’t think it can be any worse than the considerable pain they brought me as a child so bring it on, Knights.

I also related in an earlier post how one Knight of St Columba in Colchester had, just a few years ago, used his position to abuse children and received a very stiff prison sentence.  Yet it was barely mentioned in the local press and never made the national media!

So that’s the relevance to Savile, because you can see, officiating at his funeral in Leeds and surrounding the pall bearers, are what appears to be members of the Knights of St Columba.

I say ‘appears’ to be, because there is no official confirmation from the Knights that they are the individuals with the Masonic badges around their necks.   Furthermore, there appears to be a media black-out on the subject, which begs the question:

Why?

After all, no one cares that the marines who carried Savile’s coffin once held him in high regard. It’s reasonable to assume that they were duped just like everyone else.

Savile was, of course, a devoted Catholic and papal knight and it’s also reasonable to assume that, with such a large turn-out of Knights of St Columba officiating at his funeral, he himself was a member.

I know some researchers have explored the possibility that Savile was also a ritual abuser. This is usually reported as ‘wild Satanic rituals’ and I personally have no point of view on it, either way.  But, with Savile, anything is possible.

However, the Knights of St Columba, in my era, definitely had secret rituals which are detailed, colourful, Masonic and even a matter of record on Wikipedia.  The Ipswich Knights rituals at which I was present  were not wild, they were not Satanic and, in fact, these  gentlemen, so full of their own smug self-worth – solicitors, teachers, barristers, surveyors, merchants etc, the cream of  1960s Ipswich society, pillars of the establishment, ended up singing the National Anthem.  It’s why I dislike the Anthem even to this day because it presses old buttons.

More about the Ipswich Knights later, but first – back to Savile.

The photos raises the question: were his associates also Knights? I’m thinking of devout Catholic and ice cream parlour king, Peter Jaconelli, and games arcade boss, Jimmy Corrigan. The Knights of St Columba, traditionally, recruited their members from Catholic businessmen.

According to the North Yorks Enquirer, a source I’ve always found to be authoritative:

Like SAVILE and JACONELLI, (Cardinal) HUME was a Freemason, of high degree, and with infinite loyalty to fellow brothers.

It is now conceded that Jaconelli was a child-abuser and a serial rapist and that he offended openly in Scarborough in joint enterprise with Jimmy Savile.

This particular offence was dealt with by the DPP in 1972, the same year that Savile trafficked patients from Rampton Secure Psychiatric Hospital to Scarborough to meet Mayor Peter Jaconelli and Jimmy Corrigan – another Scarborough character who is known to have enjoyed group sessions with Savile – where they were given money and moved into one of Jaconelli’s ice-cream parlours from which all members of the public had been excluded.

I understand it’s possible to be a Freemason and a Catholic Knight. 

When I first started researching for validation of my memories that confused me for a while. Because there was an overlap between the Ipswich Masons and the Ipswich Knights.  They shared resources, facilities (sport and social clubs) and victims.  At first I thought I must be imagining it, but further time consuming research confirmed it. More on that another time.

Meanwhile, do note – Cardinal Hume, Britain’s one time top Catholic was a Freemason.

 As I’ve related previously, the Knights and the Masons rituals are/were remarkably similar, no matter how far the Knights try to play that down these days.

The facts speak otherwise – and not just the Knights of St Columba, but also the Knights of  St Columbanus (Ireland)  and Columbus (USA).  

I have acres of research on all these gentlemen which bears this out.

 Indeed several commentators and the source of one of the photo links  thinks the individuals officiating at Savile’s funeral are Freemasons.  I’m pretty certain they’re Knights.  I base this assumption on looking at photos of the Leeds KOSC who have the same yellow and cream insignia.

People involved with Savile fall roughly into four camps:

1.Organisations where children and vulnerable people were at risk. Savile’s links to such organisations– we are assured – have been thoroughly investigated. E.G.The BBC.  And that would seem like the right thing to do.  

Although the new mainstream media reporters  revealing the truth on youtube etc (not the prehistoric, censored, mainstream media of yestercentury)  might disagree about the BBC. I’m thinking of the brilliant and courageous journalism of reporters like Anna Brees, for instance.

2. Links to irrelevant organisations were – rightly – not investigated.  E.G.The marines carrying his coffin.  As I’ve said, it’s hardly their fault they got suckered by this creep.

3. Links to Mrs Thatcher, the Royal Family and other important people in government  and the establishment in the UK and abroad who Savile was closely connected with. 

Cardinal Keith O’Brien, ‘Britain’s top cleric’ , for example.  Here’s a photo of him with Savile. The Cardinal resigned ‘amid accusations of inappropriate acts towards his fellow priests.’

Although these individuals have been mentioned and discussed on various sites, they’re mainly  ‘off limits’.  Certainly there is no investigation of their connection with Savile, even though this is a matter of legitimate public concern. After all, why on Earth did Mrs Thatcher and Prince Charles  spend so much time with someone like Savile?

Other researchers have asked these questions and I doubt they’ll ever get the truth although we can all guess. Especially in the post-Epstein era.

But there’s a fourth category that I would say is even more ‘off limits’ than the Royals.

4. The Knights of St Columba.

They seem to be in a unique class of their own.

You won’t find any reference to the Knights and Savile anywhere on the web.

These photos at his funeral are not commented on anywhere.

You won’t find anything negative about the Knights anywhere (apart from one newspaper account of a possible financial fraud case that’s quite old now).

Except on my site.

Which is why you may want to download this post just in case it mysteriously disappears.

Someone has very methodically cleaned the web of anything negative about the KOSC or ensured it was never posted in the first place.  That Colchester case about a Knight of St Columba  I mentioned, for instance.

But the Knights are involved with  children and vulnerable people and, I understand, do lots of charitable work to this day.  Just as they did in my era. Given that papal knight Savile was an indefatigable charity worker, it would be reasonable to assume that he must have helped his local Knights of St Columba at some stage in his career.

Why not acknowledge the fact? It’s unfortunate, but hardly damning. Why be so secretive about the connection? If the whole country was fooled by Savile, why would the Knights be any exception?  No one would hold it against them.  

I certainly wouldn’t, despite what the KOSC Ipswich did to me and other children as a kid. I’ll happily tell myself that was a long time ago and they’ve cleaned up their act and, anyway, it was just the local province.  

There’s a kind of damage limitation exercise I use to try and put it out of my mind.  It goes something like this: ‘It was awful, but it was all a long time ago and St Joseph’s and the Knights must have changed their ways since. And probably the Knights have nothing more to do with the College now. Children are no longer at risk, so does it matter? Why not let it go?’

But I can’t. Damn it.

Because such strange secrecy is a cause for concern today.

And because I know what an earlier generation of Knights of St Columba did to me and to other children.

So I’ll describe some of it just now. I’ll keep it brief because this is already a long blog and I don’t want to get too graphic.  

The Ipswich Knights – in the 1960s anyway – went after the poor and the vulnerable.  We were prey. So my mother was a widow with mental health issues and poor as a church mouse and yet – miraculously – she paid for my brother and I to go to St Joseph’s when neither of us passed the eleven plus.  How? As my mother’s sister told me in recent years, very carefully, aware that she needed to keep the lid on it,  ‘the Church would help’.  E.G. The Knights.  But why? And there’s more which bears it out.  Some of which I’ve related before.

But there’s no such thing as a free lunch and my school fees had to be paid one way or another. That’s certainly how my mother put it to me.

So was I the only victim? Of course not. It’s an elaborate system they must have used on several occasions, at least.  At our church, and also living on the council estate was  a Polish Catholic widow whose daughter was the same age as me, twelve. She was a pupil at the Convent of Jesus and Mary in Woodbridge Rd, Ipswich. I think she had passed her eleven-plus.

I’ve no idea what they promised the mother or daughter. If you’re poor, and they certainly were, it’s not hard to find a way. And when those cowardly Knights of St Columba are dealing with widows, and there’s no man to rightly knock the shit out of them, you can see just how it worked.

I remember there was some preliminary meeting between the two widows with suitable euphemisms and cover-stories employed.  It was also designed as an opportunity for us twelve-years old to be ‘introduced’.  It’s sick, but there it is.

That’s what real poverty can do, when there are predators waiting to pounce.

And the Knights had a woman involved – a wife of one of the top Knights. A very important legal eagle. So she acted as a facilitator and fake chaperone to provide some phoney reassurance, although I think everyone knew what was really going on. If you’re a Catholic, it’s all okay as long as you don’t actually spell it all out.

Basically this woman must have been a 1960s version of Ghislaine Maxwell. I think I mentioned her before in an earlier post. I’ve looked at her background – she was a refugee from Nazi Vienna in the 1930s, roughly the same decadent era as the original novel for Eyes Wide Shut, which was clearly based on real-life.  That’s supposition, of course, but comments in her obituary about her eccentric character bear out my own recollections of her.

So we’re both around 12, it’s 1961, and we’re taken to this big, very old, detached house, right on the edge of Chantry council estate. It had recently changed its original business purpose as the firm had moved elsewhere in Ipswich. It may even have been half empty at that time. And I assume the Knights rented part of it out for the night. With their business connections that would be easy.

Father Jolly drove me there because I had a habit of getting the hell out when it was time to ‘pay my school fees’. And cycling off and hiding until it was safe to return.

I called it the Gingerbread House partly because it had Dutch gables. I’ve just googled Gingerbread Houses and several of the bigger ones look absolutely identical to it.  So if you’re an Ipswich local from my era, and you can be bothered, you can probably figure out where it is.  But I also called it the Gingerbread House because I saw the two of us as Innocents, Hansel and Gretel, Babes in the Wood.  And that wife of the Knight as the Wicked Abusive Witch.  Drawing on that archetypal fairy story helped me to come through the odious experience.

I have a partial memory block on what exactly happened inside. I recall enough to understand and that’s it. And thank God. I don’t really want to remember the details and I don’t think it’s appropriate to write about them anyway. It was the kind of thing these pervert Catholic Knights got off on. It almost certainly had a pseudo-religious ritual element which I’d really rather not dwell on, and that’s all we need to know.

I wish I could say it was a one-off, but I fear it was not. I believe I stopped it after a second visit, but that may or may not be wish fulfilment on my part, because I just wanted the whole damn thing to stop.

Afterwards, Father Jolly drove me just part of the way home and left me to walk the rest. He wanted to get home and I’d served my purpose.

But my strongest memory is the following Sunday. I was an altar boy  at St Marks – the Catholic church on Chantry Estate.  As I’ve mentioned before, all the middle class Catholics  (with the exception of one wealthy family) congregated at the back of the Church. Some of them were Knights. One of them was a teacher at St Joseph’s. There was a definite ‘them and us’, a very noticeable apartheid system, they pointedly kept their distance from the poor on whom some of them, at least, were preying.  It was clearly a case of droit de seigneur and I felt that strongly at the time.

In recent times Epstein behaved in a similar way, preying on the poor, and I’m sure there are many others. .

Anyway, I recall checking out the congregation as Father Jolly gave his sermon.  I looked at the convent girl and I just couldn’t stop staring at her.  Anyone who knows me today will know I’m lousy at hiding how I feel. My face is a total give away – I’d make a lousy conman –  and I imagine I was even worse when I was 12 years old.

God knows what the congregation made of it; doubtless they found a way to dismiss it as ‘that wretched gingerheaded altar boy is ogling that poor girl.’

But I can assure you there was nothing dubious about the look I gave her.  It was a look of absolute shock. I can still feel it right now as I relive that moment.

It was saying ‘What the hell happened to us?’ Or maybe ‘What did they do to us?’

I can’t be precise. Only the shock is there.

I have shed copious tears every time I focus on that moment. It’s why I have to write this blog post.

After a while, as  the sermon ended and she put her hands together in prayer, she very discreetly touched the side of her nose with one finger in the classic ‘don’t be nosey’ gesture.

But it meant rather more to me.

It meant: ‘Let it go’.

And I did.

For a lifetime.

But now it’s time the light of truth was shone on these filth.  

And if today’s Ipswich Knights of St Columba think it’s nothing to do with them, because, hey, lucky for them, there’s no records and no proof, and yadda, yadda, yadda – the usual defensive crap, as recommended by their ungodly, money-orientated insurers – and remain, as always, silent on the subject – not to mention today’s St Joseph’s regime –well…

I’ll let you draw your own conclusions.

BROTHER LAURENCE HUGHES

HEAD OF THE DE LA SALLE BROTHERS IN THE UK AND IRELAND

https://www.delasalle.org.au/blog/district-of-ireland—appointment-of-visitor

Bro Laurence Hughes pictured front row, far right, from a photo of St Joseph’s College teaching staff in the 1980s

I recently posted a school photo of St Joseph’s College Ipswich, from the 1980s. As I’ve said previously, three Old Boys (myself and two others) have identified a total of five abusers in the photo above. 

In fact there were six abusers in this era if one includes the infamous Mike Mercado (not present).

This seems a considerable number of abusers for any one group of teachers and has disturbing implications which I have previously written about.

An Old Boy then advised me as follows:

‘Brother Laurence Hughes (on the extreme right of the photo) is now head of the De La Salle Brothers in the UK and has made statements at various abuse enquiries. He must have at the very least been aware of abuse at St Joseph’s.’

So I looked Brother Laurence up and saw that he has spoken out strongly against child abuse.

Here are two examples. The second quote refers to the notorious Brother James Carragher, surely one of the most evil men to have ever joined the De La Salle Order.

EXAMPLE ONE (from The Scotsman)

‘Brother Laurence Hughes, head of the De La Salle Brothers in Great Britain and Ireland, told the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry he would have expected other members of staff to have known what was going on.

‘Br Hughes said he had already met with survivors abused by the congregation in Northern Ireland and was prepared to do so in Scotland.’

EXAMPLE TWO (from an ITV News report)

‘Carragher is a former member of the De La Salle Brotherhood.

The group released the following statement.

“We totally condemn, without reservation, any action or behaviour which harms young people. The behaviour of James Carragher was a deep betrayal of the Order’s mission to the young and of the trust that was placed in him as a De La Salle Brother. He was dismissed from the Order following previous conviction.

Brother Laurence Hughes, De La Salle Brothers

……………………………………….

A different Old Boy from St Joseph’s in the mid-1980s recognised Brother Laurence in the school photo and had this to say:

‘Brother Laurence. An absolute psycho who assaulted a couple of boys in my second form dorm. He asked to see me once after lights out so I combated it by turning into an objectionable little bastard and he then kept away.’

I asked this Old Boy for permission to quote him anonymously which he gave me.

He then added:

‘This is the dude who would invite 11 year olds into his study after lights out. He bandaged my foot once after a rugby injury and was creepy as fuck.’

Other Old Boys from St Joseph’s may wish to share their recollections of Brother Laurence Hughes in the comments here. Or you can email me in the strictest confidence at pat@millsverse.com.

As you can see from the foregoing, anything you wish to say will be kept strictly anonymous and your privacy respected.

It’s also worth adding that the current St Joseph’s College, Ipswich, has had nothing to say on the huge number of testimonies on this site of child abuse at St Joseph’s in past eras.

The crimes took place before their time but the current school still maintains many proud links with its past, whilst ignoring the endless cases of past abuse. This is certainly a cause of pain for me as a survivor and doubtless many other survivors. 

The testimonies prove beyond any reasonable doubt that serious offences took place in the 1960s to 1980s. Often they are related by different Old Boys in different eras yet describing recognizable modus operandi of the same clerical abusers.