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Correspondence from Gerald Yorke to Charles Stansfeld Jones
27 June 1948
Dear Jones,
Your 22/6/48. I have two files for your letters, one for your 'official' communications, the other for letter beginning 'dear Yorke'.
I return by slow post the photographs and Mudd's [Norman Mudd] letter, also the series re A∴A∴ I would have returned the former sooner, but had thought that being a copy you were letting me keep it. I have now taken a few notes and return it. Many thanks. The photo of A.C. in Sicily has been copied and will probably be used as an illustration.
Do get the Life clear in your mind. John Symonds is writing it as literary executor at A.C.'s request. The book is his entirely, and I merely answer questions and give advice as and when I am asked to do so. The book is John's, not mine. Had the old boy wanted me to write it he would have asked me to do so.
If the American section is incorrect the responsibility will be yours, as you are withholding vital original material. It is a great pity that when the old boy's enemies are willing to come forward with all the material at their disposal, his at one time favourite disciple should withhold vital material.
Your factual account of the old boy's O.T.O. activities when in the States, is just what I wanted. My main object in seeing Clymer [R. Swinburne Clymer] was to get this information from you.
Rituals 0 — III which I have are what you call the Detroit rituals. As I expect you know, the original set of rituals were written in or about 1912 at Reuss's [Theodor Reuss] request. They were however based on Liber Legis, and the Danish and possibly the Italian lodges turned them down for that reason, while Reuss himself got into considerable difficulty from adopting a version of the Gnostic Mass. Cowie [George MacNie Cowie] of course never worked the later rituals, as his lodges had been suppressed while A.C. was in the States. I am however pretty certain that both Windram [James Windram] and Bennett [Frank Bennett] had them, though whether they actually worked them in lodge I do not know. Incidentally I have De Arte Magica Secumdum Ritum Gradus Nonae O.T.O., which was written for Windram in An. X. A.C.'s own reason for rewriting his rituals 0 — III was that masons (I think Yarker [John Yarker] in particular) objected to some of the symbology being cribbed from their systems, and A.C. then rewrote them to get over this difficulty. As O.H.O. [Outer Head of the Order] he definitely used these revised rituals. Used is the wrong term, because he had no lodge working in England. He did however issue these revised rituals officially—I myself now know three people to whom he have the full set less 6° which he lost. He also charters one man [Gerald Gardner] before his death to do lodge work in England with the revised rituals, though nothing has come of it to date, and I do not think that anything will come of it.
Smith [Wilfred Talbot Smith] I think is still alive. He was excommunicated by the old boy, and when I wrote him giving him an account of the funeral, he did not reply.
Yours,
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