As Related by Mrs. Pitcairn-Knowles

to Rod Davies

in

CROWLEY IN HASTINGS: LAST DAYS OF THE GREAT BEAST

Occult Magazine

CBS Publications, New York, New York, October 1975.

(pages 31 - 32)

[ . . . . ]

Many of the people who knew Crowley are now dead. I was fortunate enough to meet some of those who knew him during the last years of his life, and while they had little to say about his passion for magic and the bizarre, they were able to shed an interesting light upon Crowley as a person.

What did he look like?

I put this question to Mrs. Pitcairn-Knowles, a charming, elderly lady who, with her husband, formerly ran a health hydro called Riposo on The Ridge in Hastings, to which Crowley was known to be a frequent visitor.

"I remember my mother-in-law thought he was a delightful old gentleman," Mrs. Pitcairn-Knowles told me. "I liked him too. He was a benevolent old chap, quite tall and with sparse, brown hair and he wore spectacles. He used to dress in a Norfolk jacket with knickerbockers and frequently I'd see him walking along The Ridge enjoying the sun. He loved the sun. Every so often he'd stop, lean against a lamppost, and hold his hands up to the sun, and smile. He'd stay like that for five or ten minutes and then walk on.

"He had lots of charm and personality, and he would often pass the time of day with either myself or my husband. We'd just talk about the weather or the sea—things like that."

Mrs. Pitcairn-Knowles did remember one occasion when Crowley discarded his Norfolk jacket and knickerbockers for a costume a trifle more eccentric. It was on the day of a children's party at Netherwood to which she had been invited, and that was being held for her nephew, Clive.

"Clive was asked who he wanted at the party," she said, "and he replied that he wanted Mr. Crowley to come. So Mr. Crowley was invited. He turned up dressed in a magnificent turquoise robe with a cummerbund, into which was pushed a large dagger, and with a turban on his head. And on his fingers he had enormous rings made from lumps of uncut turquoise. He just sat and beamed at the children, ate some food and then, later, went to bed. The children all seemed very much at home with him."