The Creighton-Ward Gallery guide

The Vanishing Trick
Amanda Creighton-Ward in Victorian London
Writer: Unknown.
Artist: Chris Higham (?), 2 pages b/w.

Part 1: Lady Penelope No. 36, 24th September 1966
It is the day after Amanda Creighton-Ward's birthday. Miss Balchin, the governess, suggests that Amanda should take a drive around town with her brother, Mark Creighton-Ward, and that they should make it a point to visit 'The Magic Shop'. They do so, and are shown some tricks by a man who knows a lot about their circumstances. Mark is enthralled by the performance, but Amanda thinks it sinister. She buys a small box - The Vanishing Trick - and drags Mark from the shop. The rest of the day passes as usual, but Amanda is woken at three o'clock in the morning. From her window, she sees Mark walking down the street: he tells her that he is going to the 'Magic Shop'. Amanda dresses and heads for the shop, but on arrival she cannot find it. There is only a boarded up, derelict shop front. When asked, a policeman tells her that the shop has been closed for twenty years or more!

Part 2: Lady Penelope No. 37, 1st October 1966
Amanda returns home, and remembers the trick she bought: it will prove that the visit to the shop had not been a dream. Inside the box is a slip of paper with writing which begins to fade as soon as it is brought into the light:
You will find your brother in Connaught Terrace exactly as dawn breaks this morning. But you will be too late to save him. He is already in my power.
Amanda rushes to the place named. As she watches, Mark smashes a shop window and makes off with a handful of jewels, outrunning two policemen. Knowing her only clue is the 'Magic Shop', Amanda returns there. She removes one of the boards and finds the shop is not derelict after all. Inside, she spies her brother in the cellar, and listens as the man who sold her the trick, now named as 'The Professor', explains his plan to the gang of cut-throats assembled there. He has hypnotised Mark and will force him to carry out crime after crime, and at the last will order him to commit murder and turn himself in to the police. In this way 'The Professor' will exact revenge on the man who sent his brother to prison. That man is Lord Chief Justice of all England - the father of Amanda and Mark! Amanda decides to go to the police, but outside the shop she meets Miss Balchin who reveals herself to be the Professor's sister!

Part 3: Lady Penelope No. 38, 8th October 1966
Now that he has Amanda prisoner, the Professor decides to end his plan early. He orders his gang to pack all the stolen items and take them upstairs to be collected in two hours time. Amanda tries to escape, but one of the men trips her, and in her fall she dislodges a gas pipe. The Professor and Miss Balchin take Amanda and Mark to the Creighton-Ward's home in Curzon Square. There they tie Amanda to a chair, and instruct Mark to gather the furniture together and set fire to it. After doing so, he is to go to the police and confess to the murder of his sister. The Professor and Miss Balchin leave to collect their money from the bank, after which they will return to the Magic Shop to pick up the stolen goods. Amanda frantically tries to escape from her bonds and stop Mark, but in vain, and she watches in horror as her brother is about to set light to the house. Meanwhile, the Professor and his sister are about to enter the Magic Shop. The leaking gas ignites, and the shop explodes, killing the two. At that moment, in Curzon Square, the hypnotic spell is broken and Mark returns to his senses just in time.

Notes:
• We do not learn Amanda's age, but Mark is older than her: he is sixteen.
• Amanda and Mark's parents are way in India - just as Penelope's own would be.
• Amanda can hear the bell of St Mary Overgate church from her room. There is no record of a church so named near Curzon Square (which is were the Creighton-Ward children are living). Did the author invent it?
• Miss Balchin shares her brother's skill in hypnotism and it was she who initially hypnotised Mark, presumably at the Creighton-Ward home.
• This is the only one of the stories to have a supernatural resolution. It is not clear why the death of the hypnotists should result in Mark being freed from the post-hypnotic suggestions. In that it is unsatisfying, but this is a personal observation.


All the King's Men
Helen Creighton-Ward in the time of Oliver Cromwell
Writer: Unknown.
Artist: John Canning, 2 pages b/w.

Part 1: Lady Penelope No. 39, 15th October 1966
Sir Guy Creighton-Ward is off to fight in the war against Cromwell. He leaves his daughter, Helen, at home in the protection of an old servant named Rathbone, and tells her that a cousin, Jeremy Creighton-Ward will be arriving to keep her company. Later, Rathbone goes to the local village with a fresh horse for Jeremy's arrival. When he returns to Helen it is only to tell her that Jeremy did not appear and that there was a party of Roundheads making a nuisance of themselves in the village inn. Late that night, Jeremy has still not arrived, and Helen fears he may have been taken prisoner by the Roundheads. She persuades Rathbone to accompany her to the village to find out if anyone knows what has happened to her cousin. On the way, they hear the Roundheads at their camp in the woods. Creeping closer, they are able to overhear an officer complaining that no guards have been set to watch the camp. Then the officer steps into the light of the fire: Helen and Rathbone recognise him as Jeremy! He is thought to be loyal to the King's cause, and will know their plans, so Helen decides she must ride through the night and warn her father...

Part 2: Lady Penelope No. 40, 22nd October 1966
Helen and Rathbone are caught by guards and brought into the camp. Rathbone pretends Helen is his daughter and that they are seeking herbs to cure his sick wife, but Colonel Slater knows Helen must be a Royalist because of the fine clothes beneath her cloak. He threatens her, but Jeremy intervenes. At that moment, a horseman reports that there are Royalist cavalry nearby, and Slater calls the men to arms. Jeremy is assigned to secure the prisoners before joining the attack. Helen addresses him by name, but he tells her to be silent and locks her and Rathbone inside a small hut, leaving guards outside. They wait for hours, and then hear the removal of the wooden bar which locks the hut. When they look outside, the guards have gone...

Part 3: Lady Penelope No. 41, 29th October 1966
Helen and Rathbone leave the hut, but the alarm is raised by a guard who seems to have just woken up. The other guards are roused, but a mounted Royalist appears silhouetted against the sky and mocks them. While the guards pursue him, Helen and Rathbone make their escape. Leaving the woods, they are surprised to find two fresh horses tethered to a tree, almost as if they have been left there for them. Friends of Rathbone have news that Sir Guy had ridden north, heading towards Warwick. Riding that way, Helen and Rathbone come across a wounded Royalist. He tells them the battle went badly, and, fearing for her father's life, Helen is about to begin searching the battlefield, when she hears her father calling to her. She tells him about Jeremy, and Sir Guy leads them to where the standard is now being raised. On the way, Helen once again sees a mounted Royalist apparently keeping watch on them - the same who distracted the guards earlier. She wonders who he can be, but her father does not know...

Part 4: Lady Penelope No. 42, 5th November 1966
Helen travels with her father to the Royalist camp of the Earl of Lindsay. Once arrived, she is introduced to the Earl. He tells her that he met with her cousin only a few hours ago, and Sir Guy gives him the news that Jeremy is fighting with the enemy. The army moves on early the next morning, Sir Guy intending to leave Helen with a decent family before entering battle again. But the Royalists are ambushed. Sir Guy tells Helen to ride from the battle. She races through a wood, but her horse falters and Helen is thrown to the ground. Then she hears the sound of approaching footsteps, and tries to hide...

Part 5: Lady Penelope No. 43, 12th November 1966
Helen watches as Roundheads approach, and fears they will find her. Then Sir Guy and his men carve a path through them and ride onwards, and Helen realises her father must think she was already safely through the wood. Now she is alone, and hears more Roundheads approaching. They search the woods, and Helen is found by Colonel Slater and taken to the camp. She refuses to give him any information, but Jeremy advises her it will be safer to speak. She accuses him of being a traitor, and this arouses Slater's suspicions regarding Jeremy. He order that Jeremy's saddle bags be searched, and fine clothes, more suited to a Royalist, are found. Slater demands an explanation, and Jeremy gives him a letter:
From Tom Fairfax,
The bearer of the message is to be given every aid and comfort. Special duties - answerable only to Parliament.
Slater now accepts that Jeremy is not a traitor, and again demands the Helen give him information...

Part 6: Lady Penelope No. 44, 19th November 1966
Helen once more refuses to give any information to Slater. He reaches for her, but at that moment a soldier rushes into camp with a warning that the Royalists are approaching. Battle begins, and Helen hears her father calling for her. Slater holds her hostage, with a sword at her throat. The Royalists are winning, and Slater tells his men to flee - he will be safe with Helen as his hostage. But Helen twists in his grasp: Slater is caught by surprise and falls onto his sword and dies. The next morning, Sir Guy announces that he must return home to raise more troops. On the way they see a carriage, and Helen recognises the man driving the horses as Jeremy. They give chase and Sir Guy's men surround the carriage. Jeremy protests his innocence, but is not believed. Then the occupant of the carriage alights - it is Prince Charles himself. The Prince explains that Jeremy is indeed innocent, and had been working under orders direct from the King: Jeremy gaining the confidence of the Roundheads was all part of the plan. Helen realises that her cousin must have been the Cavalier she saw on the hill. While the Prince continues his journey to France, Sir Guy makes his way homeward, with Helen longing for the day when the war will be over.


Dark Avenger
Julia Creighton-Ward in Eighteenth Century England
Writer: Unknown.
Artist: Chris Higham (?), 2 pages b/w.

It's strange, really, how danger has always seemed to attract the Creighton-Ward family. Take the lovely Julia Creighton-Ward - she was certainly no exception...

Part 1: Lady Penelope No. 45, 26th November 1966
Lady Creighton-Ward is too ill to accept an invitation to a party held by Mr Collington, a successful businessman who has bought Hawksby Hall and renamed it Collington Hall. She asks her daughter, Julia, to attend. At the gathering, Julia meets Mr Collington for the first time, and finds him to be a loud, boastful man. Her attention is caught by one of Mr Collington's employees, a young man named Richard Peters. The businessman demands to know why some of the rents have not been collected, and Mr Peters explains that the recent torrential rains have destroyed the crops and the tenants have asked for more time to pay. Julia tells Mr Collington that her parents' tenants have had the same problem, but he is completely unsympathetic and determines that they shall either pay or leave. Julia is angered by his lack of understanding for the poor tenants, and decides not to stay at the party. It is raining, so Mr Collington insists that he take her home in his carriage. On the way, the carriage stops and Mr Collington demands to know why. The reason is simple: they are being held up by a highwayman!

Part 2: Lady Penelope No. 46, 3rd December 1966
The highwayman robs all in the coach except Julia, who has nothing to give. Mr Collington is furious and swears he will see the scoundrel hang. Julia is too busy to think about the highwayman in the following days as, with her father away and her mother ill, she must run the estate. But a trip to the blacksmith reminds her when she sees a poster plastered to the side of his forge:
To All Lawful Citizens! A reward of 100 gold sovereigns is offered for news of the desperate highwayman who is at present plundering the countryside. Apply to R. Collington, Esquire, Collington Hall.
The blacksmith admires the highwayman, and tells Julia that, strangely, he robs only Mr Collington and his friends. Julia is intrigued by this information and is deep in thought when she comes across Mr Collington and Richard Peters on her way home. The businessman tells her that his hard-handed methods work, for all the tenants have found the money to pay their rents after all. Julia is surprised by this, and surmises that they must have been given help to pay. Determined to discover the identity of this helper, she asks Mrs Malone, one of the tenants on her parents' estate: it being well known locally that not even a bird could leave its nest without Mrs Malone knowing about it. At first the woman is reluctant to tell where the money came from, but Julia forces her to reveal that it was the highwayman who helped the tenants. On her way back, Julia meets Mr Collington leading a group of riders. He has heard that a carriage belonging to influential friends of his has been held up by the highwayman only a quarter of an hour ago, and he hopes to catch the scoundrel. Continuing on her way, Julia rides through the woods, and meets the highwayman. She tells him that she has no wealth, but he replies that she has nothing to fear from him and that he will reveal his identity to her...

Part 3: Lady Penelope No. 47, 10th December 1966
The highwayman removes his mask... he is Richard Peters! He explains that he could not stand by and watch the tenants be evicted from their homes. Robbery seemed the only solution, and Julia finds she cannot condemn him for his actions. As they talk, Mr Collington and his men enter the wood. All appears lost for Richard, but Julia insists that he give her his cloak: she knows the land better than he, and will be able to loose the pursuers. He reluctantly agrees, and Julia rides off. But as she rounds the wood, there are four riders waiting for her, and she is captured. Mr Collington demands to know where the real highwayman is, but she refuses to tell him. Back ay Collington hall, he threatens her, but at that moment Richard enters the room. He explains to Mr Collington his reasons for posing as a highwayman. Richard's situation seems grave, but then an angry crowd of tenants, led by the blacksmith, appears outside. They are grateful to Richard for helping them, and they are prepared to rescue him by force if need be. Richard thanks them, but sends them home, not wanting them to get into trouble for his sake. When they have left, Mr Collington, seeing how well Richard dealt with the angry mob, surprises all present by offering him the job of running the estate - 'as long as he shows a profit!'. Richard thinks it a dream come true, and Julia feels herself fortunate to have shared in that dream.

Notes:
• The lettering of the title for Dark Avenger was by art assistant Bob Reed; one of the earliest tasks he carried out in the comics.

Disclaimer: No ouija boards were used in the gathering of information about Lady Penelope's ancestors.

The Gerry Anderson Complete Comic History would like to thank:
Gillian & Angus Allan
and Bob Reed
- for their help with this feature.

Version 1.1 - 15.09.05


Any comments or notes about any of the strips, please contact technodelic@blueyonder.co.uk.

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