The Dr Watson in my family tree

(or, A rambling blog entry even by my standards)

I've been having a lot of fun reading the Sherlock Peoria website lately, and I'm particularly impressed by the attempt to put together a definitive timeline for the 60 Sherlock Holmes adventures. Many people have tried their hands at this task in the past, and since all sane people would give up on the idea once they've read "The Red-Headed League" and noticed that April 27 is followed exactly eight weeks later by October 9 (Arthur Conan Doyle wasn't quite as precise with details as his famous creation), there's always scope for a lot of creativity. This website has my favourite view of all the ones I've seen, asserting that Watson was married a total of six times (the last being to Mrs Hudson) and that he hallucinated the presence of Sherlock Holmes in two stories that actually took place during the period when Holmes was thought to be dead. Recommended reading for everyone!

The whole of the wider website is full of fun articles and snippets, in fact, marred only by one occurrence of that universal American belief that the British measure distances in kilometres. Honestly, I've never met an American who didn't believe that, whether it's Americans who've visited Britain repeatedly in the past or ones who resolutely know nothing about the world outside the USA, they can all confidently tell you that they use kilometres in Britain. It's probably taught at schools. There's probably an exam on foreign countries that you have to pass to graduate from university, in which the only question is "What do they use to measure distance in Britain? a) Miles; b) Kilometers; c) Cubits; d) All of the above." All American exams are multiple-choice, and the pass-mark is 25%.

Anyway, I've drifted a tiny bit away from my original point and lurched into a stereotypical characterisation of Americans that's even more offensive than the murderous Mormons and sinister Scowrers you'll find in Sherlock Holmes, so let me go back to what I was meaning to write about, and something that isn't really gone into on Sherlock Peoria - the question of Dr Watson's first name.

For the uninitiated, it goes like this: The first Sherlock Holmes book, "A Study in Scarlet" (1887) is introduced as "Being a reprint from the reminiscences of John H. Watson, M.D.", and after the lengthy digression into Utah written by an unidentified omniscient narrator, the penultimate chapter is titled "A continuation of the reminiscences of John Watson, M.D." But then in "The Man With The Twisted Lip" (1891), Watson's wife refers to him as James. This is the only time in all the Sherlock Holmes stories that anyone uses poor Watson's first name in dialogue. It goes unmentioned for a quarter of a century after that, when the preface to the book "His Last Bow" (1917), written in character by Watson, is signed "John H. Watson, M.D.", and finally the name is used again in "The Problem of Thor Bridge" (1922), when narrator Watson mentions that he keeps his papers in a dispatch-box labelled "John H. Watson, M.D."

Most people dismiss the "James" as a mistake, or else write it off as a pet name used by Watson's wife. And after all, Professor Moriarty and his brother are both called James in different stories, while a character with what should be the memorable name of Athelney Jones becomes Peter Jones when he reappears later, so you have to suspend your disbelief a tiny bit. But if you want to take the Sherlock Holmes stories seriously, I think you have to assume that although Watson's first name was in fact John, he was universally known as James to everyone who knew him.

All of which sounds entirely plausible when you consider my great-uncle James/John Palmer, who puzzled me a lot when I was researching my family tree. I really need to try to look into his life some more and establish why he apparently couldn't settle on a name for himself. I'm at least 99% convinced that there aren't two very similarly-named people who lived very similar lives, but judge for yourself - here are all the certificates and censuses I've got with his name on them:

April 5th, 1891, census:
John Palmer, 3, lives at 50 Powell Street with his father, John W. Palmer, 40, brewery labourer, mother Jane Palmer, 27, and brothers George, 2, and Joseph, 2 months.

March 31st, 1901, census:
John Palmer, 13, errand boy, lives at 50 Powell Street with his widowed mother Jane, 38, brother Joseph, 10, and sister Hannah, 6.

August 2nd, 1908, marriage certificate:
Groom John William Palmer, 23, bachelor, carter, 50 Powell St, father William Palmer (deceased), labourer. Bride Florence Pridmore, 23, spinster, 143 Daisy Walk, father William Thomas Pridmore, bricklayer.

May 17th, 1909, birth certificate:
Baby James William, born to mother Florence Palmer, formerly Pridmore, and father James William Palmer, mineral water carter, 34 Hunt Street.

April 2nd, 1911, census:
James William Palmer, 26, mineral water carter, wife Florence Palmer, 25, and son James William Palmer, 1, live at 143 Daisy Walk.

October 17th, 1911, birth certificate:
Baby Norman, born to mother Florence Palmer, formerly Pridmore, and father John William Palmer, mineral water carter, 143 Daisy Walk.

October 5th, 1913, marriage certificate:
Florence's brother Wilfred gets married, and the witnesses are John William Palmer and Florence Palmer.

June 17th, 1914, birth certificate:
Baby Jennie, born to mother Florence Palmer, formerly Pridmore, and father John William Palmer, moulder's labourer, 1 in court 2 Bond Street.

May 13th, 1920, death certificate:
Death of Florence Palmer, wife of James William Palmer, brewery stableman (ex army), 10 Brough Street.

March 20th, 1926, marriage certificate:
Groom James William Palmer, 40, widower, stableman, 10 Brough Street, son of William Palmer (deceased), brewery worker. Bride Fanny Thornton, 40, spinster, 10 Brough Street.


This is a man who advances his age by three years when he gets married, so there's something shifty about him. The family seem to have gone down in the world over the years, too - first they live at Daisy Walk (4 rooms, according to the census form), which was the Pridmores' old house before they moved to Hunt Street, but then after the war they're reduced to moving in with Florence's sister Lilian and her family, and all living together at the Brough Street house (5 rooms for the Palmers and their three children, the Mays and their four). But I'd like to know why he starts calling himself James in 1908/9, switches back to John in 1911, then becomes James again by 1920. I mean, really, what did great-aunt Florence marry into?

Krypton Force Five

Blogger's got a new fancy interface thing, and I think it's now such that I can share a spreadsheet with the world and not lose all the formatting! So this one is for fans of my Krypton Force blog that summarises all those releases of Force Five cartoons by my favourite cheap video label. That post brings in more google-search-directed pageviews than anything else I've written, you know. Except the one about how to give yourself food poisoning.

Here's a summary of the original Japanese episode titles (translated, sometimes badly, into English), the titles of the Force Five translations of 26 episodes from each series, the rarer-than-hen's-teeth pre-cert Video Brokers releases, and everyone's favourites, the Krypton Force videos. Just for anyone who's out to collect them all. All this information is, I think, gathered together on the internet for the very first time, and although it involves a teensy bit of guesswork here and there, it's at least 90% accurate. And what more could you want?

(If this doesn't look readable on your computer, please tell me. It looks okayish on mine.)

Getter Robo G		Starvengers			Formators
Japanese number	Japanese title	Force Five	Episode Title	Video brokers tape	Krypton Force number	Krypton Force tape
1	Revive, Getter Robo!	1	Who'll Fly Poseidon	1a	2a	The New Starvenger
2	Mystery of the Fearsome 100 Demon Empire	2	Dragon Formation... Switch On!	1b	2b	The New Starvenger
3	An Insidious Trap! The Flying Fleet	3	Sky Tankers Away	2a	3a	The Havoc Symbol
4	Benkei! Victory Of Tears	4	Tip Gets The Needle	2b	3b	The Havoc Symbol
5	The Frightening Hydrogen Bomb Plan	5	Atomic Blackmail	11b
6	The Dream Shredding Hyakki Empire	6	The Star Energizer's Gone	3a	4a	Star Energizers
7	After That Black Jet!
8	Two Stars Shining in the Night Sky
9	SOS! Getter Robo, Please Respond!	7	A Deserted Laboratory	3b	4b	Star Energizers
10	Attacking the Demon Island!	8	The Island Fortress	4a	5a	Earths Defence
11	The Hyakki Empire! The Road to the General	9	Honour Redeemed	4b	5b	Earths Defence
12	Showdown in the Desert!
13	Bat Bombs Crisis!	10	Tip's Falcon	12a	7a	Birds Of Prey
14	A Friend became Wind
15	The Ballad of the Red Butterfly
16	Battle!! Stormy Man's Road
17	Koro, Bark For Tomorrow	11	Joey Finds A Friend	5a	6a	Joey & The Pup
18	Danger in Izu Penisula Shallows
19	Rescue Dr. Saotome!	12	Mount Pandemonium Explodes	11a
20	Major Battle! Mecha Fortress	13	Star Fire part 1	6a	9a	Star Fire
21	Final Battle! Shinespark	14	Star Fire part 2	6b	9b	Star Fire
22	Jumbo Jet Disappears On The Ocean Floor	15	Free Trip To Danger	5b	6b	Joey & The Pup
23	Moonlight Dancing Clown	16	Send Out The Clowns	7a	8a	Omicron Ray
24	A Boy Screaming Into The Sea	17	A Boy Crying To The Sea	7b	8b	Omicron Ray
25	Michiru Disappears into the Beach
26	He who became a Demon!
27	Swallow, Fly away	18	Flight Of The Swallow	8a
28	Green Earth Dies
29	Whistle after the tears	19	A Family Reunion	8b
30	Dry Snow Sneak Attack!
31	Burn! Ryo's Sword
32	What's Up With That Healthy Girl?	20	A Girl Named Maria	9a	10a	Fear Of Imagination
33	Dusk knows
34	Showdown! Hyakki Three Brothers	21	Triple Play	9b	10b	Fear Of Imagination
35	Never Die Hyakki Old Soldiers	22	The Old Warrior	10a
36	Benkei Assassination Plot	23	The Cry Of Silence	10b
37	Approaching Crisis In Japanese Waters?	24	The Mother Quail's Strategy	12b	7a	Birds Of Prey
38	Emperor Brai 's Counter Attack	25	The Battle For Earth part 1	13a
39	Battle! Sky over Japan	26	The Battle For Earth part 2	13b

SF Saiyuki Starzinger		Spaceketeers			Sci-Bots
Japanese number	Japanese title	Force Five	Episode Title	Video brokers tape	Krypton Force number	Krypton Force tape
1	The Journey To The Great Planet	1	Aurora Accepts The Challenge	1a
2	The Princess Of Space	2	The Invincible Warrior	1b
3	The Planet Of Mud	3	Enter The Space Hog	2a
4	The Adventure And The Dream	4	One For All And All For One	2b
5	Friendship Is The Strongest	5	Crystal Palace	3a	12a	Crystal & The Space Bees
6	The Astrobat	6	Swarm Of The Space Bees	3b	12b	Crystal & The Space Bees
7	The Bravery Of Haka	7	The Panther Bat	4a	11a	Star Point Tantar
8	The Nightmare Of Energy	8	All For One And None For All	4b	11b	Star Point Tantar
9	The Lost Star
10	The Symbol Of The Lost
11	Doctor Mud	9	Dr Snark's Chance	5a	10a	Snark & The Diamonds
12	Don't Die, Princess!	10	The Galactic Diamond	5b	10b	Snark & The Diamonds
13	The Split Planet	11	Enter Tryax Khan	13a	4a	Betrayal
14	The Fort Planet	12	Reluctant Enemies	6a	9a	Surrender By Force
15	The Dark Point	13	Too Much Monkey Business	6b	9b	Surrender By Force
16	A Dead Flower
17	A Shadow In The Water	14	Eye Of The Beholder	7a	8a	Evil Catyla
18	Hot Wave	15	Sacrifice To Rorka	7b	8b	Evil Catyla
19	Bye-Bye Captain	16	Heart Of Ice	8a	7a	Zalo
20	Unbeaten Mart
21	Underground Hero
22	Lost Monster
23	Telepathic Vision
24	One Of Two Is A Liar	17	Truth And Consequences	8b	7b	Zalo
25	The Bright Planet	18	A Rose Is A Rose	9a	6a	Love And Treasure
26	A Terrible Battle	19	Treasure Of Tryax Khan	9b	6b	Love And Treasure
27	Kin Kin Attacks Again	20	Menace Of The Fire Dragons	10a	3a	Battle Of The Flame Dragon
28	The Death Of Queen Cosmos	21	A Stitch In Time And Space	10b	3b	Battle Of The Flame Dragon
29	Fort Goldstar	22	An Enemy Betrayed	11a	13a	Dector The Betrayer
30	The Three Brothers	23	The Three Brothers	11b	13b	Dector The Betrayer
31	Revolution Of Lephan	24	The Truth About Solda	12a	5a	Death Valley
32	The Monster's Love
33	Devil Of Space	25	The Sayleen Solution	12b	5b	Death Valley
34	Cursed Forest Of Glass	26	The Mirror Cracks	13b	4b	Betrayal
35	The Monster's Heart
36	Without A Planet
37	Lonely Wolf Of The Space
38	The Dog-Robot
39	The Eternal Snow
40	The Princess Is Missing In The Planet Magma
41	The Big Search For The Princess
42	A Woman From The Dark Past
43	Kill The Princess, With Love !
44	The Red Desert Oath
45	Lullaby In The Battle
46	Soldiers Of The Foreign Legion
47	Tomorrow Will Be The Day
48	The Attack Of King Ghyuma
49	Queen Lacet's Plot
50	The Last Day Of The Evil Stronghold
51	Hurry Up , Soldiers Of Love !
52	The Last Day Of The Evil Forces
53	Unexpected Attack (Black Sun)
54	Princess Aurora In The Hands Of The Devil
55	The Battle Of The Planet Girara
56	End Of A Wicked One
57	The Primitive Appearance Of The Monsters
58	The Ghost Queen Edora
59	The Enigma Of The Ancient Planet
60	Destruction Of Earth
61	Back To Bright Sun !
62	Planet Atlates
63	Beyond The Storm
64	The Monster Of Light
65	Cogo's New Circuits
66	The Abduction Of The Princess
67	The Planet Of The Slaves
68	The Little Demon
69	The Fifth Planet
70	The Fake Cogo
71	Tears Of Pain
72	The Final Battle
73	Farewell, Princess

UFO Robo Grendizer		Grandizer			Orion Quest
Japanese number	Japanese title	Force Five	Episode Title	Video brokers tape	Krypton Force number	Krypton Force tape
1	Brothers Of The Universe	1	Robot Back To Action	1a	3a	Red Moon
2	Prince Of The Other World	2	Beware The Red Moon	1b	3b	Red Moon
3	The Tragic Fiesta
4	The Island Of Fear	3	The Southern Cross	2a	1a	Triple Triangle
5	The Pitfall Of Death	4	General Ding	2b	1b	Triple Triangle
6	Attack On Perlepolis
7	The Feast Of The Wolves	5	No Honour Among Thieves	3a	2a	Vega
8	The Radars Are Off	6	Blinded By The Fog	3b	2b	Vega
9	The Black Moon Camp
10	Vega's Spy	7	The Youngest Spy	4a	4a	The Youngest Eclipse
11	The Day When The Sun Will Stop	8	A Vegan Eclipse	4b	4b	The Youngest Eclipse
12	Blood On Snow
13	By Iron And By Fire	9	Solar Powered Invaders	5a
14	The Day Of The Rising Sun
15	Red Akerae
16	The Fiance Of Death	10	Love Conquers All	5b
17	The Infernal Ride	11	A Run In The Snow	6a
18	The New Time Of The Caves
19	The Crushed Town	12	The Orphan	6b
20	Earth In Danger	13	The Lunar Menace	7a
21	The Submerged Continents	14	The Northern Lights	7b
22	The Slayers Of The Sky	15	Coward Or Hero?	13a
23	The Flood Of The New Worlds	16	Brenda's Guardian Angel	8a
24	The Enforcer	17	Brenda To The Rescue	8b
25	Fleed's Lovers
26	The Edges Of The Abyss	18	The Gift Of Life part 1	9a
27	Win Or Perish	19	The Gift Of Life part 2	9b
28	The New Masters Of Darkness
29	The Fire Bird
30	The Lightning Rock	20	The Radiation Rock	10a
31	A Dreamer From Outer Space	21	The Return Of The Boss	10b
32	The Ghost Queen	22	Upon A Sweeter Memory	11a
33	The Wings Of Death	23	All Things Great And Small	11b
34	The Mercenary Of Opression	24	Taos The Wolfman	12a
35	The First Raid
36	The Invincible Cosmos	25	Achilles Heel	12b
37	A Star Is Dead	26	Of Noble Friends	13b
38	Darkness Makers
39	The Patrol Of Eagles
40	The Awakening Of Volcanoes
41	Baptism Of Fire
42	Peril In Abode
43	The Victory Of Eagles
44	When Dogs Are Loosened
45	Ants And Men
46	The Ballet Of Sharks
47	The Ignited Lake
48	World In Fusion
49	The Last Survivor
50	The Four Headed Eagle
51	The Black Star
52	The Monsters Generation
53	The Beast
54	The Snake
55	The Loch Ness Monster
56	The Lynx Of Outer Space
57	The Monster Child
58	The Double
59	The Commando
60	The Rats
61	Pegasus
62	The Swans
63	The Polar Bear
64	Five Minutes To Die
65	A Big One
66	Death Comes From The Sea
67	The Dived Operation
68	The Great Pain
69	Like Father, Like Son
70	The Impostor
71	The Best Friend
72	A Princess In Love
73	For The Love Of The Earth
74	It's Only A Goodbye

Daiku Maryu Gaiking		Gaiking			Protectors
Japanese number	Japanese title	Force Five	Episode Title	Video brokers tape	Krypton Force number	Krypton Force tape
1	Mysterious Black Holes	1	Aries Joins The Team	1a	1a	Vital Element
2	A Necessary Fight	2	Right Down The Middle	1b	1b	Vital Element
3	The Enigma Of Emperor Darius	3	The Dark Horror Corps Strikes	2a
4	The Haniwa With Shining Eyes
5	Brave Yamagatake
6	The Mu Empire	4	The Last Continent	3a
7	The Awful Inverted Death Cross	5	Jaws Of Darius	2b
8	The Space Dragon Goes Out Of Control
9	The Nazca Lines Mystery	6	Mystery Of The Nasuka	3b
10	Skyler Jumps Into Death
11	Crying Hachiro	7	Great Balls Of Fire	4a
12	Answer, Midori!	8	Pendant For Nebula	4b
13	The Red Scorpion Barks In The Desert	9	Devil Of The Desert part 1	5a
14	Space Dragon's Counterattack	10	Devil Of The Desert part 2	5b
15	Miracle Drill!	11	The Coach Comes Back	6a	2a	Yongard The Terrible
16	Midori's Eternal Separation
17	Nesser's Big Underwater Challenge	12	The Threat From Beneath The Sea	6b	2b	Yongard The Terrible
18	Spaceship Noah's Ark
19	Brother, Play In The Future	13	Golden Threads And Super Concrete	7a
20	The Revenge Of The Hell Warriors
21	The Tears Of The Devil Jaguar
22	The Enigma Of The Underground Reign	14	The Underground Kingdom	7b
23	Infernal Moon	15	Encounter On The Moon	8a	4a	Moon Plane
24	The Gods Of Easter Island	16	Guardians Of Easter Island	8b	4b	Moon Plane
25	Moral Fighting At The End Of The World	17	From The Frozen Past	9a
26	Pegasus In Outer Space	18	An Android With A Heart	9b	1a*	Attack Of The Xelans
27	I Swear On The Southern Cross
28	To Outer Space, Zeus Missile
29	Triumph: Yamagatake In First Place
30	A Dinosaur In The Jungle	19	The Last Dinosaur	10a	3a	The Great Swamp
31	The Avenging Double Eagle
32	The Ghost Ship Which Came Back	20	The Flying Dutchman	10b	3b	The Great Swamp
33	God Himira's Appearance	21	The Magic Necklace	11a
34	Fierce Cutting Fire Machine	22	Locked Horns In Deep Space	11b
35	Farewell, Mound Of Glory
36	Burn, Golden Leo!
37	Invaded Space Dragon	23	Aries In Lilliput	12a
38	Take Off! Destination Everest
39	The Divine Punch Which Calls The Storm
40	The Rose Spaceship
41	Giant Cutter, Inverted Flight Cut
42	The Monster Of Loch Ness	24	The Loch Ness Mystery	12b
43	A Phantom Castle On Mars	25	The End Of Zela	13a	1b*	Attack Of The Xelans
44	Go! The Last Great Battle For Earth	26	The Battle For Earth	13b	1b*	Attack Of The Xelans

Wakusei Robo Danguard Ace		Danguard Ace			Mission Promete
Japanese number	Japanese title	Force Five	Episode Title	Video brokers tape	Krypton Force number	Krypton Force tape
1	Take Flight! Pioneers of Star Travel
2	The Masked Man: Captain Dan	1	Enter Captain Mask	1a	1a	The Mask
3	The Crimson Sunset Vow	2	Down From Mach 2	1b	1b	The Mask
4	Burning to life... No tomorrow	3	Calling Captain Mask	2a
5	Emergency Takeoff! Satelizer!
6	Fly Onward To Face Tomorrow
7	Stick to the Starshine
8	Flowers From Takuma's Tears	4	The T-Formation	2b
9	As the Sun Sets a Friend is Lost
10	Captain Dan's True Identity!?
11	A Father's Mask of Shadows Disappears Into Space	5	Captain Mask Remembers	3a	3a	Blackstar
12	Shine! Danguard Ace!	6	Mission One Remembered	3b	3b	Blackstar
13	Beyond the Father! Fight!
14	Don't Weep Until That Day Takuma
15	SOS! Fly to Mars
16	A Father's Cloudy Weather Judgement	7	Practice Makes Perfect	4a
17	Two White Contrails	8	Splashdown From The Past	4b
18	A Cry Out at the Sky's Rainbow
19	Captain Dan In Danger	9	Captain Mask At Risk	5a
20	Lisa In The Sunset
21	Tamaga's First Credit	10	Circuits Saves The Day	5b
22	If It Is For Her	11	The Fourth Dimension	8b
23	Friendship Blooms On The Ice	12	Friendship On The Ice	6a
24	The Bridging of the Sun and Stars
25	Submarine Escape! Close Call	13	A Narrow Escape	6b
26	Three Young Lions	14	Three Pilots For Danguard part 1	7a
27	Young People Aimed At The Universe!	15	Three Pilots For Danguard part 2	7b
28	Formidable Rival	16	The Adversary	8a
29	Wonderful Rival
30	Fighting Spirit Sparks	17	Winstar Takes A Back Seat	11a
31	Mekatasan Fellow Daredevil
32	Desperate Situation RX-2!	18	A Cadet Takes Command	9a
33	The Doppler Corps Takes off!
34	Tears! Takuma Zessho
35	Shine To Eternity! Eternal Star Of The Father
36	Change Course To Mars	19	A Martian Detour	9b
37	Farewell, Star Of Icarus	20	Return Of The Octor	10a
38	Swear To Mystery Satellite 13!	21	A Boy From Atlantis	10b
39	Dark Nebula! Escape	22	A Planetary Nebula	12a
40	The Endless Sea Of Galaxies
41	Star Esplanade Raid	23	Sixth Sense	11b
42	Smile of the Alien
43	Takuma's Showdown in Thailand
44	I Saw The Star Of Hope Prometheus
45	Full Throttle
46	Comet Blasting Operations	24	Tale Of The Comet	12b
47	Flowers Of Fear Attack!	25	Grand Illusion	13a
48	Mother Ship Rebellion
49	Black Shadow Doppler Corps
50	Here Is A Bold Man Ban	26	Butch To The Rescue	13b
51	The End of the Vice President!
52	Defended By Hand
53	Love Is Beautifully Sad
54	Fight For The Star Of Love
55	Shout To The Prometheus!
56	Beautiful Shining Star Of Hope