On New Year’s Day 1908, a large crowd gathered in Trafalgar Square to watch a mysterious figure wearing an iron mask set off on a journey (his very own walking tour, if you will), that remains shrouded in mystery more than a century later.
Who was London’s man in the iron mask?
According to stories circulating in the press, on a predictably cold and blustery evening the previous Autumn, eccentric, American millionaire, JP Morgan, and the Fifth Earl of Lonsdale, Hugh Cecil Lowden, had been playing cards at the National Sporting Club on King Street, Covent Garden when the topic of fame had arisen. Lonsdale believed that, under the right circumstances, a man could become famous for a stunt, like walking around the world, without anyone uncovering his true identity. Morgan, never one to shy away from a flutter, agreed to wager $100,000, over £2,000,000 today, to put the matter to rest. As neither was willing to test the theory themselves, they needed a gullible fool to be their guinea pig. Fortunately, 31-year-old playboy, Harry Bensley, had overheard every word and happily volunteered.
That evening, over the course of several rounds of champagne, the rules of the wager were hashed out. Bensley would walk through 162 British towns and then on to 18 other countries, pushing a pram containing his bag and a single change of pants. He would start with just £1, financing his travels by selling postcards along the way. An iron mask, procured from an old suit of armour, would ensure that his identity remained a mystery.
Where did Harry Bensley go on his journey?
And so it was that he set off on his extraordinary journey on 1 January 1908, along the Strand, into the City, and over London Bridge. It seemed as though his identity might be revealed almost immediately, when he was arrested in Bexleyheath for selling his postcards without a licence, but at his trial he was given permission to retain his helmet, when his lawyer explained the terms of the bet. And so he continued. At Newmarket he met a delighted King Edward VII, who became the first person to purchase a postcard. As news of his adventure spread, one newspaper offered a reward to anyone who could identify the mysterious traveller and a chambermaid was discovered hiding under his bed, hoping to uncover the truth.
His travels through Britain were well documented, but once he left for the continent, details are hazy at best. By June 1914, six years into the journey, he was in Italy, claiming to have covered 30,000 miles and visited twelve countries, when the news broke that Archduke Franz Ferdinand had been assassinated and Europe descended into madness. The bet was called off and Bensley returned to Britain without completing his mission. He was given a consolation prize of £4000 which he donated to charity.
Is the story of Harry Bensley's journey true?
The story passed into myth and legend, until 2018, when a book was published claiming that Bensley’s journey around the world had been a hoax, that while he certainly had departed Trafalgar Square on New Years Day 1908, there had been no wager and no overheard conversation, that it was, in fact, a money-making scheme, dreamt up by Bensley, who was not a playboy, but a known conman. He had planned the whole thing from the comfort of a prison cell and spread the rumours himself that Morgan and Lonsdale had started the proceedings to drum up publicity. With little more than anecdotal evidence to support this claim so far, the truth may never be known.
Also on this day:
1660. First entrance in Samuel Pepys diary.
1985. Comedian Ernie Wise makes Britain’s first mobile phone call from St Katherine Docks.
If you would like to visit the site of Harry Bensley's great departure in Trafalgar Square, why not join our Free Westminster Walking Tour, or you can find information about all of our Free Walking Tours in London, here.
