In 1907, John Pierpont Morgan, an American
millionaire and Lord Lonsdale, known as the 'Sporting Peer', were
arguing as to whether or not it was possible for a man to walk round
the world without showing his face.
Lonsdale believed that it could be done, Morgan did
not. They agreed on a wager of $100.000 and then faced the
problem of finding someone who would attempt the task.
A
31 year old 'playboy' called Harry Bensley, who had an annual income
of £5000, agreed to attempt the feat.
The
rules were decided. Bensley would push a perambulator wearing
an iron mask, which was not to be removed for any reason. He
was allowed to set off with £1 in his pocket and a change of
underwear in the pram!
He had to pass through
specified British towns and 125 towns in 18 other countries.
He also had to find himself a wife who was not to see his face and
to make money, he was required to sell picture postcards. To make
sure he obeyed all the rules a paid escort accompanied him.
Harry
set off from Trafalgar Square wearing a 4.5 lb. iron helmet pushing
his perambulator on 1st. January 1908.
Harry met King
Edward VII at Newmarket races and sold him a postcard for £5, but
at Bexley Heath he was arrested for selling postcards without a
licence. He was ordered to remove his mask by the magistrate
of the court, but when the reason for his wearing of the mask was
explained, the magistrate fined him only 2/6d and he was released.
In
six years, Bensley pushed his pram across 12 countries gathering 200
offers of marriage on the way! He declined them all.
He
was in Italy in August 1914 and had only six more countries to visit
when the Great War broke out. As a patriotic young man he felt
it was his duty to join the Forces so the bet was called off.
He was given a consolation prize of £4000 which he gave to charity.
He
survived the War but his investments were lost in the Russian
Revolution and he became penniless in 1917. He died in 1956 in
a bed-sitting room in Brighton.
Useful Links
The Other man
in the Iron Mask - http://www.argonet.co.uk/users/ken.mcnaught/ironm.html
A very interesting account of Harry Bensley with many photos,
written by one of his descendents.
©
E.P.C