TCDE-Team at 20:24, 14 May 2025

2025-05-14T20:24:53Z

New page

[[File:The-acd-study-group-logo.jpg|thumb|300px|right|The Arthur Conan Doyle Study Group]]

''The Arthur Conan Doyle Study Group'' (ACDSG) was one of many Branch Offices (sub-group) of a popular [[Sherlock Holmes]] society based in Fareham, Hampshire called [[The Franco-Midland Hardware Company (1989-2004)|The Franco-Midland Hardware Company]] (FMHC), which was founded in 1989.

__TOC__

== History ==

The Arthur Conan Doyle Study Group was founded by Mark Chadderton in 1996 to provide members of the FMHC parent society with the option to go beyond their interest in all things [[Sherlock Holmes]] and learn more about [[Arthur Conan Doyle]]'s other stories as well as his life adventures and experiences. The ACDSG was free to join and had a small number of members worldwide.

The Study Group chose the 1929 John Murray 'The Conan Doyle Stories' book as their base text to study ACD's non-Holmes short stories, as there was, at the time, many cheap versions on the market — including 1990's Blitz edition with a blue dustjacket. As a short hand tool, a five letter code was invented for each story in the book, which mirrored the four letter Sherlockian '[[Abbreviations for the Sherlock Holmes stories|Christ-codes]]' for each Holmes story. A handy, laminated bookmark containing the Conan Doyle story codes was sent out free of charge to all members who requested one.

== Publications ==

=== The Cerebral Tentacle ===

Mark Chadderton designed, edited and sent out free of charge a newsletter/journal/fanzine called '''The Cerebral Tentacle'''<ref>Cerebral Tentacle is a reference to [[Arthur Conan Doyle]]'s poem [[To An Undiscerning Critic]] where he mentioned it.</ref>, which ran for 5 issues from December 1996 to December 1997.

The first issue was numbered 1859 — ACD's year of birth and subsequent issues had the following year instead of an issue number, for example 1860 was issue 2... and so on.

The newsletter was issued, roughly every quarter, and was A5 in size, written and then printed on a word processor and then designed via photocopying and using the old style original cut and paste technique common to fanzines worldwide.

Each issue had a yellow card cover, utilising as a cover topic or cutting lesser known items of Doylean history or writing/illustration. The inside was all black and white photocopied pages, although issue No. 1862 had a full colour photo 'photo-cornered' into the inside back cover.

The Cerebral Tentacle was a mix of news, reports, plans, competitions, and articles all designed to encourage further participation and study of [[Arthur Conan Doyle]]'s life and work.

Below is the basic listing of the five issues, noting any significant article or item aside from the usual content mentioned above.

{|
|-
|style="width:270px; vertical-align:top; padding-right:15px;"|[[File:acdsg-1996-12-the-cerebral-tentacle-issue-1-n1859.jpg|frameless|300px|link=The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1859|]]
|style="vertical-align:top;"|'''The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1859 (december 1996)''' — 8 pages
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1859#Introduction|Introduction]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1859#Focusing_our_Study_of_ACD|Focusing our Study of ACD]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1859#"The_Conan_Doyle_Stories"|"The Conan Doyle Stories"]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1859#Study_Method|Study Method]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1859#Additional_Bookmarks?|Additional Bookmarks?]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1859#An_Index_Conversion?|An Index Conversion?]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1859#The_ACD_ABC|The ACD ABC]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1859#Visits_to_ACD_Sites_&_Study_Group_Meetings?|Visits to ACD Sites & Study Group Meetings?]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1859#Further_Newsletters?|Further Newsletters?]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1859#The_Cerebral_Tentacle_—_issue_:_1859_??|The Cerebral Tentacle — issue : 1859]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1859#Conclusions|Conclusions]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1859|The Queen's Reign: Its Most Striking Characteristic and Most Beneficent Achievement]]
|-
|colspan="2"|
----
|-
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[File:acdsg-1997-03-the-cerebral-tentacle-issue-2-n1860.jpg|frameless|300px|link=The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1860|]]
|style="vertical-align:top;"|'''The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1860 (march 1997)''' — 16 pages
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1860#Introduction|Introduction]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1860#Newsletter Covers|Newsletter Covers]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1860#Membership Fees & Involvement|Membership Fees & Involvement]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1860#"The Conan Doyle Stories" Bookmark|"The Conan Doyle Stories" Bookmark]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1860#Bookmark Correction|Bookmark Correction]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1860#The New 5-Letter Codes|The New 5-Letter Codes]], by Mark Chadderton.
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1860#A "Conan Doyle Stories" Encyclopedia ?|A "Conan Doyle Stories" Encyclopedia ?]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1860#The "Memories & Adventures" Index Conversion|The "Memories & Adventures" Index Conversion]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1860#The Arthur Conan Doyle Altruistic Book Club|The Arthur Conan Doyle Altruistic Book Club]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1860#Study Group Meetings|Study Group Meetings]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1860#"Nova Foresta Magazine"|"Nova Foresta Magazine"]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1860#A 'Cumulative Collection'|A 'Cumulative Collection']]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1860#A Useful Doylean Indexing Project ?|A Useful Doylean Indexing Project ?]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1860#"We Hear of ACD Everywhere" 2|"We Hear of ACD Everywhere" 2]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1860#'Some Thoughts On...'|'Some Thoughts On...']]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1860#'Some Thoughts On... The Poetry of Arthur Conan Doyle'|The Poetry of Arthur Conan Doyle]], by Malcolm Payne.
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1860#"One Thousand Beautiful Things"|"One Thousand Beautiful Things"]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1860#Conclusion|Conclusion]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1860|People I Have Never Met — Dr. Conan Doyle]]
|-
|colspan="2"|
----
|-
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[File:acdsg-1997-06-the-cerebral-tentacle-issue-3-n1861.jpg|frameless|300px|link=The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1861|]]
|style="vertical-align:top;"|'''The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1861 (june 1997)''' — 12 pages
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1861#Introduction|Introduction]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1861#Newsletter Covers|Newsletter Covers]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1861#"The Conan Doyle Stories"|"The Conan Doyle Stories"]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1861#Malcolm Payne|Malcolm Payne]], obituary by Mark Chadderton.
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1861#Playing with Fire — A Parallax|Playing with Fire — A Parallax]], by Malcolm Payne.
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1861#"The Conan Doyle Stories" Encyclopedia (Update)|"The Conan Doyle Stories" Encyclopedia]], by Brian Pugh.
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1861#The Names the Same|The Names the Same]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1861#The ACDSG 'Cumulative Collection'|The ACDSG 'Cumulative Collection']]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1861#The Arthur Conan Doyle Altruistic Book Club|The Arthur Conan Doyle Altruistic Book Club]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1861#Study Group Meetings|Study Group Meetings]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1861#New Books and Other News|New Books and Other News]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1861#ACDSG Competition Number One|ACDSG Competition Number One]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1861#ACDSG Competition Number Two|ACDSG Competition Number Two]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1861#Conclusion|Conclusion]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1861|Pigs of Celebrities]]
|-
|colspan="2"|
----
|-
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[File:acdsg-1997-09-the-cerebral-tentacle-issue-4-n1862.jpg|frameless|300px|link=The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1862|]]
|style="vertical-align:top;"|'''The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1862 (september 1997)''' — 16 pages
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1862#Introduction|Introduction]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1862#Newsletter Covers|Newsletter Covers]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1862#'That Little Square Box'|'That Little Square Box']]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1862#Cross Indexing|Cross Indexing]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1862#Conan Doyle Writes Grant Allen|Conan Doyle Writes Grant Allen]], by Philip Weller.
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1862#The ACDSG 'Cumulative Collection'|The ACDSG 'Cumulative Collection']]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1862#"Photographing Fairies"|"Photographing Fairies"]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1862#Bullet Proofing 2|Bullet Proofing 2]], by Mark Chadderton.
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1862#The Doylean Review & Comment Section|The Doylean Review & Comment Section]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1862#"The Great Shadow: Arthur Conan Doyle, Brigadier Gerard, and Napoleon," by Clifford S. Goldfarb|"The Great Shadow. Arthur Conan Doyle, Brigadier Gerard, and Napoleon"]], review by Brian Pugh.
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1862#"The Doctor, the Detective and Arthur Conan Doyle: A Biography of Arthur Conan Doyle" by Martin Booth|"The Doctor, the Detective and Arthur Conan Doyle"]], review by Brian Pugh.
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1862#"A Full Report of a Lecture on Spiritualism Delivered by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle"|"A Full Report of a Lecture on Spiritualism"]], review by Brian Pugh.
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1862#"Sherlock Holmes, Conan Doyle and the British Empire," by Jeffrey Richards|"Sherlock Holmes, Conan Doyle and The British Empire"]], review by Mark Chadderton.
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1862#Bibliographical Details|Bibliographical Details]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1862#A Final Reminder|A Final Reminder]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1862#ACD Plaque Unveiling|ACD Plaque Unveiling]], report by Geoff Budd.
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1862#The Strand Magazine (january 1913)|The Strand Magazine (january 1913)]]
|-
|colspan="2"|
----
|-
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[File:acdsg-1997-12-the-cerebral-tentacle-issue-5-n1863.jpg|frameless|300px|link=The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1863|]]
|style="vertical-align:top;"|'''The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1863 (december 1997)''' — 16 pages
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1863#Introduction|Introduction]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1863#Newsletter Covers|Newsletter Covers]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1863#Newsletter Synopsis|Newsletter Synopsis]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1863#'Budd-Ing' Detectives|'Budd-Ing' Detectives]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1863#FMHC A.G.M.|FMHC A.G.M.]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1863#"The New Revelation"|"The New Revelation"]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1863#Arthur Conan Doyle Speaks On The Psychic Side of Crime|Arthur Conan Doyle Speaks On The Psychic Side of Crime]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1863#Doyle Was The Finest Man I Have Ever Met|Doyle Was The Finest Man I Have Ever Met]], by Richard Stacpoole-Ryding.
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1863#News from The Crowborough Establishment|News from The Crowborough Establishment]], by Brian Pugh.
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1863#Obituary. Air Commandant Dame Jean Conan Doyle|Obituary. Air Commandant Dame Jean Conan Doyle]], by Brian Pugh.
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1863#In Memory of Malcolm Payne|In Memory of Malcolm Payne]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1863#"Photographing Fairies," The Film|"Photographing Fairies," The Film]], review by Brian Pugh.
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1863#The Final Reminder|The Final Reminder]]
* [[The Cerebral Tentacle No. 1863|H.R.H. The Prince of Wales' National Relief Fund]]
|}

=== The ACDSG Cumulative Collection ===

A number of projects got off the ground, including a loose-leaf cumulative collection of Arthur Conan Doyle's rarer writings entitled 'The ACDSG Cumulative Collection: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 'Forewords', 'Introductions' and 'Prefaces' to Other People's Works'.

Photocopies of these rare pieces were sent out to members and held within a card cover folder mounted with a black and white photo of ACD in order to aid studies of some of ACD’s hard to collect smaller pieces of writing. Like all the items issued by the Study Group, it was a non-profit making venture.

=== The ACD Altruistic Book Club ===

Other initiatives included the 'ACD ABC' - or the Arthur Conan Doyle Altruistic Book Club, set up with the intention of helping people get hard to find books about ACD or by ACD.

There were plans for a 'Conan Doyle Stories Encyclopaedia' to be compiled, containing basic listings of people and places within that collection of stories, which Brian Pugh started and the last project which Mark Chadderton worked on for the Study Group was around February 2000, this being an A4 booklet entitled 'The White Company Translations - An Interactive Rough Guide', providing a quick reference guide for each chapter providing a translation of any words in Latin, Spanish, Italian or German.

There was also a plan to issue a collection of essays on each story within 'The Conan Doyle Stories' book, starting with '[[That Little Square Box]]', and a few articles were received but it remained unpublished.

=== The White Company Translations ===

Published in february 2000, this 'rough' guide has been produced by the ACD Study Group to help the student of [[Arthur Conan Doyle]], who has either little or no knowledge and understandings of French, Latin, Spanish and occasional other languages that are used in the novel [[The White Company]].

* [[The White Company Translations|Read the guide]]

----
<references />
----
* Acknowledgments and Image credits : Mark Chadderton.
----
* [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Back to Arthur Conan Doyle]]

The Arthur Conan Doyle Study Group - Revision history

TCDE-Team at 20:24, 14 May 2025