C.N. 2743:

<2743. Murder victims

John Hilbert’s latest book, Essays in American Chess History (Yorklyn, 2002), begins (pages 1-18) with a detailed narrative ‘Death of a Chessman: The Sad, Brutal Murder of Major William Cheever Wilson’. It has brought to our mind the case of an even more obscure chess player who was apparently murdered, H.C. James of Coventry, England. From CHESS, 17 September 1938 (page 3):

‘The Reverend H.C. James has been found shot dead in a Paris hotel. This is most grievous news, for he was one of the most delightful and popular personalities we ever knew, a regular attender at BCF congresses. Our sympathy to his more intimate friends in their miserable bereavement comes from the soul.’

Perhaps a reader will be prompted to do some sleuthing, despite the sparseness of the information currently available.>

C.N. 2752:

<The item from CHESS quoted in C.N. 2743 would appear rather misleading, given that suicide was the likely cause of H.C. James’ death according to various newspaper reports now in our possession (i.e. The Midland Daily Telegraph of 1, 2 and 10 September 1938 and The Coventry Standard of 3, 7 and 10 September 1938).>

<It is believed the identity of the clergyman found shot in a hotel in Paris is that of Canon Howard Cecil James, Vicar of St. Mary's Church, Nuneaton.

Mrs. James received a telegram from the British Consulate in Paris last night, stating:- "Regret to say husband died here yesterday. Awaiting instructions."

Mr. James left to go on a holiday week ago and his destination was the Test match. He was a keen cricketer and used to play for Nuneaton Town Cricket Club.

He first came to Nuneaton just after the War as curate of St. Mary's and he married a daughter of the Rev. Canon Bedale, who was the Vicar of the parish. From Nuneaton, he was appointed vicar of St. Thomas, Coventry, where he ministered until March of this year, when he returned to Nuneaton as vicar of his old parish.

His return to the parish was most popular and he was held in the highest esteem. He was happily married, with three children — a boy aged 16, a girl aged 13 and a boy aged 8.

When the telegram was received last night members of the congregation had assembled to rehearse a play entitled: "Mystery at Green Fingers." The rehearsal was abandoned.

The Rev. Father Bedale, Prior of the House of the Sacred Mission, Kelham, a brother-in-law, is flying to Paris to-day. He said that he had no news of the circumstances of his brother-in-law's death.

A Reuter message from Paris states that police found a revolver, 24 cartridges, and a letter, addressed to a woman at another hotel, but not known there, when investigating at a Paris hotel the death of a man believed to be Canon Howard Cecil James.>

That James was supposedly on holiday to attend a Test match - the famous Oval Test of 1938 (http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/...) is interesting, because it ended on the 24th, a week before James' death. However, it was a so-called 'timeless' Test, which means it could have continued for days more. Still, I suspect if James really did head for London for the cricket, he went earlier than the article suggests.

Western Morning News & Daily Gazette, September 2nd 1938, p.7:

<SHOT CLERGYMAN

Rambling Letter Found By French Police

From Our Own Correspondent. PARIS. Thursday.

The French police investigating the death of the English clergyman believed to be Rev. Howard Cecil James, who was found shot in a Paris hotel, discovered a letter which was taken to the British Consulate.

A police officer stated the letter, which was translated for him by an official of the Consulate, appeared to be rambling and in parts almost meaningless, as though written by a man suffering from some aberration.

The letter, which was endorsed "To my wife," was addressed to an hotel near the Gare Nord.

There is a family tree having he was born 1891 in Farnham, Surrey and that his mother Eleanor died in 1898. He had a younger brother Reginald Arthur b. 1894 who went to Canada and was missing during WW2, and an older brother Gordon Henry b. 1888 d. 1926. His father Henry died in 1919, and in 1921 he married to Katharine Bedale b. 1896 d. 1995. They had 3 children.