Magic at War

A major base for the Royal Navy, Portsmouth was an obvious target for bombing raids by the German Luftwaffe. Between July 1940 and May 1944, the city endured 67 air raids. The raids killed 930 people, injuring many more. Over 6,500 houses were destroyed (nearly ten percent of the total) and a further 6,500 were severely damaged.  Bomb damage on Portsmouth Road in the Southsea area of Portsmouth (Source: Portsmouth Museum and Art Gallery)  In one of the three major raids, on 10th March 1941, Ray Wickens was on duty with the city’s Air Raid Precautions (ARP) Casualty Service. Wickens was 32 years old and had served in the Casualty Service for one-and-a-half years. By day, he was an electrical salesman. By night, and at the weekends, he was normally a semi-professional magician. Wickens was a founding member of the Portsmouth & District Magic Circle, when it started in 1938.   Ray Wickens (Source: Portsmouth Evening News) On that night, German high-explosive and incendia...

Back in June 1942, General Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964), joined the Society of American Magicians.  Founded in 1902, the society is the oldest magic club in the world. MacArthur was one of only  five U.S. Army officers to rise to the rank of General of the Army.  At the time, he was based in Australia. A few months earlier he'd led the defence of the Philippines, earning a Medal of Honor for his role in resisting the Japanese invasion.    General Douglas MacArthur (Source: Genii - The Conjurors' Magazine, July 1942)  Amid the chaos and challenges of war, joining a magic club, wouldn’t appear to be a priority for this hugely capable leader of men. In fact, MacArthur wasn’t a magician, in the normal sense of the term. He didn't do card tricks or appear on stage with box illusions.   Behind this story was a gathering, on 15 June 1942, of the Southern California Assembly of the Society of American Magicians. Meeting for one of its regular evenings in Holl...