Fergus Anckorn: The Conjurer on the Kwai (Part 1)
The first of four blogs telling the incredible wartime experiences of Fergus Anckorn, an amateur magician who used magic to survive captivity and slavery as a POW in the Far East during World War Two. Learning magic Born in late 1918, at the close of World War One, Fergus Anckorn started learning magic from an early age. He performed his first paid show aged seven. As a teenager, he befriended magician Major Lionel Branson, a major in the Indian Army who lived nearby. When Branson became vice-president of The Magic Circle (a British-based magic society), he encouraged Anckorn to join, which he did in 1937. At age 18, Anckorn became the youngest member of The Magic Circle (and years later became its oldest practising member). Becoming a magician-soldier When war was declared in 1939, the authorities conscripted 21-year-old Anckorn into the British Army. After completing recruit and specialist training, he was assigned to the 118th Field Regiment Royal Artillery. The 118th was tasked wit...