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By 1908-9, Charles Hamilton was expected to write a complete school story about Greyfriars for The Magnet, a similar length story about St. Jim's for The Gem, and a host of other stories on a weekly basis (including in addition weekly stories of Rookwood for the Boys Friend from 1915-1926). On top of this he had to supply original stories for the Greyfriars Holiday Annuals (from 1919 onwards) and stories for other publications (The Dreadnought, The Empire Library, Boy's Friend Library, etc.)
No single author could be expected to keep pace with such a demand, yet the weekly story papers needed their weekly manuscripts. By default, when Charles Hamilton was unable to deliver, or the post went astray, members of staff at the Amalgamated Press were drafted in to write a story about the relevant school. The story usually needed to be self-contained, could not get rid of any major characters or make any significant permanent changes to the school environment. Although many of these substitute stories are not up to the standards of the master (containing new characters with bizarre talents, crooks with peculiar names, etc.) there is no doubt that their stories helped keep the papers going. And just occasionally, a "sub" story will be a minor masterpiece.
AB |
Alfred Barnard (1878-?) A journalist and editor, he worked for the Amalgamated Press up until circa 1911. |
ACM |
A. C. Murray was a prolific writer of stories during the period 1906-1915, mainly of a military flavour. He also wrote the very first story in the Nelson Lee Library. |
AL |
Amber Leigh, who wrote serials in the school girl story papers under the pseudonym Alma Buley. |
AM |
A. Murray - see ACM above. |
AMK |
Alec M Kemp was on the staff of the Amalgamated Press, and wrote a large number of stories for comics, as well as some substitute stories in the Magnet. |
ASH |
Arthur S. Hardy (1873-?) was a prolific author of short and serial stories for a wide range of boys papers in the 1920s and 1930s. His real name was Arthur Steffens. |
AWD |
A.W. Davies Was believed to be in the grocery trade and only ever an occasional amateur author. [M 991, 993] |
BR |
Balfour Ritchie was on the staff of the Amalgamated Press for some years, editing the Boys Friend Library at one point. He wrote a range of stories for the boys papers he worked for. |
CDL |
Claud D. Lowe it was believed wrote an outline for a Tom Merry film in the 1920s which was never produced. He wrote a number of substitute stories in the Gem. |
CEF |
C Eaton Fearn (1899-1963) wrote serials in the school girl story papers under the pseudonyms Sylvia Macrae and Gail Western |
CH |
Charles Hamilton (1876-1961) is the real name of Martin Clifford, Owen Conquest, Ralph Redway, Frank Richards, etc. |
CLP |
C L Pearce wrote serials in the school girl story papers under the pseudonyms Ada Crundall, Dorothy Verno |
CMD |
Charles Maurice Down (?-1972) Worked for the Amalgamated Press on the Companion Papers from the Magnet’s inception, gradually working his way up to become editor from 1919-1940. It was his idea to start producing the Greyfriars’ Holiday Annual in 1919, and again to reprint old stories in abridged form in the Schoolboys’ Own Library from 1925. [M 598, 601-602, 604-605, 607-608, 620, 630, 644, 656] |
DG |
David Goodwin (1878-?), real name Sydney Gowing, wrote a wide range of short and serial stories for many boys story papers from 1903 onwards. |
DMD |
Draycott M Dell (1888-1940) wrote serials in the school girl story papers under the pseudonym Mary Ellen Shirley |
EH |
Earnest Holman |
ELM |
Ernest L McKeag (1896-1976) wrote serials in the school girl story papers under the pseudonym Eileen McKeay |
ELR |
Eric Lyth Rosman (1901-1993) wrote a small number of substitute St. Jim's stories in the Gem. He took over the role of Hilda Richards in the School Friend in 1926, writing the bulk of the stories from then through to its end in 1929. He also wrote serial stories in the girls' story papers under the pseudonyms of Ida Melbourne, Joan Inglesant, and Elizabeth Chester. |
EP |
Ernest Protheroe |
ER |
Eric Roche |
ESB |
Edwy Searles Brooks (1889-1965) Took over the characters of Nelson Lee and Nipper from Maxwell Scott for the Nelson Lee Library (3 series from 1915-1933), for which he also wrote several series of the Blue Crusaders. He also wrote a number of substitute stories for the Magnet and Gem, and stories of Sexton Blake for the Union Jack. [M 256, 259-260, 291, 313, 317, 321, 347, 377, 385, 388, 411, 427, 448, 495]
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FGC |
Fred Gordon Cook (1900-?) A junior sub-editor on Chums, who contributed over 30 substitute stories for the Magnet and around twice this number for the Gem. He also contributed regularly to The Boys’ Magazine from 1927-1933 and to Toby. [M 591, 599, 618, 626, 634, 638, 665, 669, 675, 678, 683, 695, 699, 719, 767, 777-778, 785, 792, 802, 815, 817, 824, 835, 837, 840, 845, 850, 856, 878, 894-895, 902, 920, 944] |
FW |
Francis Warwick |
GCG |
G Cecil Graveley (c. 1905 - ?) wrote some stories in the girls story papers under the pseudonym Daphne Grayson. |
GEC |
George Edward Carlton wrote some stories in the girls story papers under the pseudonym Louise Carlton |
GGF |
Gilbert Gover Floyd (1871-1935) wrote some stories in the girls story papers under the pseudonym Julia Storm |
GHT |
G. H. Teed |
GRS |
George Richmond Samways (1895-) He was a regular reader of the companion papers as a boy, when he sent in numerous poems (many published as Greyfriars Lyrics and St. Jim's Jingles). The poems were so successful he was offered a job in the Magnet office, where he created most of the Greyfriars Herald items, the St. Sam's stories, and numerous poems for the companion papers and the Greyfriars Holiday Annual. He also wrote many sub stories for both the Magnet and the Gem. He became chief sub-editor of the Magnet and Gem. |
HAH |
Herbert Allan Hinton (1888-1945) took over as editor of the companion papers in 1911 when Percy Griffith left. He commissioned the Rookwood stories for the Boys Friend in 1915, and started the Greyfriars Herald in the same year. He wrote a number of substitute stories in both the Magnet and the Gem. |
HCH |
H Clarke Hook |
HCM |
H Crichton Miln (?-1957) wrote some stories in the girls story papers under the pseudonym Madge Crichton. |
HHa |
H. Harper |
HHu |
H. Hutt |
HP |
Horace Phillips wrote the vast bulk of the Morcove stories in the Schoolgirls Own and later the Schoolgirl under the pseudonym Marjorie Stanton. He also wrote some of the early Cliff House stories in the School Friend under the pseudonym Hilda Richards. |
HPO |
Hedley Percival O’Mant (1899-1955) Attended the same school as G.R. Samways and H.W. Twyman. After leaving school he worked for Aldine Publications but found it depressing and went to join his old school friends at the Amalgamated Press. He wrote a number of substitute stories, but concentrated more on adventure and detective stories, particularly Ferrers Locke serials and flying stories (he trained as a pilot in World War I) under the name Hedley Scott. He rose to become chief sub-editor on the Magnet and also edited a number of other AP papers. |
HWT |
Harold William Twyman () |
JEM |
J E McKibbin (c. 1895-1963) wrote stories in the girls story papers under the pseudonym Elise Proby. |
JGJ |
Jonas Geoffrey Jones (c.1880? - ?) wrote stories in the girls story papers under the pseudonym Ruth Maxwell. |
JH |
Julius Herman |
JNP |
John Nix Pentelow |
JWB |
John William Bobin (1889-1935) wrote stories in the girls story papers under the pseudonyms Gertrude Nelson, Kathleen Greenhalgh, and Adelie Ascott. |
JWW |
John W Wheway (1897-1973) wrote the bulk of the Cliff House stories in the Schoolgirl from 1931 onwards under the pseudonym Hilda Richards. He also wrote a range of short and serial stories for the girls story papers under the pseudonyms Gladys Cotterill, Diana Martin, and Hazel Armitage. |
KEN |
Kenneth E Newman. A civil servant who also wrote scripts for the BBC, and editor/author of the short-lived School Yarn Magazine (1947). |
KO |
K. Orme |
LC |
Leslie Carlton wrote stories in the girls' story papers under the pseudonym Elsie Trevor. |
LER |
L E Ransome wrote the bulk of the Cliff House stories in the School Friend from 1924-1929. He also wrote a range of serial stories for the girls' story papers under the pseudonym Isa Melbourne. |
LI |
Levi Isaacs (c. 1888? - ?) wrote stories in the girls story papers under the pseudonym Louise Essex. |
LPS |
Leslie P Swainson wrote stories in the girls story papers under the pseudonym Margery Marriott. |
MD |
Mark Darran |
MFD |
Michael F. Duffy (1906-?) A trade journalist, and author of the last substitute story. [M 1220] |
MPo |
Michael Poole Author of the St. Katie’s and Berrisford School stories in the Greyfriars Holiday Annuals and Schoolboys’ Own Library. |
MS |
Maxwell Scott, a pseudonym of ??, the creator of Nelson Lee. |
NW |
Nigel Williams |
NWS |
Noel Wood-Smith |
PQ |
P. Quiroule |
PG |
Percy Griffiths |
RF |
Ronald Fleming wrote a range of serial stories for the girls' story papers under the pseudonyms Renee Frazer, Jean Vernon, Peter Langley, and Rhoda Fleming. |
RG |
Richard Goyne (1902-1957) wrote stories for the girls' story papers under the pseudonym Evelyn Standish. |
RJB |
Robert J. Barnard Along with his father [Alfred J. Barnard] and brother [Richard Innes Barnard], he wrote some substitute stories for the Magnet and its companion papers. There is some difficulty in attributing stories to him or his brother as they both signed themselves R. Barnard. [M 714] |
RRJ |
Rowland R Jameson wrote a range of serial stories for the girls' story papers under the pseudonyms Muriel Holden, Pearl Fairland, and Sylvia Marston. |
RSK |
Reginald S Kirkham was on the staff of the Amalgamted Press for a while in the early 1920's before going free lance. He wrote a number of substitute stories for the Magnet and Gem before taking over the role of Hilda Richards to write the Cliff House stories in the School Friend. He also wrote a variety of serial stories in the girls' school story papers under the pseudonyms Joan Vincent, Hilary Marlow, Pauline Stewart, and Isabel Norton. |
RTE |
Reginald Trevor Eves |
RWC |
Robert W Comrade. A pseudonym of Edwy Searles Brooks |
SB |
S. Barrie An occasional substitute author, possibly a pseudonym for one of the Amalgamated Press directors. [M 654, 657-659] |
SEA |
Stanley Edward Austin (1890-1957) wrote a number of substitute stories for the Magnet, but concentrated primarily on the Gem, for which he contributed a number of series, particularly after 1919. He also contributed to the Boys’ Herald, Boys’ Realm, Boys’ Friend Weekly, Chums, Nelson Lee Library, Lloyds’ Sports Library, Lloyds’ School Yarns and British Boy [M 668, 679,686,746-747, 780, 790, 816, 832, 842, 847, 870-872, 890, 898, 904, 922, 934, 938-940, 953-955, 1030, 1091]. He also wrote serial stories for some of the girls' story papers under the pseudonyms Sheila Austin and Clive Bancroft. |
SP |
Stewart Pride |
SRS |
S Rossiter Shepherd. Wrote a few substitute stories between 1921-25. He later worked on the Union Jack and a number of other story papers as well as a reporter for the Express and film critic on the Sunday People |
WG |
William Gibbons (1900-1971) wrote some Cliff House stories under the Hilda Richards pseudonym. He also wrote some short stories for the girls' papers under the pseudonym Helen Gibbons. |
WEP |
William Ernest Pike |
WLC |
William Leslie Catchpole (1900-?) A winner of the Greyfriars’ story competition in 1915 [M 399], and probably the author of the bulk of the small contributions to the Magnet and Gem from 1926-1940, as well as items in the Greyfriars Holiday Annuals. [M 596, 1006, 1054, 1058] |
WMD |
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WMG |
W. Murray Graydon |
WSH |
William Edward Stanton Hope |
? |
Unknown / anonymous author. A question mark in front of a substitute author (e.g. ?MD) means that the story is probably by that author, or that a tentative attribution has been made, but it cannot be confirmed. Usually attribution is on the basis of original records from the Amalgamated Press (in some cases as many records went missing once papers ended) or that the style of writing is most similar to the work of that author. |
See the various listings for details of the substitute stories. The A-Z index and the individual comic indexes identify a sub story by the author's initials in square brackets after the story title. Some of the biographical details are taken from W O G Lofts & D J Adley's "The Men Behind Boys' Fiction". |