Person    | Male  Born 5/3/1906  Died 4/1/1984

Richard Hughes (journalist)

Richard Joseph Hughes CBE was an Australian journalist who spent much of his life in the Far East as correspondent for The Times and other publications. Generally considered to be a British spy and possibly a double agent.

In a 2017 piece written by Damian Flanagan the Sydney Morning Herald reports that from childhood Hughes had a passion for the Sherlock Holmes stories. In Japan in 1948 "Hughes had the idea of combining his obsessive interest – Sherlock Holmes – with intelligence gathering activities and formed the "Baritsu Chapter", supposedly a Sherlock Holmes appreciation society. The name was an allusion to "Baritsu", the fictional Japanese martial art practised by Holmes. The "Baritsu Chapter" was highly exclusive and started with just 12 distinguished members. As it expanded its network and held lavish dinners, the Japanese prime minister himself and his son became keen devotees."

The Baritsu Chapter was also known as the Tokyo Sherlock Holmes Society.

Our Picture source writes "He was flamboyant, gregarious, bohemian, even at times quite eccentric. He wore a monocle, dispensed ecclesiastical benedictions, and insisted that Sherlock Holmes was still alive, living on a bee farm in Essex. He held court, sometimes uproariously, for decades at the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents’ Club, where a sculptured bust in a bar pays tribute to him."

Born Australia, died Hong Kong.

This section lists the memorials created by the subject on this page:
Richard Hughes (journalist)

Creations i

Holmes & Watson - Criterion - lost

The presence of Sherlock Holmes at this unveiling is rather misleading since ...

Read More

Other Subjects

Women’s Transport Service (FANY)

Women’s Transport Service (FANY)

All-women unit, affiliated to the TA, formed as the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry and active in both nursing and intelligence work during WW1 and WW2.  The original role was to ride horseback (hence "...

Group, Armed Forces, Espionage, Medicine

1 memorial
GCHQ

GCHQ

British intelligence and security organisation, responsible for providing signals intelligence and information assurance to the government and armed forces. Originally established after WWI as the ...

Group, Espionage

2 memorials
Odette Hallowes, GC

Odette Hallowes, GC

Born Odette Marie Céline Brailly in France.  Married an Englishman, Sansom, in 1931 and moved to England.  He enlisted in 1940 and she in 1942 with Special Forces of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry ...

Person, Espionage, France

War served, WW2
1 memorial
Violette Szabo, GC, CdeG

Violette Szabo, GC, CdeG

British secret agent in WW2. Born in Paris as Violette Bushell of a French mother and English father who met in WW1. With 4 brothers she was a bit of a tomboy. From Violette Szabo Museum "The Bushe...

Person, Espionage, Execution, France

War dead, WW2
6 memorials
Special Operations Executive (SOE)

Special Operations Executive (SOE)

Spies, basically (but see below), working for the UK in WW2. Formed by Churchill and variously known as "Churchill's Secret Army", "The Baker Street Irregulars", the Pythonesque "Ministry of Ungent...

Group, Armed Forces, Espionage, France, Germany

8 memorials

Previously viewed

Regina Fong

Regina Fong

Cabaret artiste, the stage name of Reginald Sutherland Bundy. Best known for his drag (although he disliked the term) persona H.I.H. (Her Imperial Highness) Regina Fong. He first developed his act ...

Person, Theatre

1 memorial
Norwood Grove tree 1 - Prince of Wales

Norwood Grove tree 1 - Prince of Wales

SW16, Norwood Grove, garden

The RHS describe this conifer as: "'Lutea' is a loosely conical tree with a rather bushy habit, the young foliage light yellow, becoming ...

1 creator
Sir Antony Mark David Gormley, OBE, RA

Sir Antony Mark David Gormley, OBE, RA

Known professionally as Antony Gormley, he is a sculptor and is most famous for 'The Angel of the North' in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear. Almost all his work takes the human body as its subject, with h...

Person, Sculpture

1 memorial
Beatrice Bishop

Beatrice Bishop

Drowned in the 1898 HMS Albion disaster, aged 24. Buried in grave 4 at the memorial in East London Cemetery.

Person, Tragedy

1 memorial
St Josephs War Memorial

St Josephs War Memorial

N19, Highgate Hill

The memorial stone slab forms part of the floor of this crucifixion shrine. The eaves bear the date "2000" and the floor does not seem...

2 subjects commemorated