The Running Grave

PROLOGUE

All individuals are not equally fitted to consult the oracle. It requires a clear and tranquil mind, receptive to the cosmic influences hidden in the humble divining stalks.

Richard Wilhelm

Introduction to The I Ching or Book of Changes

Letters between Sir Colin and Lady Edensor and their son William

13 March 2012

Will,

We were appalled to learn from your personal tutor yesterday that you’ve dropped out of university and joined some kind of religious movement. We’re even more astounded that you didn’t discuss this with us, or bother to tell us where you were going.

Unless we’re being lied to by the woman who answers the phone at the headquarters of the Universal Humanitarian Church, handwritten letters are the only means of contacting members. She gave me her word that this letter would be passed to you.

Your mother and I don’t understand why you’ve done this, why you didn’t talk to us first, or what can have persuaded you to abandon your course and your friends. We’re extremely worried about you.

Please get in touch IMMEDIATELY you receive this.

Dad

16 April 2012

Darling Will,

The lady at the church headquarters says you’ve received Dad’s letter, but we still haven’t heard from you, so we’re still very worried.

We think you might be at Chapman’s Farm in Norfolk. Dad and I will be at the New Inn, Roughton, this Saturday at 1 p.m. Please, Will, come and meet us, so we can talk everything over. Dad’s been doing a bit of research on the Universal Humanitarian Church and it sounds like a very interesting organisation with worthy aims. We can certainly see why it would appeal to you.

We aren’t trying to run your life, Will, we really do just want to see you and know that you’re all right.

With lots of love,

Mum xxx

29 April 2012

Dear Will,

Yesterday, I visited the UHC’s Central Temple in London and spoke to a woman who insisted that our previous letters have been passed on to you. However, as you didn’t come and meet us on Saturday or send us any word, we have no means of knowing whether she’s telling the truth.

I therefore feel it is necessary to state, for your benefit or for the benefit of whoever might be illegally opening your mail, that I know for a fact that you’re at Chapman Farm, that you never leave it unaccompanied and that you’ve lost a substantial amount of weight. I also know that it’s impossible for anyone except members of the church to visit the farm.

You’re a highly intelligent individual, Will, but the fact remains that you’re autistic and this isn’t the first time you’ve been manipulated. Unless I hear back from you by phone, or in a letter written in your own handwriting, by the 5th, I will contact the police.

I’ve been in touch with an ex-member of the Universal Humanitarian Church whom I’d like you to meet. If the church has nothing to hide and you’re remaining at Chapman Farm of your own free will, they can have no objection to you meeting us, or speaking to this individual.

Will, I repeat, unless I hear from you by the 5th of May, I will contact the police.

Dad

1 May 2012

Dear Colin and Sally,

Thank you for your letters. Everything is fine. I am very happy in the UHC and I now understand many things that I never understood before. In fact, I am not ‘on the spectrum’. That’s a label you’ve attached to me to justify the levels of control you’ve exerted on me all my life. I’m not your flesh object and, unlike you, I’m not motivated by money or materialist considerations.

I understand from your last letter that you’ve been having Chapman Farm watched. I’m an adult and the fact that you continue to treat me as an infant who should be spied on just proves how little I can trust you.

I also know exactly which ‘ex-member’ of the UHC you want me to meet. He’s a very dangerous, malicious man who’s done harm to many innocent people. I advise you to have no more contact with him.

The Drowned Prophet Will Bless All Who Worship Her.

Will

2 May 2012

Darling Will,

We were so happy to get a letter from you, but we’re a little bit concerned by it, because it really doesn’t sound like you, darling.

Will, please meet us. If we can meet you face-to-face, we’ll be reassured that you’re happy and know what you’re doing. That’s all we ask, a face-to-face meeting.

Darling, I want to be completely honest with you. Dad did have somebody watching Chapman Farm because he was so worried about you, but I promise that’s all finished. Dad’s cancelled the arrangement. Nobody’s spying on you and we don’t want to control you, Will. We only want to see you and hear from your own lips that you’re happy and that you’re acting of your own free will.

We love you, and I promise we only want the best for you.

Mum xxx

12 May 2012

Dear Colin and Sally,

I will meet you at the Central Temple in Rupert Court, London, on 23rd May at midday. Do not bring anyone with you, especially any ex-member of the church, because they won’t be admitted.

The Drowned Prophet Will Bless All Who Worship Her.

Will

24 May 2012

Dear Colin and Sally,

I agreed to meet you yesterday to prove I’m completely happy and fully in control of my own choices. Both of you demonstrated high levels of egomotivity and were disrespectful to me and abusive towards people I esteem and love.

If you contact the police or start having me watched again I will bring charges against you in court. The Church has arranged for me to be assessed by a doctor who will testify that I have full capacity and that you are the ones trying to exert undue influence on me. I have also consulted the UHC’s lawyers. My trust fund is my own and as Grandpa left me that money, not you, you have no right to prevent me from using my inheritance for good.

The Drowned Prophet Will Bless All Who Worship Her.

Will

16 March 2013

Darling Will,

I know I say it in every letter, but please, please contact us. We understand and respect the fact that you want to remain with the UHC. All we want is to know that you’re happy and well. Most of all, we’d like to see you in person. It’s been over a year, Will. We miss you so much.

I sent your birthday present to Chapman Farm. I hope you got it all right.

Please, Will, get in touch. Nobody’s going to try and persuade you to leave the UHC. All we want is your happiness. Dad deeply regrets some of the things he said when we last met. We aren’t angry, Will, we just miss you desperately.

Dad’s going to add his own note, but I just want to say that I love you with my whole heart and simply want to know that you’re OK.

Mum xxxxxx

Will,

I sincerely apologise for what I said about the church last year. I hope you can forgive me, and that you’ll get in touch. Mum misses you very much, as do I.

With love,

Dad x

Extracts from a letter from legal firm Coolidge and Fairfax to Mr Kevin Pirbright, former member of the Universal Humanitarian Church

18 March 2013

PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL LEGAL CORRESPONDENCE

NOT FOR PUBLICATION, BROADCAST OR DISSEMINATION

Dear Sir…

This letter is written on the understanding that you are responsible for the blog ‘Exposing the Universal Cult’, which you write under the name ‘Ex-UHC Member’…

Blog Post of April 2012: ‘The Aylmerton Connection’

On 2 April 2012 you published a blog post titled ‘The Aylmerton Connection’. The post contains several false and highly defamatory claims about the UHC. The opening paragraphs read:

Unbeknownst to the vast majority of its booming membership, who’ve been drawn to the church by its message of equality, diversity and charitable service, the Universal Humanitarian Church was born out of the Aylmerton Community, a notorious Norfolk-based commune, which in 1986 was revealed as a front for the paedophiliac activities of the Crowther family.

Most members of the Aylmerton Community were arrested along with the Crowther family, but those who were lucky enough to escape prosecution remained on the community’s land, which they re-christened ‘Chapman Farm’. This diehard group would become the founding members of the UHC.

Any reasonable reader would understand by this that the UHC is, in effect, a continuation of the Aylmerton Community under another name, and that the UHC’s activities resemble those of the Aylmerton Community, specifically with relation to paedophiliac activity. Both assertions are false and highly defamatory of our clients.

Furthermore, the phrases ‘lucky enough to escape prosecution’ and ‘diehard group’ would suggest to the reasonable reader that those who remained on the community’s land had committed unlawful acts similar to those for which the Crowther family and others were jailed. There is no truth whatsoever in this assertion, which is false and highly defamatory of the UHC’s members and Council of Principals.

The True Position

In fact, only one member of the UHC was ever part of the Aylmerton Community: Mrs Mazu Wace, the wife of the UHC’s founder and leader, Jonathan Wace.

Mazu Wace was fifteen years old when the Aylmerton Community was disbanded and she gave evidence against the Crowther brothers at their trial. This is a matter of public record and easily discoverable through court documents and press reports of the case.

Mrs Wace has talked openly of her traumatic experiences at the Aylmerton Community, including at church groups you personally attended. Far from being ‘lucky enough to escape prosecution’, Mrs Wace was herself a victim of the Crowthers. The imputation that she was complicit in, or otherwise approved of, the Crowthers’ vile, unlawful behaviour is highly defamatory and has caused Mrs Wace significant hurt and distress. It has also caused, and is likely to continue to cause, serious reputational harm to Mrs Wace, and to the UHC. This exposes you to significant liability.

Blog Post of 28 January 2013: ‘The Great Charity Con’

On 28 January 2013, you published a post titled ‘The Great Charity Con’, in which you state:

In fact, the sole purpose of the UHC is generating money, and it is remarkably good at this. While better-known members are allowed merely to proselytise in press interviews, the rank and file are expected to be out on the streets with their collecting tins every day, and to remain outside, no matter the weather or their own state of health, for as long as it takes for them to make their ‘offering’. This is the minimum one hundred pounds per day each foot soldier must return with, unless he or she wishes to face the wrath of the church’s volatile enforcer Taio Wace, who is the elder of Jonathan and Mazu Wace’s two sons.

The description of Mr Taio Wace as a ‘volatile enforcer’ will be understood by the reasonable reader to mean that Mr Taio Wace is aggressive, unpredictable and a bully. This categorisation is highly defamatory of Mr Taio Wace and likely to cause significant reputational harm to him, as a Principal of the Church, and to the UHC itself.

You further write:

Where does all the money go? Good question. Visitors to the church’s Chapman Farm ‘retreat’ will note that while ordinary members are ‘enjoying’ the experience of pre-mechanised farming, sleeping in unheated barns and swapping their collecting tins for hoes and horse-drawn ploughs, the accommodation offered to Principals and celebrity members is rather more comfortable.

The main farmhouse has been enlarged and renovated to a distinctly 21st-century standard, complete with swimming pool, jacuzzi, gym, sauna and private cinema. Most Principals drive brand new, top-of-the-range cars and the head of the church, Jonathan Wace (known to members as ‘Papa J’), is known to own property in Antigua. Visitors to the Central Temple in Rupert Court can also see the increasingly opulent fixtures and fittings, not to mention the gold-embroidered robes worn by Principals. ‘Simplicity, Humility and Charity’? Try ‘Venality, Duplicity and Vanity’.

Again, any reasonable reader of this post would understand it to mean that the Council of Principals is illegally appropriating funds donated for charity and redirecting it either into their own pockets, or into luxurious accommodation or clothing for themselves. This is entirely false and highly defamatory of the Council of Principals.

The True Position

It is a matter of public record that Mrs Margaret Cathcart-Bryce, a wealthy, long-standing church member, donated substantial funds to the church while alive to renovate Chapman Farm, and that when she died in 2004, the Council of Principals was the sole beneficiary of her will, enabling the church to purchase suitable properties in central London, Birmingham and Glasgow, for congregants to meet.

Your blog post contains several outright falsehoods. Chapman Farm contains neither a jacuzzi nor a swimming pool, and Mr Jonathan Wace does not own, nor has he ever owned, property in Antigua. All cars owned by the Church Principals were bought out of their own salaries. Your assertion that church members are required to collect one hundred pounds per day, or they will face the ‘wrath’ of Mr Taio Wace, is likewise wholly false.

The Church is open and transparent in all its financial dealings. No monies collected for charitable purposes were ever used to maintain or renovate Chapman Farm, or to purchase or upgrade the UHC headquarters in London, or to personally benefit the Principals in any way. Again, the suggestion that the UHC or its Council of Principals is ‘venal’, ‘duplicitous’ and ‘vain’ is highly defamatory both of the Church and its Council, and likely to cause serious reputational damage. This increases your liability.

Blog Post of 23 February 2013: ‘The Drowned Prophet’

On 23 February 2013, you published a post titled ‘The Drowned Prophet’, in which you made a series of defamatory and deeply hurtful assertions about the death by drowning in 1995 of Mr and Mrs Wace’s firstborn child, Daiyu, who is considered a prophet within the UHC.

UHC members are well aware that while all prophets are, theoretically, equal, one is far more equal than others. The Drowned Prophet has become central to the cult of the UHC, with her own rites and separate observances. Doubtless there was an initial desire on the part of Mazu Wace to keep her dead daughter [Daiyu Wace] ‘alive’ in some sense, but she milks and exploits her association with the Drowned Prophet at every available opportunity. Very few of the brainwashed are brave enough to ask (even in whispers) what made a drowned 7-year-old deserving of prophet status. Still fewer dare note the strange coincidence that Jonathan Wace’s first wife (always airbrushed out of UHC history) also drowned off Cromer beach.

The assertions and insinuations contained within this paragraph could hardly be more offensive, hurtful, or defamatory of Mr and Mrs Wace, or of the UHC as a whole.

The suggestion that Mrs Wace ‘milks’ or ‘exploits’ the tragic death of her young daughter is a vile slur and highly defamatory of Mrs Wace, both as a mother and as a Principal of the church.

Moreover, a reasonable reader is likely to conclude from your use of the phrase ‘strange coincidence’, when referring to the accidental drowning of Mrs Jennifer Wace, that there is something suspect, either about Mrs Jennifer Wace’s death, or about the fact that Daiyu Wace met her end in a tragically similar fashion.

The True Position

On 29 July 1995, 7-year-old Daiyu Wace drowned in the sea off Cromer beach. As is a matter of public record, and easily discoverable through court records and press coverage of the inquest into her death, Daiyu was taken to the beach in the early morning by a church member who hadn’t asked permission from Daiyu’s parents. Mr and Mrs Wace were devastated to hear their daughter had drowned while swimming unattended.

It is part of the belief system of the UHC that some deceased members of the church become ‘prophets’ after death. Religious belief is protected under English law.

A true account of Mrs Jennifer Wace’s tragic death is likewise available through court records and press accounts of the inquest. Mrs Jennifer Wace died on a Bank Holiday afternoon in May 1988. An epileptic, she suffered a grand mal seizure in the water and in spite of every attempt of nearby swimmers to save her, she drowned. Numerous witnesses gave evidence at the inquest that Mr Jonathan Wace was not in the sea at the time Mrs Wace drowned, and that he ran into the water upon realising what was happening, but was too late to save his wife. Mr Wace was distraught at his first wife’s untimely death, and far from wishing to ‘airbrush’ her out of his personal history, he has commented publicly on the fact that the tragedy deepened his burgeoning religious faith, to which he turned for solace. Any suggestion to the contrary is false, malicious and highly defamatory of Mr Jonathan Wace.

Furthermore, it is highly defamatory to describe the church as a ‘cult’ or to suggest that its members are ‘brainwashed’. All members of the UHC attend the church of their own free will and are able to leave at any time.

In conclusion…

Emails between ex-UHC member Mr Kevin Pirbright and Sir Colin Edensor

Kevin Pirbright

20 March 2013

Lawyer’s letter from UHC

To: Sir Colin Edensor

Dear Colin,

This morning I got a lawyer’s letter from the UHC ordering me to take down my blog or they’ll make me pay, take me to court etc etc, the usual thing they do to all ex-members. Good! I want this to get into court. But I haven’t got money for a lawyer so I wondered if you could help me as I don’t think you can get legal aid for defamation. I’m doing this for all the brainwashed, including Will. Light has to be shone on what these bastards are doing.

The book’s going really well. Plus, everything they’re doing against me right now is just adding new chapters!

Best,

Kevin

Sir Colin Edensor

20 March 2013

Re: Lawyer’s letter from UHC

To: Kevin Pirbright

Dear Kevin,

I’d be delighted to help with lawyers’ fees. I recommend my own lawyers, Rentons, who are already aware of the UHC’s nefarious activities with regards to our son. Keep me posted on developments and very good news that the book’s going well. I think it will make a big difference.

Sincerely,

Colin

An excerpt of an interview with actress Noli Seymour in Zeitgeist magazine, January 2014

I ask about the two small Chinese characters tattooed just beneath Seymour’s left ear: new additions to her already extensive collection of body art.

‘Oh, I got them done last month. They mean “Jïnzi”; “gold”, in English. It’s a reference to the Golden Prophet of the Universal Humanitarian Church.’

I’d been told that Seymour won’t be answering questions on her membership of the controversial UHC, but as she’s brought it up, I ask what she makes of persistent negative rumours about the church.

‘That isn’t something Noli wants to discuss,’ says Seymour’s PR man, but his client ignores him.

‘Oh, please,’ she says, rolling those dazzling baby blues. ‘There’s something SO sinister about wanting to help the homeless and give kids who’re carers a holiday, right? Seriously: do people not have better things to do than bash a place that does nothing but good?

‘Genuinely,’ she says, leaning towards me for the first time, looking earnest, ‘the Universal Humanitarian Church is, like, the most progressive religion of all time. It’s all integrated. It looks for universality, because that’s what life is, and humanity is: the search for oneness and wholeness. That’s one of the things that really attracts me about it. It’s like, there are fragments of truth in all religions, but until we get a synthesis, we won’t see it. So you get massive diversity there. We study every and any Holy Book. You should come to a meeting. Tons of people come out of curiosity and, like, never leave.’

Not entirely to my surprise, Seymour’s PR man intervenes at this point, reminding Noli that we’re here to discuss her latest movie.

Emails between Sir Colin Edensor and his lawyer David Renton

Sir Colin Edensor

27 May 2014

Will Edensor trust fund

To: David Renton

Dear David,

I apologise for becoming heated on our call this morning. As I know you appreciate, this whole situation is taking its toll, particularly in light of Sally’s recent diagnosis.

I fully appreciate that Will is over-age and that he’s refusing to submit to a further psychiatric assessment, but I’m frustrated by the chicken and egg situation in which we find ourselves. You say there are no grounds on which a judge would currently rule Will to be mentally unfit. He joined a dangerous cult and cut off all contact with family and former friends. Surely this, in and of itself, is proof that he’s unstable and provides grounds for a further assessment.

The mere fact that Dr Andy Zhou is a Principal in the UHC ought to disqualify him from treating or assessing members of the church. I appreciate that Zhou remains a practising psychologist, but one would think Zhou’s membership of the UHC represents at best a glaring conflict of interest when it comes to assessing the mental health of vulnerable church members in possession of large trust funds.

As you know, I was overruled at the meeting of Will’s trustees on Thursday, where the majority view was that there are no legal grounds on which to withhold funds from him. This brings the total sum of money that Will has taken out of his trust since joining the UHC to £95k. I don’t believe Will ever had any intention of putting a deposit on a house or buying a car, because he’s still living at Chapman Farm and there’s no evidence of him taking driving lessons.

As I told you on the phone, Kevin Pirbright is willing to testify in court that wealthy individuals such as Will are given template letters to copy out in their own handwriting when applying for funds. Nobody who knows Will could possibly believe he wrote the last two letters sent to the Board of Trustees himself. I also note that he doesn’t mention the Drowned Prophet when it’s a question of getting his hands on cash.

I’d appreciate any advice on how to break through the impasse in which we find ourselves. I believe Sally’s illness has been caused by the stress of the last two years and we both remain desperately concerned about our son.

Yours,

Colin

David Renton

27 May 2014

Re: Will Edensor trust fund

To: Sir Colin Edensor

Dear Colin,

Thank you for this. I completely understand that this is an immensely stressful situation for you and Sally, and you have my sincere sympathy, especially in the light of Sally’s recent diagnosis.

While you and I might have doubts and questions about the Universal Humanitarian Church, it is a legally registered entity and has never been successfully prosecuted.

Unfortunately, I have concerns about Kevin Pirbright’s credibility if we bring him before a judge. He’s already been forced to retract inaccuracies in his blog posts about the UHC, and some of his allegations about the church strain credulity, particularly his accounts of the Manifestation of Prophets, which he continues to attribute to supernatural causes.

If you know of any other ex-UHC members who could be persuaded to testify as to the use of coercive control, template letters and so forth, I think we might have a case, but I’m afraid I think your chances are very slim if you proceed with Kevin as your sole witness.

I’m sorry for this gloomy prognosis, Colin. If you can track down further ex-church members, I’ll be glad to rethink.

Best, David

An excerpt of an interview with author Giles Harmon, ClickLit magazine, February 2015

CL: Some readers have seen a really profound shift in your thinking on religion in this latest novel.

GH: It isn’t really a shift at all. It’s a development, an evolution. I’m merely a few steps further along the path than I was previously. All that’s happened is that I’ve stumbled upon a unique way of meeting what I feel is the universal need for the divine, which doesn’t bring in its wake any of the attendant evils of traditional religions.

CL: You’ll be donating all royalties from One Holy Dawn to the Universal Humanitarian Church?

GH: I will, yes. I’ve been deeply impressed by the change the UHC has made in the lives of many, many vulnerable people.

CL: There was an incident at your first reading, where an ex-member of the UHC was escorted from the venue. Can you comment on that?

GH: The police told me the poor man’s quite seriously mentally ill, but I don’t know any more than that.

CL: Are you aware of the public comments Sir Colin Edensor has made about the UHC? Specifically, that it’s a cult?

GH: That’s pure nonsense. I can hardly conceive of any group less like a cult. The place is littered with intelligent professional people – doctors, writers, teachers – and the whole ethos is to freely inquire into any and all philosophies and belief systems, including atheism. I’d encourage any open-minded, intelligent person disillusioned with traditional religion to drop in on a UHC meeting, because I think they might be very surprised by what they find there.

Emails between Sir Colin Edensor and Kevin Pirbright

Sir Colin Edensor

2 March 2015

Giles Harmon’s Reading

To: Kevin Pirbright

Dear Kevin,

I was extremely unhappy to read about your behaviour at Giles Harmon’s book reading. I’m mystified as to how you think it will help any of us for you to stand up in public and start hurling abuse at a respected author. Given that they also publish Harmon, I wouldn’t be surprised if Roper Chard terminated your contract.

Colin

Kevin Pirbright

20 March 2015

Re: Giles Harmon’s Reading

To: Sir Colin Edensor

If you’d been there you’d understand exactly why I stood up and told Harman what I thought of him. These fucking rich pricks like him and Noli Seymour never see what happens at Chapman Farm. They’re being used as recruitment tools and they’re too fucking dumb and arrogant to realise it.

The book’s stalled, so Roper Chard will probably drop me anyway. I’m dealing with a lot of stuff I think I repressed. There was a night when all the kids were given drinks that I now think must have been drugged. I’m having nightmares about the punishments. There are also big stretches of time where I can’t remember anything.

I can feel the presence of the Drowned Prophet all around me. If anything happens to me, she’ll have done it.

Kevin

Letters from Sir Colin and Lady Edensor to their son William

14 December 2015

Dear Will,

The doctors have now given Mum 3 months to live. I’m begging you to contact us. Mum’s tormented by the idea that she might never see you again.

Dad

14 December 2015

Darling Will,

I’m dying. Please, Will, let me see you. This is my dying wish. Please, Will. I can’t bear to leave this world without seeing you again. Will, I love you so very much and I always, always will. If I could hug you one more time I’d die happy.

Mum xxxxxxxxx

2 January 2016

Dear Will,

Mum died yesterday. The doctors thought she had longer. If you’re interested in attending her funeral, let me know.

Dad