Amateur fraud?
Sir: Surely the interpretation of Gilbert Murray's deception is simpler than either Peter Ackroyd or George Edinger (Letters, September 22) realises. The essential question is: why would a man go on pretending — to his family, to his friends, to his colleagues in the Society for Psychical Research — that he could pick up information telepathically,, if in fact he was cheating? The only conceivable reasons was that he needed to get the information relayed without exciting suspicion.
Murray was a notorious fellowtraveller, a member of a number of communist 'front' organisations like the League of Nations Union. But it was important for him not to be found in direct communication with the Kremlin. What better cover could he have had than the Proceedings of the Society, in which the results of his game were published? Among those who played it — feeding him the
questions — were his grandsons, one of them a member of the Communist Party; so it comes as no surprise to find that the first ' message ' in the last series — the date being May 30, 1920 is — "Marsh and Kerensky travelling down from Scapa" — which Murray picked up, telepathically ', as "I think it is Admiral Marsh travelling with Keren sky, travelling down from Scotland"
— in other words, confirming the report which the Kremlin had received through Intelligence.
Somebody hasjust pointed out to me that these Proceedings were not published until 1972. But that is the point; the Russians were picking up the game by telepathy.
Brian Inglis
23 Lambolle Road, London, NW3
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