Excommunication

As with so much else where the source of negativity to my detriment is aimed to misrepresent and deceive, it began with David Farrant, pictured above, who, on 1 October 2008, posted out of the blue the following cryptic message on his blog: "I hear the Ches-nuts are really predicted to fall in force this Autumn. Especially near Basildon. Two of my researchers tell me (well, it won’t hurt to give their Christian names I suppose . . . Kev and Beverly [sic]) that they collected no less than 25 of the premature seeds while ‘Beating around’ in a nearby Lane not that far from the town itself. Small world isn’t it?"

"Ches-nuts" referred to Kevin's surname (Chesham) and "Basildon" refers to Kevin's town of residence with the precise location of his address at that time being contained in the numeral "25" and the words "Beating" and "Lane," ie 25 Beatty Lane, Basildon, Essex. However, Kevin and his wife took up residence at a different address, having rented out the former, in a neighbouring area at Wickhay, Basildon, in 2010.

Only our mutual friends and I would have recognised the significance of the hidden subtext in Farrant's cryptic comments. "Beverley" is Kevin's wife. Her surname is Mason, which she uses in preference to her husband's name. This was brought this to Kevin and Beverley's attention as soon as it was posted by Farrant. A chronology of just how David Farrant discovered their address was provided to the couple on 4 December 2008. 

In 2002, I was informed by the Ecclesiastical Law Society of matters previously unknown to me about Illtyd Thomas, pictured above, who had been an independent prelate known to me, but not connected to my jurisdiction. If proven, this evidence placed the prelate under the threat of excommunication and anathematisation. The evidence was substantial and the next period was spent painstakingly investigating all the facts and trying to determine whether the elderly prelate was still alive. In 2006 it was confirmed that Thomas was not deceased and by that time the evidence provided by the Ecclesiastical Law Society satisfied those investigating, myself included, to prepare for a solemn excommunication. Illtyd Thomas was informed of the charges against him should he wish to challenge any of the evidence. To this end I sent a formal letter c/o Kevin Chesham’s address which was posted by Kevin when he returned to Basildon, Essex, after having visited my wife and I at our coastal retreat.

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Illtyd Thomas (pictured above, second from left) did not respond to this correspondence, but instead issued a threat of his own which was uncanonical and invalid. This he did through David Farrant (seen on the far right in the above photograph) who posted Illtyd Thomas’ statement on the internet. In his statement, Thomas, based on Farrant’s input, falsely accused me of participating in the occult. In early 2007 further evidence appeared on the internet of collusion between Thomas and Farrant. This evidence included photographs of the prelate with Farrant and others meeting at Farrant’s attic bedsitting room in Muswell Hill Road. Farrant’s then girlfriend, Catherine Fearnley, later confirmed that Illtyd Thomas and his “deacon” Ian Kacrzowski exhibited strong interest in witchcraft and the occult. She also confirmed that Farrant first learned of Kevin's Beatty Lane address in Basildon when my confidential correspondence to Thomas was shared with Farrant by Thomas in February 2007. A solemn excommunication and anathematisation was carried out on St David's Day, 1 March 2007, due to Illtyd Thomas’ sexual perversion, association and collusion with notorious pederasts and occultists, acceptance of sodomy and his own homosexual practices (something he had always strenuously denied to me but apparently admitted to Farrant), and attempts to cause injury to our ministry and Church. The excommunication was made known to other denominations, including the Roman Catholic Church at Westminster, and was met with total support from all without exception.

On 1 October 2008, David Farrant, as stated previously, posted on the internet cryptic comments revealing his awareness of the full name and home address of Kevin Chesham and the forename of Beverley Mason. One year to the month after his final meeting with me in 2007, Kevin replied on 12 December 2008: "Thank you for email re how my address was given out. It pales really to the fact of another who has fallen!! I make no judgement but find that throughout our years so many have fallen. The thing that actually upsets me is the the disloyalty to you. If [Illtyd Thomas] did 'fall' - we are after all human - why then compound that by then attacking you!! I just say that my personal feeling is that leaders are always subject to more of this behaviour, not having the abilities in their own make-up they leech on and try to damage. I know this does not work with you as I have seen (for instance the way you deflected barbs) you pass these low-level beings. Re my address it is of no use to Farrant as I have explained. This might upset his small mind as he will not be able to start his (man-of-letters!!) via the post. Bev sends her best wishes."

David Farrant's girlfriend, Catherine Fearnley (on the far right in the above picture), would provide an unsolicited statement of her own: "I would like to tell you that I remember seeing this documentation from Illtyd Thomas's visit regarding Kevin and Beverley and it showing the accommodation address.  I think that I used to have a copy of it somewhere along with personal and private Court Documents although where Farrant had got hold of these I do not know but I still say to this day that it was him who sent me them and who was claiming to be a relative.  I can indeed therefore confirm that this correspondence with Kevin and Beverley's address did come from Illtyd Thomas along with a pornographic letter that Illtyd Thomas had written to someone and also some correspondence that you had sent him.  Illtyd Thomas gave all these letters to Farrant who ultimately photocopied everything and gave everyone who was there a set of this correspondence."

The correspondence referred to by Catherine is my warning notice to Illtyd Thomas of the pending excommunication and anathematisation. Illtyd Thomas was given every opportunity to defend himself and answer the allegations and evidence levelled against him. Did Kevin and Beverley underestimate the exceptionally devious Farrant, or was he just a convenient means to their end? Either way, Farrant soon began sending his malicious material about me and mine to them at their Basildon address. They appeared to dismiss these pathetic self-published tracts for what they are at first, and sent some to me to do with as I saw fit. My advice from the start was for this couple to completely ignore Farrant and his malicious mail, which at first they seemed to do, but, unless this was an avenue to execute an already conceived plan, something happened to compromise their loyalty and cloud their judgement. Only they actually know what happened to cause such contamination, but what is certain is that Farrant's poisonous influence was very much in evidence by the summer of 2010. The acrid smell of betrayal filled the air. Friends who had known both Kevin and myself for many years witnessed in disbelief Farrant's claims on the internet of a developing relationship between himself and Kevin Chesham.

I wrote to Beverley Mason in August 2010 (by which time Kevin had ceased all communication with me for reasons unexplained and uncomprehended): "Kevin has been aware for many years that we will never permit the existence of a conduit via a third party to David Farrant. Indeed, this might explain why Kevin excommunicated himself on Epiphany, breaking all connection with me. It certainly makes sense. ... I cannot make an exception. Every opportunity for the situation to be remedied has been afforded to you both. Yet still you remain in communication with Farrant who keeps everyone updated on the internet of the progress he is making in poisoning you ... The conduit to this miserable creature is, therefore, now inextricably ruptured. I owe it to those who have remained loyal to end this."

Beverley replied: "You seem to be basing all of your assumptions on things that David Farrant has said. Is this the same person that you have told me is full of a pack of lies? And yet, you are now believing everything that he is saying! Do you really think I have the time to get embroiled in this? ... What absurd allegations! ... You talk to me about trust, loyalty and honour; things that, as a Buddhist, I live by."

This was the first time I had heard Beverley ever claim to be a Buddhist. Anyhow, at the beginning of the same month, she had written: "I must say that I wasn't aware that my visit to David was that important that he would put it on his website! I must be honest, that I am past the stage of wondering and worrying about how our address became knowledge to David. This doesn't really concern me. What really prompted my visit, which was on the spur of the moment, was the two letters that we received from Br Keith. He quite categorically stated that we were not under any circumstances to have any contact with David. ... I thought I would make my own judgement and meet the person himself. ... Rest assured, I have no concern about either David or any of his friends knowing mine or Kevin's whereabouts. We no longer live in our house anyway. Thank you for your concern."

She also made the following statement about her visit to David Farrant's address in Muswell Hill Road, London: "Our conversation was purely in terms of my own interests and we did not discuss yourself or Sarah, nor would I, even if I had been asked give over any information as this would have indeed been disloyalty."

Not only would Beverley discuss us, attributing falsehoods to us both, but it was later found she had been recording guests without their knowledge and secretly photographing rooms in our home on her last visit. 

Observers might be forgiven for imagining that was the end of it. Perhaps it should have been, but events, as anyone who has had dealings with David Farrant will know, took on a maleficent life of their own.

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Some time later, Farrant wrote on his blog: "Well did I get a surprise a little earlier,  and a nice one in the midst of all this miserable snow. Had quite a long call from Bev to confirm Kev and her got the new DVD this morning.  She said they are going to watch it tonight.  (Its 1hr. 10 mins. long). Anyway she said she and Kev would be moving before Christmas and its not at all far from here.  Kev was there but she said she wouldn’t put him on the phone because of his hearing problem. Well. Then came the surprise. She said if I wasn’t doing anything, they’d be very happy for me to go for Christmas dinner.  She said they were both ‘health nuts’ and it would be organic wine and food, and Kev had a load of past memories to share with me . . . photo’s, letters and emails going back some 35 years and all the emails were on a memory stick. ... Kev said he had heaps to show me and thought that Xmas would be a good time.  He said he would gladly come over and pick me up and run me back again. Well, I was a bit embarrassed as I don’t know them that well,  but I agreed to go over, especially when she said only her and Kev would be there. That really decided me as I might have otherwise have been embarrassed with people I didn’t know. So it seems that that’s my Christmas day taken care of."

Farrant could not wait to share his good fortune with the world and posted the following on his blog at the end of Christmas Day 2010: "I don’t usually go out on Christmas Day, despite having enough invitations. Somehow I’ve always felt uncomfortable about visiting people, even close friends, as they inevitably have family there or friends I don’t know and that makes me feel a little out of place. ... This year was slightly different though as my friends Kev and Bev had invited me on Christmas Day and offered to collect me by car. They’ve moved now from Basildon and are living quite near Highgate in the Finchley area – only a 15 minute drive or so away by car.  Kev collected me around 12.30 and the roads were mainly clear, although some of the minor pavements were still covered with unmelted snow. I could never have got there on my own, even if there had have been buses. Bev was inside watching prepared food and preparing  more, and had already laid a table in the comfortable dining room where I was told to ‘make my self at home’. There was a wide screen television on in a corner but nobody seemed to be taking much notice of it. The food smelt pleasant enough, but it was hard to identify what this was. I guessed it was a casserole of some sorts and Bev said it would be ready after 2. In the meantime, Kev poured me a glass of wine from a bottle on the table, but I noticed Bev and himself were drinking orange juice. We eventually sat down to eat, and the meal was exceptionally good. Bev explained that most of the food was organic – and that even included the wine.  Then there was pudding followed by fresh fruit and in between, Kev was talking about his new job, which was the reason that had persuaded them to move. He also told me about his stays in Torremolinos in Spain adding that he wished he was back there at the moment to escape all the London snow…We had a lot in common there for I had already told him on an earlier occasion that it was in this Spanish holiday resort that I’d stayed in 1966 and was to eventually meet and marry my first wife. I had devoted several chapters to my stay there in my autobiography which they’d both read. We discussed how the town had really changed no; or rather extended its boundaries for some miles along the coast. They’d also read Patsy Langley’s book and it was this that had really caused his old address to be exposed. (An ex-friend of their’s had given the address out for postage purposes and then tried to deny that he had given this address to Patsy, the book’s author). But they both expressed great interest in my own book which went into great detail about the Highgate case. Kev explained that he knew most of the early history anyway, although I was surprised to learn that this went back to the early 1970’s when he was working as a life guard at Hornsey Road Baths in Holloway. He knew somebody else involved in the case at that time and before long he produced a load of photographs (most in black and white) which showed people whom I immediately recognised. We talked for most of the afternoon and he was not in the least offended when I twice went outside for need of a cigarette. I was intrigued by his detailed knowledge of the Highgate case (and other escapades that surrounded it) and said he had kept all the letters and emails he had kept in relation to this. I will not detail all this information here in a relatively short Blog, as I would first like to take in some of the implications. ... Kev ran me back about 7 although before I left I invited both of them to come over to my flat one afternoon to meet Patsy and her fiancé. Patsy had already agreed to the idea and I said it was just a question of arranging a date.  So that will be another meeting for the near future. ... Thanks again Bev and Kev."

What was Kevin aggrieved about? A mutual friend observed that perhaps he felt marginialised and left out. If he did, he never said so at the time. He always kept to himself and is one of the least gregarious people I have met. The only interest Kevin evinced was sport and, ironically, David Farrant about whom he had nothing good to say. I did not once discuss any supernatural topics with him, and only took polite interest when Kevin raised his pet topics concerning British Fascism and the Third Reich. When we were alone with them they invariably pursued their incredible interest in places we might be purchasing elsewhere in the country. For some reason they wanted to always know our address. Consequently we decided to tell them nothing when it became clear their interest was borderline obsessive, and told them we were not looking for anything else.

Ostensibly the anger came from Kevin's address becoming known to the man with whom he decided to spend Christmas Day. Yet Kevin repeatedly offered his home address to me down the years to use as an accommodation address whenever the need arose. He was practically offended when other people's addresses were employed instead. A good reason for not using him was the fact that Kevin was not that close a friend and often resided outside of the country. He frequently disappeared for long stretches of time in foreign lands. When I did eventually use Kevin's address in preference to my own as an accommodation, it was to send private and confidential correpsondence to Illtyd Thomas in February 2007 who, in accordance with protocol, needed to be shown evidence why his pending excommunication was about to take place. This prelate had no internet presence, and, due to his unsavoury connections, it was not thought wise to provide our address. Kevin himself mailed the correspondence from Basildon in full knowledge of the accommodation address being employed and to whom it was being posted. The prelate lived very close to David Farrant's Muswell Hill Road bedsitting room, and had already begun to collude with Farrant by this time.

My correspondence carrying Kevin's address was shown to Farrant by the excommunicated prelate, as confirmed by Farrant at the time on the internet, and that is how Kevin started to receive poisonous material through the post in the form of the familiar self-published pamphlets maliciously defaming me, my wife and friends. Farrant claims he was sent a cheque some years earlier bearing Kevin's full name from an address in Basildon, but returned it as he did not trust the sender who wanted to purchase Farrant's earliest pamphlet which first appeared in 1991. Farrant later falsely claimed that I used Kevin's address in e-mails complaining about copyright theft to Patsy Langley in 2008, but Langley was already aware of my home address, and such correspondence occurred well after Farrant was given the address by his own admission (as confirmed by his ex-girlfriend some months later) in early 2007 by the disgruntled prelate. In any event, Kevin had made absolutely clear on many occasions that he did not mind his home address being used by me. What makes this all the more absurd is that anyone with access to the internet can obtain Kevin Chesham and Beverley Mason's full address from directories. Farrant, or one of his cronies, could have discovered their address in a matter of seconds by putting in a quick search. Directories clearly show that Kevin and Beverley have remained registered residents at Basildon since 2005. There is no record of them living in the "Highgate and Finchley area." The public record shows them residing at a small terrace house in Basildon at postcode SS14 1QH until 2010 in which year they took up residence of a modest flat in Basildon at postcode SS15 5AE. They are still registered as residents of that Basildon flat, which lease was bought by their landlord in July 2000 for £38,500.

No less puzzling were Farrant's allegations regarding his new friend's "photo’s, letters and emails going back some thirty-five years," Kevin's supposed "detailed knowledge of the Highgate case (and other escapades that surrounded it)" and, not least, that "he had kept all the letters and emails he had kept in relation to this." Along with the age difference between Kevin and me, and that Kevin was completely unknown to me at the time of the Highgate Cemetery occurrences, should be added the fact that in all the years I have known Kevin he has never once asked about the Highgate Vampire or indeed any other supernatural case. When he revealed no knowledge of Keith Maclean's part in the case it became clear to me that he had not read my book.

When Kevin and Beverley in the summer of 2006 attended a reunion at my home it included Keith Maclean as one of a dozen guests. Keith would remark four years later: "The Devil is always looking over our shoulder, waiting for a chink to appear in our armour. Some do not have adequate protection when the spiritual struggle accelerates. Kevin and Beverley are without a shield."  And so it proved.