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Harold Davidson

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Religious Figure

The Resume

    (July 14, 1875-July 30, 1937)
    Born in Sholing, Hampshire, England, United Kingdom
    Ordained as an Anglican priest (1904)
    Appointed Rector of Stiffkey (1906)
    Dedicated himself to rescuing young girls from a ‘life of vice’
    Nicknamed ‘the Prostitutes’ Padre’
    Convicted of immorality by a church court and defrocked (1932)

Why he might be annoying:

    He initially disappointed his religious family by becoming a comedic actor, having his greatest success in the title role in a touring company of ‘Charley’s Aunt.’ (1894)
    When he bowed to family wishes and agreed to study for the ministry, an influential family friend had to intervene to allow him to be admitted to Oxford despite poor grades.
    As chaplain to the Actor’s Church Union in London, he would invite out of work actresses – sometimes as many as twenty at a time – to stay at the Stiffkey Rectory, much to the consternation of his wife and more conservative parishoners.
    He eventually began spending most of his time in London, returning to Stiffkey only for Sundays, leading to complaints that he was neglecting his parochial duties.
    During Davidson’s trial, substitute priests were sent to officiate at services at Stiffkey; one evening, Davidson showed up unexpectedly and wrestled with the other priest for possession of the Bible (June 12, 1932).
    His trial, which had started off inconclusively, took a decisive turn against him when the prosecution submitted a photo of him with a nearly naked 15-year-old girl, Estelle Douglas.
    After being defrocked, he tried to raise money for his legal bills by becoming a sideshow attraction at the seaside resort of Blackpool, preaching from a barrel alongside acts like the Gorilla Girl and the Bearded Lady from Russia.
    Five years later, he starred in ‘Daniel in a modern lion’s den,’ in which he would preach for several minutes, then enter a cage with two lions.
    While performing the act, he was fatally mauled by one of the lions.

Why he might not be annoying:

    Even in his acting days, he was a teetotaler who gave Bible readings to the elderly in the towns he toured.
    His interest in helping young girls stemmed from his preventing a penniless 16-year-old runaway from throwing herself into the Thames River, after which he paid her fare home (1894).
    He served as a Naval chaplain during World War I.
    When he returned from service, he found that his wife was six months pregnant – even though he had not been home on leave in over a year.
    His defrocking was condemned by the ‘Church Times,’ which, while conceding his ‘foolish and eccentric’ behavior, argued that his intentions had been sincere.
    Later historians have found little evidence that he behaved improperly with the girls he approached.
    He usually bought the girls tea, listened to their problems, and helped them find rooms to rent and jobs in either the theater or domestic service.
    The photo that did him in may have been a set-up with Davidson unaware that Douglas was naked beneath her shawl instead of wearing a bathing suit as she had been in an earlier picture.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 4 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 15 Votes: 93.33% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 7 Votes: 71.43% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying