Look forward to hearing from you.
Dear Mac,
I've just come across an enquiry on your web site from Douglas Haslett about von Luckner's cryptic reference to a "Max Pemberton" in a dedication to his grandfather. You assumed quite reasonably that this was a reference to the Author Max Pemberton. I think there is another possible explanation. When von Luckner reached Fiji in 1917 he and his men rested for two days at the unoccupied house of a Mr Stockwell in Katafaga. When they left (to try to Enter Levuka Harbour and seize a ship - they were subsequently captured) von Luckner left a letter of thanks for Mr Stockwell and signed it "M. Pemberton , pretending that he and his crew were on a south seas cruise. Mr Stockwell was a member of the Ovalau Club in Levuka and he had the letter framed. It's still behind the bar at the Ovalau Club. I saw it on a visit to Levuka last week.
I have just completed a book on von Luckner entitled "Von Luckner: A Reassessment" which is being published by Peter Lang in Frankfurt. It is planned for release (in Europe, at least) in a couple of
months. It may well interest you.
Best wishes,
James Bade
Best regards.