V&A Clerk's Lost Briefcase Recovered After 1920 Train Mishap
In June 1920, V&A clerk Henry Sylvani Proctor lost a brown leather attaché case containing official papers from the War Memorials Exhibition on a train from Wandsworth Common to Streatham Hill. The case, unlocked and unmarked, held loan documents for modern memorials that had been returned to owners. Proctor searched frantically, posting ads and offering a £1 reward. After informing Director Sir Cecil Harcourt Smith, the search was called off. Days later, a person claiming a mix-up returned the case with all papers intact. Proctor, a former Boy Clerk at the General Post Office and Navy veteran, had been promoted to Second Division Clerk months earlier. The incident is preserved in the V&A Archive file MA/121/1/1.
Key facts
- Henry Sylvani Proctor lost his briefcase on June 21, 1920.
- The case contained V&A papers from the 1919 War Memorials Exhibition.
- Proctor was a Second Division Clerk earning £167 and 19 shillings a year.
- He offered a £1 reward for return of the case.
- Director Sir Cecil Harcourt Smith was informed.
- The case was returned days later by a person alleging a mix-up.
- All official documents were recovered intact.
- Proctor worked at the V&A until 1923.
Entities
Artists
- Henry Sylvani Proctor
- Sir Cecil Harcourt Smith
- Laurence Hay
Institutions
- Victoria and Albert Museum
- V&A Archive
- National Art Library
- General Post Office
- Royal Navy
- Streatham News
Locations
- Wandsworth Common
- Streatham Hill
- London
- Crystal Palace
- West Norwood
- Gipsy Hill
- Victoria station
- London Bridge
- Shanklin
- Isle of Wight
- England