Martin Coles Harman Explained

Martin Coles Harman
Succession:Sovereign[1] /Lord[2] of Lundy
Reign:1925 –
Reign-Type:Reign
Predecessor:Self-proclaimed
Augustus Langham Christie (as immediate predecessor and private owner
Sir Vere Hunt, 1st Baronet (as notable predecessor and leader of an Irish colony on Lundy)
Successor:Albion Harman
Birth Date:1885
Birth Place:Steyning, Sussex, United Kingdom
Death Place:Oxted, Surrey
Consort:yes
Issue:
Regnal Name:Sovereign Harman
Issue-Type:Children
Occupation:Businessman
Module:
Child:yes
Header1:Criminal details
Data2:
  • Unlawful currency production (first trial)
  • Embezzlement (second trial)
Label3:Criminal penalty
Data3:
Label4:Criminal status
Data4:Released

Martin Coles Harman (1885 – 5 December 1954)[4] [5] [6] was an English businessman who, in 1925, bought the island of Lundy.

Born in Steyning in Sussex and educated at Whitgift School in Croydon, Harman had six brothers and five sisters. At the age of 16, he left school to work for Lazard, and became an influential figure in early 20th-century corporate finance in the City of London. In 1913, he married Amy Ruth Harman,[7] and, in June 1919, Mr Harman moved to Chaldon, Surrey,[8] where he lived with his wife and their four children. In 1926, he donated land he owned in the village to the National Trust which was subsequently named "Six Brothers Field" at his request.

Harman bought Lundy island and its supply boat the MV Lerina in 1925 for £25,000 . In 1927, the GPO ended postal services to the island. For the next two years, Harman handled, and covered the costs of all the island's postage himself. On 1 November 1929, Harman introduced his own "Puffin" stamps to offset this cost. One Puffin is equivalent to one English penny, and printing of the stamps continues today covering the cost of shipping to the mainland, and postage in the UK and abroad. He later issued an independent Lundy currency of half Puffin and one Puffin coins, which were nominally equivalent to the British halfpenny and penny. This resulted in his prosecution by UK authorities for issuing illegal coinage under the Coinage Act of 1870. He was found guilty in 1931,[9] and was fined £5 with fifteen guineas (£15 15s) expenses[10] . The coins were withdrawn and have since become collectors' items.

In 1928, Harman established the Lundy pony.[11]

By 1928, Harman controlled a portfolio of companies worth an estimated £12 million. However, in 1931, his wife Amy died of kidney failure aged 47, and one year later Harman was declared bankrupt. As Lundy had been held in trust, Harman was able to keep his ownership of the island despite his bankruptcy. In November 1933, Harman was found guilty on charges of conspiracy to defraud in connection with a Korean syndicate, and was sentenced to 18 months in prison.[12]

Harman's son, John Pennington Harman was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross in Kohima, India in 1944.[13] There is a memorial to him at the "VC Quarry" on the east side of Lundy.[3]

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. 26 January 1931 . Puffin Into Nuffin . . 17 . 4 . 18.
  2. 28 December 1959 . Untidy Little Island . TIME Magazine . 74 . 26 . 19 .
  3. Web site: Memorial Stone, V C Quarry, Quarries, Lundy . https://web.archive.org/web/20220520181338/https://heritagerecords.nationaltrust.org.uk/HBSMR/MonRecord.aspx?uid=MNA100302 . 20 May 2022 . 22 March 2020 . National Trust Heritage Records . en.
  4. Web site: 1884 . Transcribed by Stephen Jakeman (jakems) . Birthdate index entry . live . 10 June 2022 . . . 10 June 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220610180933/https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=pnamHcqkijG7Q5XvS33J4g&scan=1 .
  5. Web site: Page 539 | Issue 40692, 24 January 1956 | London Gazette | the Gazette . 4 June 2022 . 9 May 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220509032411/https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/40692/page/539 . bot: unknown .
  6. Web site: 1954 . Transcribed by Stephen Jakeman (jakems) . Death date index entry . live . FreeBMD . ONS . 10 June 2022 . 10 June 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220610180934/https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=ZX8fsZjBeLwGf%2BDrXXgecw&scan=1 .
  7. Web site: 1913 . Transcribed by Stephen Jakeman (jakems) . Index entry . 2022-06-11 . FreeBMD . ONS.
  8. Web site: Page 7439 | Issue 31396, 10 June 1919 | London Gazette | the Gazette . 4 June 2022 . 9 May 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220509032412/https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/31396/page/7439 . bot: unknown .
  9. Web site: Coinage Act 1870: Martin Coles Harman v. William Bolt (police superintendent) . live . . 22 March 2020 . 22 March 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200322200424/https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C4624017 .
  10. News: 1931-01-14 . Summary Of Cases . 5 . . . 45720 .
  11. Web site: Sponsor a pony . https://web.archive.org/web/20220520174918/https://www.landmarktrust.org.uk/lundyisland/support-us/sponsor-a-pony/ . 20 May 2022 . 22 March 2020 . Landmark Trust.
  12. News: 1933-11-17 . TRIAL OF FINANCIERS; TWO OF FOUR IMPRISONED; Fraudulent Company Dealings . 9 . . 27224 . 2022-06-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220519014608/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/11712011 . 19 May 2022.
  13. Web site: LANCE CORPORAL JOHN PENNINGTON HARMAN . https://web.archive.org/web/20220520181113/https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2601498/john-pennington-harman/ . 20 May 2022 . 20 May 2022 . Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

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