Valerie Arkell-Smith
Encyclopedia
Valerie Arkell-Smith was a crossdresser who pretended to have fought in the RAF as Colonel Sir Victor Barker DSO
.
. She expressed desire about being born a boy. Arkell-Smith had a love for horses and cars
, and she enlisted, as a woman VAD
, 1914 and later joined the fledgling WRAF. In 1918, she married
Australia
n officer Lieutenant
Harold Arkell-Smith. She suffered a series of problems during her first marriage, including domestic violence
and psychological abuse. The marriage lasted a short period of time, and they divorce
d shortly after they married. Arkell-Smith soon met another man, Ernest Pearce-Crouch, also from Australia. The couple moved in together, and they had two children, a boy and a girl. Arkell-Smith and Pearce-Crouch moved to a farm in Sussex
, and Arkell-Smith started to dress in a more masculine way.
, in Brighton
. By then, Valerie Arkell-Smith had begun to use the name Sir Victor Barker. On 14 November, Arkell-Smith and Haward married, in what was ultimately exposed as an illegal marriage, since Arkell-Smith was a woman.
she accidentally received a letter inviting her to join the National Fascisti
which had been addressed to a different Colonel Barker. Arkell-Smith replied to the misdirected letter with the missive "why not", reasoning that membership of what was a macho group would help her pose as a man. She lived at the group's Earl's Court headquarters building where she worked as secretary for the group's leader Henry Rippon Seymour, whilst also involving herself in training young members in boxing
and fencing
, two activities regularly practised by National Fascisti members. Arkell-Smith involved herself in the kind of rough-housing that became the hallmark of the group and later recalled that "I used to go out with the boys to Hyde Park
and we had many rows with the Reds." The fact that she was actually a woman was never picked up upon by her fellow members.
In 1927 she was brought before the Old Bailey
on charges of possessing a forged firearms certificate after Rippon Seymour had pulled her gun on another member, Charles Eyres, in a dispute over party funding. Arkell-Smith's lawyers managed to negotiate an acquittal for Colonel Barker, as she was tried as a man, and she left the group soon after this trial.
, where she lived as "John Hill". While there, she was arrested again 1934, this time for theft.
Later, she wrote about her life three times in popular newspapers and magazines. As Colonel Barker, she also became the subject of a sideshow in the 1930s on Blackpool seafront.
, Suffolk.
D. H. Lawrence
, in the essay "A Propos of Lady Chatterley's Lover
," cited Colonel Barker (namely the fact that "his" wife believed for years that she was married to a man) as an example of the culture's profound and pervasive ignorance about sex.
The Brighton
museum and history centre celebrated her life during February 2006, as part of England's LGBT month's celebrations.
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
.
Life prior to crossdressing
Arkell-Smith grew up in the Channel island JerseyJersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
. She expressed desire about being born a boy. Arkell-Smith had a love for horses and cars
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
, and she enlisted, as a woman VAD
Voluntary Aid Detachment
The Voluntary Aid Detachment was a voluntary organisation providing field nursing services, mainly in hospitals, in the United Kingdom and various other countries in the British Empire. The organisation's most important periods of operation were during World War I and World War II.The...
, 1914 and later joined the fledgling WRAF. In 1918, she married
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n officer Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Harold Arkell-Smith. She suffered a series of problems during her first marriage, including domestic violence
Domestic violence
Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
and psychological abuse. The marriage lasted a short period of time, and they divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
d shortly after they married. Arkell-Smith soon met another man, Ernest Pearce-Crouch, also from Australia. The couple moved in together, and they had two children, a boy and a girl. Arkell-Smith and Pearce-Crouch moved to a farm in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, and Arkell-Smith started to dress in a more masculine way.
Crossdressing
In Sussex, Arkell-Smith met Elfrida Hayward. By then, Arkell-Smith had begun to dress as a man. She left her husband in 1923 and began a relationship with Hayward. Hayward believed Arkell-Smith was a man. The couple began living at the Grand HotelGrand Hotel (Brighton)
The Grand Hotel is a Victorian hotel in Brighton on the south coast of England. It is located on Kings Road, the main carriageway along the seafront; one of several major hotels along this road. Following the fashion to include a hotel's parent company in its name, it is also known as the De Vere...
, in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
. By then, Valerie Arkell-Smith had begun to use the name Sir Victor Barker. On 14 November, Arkell-Smith and Haward married, in what was ultimately exposed as an illegal marriage, since Arkell-Smith was a woman.
Fascism
In 1926 whilst living in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
she accidentally received a letter inviting her to join the National Fascisti
National Fascisti
The National Fascisti were a splinter group from the British Fascisti formed in 1924. In the early days of the British Fascisti the movement lacked any real policy or direction and so this group split away with the intention of pursuing a more definite path towards a fascist...
which had been addressed to a different Colonel Barker. Arkell-Smith replied to the misdirected letter with the missive "why not", reasoning that membership of what was a macho group would help her pose as a man. She lived at the group's Earl's Court headquarters building where she worked as secretary for the group's leader Henry Rippon Seymour, whilst also involving herself in training young members in boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
and fencing
Fencing
Fencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...
, two activities regularly practised by National Fascisti members. Arkell-Smith involved herself in the kind of rough-housing that became the hallmark of the group and later recalled that "I used to go out with the boys to Hyde Park
Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
and we had many rows with the Reds." The fact that she was actually a woman was never picked up upon by her fellow members.
In 1927 she was brought before the Old Bailey
Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court in England and Wales, commonly known as the Old Bailey from the street in which it stands, is a court building in central London, one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court...
on charges of possessing a forged firearms certificate after Rippon Seymour had pulled her gun on another member, Charles Eyres, in a dispute over party funding. Arkell-Smith's lawyers managed to negotiate an acquittal for Colonel Barker, as she was tried as a man, and she left the group soon after this trial.
Prison and later life
In 1929, Arkell-Smith, as "Victor Barker", was arrested for bankruptcy but was ultimately charged with, and convicted of, making a false statement on a marriage certificate. The judge, Ernest Wild, sentenced her to 9 months imprisonment. Upon learning of her relationship with Hayward, Wild said from the bench that Arkell-Smith had "profaned the house of God". After being released, Arkell-Smith moved to HenfieldHenfield
Henfield is a large village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It lies south of London, northwest of Brighton, and east northeast of the county town of Chichester at the road junction of the A281 and A2037. The parish has a land area of . In the 2001 census 5,012...
, where she lived as "John Hill". While there, she was arrested again 1934, this time for theft.
Later, she wrote about her life three times in popular newspapers and magazines. As Colonel Barker, she also became the subject of a sideshow in the 1930s on Blackpool seafront.
Death
Arkell-Smith died in poverty and obscurity, under the name "Geoffrey Norton", in 1960. She is buried in an unmarked grave in Kessingland churchyard, near LowestoftLowestoft
Lowestoft is a town in the English county of Suffolk. The town is on the North Sea coast and is the most easterly point of the United Kingdom. It is north-east of London, north-east of Ipswich and south-east of Norwich...
, Suffolk.
Legacy
The full story of the many lives of Valerie Arkell-Smith/Victor Barker is told in 'Colonel Barker's Monstrous Regiment' by Rose Collis, Virago 2001.D. H. Lawrence
D. H. Lawrence
David Herbert Richards Lawrence was an English novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, literary critic and painter who published as D. H. Lawrence. His collected works represent an extended reflection upon the dehumanising effects of modernity and industrialisation...
, in the essay "A Propos of Lady Chatterley's Lover
Lady Chatterley's Lover
Lady Chatterley's Lover is a novel by D. H. Lawrence, first published in 1928. The first edition was printed privately in Florence, Italy with assistance from Pino Orioli; it could not be published openly in the United Kingdom until 1960...
," cited Colonel Barker (namely the fact that "his" wife believed for years that she was married to a man) as an example of the culture's profound and pervasive ignorance about sex.
The Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
museum and history centre celebrated her life during February 2006, as part of England's LGBT month's celebrations.