Celebrating Hampshire Historians

Mitchell, Edgar Austin

3.11.1877 – 30.9.1939

Born in Camberwell, at the time of the 1911 census Edgar Mitchell was a ‘boarder’ in Croydon and his occupation was that of ‘newspaper reporter’. He moved to Southampton in 1913 to take up a post with the Southern Daily Echo, initially as a sub-editor, theatre critic and leader writer. In due course, under the pen name ‘Townsman’ he contributed a popular column ‘Occasional Notes’. These began with observations about his own experiences, but later they reflected his thoughts on, and researches into, the history of Southampton. Topics included ‘The Coming of the Railway’; ‘Mid Victorian changes’ to the town’s architecture; and ‘The Town’s Eastern Defences’. Many of these articles were published in a subscription volume in 1938, which proved to be so successful that a popular edition soon followed. A second volume was prepared but never published. The articles were profusely illustrated, with some of the images being taken from Harold Lankester’s ‘largest collection of prints and paintings of Southampton ever made’ (Southern Daily Echo, 21 February 1944). It was intended to put these together with maps, etchings and photographs, on public display, but they were all destroyed in an air raid in 1940.

Sources

• Anton, “Townsman” A Character Sketch, Hampshire Advertiser, 4 Nov 1939, 4.

• http://sotonopedia.wikidot.com/page-browse:mitchell-edgar-austin-townsman

• Ancestry.com

Portrait

Contribution to county’s history

Stimulation of interest in Southampton’s past amongst the readership of the Southern Daily Echo. Making history accessible to the general reader and encouraging further research. Overall he did much to popularise the study of local history.  

Relevant published works

• Mitchell, E. A. Southampton Occasional Notes (Southampton: Southern Newspapers Ltd, 1938)

Critical Comments

There were no formal referencing of sources.

Other Comments

He was ‘many-sided … a cultivated journalist of astonishing range, a friend of penetrating wisdom … [and] a man of wide spirituality’ (Hampshire Advertiser, 4 Nov 1939) who was active in the Brotherhood Movement as a speaker and advocate.

Contributor

Roger Ottewill, October 2021

Key Words

Southampton, history of Southampton, Southern Daily Echo

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