Erroll Collins facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Erroll Collins
Edith Hannah Redknap aka Erroll Collins
Born	Ellen Edith Hannah Redknap (1906-04-15)15 April 1906 Shadwell, London, England
Died	11 March 1991(1991-03-11) (aged 84) Isleworth, London, England
Nationality	British
Other names	Edith Hannah Redknap, Clyde Marfax, Auntie Goody, Erroll Collins, Graeme Grant
Occupation	Writer, and Poet
Known for	Writing Boys Science Fiction

Erroll Collins was the pen name of Ellen Edith Hannah Redknap (born April 15, 1906 – died March 11, 1991). She was a British author who wrote exciting adventure and science fiction stories for boys. She was active mainly in the 1940s and used a few different names for her books.

Life of a Writer

Ellen Edith Hannah Redknap was born in 1906 in Shadwell, London. She was the oldest of four children. Her father, Frederick Redknap, was a master plumber.

As a child, Ellen was a great role model for her younger brothers and sisters. Her family even called her "Goody Two Shoes." Later in her life, many family members knew her as "Auntie Goody."

Ellen was a talented pianist when she was young. However, she stopped playing after her mother passed away in 1934. She also enjoyed painting with watercolors sometimes.

She went to St. Mary's College, where she already dreamed of becoming a writer. Ellen loved reading and had a huge collection of books. After she died, one room in her house was filled with over two thousand books!

Ellen never got married. Instead, she took care of her younger siblings and her father after her mother died. Later, she also looked after her brother, Earnest.

Ellen lived alone in her home in Isleworth until she passed away on March 11, 1991.

Her Writing Career

Ellen Redknap wrote under several names. Her most famous pen name was Erroll Collins. She also published one book as Graeme Grant Hawkins. This name was chosen to celebrate the birth of her nephew. It's also possible she wrote some books as Clyde Marfax.

Her 1944 book, Mariners of Space, was a very advanced science fiction story for its time. It imagined a future where people lived on Mars and Venus, not just Earth. They would fly around the solar system and sometimes get into wars.

This book was published in the popular Boy's Own Paper magazine. Many boys read it and became interested in the idea of space travel. The story even predicted some things that later came true.

For example, the book talked about a 'United States of Europe,' which is similar to today's European Union (EU). It also guessed that major problems in the world would be in the Middle East. In the story, Earth wins a big war against Mars and Venus because everyone unites.

Amazingly, Erroll Collins predicted the landing spot for the Apollo moon missions 28 years before it happened. She said she chose the Sea of Tranquility because it seemed like a good, flat place to land.

Some of her other books include Submarine City, The Black Dwarf of Mongolia, and The Sea Falcon.

During the Second World War, one of her books was not allowed to be printed. The government censors thought it might reveal secret information. Perhaps her fiction was a bit too close to real-life developments.

In her 1941 novel, The Secret of Rosmerstrand, Redknap wrote about the German Army. She imagined them building an underwater base. From this base, submarines and troop carriers would prepare for a sea-bed invasion of Britain. Years later, in 1957, captured Nazi documents showed they had a similar project planned. Even she was surprised by this!

It seems she might have known Barnes Wallis, a famous British scientist. The idea of "swing-wing Arrow-Planes" in Mariners of Space might have come from this connection.

She also worked as a personal assistant for MacDonald Hastings. He was a journalist at Picture Post. She also worked for the father of Bernard Weatherill.

Later in her life, Ellen focused more on poetry. Many of her poems were published in local groups and on her own. She also enjoyed helping other new writers and poets. She sometimes worked as a sub-editor, helping to prepare texts for publication.

Published Works

Here are some of the books and poems Erroll Collins wrote:

Novels as E. E. H. Redknap

• The Isle of the Black Pearl. London, George Newnes, 1935.

Novels as Erroll Collins

• Galleons of the Air (serial, Boy's Own Paper, 1939). Lutterworth Press, Jul 1940.
• The Sea Falcon (serial, Boy's Own Paper, Oct 1940-Mar 1941). Lutterworth Press, Dec 1941.
• The Secret of Rosmerstrand. Lutterworth Press, May 1942.
• Outlaw Squadron. Lutterworth Press, Oct 1943.
• Mariners of Space. Lutterworth Press, Jul 1944.
• The Hawk of Aurania. London, Collins, 1944.
• Rebel Wings. Lutterworth Press, Apr 1945.
• Submarine City. Lutterworth Press, Nov 1946.
• The Stars of Korania. Lutterworth Press, Nov 1948.
• The Black Dwarf of Mongolia. Collins (Seagull Library), May 1949.
• Volcanic Treasure. London, Gerald Swan, Feb 1955.
• Conquerors of Space. Richmond, Surrey, Stanley Baker, Jun 1955.
• Wings of Resistance. Mitcham, Surrey, G.M. Smith, Mar 1959.

Verse as Ellen E. H. Collins

• The Star Rover. A poem. Ilfracombe, Arthur H. Stockwell, 1953.
• Poems of Earth, Sea and Sky. Hounslow, privately published, 1959.
• More Poems of Earth, Sea and Sky. Hounslow, privately published, 1960.
• Astrology, and other poems. Dulwich Village, Outposts Publications, 1961.
• Impressions. Cheltenham, Envoi, 1961.
• Poems for All Seasons. Southend-on-Sea, Citizen Publishing Co., 1961.
• Strange Altars. Stevenage, Herts., Ore Publications, 1973.
• Un-Cuddly Creatures. Bedford, Writers' Own Publications, 1989.

Novels as Graeme Grant

• Wings Over the Arctic. London, Evans Bros., 1947.

Novels as Clyde Marfax

• Planets of Peril

Short Stories & Serials

Stories as E. E. H. Redknap

• Beaver Gold (Schoolboy Adventures 1, Feb 1944; reprinted, Cute Fun, May 1950)

Stories as Erroll Collins

• The Luck of the Lindsays (Boy's Own Paper, Jan 1936)
• The Tiki of Tautauro (Boy's Own Paper, May 1936; reprinted, The Schoolboy's Annual, Lutterworth, n.d.)
• The Sunstone (Jolly Jack's Annual 1937, 1936)
• The Grey Druid (Boy's Own Paper, Jan 1937)
• The Haunted Reef (Boy's Own Paper, Mar 1937)
• Deaths Door (Boys Own Paper, Feb 1937)
• The Dare-Devil Pilot (Boy's Own Paper, Jul 1938)
• Galleons of the Air (Boy's Own Paper, 1939)
• The Sea Falcon (Boy's Own Paper, Oct 1940-Mar 1941)
• The Lost Lake (Schoolboy Adventures 1, Feb 1944)
• The Silver Joss (Schoolboy Adventures 1, Feb 1944)
• Red for Danger (Cute Fun, Aug 1946)
• M13 (The Schoolboy's Annual, Lutterworth, n.d.)
• Bandits and Bisnagas (Daily Mail Boy's Annual, n.d.)

• You can find photos, free books, and stories by Erroll Collins and more information here.
• Erroll Collins and her work are mentioned in "Tristram Hooleys Visions Of A New Jerusalem:Predictive Fiction In The Second World War".