by Peter Morrell
EPHRAIM CONNOR [1893-1981], was a lay homeopath based in Motherwell
and later in the Scottish Highlands. Francis Treuherz went to see his widow and compiled an
article about him [Ephraim Connor [1893-1981], Treuherz, 1986 in The Homeopath].
Connor was a self-taught lay homeopath who ‘wrote a book about dogs, ended up as a
publican at the bottom end of the Caledonian Canal and was a queer old stick’ [Brown,
1991]. He published: Simplified Dog Cures in 1946, [Homeopathic Publishing Company]
which was also reviewed in Heal Thyself, 1946-7. Connor appears to have been a
strange figure who kept a big house near Motherwell with a huge stock of old remedies from
all the main manufacturers. Little is known of how his original contact with homeopathy came
about, for example, or if he was taught by any doctors in Glasgow.Ephraim Connor’s son, Dr. James Connor,
[born c.1919] hailed from Glasgow. He qualified LRCP LRCS [Edin.] LRFPS [Glas] in 1943, and
lived at 14 Belmont Crescent, Glasgow [Medical Directory 1948]. He is now in London,
Ontario, Canada [Brown and Pert] and is no longer listed in the Medical Register. I
have had some contact with his son Dr. Jim Connor in Toronto, Ephraim’s grandson, but he has
lost contact with his father who is still in Canada, and it is difficult to see how any
further information can be obtained about Ephraim.
Dr. Otto Leeser
Another very influential homeopath was Dr.
Otto Leeser.
“Leeser came over from Germany at the start of the Hitler era,
sponsored by the Faculty, established the London Homeopathy Labs, Riversleigh, High
Wycombe, Bucks- manufactured homeopathic remedies for sale to doctors and pharmacists,
cultivated indigenous plants and made mother tinctures. All liquid potencies were made
according to Hahnemann up to 30c, and from 30 to 1M all potencies were prepared on a
Korsakoff dynamiser. After the war he was invited to take over the new Robert Bosch
Homeopathic Hospital in Stuttgart. He and his brothers were true haemophiliacs. He was my
tutor and I was introduced to him by Dr. William Boyd of Emanometer fame.” [John
Pert, 1992]
J. C. PertBased in High Wycombe, Dr. Leeser
[c.1890-1964] taught Tomkins, the homeopathic pharmacist John Pert and others, as well as
running a homeopathic supply company, publishing house, Hippocrates Publishing Co,
and a homeopathic manufacturing chemists, The London Homeopathy Laboratories. He
returned to Germany in the 1950s to run the Robert Bosch Homeopathic Hospital in Stuttgart,
but died shortly after. He was based at Rosecroft, Pretoria Rd, High Wycombe, Bucks, and his
companies ran from c.1940-1974 [last entry, High Wycombe Telephone Directory 1974]. Hippocrates
Publishing Co is no longer listed as a publisher in the 1975 British Books in Print.
Leeser also published many interesting and erudite works about homeopathy.
Main works:
The Contribution of Homeopathy to the Development of Medicine [1943]
Hippocrates Publishing Co, London, reissued Oct. 1969 by same publisher, [see 1953:
Mukerjee, Homeopathic Dose and Dilution],The Molluscs Murex and Sepia, BHJ 1949, p.16-77; reprinted 1974 p.247,
On Potentisation, 1936, BHJ 25
Leeser’s Obituary BHJ 54, 1965, p.146,
Homeopathy and Its Pharmaceutical Aspects, Pharm. Journal, Nov. 12 &
19 1938,Homeopathy & Its Pharmacological Aspects [1938]
“Leeser was based in the 1930-50s in High Wycombe at the RHL Labs,
he was an excellent Botanist with a 1st class knowledge of plants. He made potencies up to
30 by hand and then up to M, 10M, 50M, CM using the Korsakoff fluxion method similar to
the Skinner machine used in the USA to make the high potencies.” [Pert 1991]“Leeser died c.1965 [sold to Guyana Hagmara?]. He was a
homeopathic remedies manufacturer, mainly, but did some teaching through the London
Homeopathy Labs. In the 1950s it was lay homeopaths who ‘flew the flag’, the BHA was dead
and uninteresting” [Tomkins, 1990]Tomkins maintained that Leeser was a
brilliant botanist and an expert both on pharmaceutical chemistry and the homeopathic
pharmacopoeia, as well as having an excellent knowledge of materia medica and how drugs
are prepared in homeopathic pharmacy. Also an extremely interesting and knowledgeable
person, who communicated easily and shared his knowledge with others freely and generously
[Tomkins, 19990].
‘Dr. Leeser’s [MD PhD Berlin] policy was to train absolutely anyone
who was keen, in the minutiae of homeopathic botany, pharmacy, materia medica and
practice. In this respect, at least, Leeser was an important if little known homeopathic
teacher.’ [Tomkins, 1990]
EDWARD W. COTTER [c.1890-1970?]
Edward Cotter practised in London during
the 1950s and 60s. He was based in the fashionable 51 Welbeck St, London W1, where he had
a practice for many years, certainly from 1963-65. Little is known about him as he appears
to have been a quiet and unassuming person who simply got on with the job of practising
homeopathy full-time, without doing any ‘evangelical’ work on behalf of the homeopathic
cause. He may have been taught by John Henry Clarke or by others. He was not medically
trained and is assumed therefore to have been taught by other laypersons.Cotter had many articles published in The
Homeopathic World, and the best of them are reproduced in his book: Homeopathic
Teachings From a Master, published by C W Daniel, 1987, [reviewed in The Homeopath,
7:2 by Felicity Lee, Winter 1987, pp.92-5].
‘..in her introduction Phyllis Speight describes Cotter as a reserved
man with a busy practice in London, who was reluctant to associate with practitioners
who did not understand and work according to the laws laid down by Samuel Hahnemann…he
was still seeing patients in 1965’ [Lee, 1987]‘Cotter had a large and thriving west London practice, and he also
contributed articles to Homeopathic World, the best of which are presented here.’Cotter was closely associated with
Phyllis and Leslie Speight, and was very probably in contact with many other London-based
lay prescribers of the 40s and 50s.
ERIC POWELL
[1900-1991] ND PhD, naturopath and
homeopath, who lived in Harpenden [Society of Homeopaths Newsletter, 1986] until
recently, but has since moved to Bedfordshire [Morrell, 1990]. Powell was not strictly a
homeopath, but used a mixture of herbalism, nature cure and homeopathy. His most important
work, The Natural Home Physician originally published in the 1930s, ran to many
editions. It was a comprehensive encyclopaedia of natural medicine and all aspects of
self-help from herbs, nature cure and homeopathic remedies. This book was way ahead of its
time really, and so thoroughly modern in every respect. It consists of a huge compendium
of ailments and various natural treatments which can be used for them. It has gone through
many reprints since its first appearance in the 40s.Mr Powell is frequently listed in Heal
Thyself and very regularly between the years 1935 and 1953. His most important
publications were: Cures That Work, [1960s] and The Natural Home Physician.
Powell is a very good example of an eclectic mix of herbalist, homeopath and naturopath,
and in this sense he is very typical of the 1930-60 period in general.
