George Mogridge, died 1854

George Mogridge (1787-1854) was a prolific author remember mostly for the vast number of religious tracts he produced, although he also wrote poems and children's books. In all he published approximately 200 works, many of which are still in publication today. At the time of his death the Religious Tract Society estimated that they had sold over 15 million copies of his works. He used a number of different pen names including 'Jeremy Jaunt', 'Ephraim Holding' and 'Peter Parley' but he is chiefly known as 'Old Humphrey', the pseudonym under which he produced a series of 46 children's stories for the Religious Tract Society aimed at persuading children into Christian habits and morals.

Born at Ashted in Birmingham in 1787, Mogridge moved to London around 1828, where he was eventually joined by his wife and family. They settled at Kingsland in east London. in 1851 ill health necessitated a move to Hastings in Sussex, a town he grew to love. He died there, with his wife at his bedside, on 2 November 1854, and, by his own request, was buried against the wall in the graveyard of All Saints' Church, Hastings. His gravestone stresses his religious convictions.

Photographed by F.S. Mann of Hastings.