I have been meaning for some time to find his grave in Stiffkey Churchyard but have always been unable to find the church let alone the grave. This time, thanks to some very slow driving, we found the church and then, thanks to some very slow walking, managed to find the grave.
It was rather understated for a man who in his lifetime caused a furore and made the national headlines in a scandal that reverberated around the entire United Kingdom.
So just who was the Rev Harold Davidson and what fascinates me about him?
I remember watching as I was growing up a television show or it may have been a documentary or even a musical about Davidson who was not only the Rector of the Norfolk village but was also known as The Prostitutes' Padre. Indeed he may have been the subject of the old joke.
"What does the vicar do?"
"He saves fallen women."
"Well could you ask him to save one for me."
Davidson was Rector of Stiffkey from 1906 and a man who split opinions with some loving him and some hating him. It all surrounded his visits to London where he administered to showgirls and prostitutes - often bringing them home to his family.
His reasons for doing this have never been fully understood but to cut a long story short there were powerful factions against him and he was eventually defrocked by the Church of England.
But that's where things got even more interesting. Known as something of a thespian, Davidson then exhibited himself in a barrel in Blackpool and then in a lion's den in Skegness. The latter proved to be his downfall as he was mauled by one of the lions. I have just read a new book on the subject which suggests that he may have been accidentally killed by a doctor who gave him an insulin injection believing him to be a diabetic.
He died on 30th July, 1937, and was buried in Stiffkey Churchyard on 3rd August with friends and well-wishers covering the cost of the funeral.
On the day we visited the grave, there was a small glass vase containing a single red rose. I was intrigued by an inscription on his headstone - "For on faith in man and genuine love of man all searching after truth must be founded." This was written by Robert Louis Stevenson.
In searching the internet to check some facts about Davidson I came across the following which made me chuckle: "Mention Stiffkey to anyone 'of a certain age' and there is bound to be a smile or a snigger and an instant mention of the Rector of Stiffkey."
Harold Davidson may be the most famous (or should that be infamous) Stiffkey resident but the village is also home to an international singer who met with considerable success in the 1950s and 1960s.
People of a certain age (and that includes me) will remember Dennis Lotis who is now 95 years of age. Lotis was born in South Africa and was an actor as well as a singer. He was commonly known as a heartthrob which basically means that he appealed to the ladies!
Interestingly Lotis' first recording was a cover version of Al Martino's "Here in My Heart," which was the first number one on the first ever UK singles chart and stayed at the top for nine weeks. It was number one just five weeks after I was born.
Dennis Lotis gave his final concert at the age of 80 in Mundesley. Lotis is pictured below in his younger days and below that is another small gallery of North Norfolk photographs from our visit.