Edward C. Ash
Edward Cecil Ash was an English farmer, naturalist and dog writer.
Life
Ash was born in 1888. He obtained a diploma with honours from the Royal [Agricultural College]. In 1927, Ash authored the two-volume Dogs: Their History and Development. The book was originally two million words in length but was reduced at the publisher's request to 500,000. The book has been described as a "remarkable modern work". In the 1930s, Ash was considered one of the world's greatest authorities on dogs. He used the pseudonyms A. D. Brasset and A. D. Fielding.He was also known for his studies of spiders.
From 1911 to 1921, Ash worked as a farmer at Wickham Market in Suffolk. He was a member of the East Suffolk County Council. Ash married Judith Nora in 1913 at Trimley St Mary and they resided at Dallinghoo Hall, Wickham Market. They had three daughters. He joined the British Army in February 1916 and served in the Royal Field Artillery. In 1922, Ash pursued a divorce from his wife over alleged misconduct but there was insufficient evidence presented in court.
In 1929, Ash's private secretary Edna Mary Hine hanged herself at his residence in Ramsden Heath. She had suffered from appendicitis but feared an operation and commented to others that she "preferred to be dead". In 1930, he purchased Lawn House at Ramsden Heath with 14 acres of land on a seven's years lease. Ash filed for bankruptcy in 1932.
In 1935 he lost a high court case against the publishers of a book called The Dog, Hutchinson, and their printers, before Mr. Justice Farwell, in which he alleged that the defendants had infringed his copyright. At that time, his address was given as Manston Close, Manston, Ramsgate.
He married again, to his secretary, Mary McPherson.