Page "Gerald Gardner (Wiccan)" Paragraph 28

Although sceptical of the Rosicrucian Order, Gardner got on well with a group of individuals inside the group who were " rather brow-beaten by the others, kept themselves to themselves.

" Gardner's biographer Philip Heselton theorised that this group consisted of Edith Woodford-Grimes ( 1887 – 1975 ), Susie Mason, her brother Ernie Mason, and their sister Rosetta Fudge, all of whom had originally come from Southampton before moving to the area around Highcliffe, where they joined the Order.

According to Gardner, " unlike many of the others the Order, had to earn their livings, were cheerful and optimistic and had a real interest in the occult ".

Gardner became " really very fond of them ", remaking that he " would have gone through hell and high water even then for any of them.

" In particular he grew close to Woodford-Grimes, being invited over to her home to meet her daughter, and the two helped each other with their writing, Woodford-Grimes probably assisting Gardner edit A Goddess Arrives prior to publication.

Gardner would subsequently give her the nickname " Dafo ", for which she would become better known.