RIP Fruity Hatfield-Peverel

It is with very great sadness that I have to announce the passing of Flt Lt Fruity Hatfield-Peverel—or Michael Mansell, as he was known to the authorities. Fruity was a founding member of the New Sheridan Club, prominent in its activities and with innate Chappist sensibilities that helped forge the shape of the club in those early days. He had a strong love for England in what he saw as its golden age and keenly collected vintage objects and ephemera that encapsulated this era—as anyone who visited his crammed flat will know. He even had plans to write a book on the subject.

Fruity’s shrewd collector’s eye was matched by a collector’s ear: at one of the “Sheridan Christmas House” weeks away he did some impromptu DJing, which led to his becoming the house DJ at the Candlelight Club when it started in 2010. He would probably still be in that role now if it weren’t for the illness that made him stop in 2012.

Sadly Fruity was always plagued by health problems, including ankylosing spondylitis which affected the movement of his neck and back. This, combined with an infection and complications with drugs he had to take, caused him to become something of a recluse, but he occasionally popped up on Facebook. We live ten minutes from him, and if we dropped in on the off-chance he was always happy to welcome us with a cup of tea in his small garden. The last time I saw him was in a group jaunt to Dungeness, though members may remember him at our Louche Luau party in 2018, and I was pleased at what seemed the beginning of a re-emergence. However, during lockdown I gather his health took a turn for the worse, with a hospital stay and further complications, to which he ultimately succumbed.

Fruity was one of a kind, always bubbling with interest in, and opinions and theories about, history, culture, society and life in general. He was also a devoted godfather to his namesake Michaela. He was a natural Chap and will be sorely missed.