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{{Short description|British magician (1879–1946)}}
[[File:Indian Conjuring book.png|thumb|Branson's major work ''Indian Conjuring'' (1922).]]

[[Major]] '''Lionel Hugh Branson''' (8 April 1879 – April 1946) was a British [[Magic (illusion)|magician]] and officer of the [[British Indian Army]].<ref>Obituary, ''[[The Times]]'', 26 April 1946, p.7</ref>

== Biography ==
Educated at [[Bedford School]], between 1890 and 1895, Lionel Branson was commissioned a [[second lieutenant]] from the [[Royal Military College, Sandhurst]], into the [[Royal Munster Fusiliers]] on 11 February 1899 and was promoted [[Lieutenant (British Army and Royal Marines)|lieutenant]] 15 September 1900. He transferred from the 2nd battalion the Royal Munster Fusiliers to the [[British Indian Army]] on 17 February 1901, joining the [[9th Bombay Infantry]].

He served with the 9th Bombay Infantry during the [[Waziristan]] operations of 1901-02 on the [[North-West Frontier Province (1901–55)|North West Frontier]] and was [[mentioned in despatches]] (London Gazette 8 August 1902).<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=27462 |date=8 August 1902 |pages=5089–5093 }}</ref> He transferred to the [[10th Bombay Infantry]] (later [[110th Mahratta Light Infantry]]) on 30 May 1902.

He was promoted [[Captain (BARM)|captain]] on 11 February 1908 and made a company commander on 1 October 1910. He landed in [[Mesopotamia]] with his regiment in 1914 and was wounded in action on the 3 December 1914.

He was appointed Assistant Censor (graded as a General Staff Officer, 3rd grade) from 20 December 1914 to 31 March 1915 and Assistant Censor (graded as a General Staff Officer, 2nd grade) from 1 April 1915 to 31 March 1917. He was then given a Special Appointment (graded as a General Staff Officer, 2nd grade) from 1 April 1917 to 23 October 1917. In late 1914 he founded and was the editor of The Basrah Times, a newspaper.

Branson was promoted temporary [[Major (British Army)|major]] in July 1916 and was confirmed as major in April 1917, with seniority from 1 September 1915. He was mentioned in despatches in the London Gazette 5 April 1916, 10 May 1916 and 12 March 1918. He retired from the Indian Army on account of ill-health 22 June 1923.

Branson had incorporated his magic skills into his military service.<ref>Coleman, Earle Jerome. (1987). ''Magic: A Reference Guide''. Greenwood Press. p. 169. {{ISBN|978-0-313-23397-5}}</ref> His stage magician name was Lionel Cardac.<ref>Siegel, Lee. (1991). ''Net of Magic: Wonders and Deceptions in India''. University of Chicago Press. p. 201. {{ISBN|978-0-226-75687-5}}</ref> He was a member of [[The Magic Circle (organisation)|The Magic Circle]], and devoted a whole chapter to debunking the [[Indian rope trick]] in his book ''Indian Conjuring'' (1922).<ref>Dare, M. Paul. (2003). ''Indian Underworld''. Kessinger Publishing. p. 18. {{ISBN|978-0-7661-4231-2}}</ref> He offered a large sum of money to anyone who could perform the Indian rope trick, nobody ever won the money.<ref>Fulves, Karl. (1922, reprinted in 1995). ''Big Book of Magic Tricks''. Dover Publications. p. 103. {{ISBN|978-0-486-28228-2}}</ref>

Branson was a debunker of [[spiritualism]]. He wrote that [[mediumship]] was the result of conjurer tricks and fraudulent phenomena.<ref>Branson, Lionel Hugh. (1953). ''A Lifetime of Deception: Reminiscences of a Magician''. Hale. p. 85</ref>

He was an author of magic books under the pen name Elbiquet. He wrote a biography of himself ''A Lifetime of Deception: Reminiscences of a Magician'' (1953).

== Publications ==

*''A Text Book of Magic'' as Elbiquet (1913)
*''Supplementary Magic'' as Elbiquet (1917)
*[https://archive.org/details/indianconjuring00branrich ''Indian Conjuring''] (1922)
*''A Lifetime of Deception: Reminiscences of a Magician'' (1953)

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{Gutenberg author | id=Branson,+L.+H.+(Lionel+Hugh) }}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Lionel Hugh Branson |birth=1879 |death=1946}}

{{Spiritualism and spiritism}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Branson, L H}}
[[Category:1879 births]]
[[Category:1946 deaths]]
[[Category:People educated at Bedford School]]
[[Category:British magicians]]
[[Category:British sceptics]]
[[Category:British Indian Army officers]]
[[Category:Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst]]

L. H. Branson - Revision history

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