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Snake Thompson
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Hubbard claimed in many lectures that Snake Thompson was his friend and
mentor. He said that Thompson was interested in him mainly as a
personality. They became acquainted in late 1923. Thompson was present
and active in Hubbard's life also in the 1929 period.
When Hubbard failed the entrance exam to Annapolis Naval Academy, his father enrolled him at
Swavely for the school year 1929/1930. Swavely "ran a special course for Annapolis candidates" ( BFM , below)
and then Woodward School for Boys, a YMCA "crammer" in Washington DC.
The goal was to qualify for GWU.
Hubbard's parents then lived in
Oakcrest, Virginia, ( BFM) about 9 miles southwest of Washington DC. Woodward School for Boys was located in the old downtown YMCA on "G" Street two blocks west of the White House between 17th and 18th
streets. Swavely is 32 miles west
of Oakcrest in Manassas, VA.
This Google map of Annapolis
shows the naval base. Annapolis is 33 miles east of Washington, DC. The Library of Congress, where Hubbard claimed he received tutoring from Thompson, is 3.4 miles
from GWU. Google map of George Washington University.
Hubbard's father was then the Disbursing Officer at the Naval Hospital in Washington DC. ( BFM ) This was presumably St. Elizabeths, 10.9 miles northeast
of their residence, near the Anacostia Naval station in DC. Snake Thompson's history with St. Elizabeth's goes back to as early as
summer of 1918, when and where he met Clara Mabel Thompson.
Hubbard's accounts and characterizations about his relationship with Thompson may have certain parallels to Aleister Crowley's mentoring system of the A.:A.:
In 1920, Hubbard's "very good friend" Aleister Crowley took an interest in a boy named Cecil Fredrick Russell, aka "Godwin," having established contact with him initially when Russell was an attendant at a navy hospital in Annapolis.
There is a small naval hospital at the Naval Academy in Annapolis.
http://www.mde.state.md.us/assets/document/brownfields/US_Naval_Academy.pdf
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf...
Russell was then supposedly in charge of administering to flu patients. In order to get out of the navy, he intentionally injected himself with a life-threatening dose of cocaine. As a consequence, Russell was booted out of the navy, whereupon he flew to meet Crowley in New York, where Crowley got him a job at the Lafayette as a waiter.
He was surly, mulish and bitterly rebellious. He raved against the injustice of being punished for breaking the regulations of the navy.
Crowley described in confessions the moral qualities he was
looking for in his magical students, and made a clear record of Godwin's mental state and personality. By the end of his stay with Crowley, Godwin's "conscience was crushed." Also see:
Still another Crowleyan organization (that was not regarded as orthodox by
the official OTO) was " The Great Brotherhood Of God ", and occult fraternity
which owed it's existence to the activities of C.F. Russel, an ex-naval officer
who had once resided at Crowley's Thelema Abbey in Cefalu, Italy. This group
had originally begun as the Coronzon Club, a society whose advertisements
had begun to appear in the occult press as early as the 1930s.
Source: http://www.esoterra.org/process.htm
Hubbard had a history of malingering as well, but during WWII.
(See Ron the Malingerer) He also mentioned Bethesda Naval Hospital (in Annapolis) several times in lectures, but these experiences occurred ca. autumn of 1949. In a lecture given in 1951, Hubbard described being at Bethesda and feeling like he was going mad. In other accounts of the same time period, he talked of his time there as research.
There seem to be parallels between Crowley's one-on-one tutoring and a type of school Hubbard described in a 1956 lecture from the Power of Simplicity lecture series. Hubbard was clearly describing his own boyhood schooling prior to GWU. Scientology uses that lecture to promote Mojave Academy ranch school for kids who "aren't ready for a course room." ( www.mojaveacademy.com)
Therefore a time for revolution in the field of education is definitely at hand.
Now, I have known, been very fortunate to know in my life, quite a few real geniuses 1, chaps that really wrote their names fairly large in the world of literature and science, and I consider myself very fortunate because they are very rare. What made them so rare? I found something very peculiar about these fellows; they were for the most part taught in peculiar schools; they were taught in some YMCA school 2, or they were taught by some Englishman 3 that ran a little college that wasn't very big, for difficult children up the street up there. They were all taught, it seems, in some kind of an off-breed school. This is real peculiar. And because the school existed to a large measure to take care of people who were slop-overs from the usual educational system and so forth, there wasn't much "education" involved.
Well, now this becomes important to us today because we live in a complicated society which requires many skills.
— L. Ron Hubbard
Lecture 30 October 1956: Education
1 Cf. Crowley called his magicians geniuses.
2 Woodward School for Boys was a YMCA school
3 Crowley was an Englishman.
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Lecture: Education: Point of Agreement |
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The Old Man's Case Book
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Hubbard talks about geniuses he has known who were taught in some YMCA school, or by an Englishman who ran a little college for difficult children.
Now, I have known, been very fortunate to know in my life, quite
a few real geniuses, chaps that really wrote their names fairly
large in the world of literature and science, and I consider
myself very fortunate because they are very rare. What made them
so rare? I found something very peculiar about these fellows;
they were for the most part taught in peculiar schools; they were
taught in some YMCA school 1, or they were taught by some
Englishman that ran a little college that wasn't very big, for
difficult children up the street up there. They were all taught,
it seems, in some kind of an off-breed school. This is real
peculiar. And because the school existed to a large measure to
take care of people who were slop-overs from the usual
educational system and so forth, there wasn't much "education"
involved. The fellow would come in, he'd be interested in
something, and therefore the headmaster would give him his head,
that's all.
One chap, by the way, who gave us solid fuel rockets
and assist takeoffs for airplanes too heavily loaded from
aircraft carriers and all the rest of this whole panorama of
rocketry, who formed Aerojet in California and so on, (the late
Jack Parsons, by the way) was not a chemist the way we think of
chemists. He was not taught in the field of chemistry beyond this
fact: there was a little professor who opened up a school (and
nobody could do anything with Jack, he was a pretty wild boy),
and though, they sent him over there and this fellow found out
that he was interested in chemical experiments, so he turned him
loose in the laboratory and gave him a lot of encouragement. And
this was quite a man.
Now, it was very interesting, very interesting: this completely
sloppy method of education is apparently quite workable. Now,
that doesn't mean that every man we have around who is a genius
or is brilliant in some line or another has been educated in that
fashion. Some have actually survived the other educational
system! It does, however, take a high survival level. You have to
really be a fighter; and these boys, many of them, bear the scars
of this.
Well, now this becomes important to us today because we live in a
complicated society which requires many skills.
— L. Ron Hubbard
Lecture 30 October 1956: Education: Point of Agreement
1 Hubbard went to a YMCA "crammer" in Washington DC.
While Ron was happily immersed in school life at Swavely, his father
was in frequent contact with the Registrar at George Washington
University to try and find a way of getting his son accepted as an
undergraduate. Lieutenant Hubbard was advised that if Ron could earn
sufficient credits at a recognized school - Woodward School for Boys, a
YMCA 'crammer' in Washington DC, was mentioned - he would not be
required to sit the College Entrance Examination for the university.
Accordingly, Ron was enrolled at Woodward in February 1930. At the
beginning of May he took time off from his studies to enlist as a
Private in the US Marine Corps Reserve, adding two years to his age and
giving his occupation, for some reason, as 'photographer'. It seems he
was unconcerned by such piffling mendacity, even on official documents,
for his bold signature appears at the bottom of his Service Record,
confirming both the errors and his physical description height 5'10½",
weight 165lb, eyes grey, hair red, complexion ruddy. Six weeks later he
was inexplicably promoted to First Sergeant, a leap in rank that was
astonishing even by his own standards of self-regard.
Possibly Aleister Crowley's A.:A.:, a training curriculum for magicians.
See also: Hubbard's self-affirmation about Jack Parsons.
(d) Any distaste I may have for Jack Parsons originated in a psychic
experiment. Such distaste is foolish. He is my friend and
comrade-in-arms. —L. Ron Hubbard The Admissions
See also: PAB 110 Education
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The Old Man's Case Book
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Hubbard claims he knew quite a few geniuses, and that what makes geniuses rare is the peculiar schools in which they were taught. Puts his friend and magical partner Jack Parsons in this category.
Now I have been very fortunate to know in
my life quite a few real geniuses—fellows that really wrote their name fairly large in the world
of literature and science—and I consider myself very fortunate to have known them because
they are so rare. Why are they so rare? I found something peculiar about these fellows—they
were for the most part taught in peculiar schools! They were taught in some YMCA 1 school or
they were taught by some Englishman who ran a little college for difficult children in the street;
they were all taught—it seems—in some kind of off-breed school. 2 Now this is peculiar,
because the school existed to a large measure to take care of people who were slopovers from
the usual educational system—there wasn’t very much education involved. The fellow would
come in and he’d be interested in something and therefore they had the master give him his
head. One chap by the way, who gave us solid fuel, rockets and assist take-offs for airplanes
too heavily loaded on aircraft carriers, and all the rest of this rocketry panorama, and who
formed Aerojet in California and so on. The late Jack Parsons, by the way, was not a chemist
the way we think of chemists. He was not taught in the field of chemistry beyond this fact:
There was a little professor who opened up a school. Nobody could do anything with Jack so
they sent him over to this school and the professor found out he was interested in chemical
experiments and turned him loose in the laboratory and gave him a lot of encouragement. He
eventually became quite a man. It is interesting that this completely sloppy type of education is
apparently quite workable.
— L. Ron Hubbard
PAB 110 15 April 1957 Education
1 Hubbard went to a YMCA "crammer" in Washington DC.
While Ron was happily immersed in school life at Swavely, his father was in frequent contact with the Registrar at George Washington University to try and find a way of getting his son accepted as an undergraduate. Lieutenant Hubbard was advised that if Ron could earn sufficient credits at a recognized school - Woodward School for Boys, a YMCA 'crammer' in Washington DC, was mentioned - he would not be required to sit the College Entrance Examination for the university.
Accordingly, Ron was enrolled at Woodward in February 1930. At the beginning of May he took time off from his studies to enlist as a Private in the US Marine Corps Reserve, adding two years to his age and giving his occupation, for some reason, as 'photographer'. It seems he was unconcerned by such piffling mendacity, even on official documents, for his bold signature appears at the bottom of his Service Record, confirming both the errors and his physical description height 5'10½", weight 165lb, eyes grey, hair red, complexion ruddy. Six weeks later he was inexplicably promoted to First Sergeant, a leap in rank that was astonishing even by his own standards of self-regard.
Possibly Aleister Crowley's A.:A.:, a training curriculum for magicians.
See also: Hubbard's self-affirmation about Jack Parsons.
(d) Any distaste I may have for Jack Parsons originated in a psychic experiment. Such distaste is foolish. He is my friend and comrade-in-arms. —L. Ron Hubbard The Admissions
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Lecture: History of Dianetics |
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The Old Man's Case Book
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Hubbard comments on his mentor and analyst, Joseph Cheesman Thompson; claims Thompson studied with Sigmund Freud.
But I decided to investigate human memory. I'd had a touch of the brush from Commander Thompson of the navy who had studied with Sigmund Freud, and who was a very swell guy, and he taught me there was something called Freudian analysis. We actually didn't get much further than that. But I find out I know more about it today than most analysts.
But anyhow, that was mostly because I didn't have much of a via there, you see. I had this one officer who had studied with one man who had originated a theory. And this officer was perfectly willing to relay that theory directly since he just went over there to pick it up so that it could be put into the United States Navy as a practice, and perhaps used in flight surgery.
Flight surgery is the practice of mental health in the navy—in the Naval Air Force and so forth. They call it flight surgery: it amputates flights from people or something. 1
—L. Ron Hubbard
Lecture 28 December 1954: History of Dianetics
1 Commander J. C. Thompson's paper Desertion: Observations of a Psychoanalyst was published in The Military Surgeon, Volume 53, 1923:
This article touches upon the cause of desertion from the viewpoint of a psychoanalyst; also a thoroughly practical working plan, which, if given a trial, may be counted upon to markedly decrease desertion at a large army camp or naval training station.
[...]
The military crime of desertion is a neurotic symptom. It is a manifestation of one of the devices made use of by the neurotic to bring about an escape from reality.
[...]
At least half the deserters are definitely weak minded and mentally defective. They exhibit many forms of childhood behavior.
[...]
The sole object of the interviews is to get at the grievances the recent recruits seem to be confronted with. The vast majority of these grievances the department may rest assured will be found to be of a fictitious nature, based upon phantasy and motivated by unconscious unfulfilled wishes, and not due to actual food, living or disciplinary conditions.
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Lecture: History of Dianetics |
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Snake Thompson
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Hubbard comments on his mentor and analyst, Joseph Cheesman Thompson; claims Thompson studied with Sigmund Freud.
But I decided to investigate human memory. I'd had a touch of the brush from Commander Thompson of the navy who had studied with Sigmund Freud, and who was a very swell guy, and he taught me there was something called Freudian analysis. We actually didn't get much further than that. But I find out I know more about it today than most analysts.
But anyhow, that was mostly because I didn't have much of a via there, you see. I had this one officer who had studied with one man who had originated a theory. And this officer was perfectly willing to relay that theory directly since he just went over there to pick it up so that it could be put into the United States Navy as a practice, and perhaps used in flight surgery.
Flight surgery is the practice of mental health in the navy—in the Naval Air Force and so forth. They call it flight surgery: it amputates flights from people or something. 1
—L. Ron Hubbard
Lecture 28 December 1954: History of Dianetics
1 Commander J. C. Thompson's paper Desertion: Observations of a Psychoanalyst was published in The Military Surgeon, Volume 53, 1923:
This article touches upon the cause of desertion from the viewpoint of a psychoanalyst; also a thoroughly practical working plan, which, if given a trial, may be counted upon to markedly decrease desertion at a large army camp or naval training station.
[...]
The military crime of desertion is a neurotic symptom. It is a manifestation of one of the devices made use of by the neurotic to bring about an escape from reality.
[...]
At least half the deserters are definitely weak minded and mentally defective. They exhibit many forms of childhood behavior.
[...]
The sole object of the interviews is to get at the grievances the recent recruits seem to be confronted with. The vast majority of these grievances the department may rest assured will be found to be of a fictitious nature, based upon phantasy and motivated by unconscious unfulfilled wishes, and not due to actual food, living or disciplinary conditions.
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Ron the Sociopath 
