There are four men who are called the Hermits of Salisbury Plain. The group included Captain Frank Forester, Homer Peard, Percy Cunliffe and Wilfred Purefoy. Now there are some sites that will tell you that Edward Wigan was involved too rather than Purefoy. It is debatable as to who was actually involved from the information we have been able to find. What is known is the consensus of the four names we have provided. It seems that most believe these men were those in charge and called the Hermits, while the other two may have been a part of the situation.
What history contends is that Wilfred Purefoy was called Wicked Wilfred. He was the leading member of the Hermits. He was a horseman through and through. He owned horses, knew how to train them, and managed Druid’s Lodge. He was certainly one of the men at the lodge, often making certain that stable hands and others helping them could not spread the secrets of the training and sports betting ring.
Purefoy was also the man that worked with commission agents. He made certain to place the bets on the horses. It would seem that Purefoy was the man that created the winning money for such a gang. Purefoy placed the bets and used others to do so as well.
The system would not have worked if not for the secrecy and the way the bets were placed. Since people without connections to gambling and horse racing placed the bets it meant they could be trusted, where someone who might have some knowledge or be known would immediately have been seen as doing something wrong. Something that is surprising is that a parish priest was known to be involved in placing some of the bets. The bets being placed by these Hermit members had to be in secret. If news was given to those at the track then the wins would have been less. In fact the entire system might have collapsed.
There is more known about Wilfred Purefoy than some of the others involved. In fact he is actually William Bagwell. He lived from 1862 to 1930. He had quite a few names in his career which is no surprise, given the criminal enterprise he started with friends. He was a true captain before turning into a Hermit. After spending time in the cavalry he decided to take over his family’s seat raising studs.
There were quite a few things that he did like acting in a theatre, starting a safety razor company and of course the gambling on fixed horse races. By today’s standards it is quite possible that they would have made around 10 million pounds in winnings. It was a lot less back then given the value of money, but the amount mentioned puts things in perspective. The Hermits certainly managed to make a lot of money and it was due in great part to Wilfred Purefoy and Percy.