Posted by Dave W on July 28, 2000 at 18:27:22 from dewaller.demon.co.uk:
In Reply to: Re: Riddle of the Secret Water posted by Adam Quinan on July 28, 2000 at 11:26:48:
I think your reference to Irish Republican circles, although not incorrect for a later time in his life, could be misleading. According to my copy of RoS, he served as a Clerk to the House Of Commons (London) from 1895 to 1910 and also served in the Boer war and later as an intelligence officer in WW1.
From about 1908 he devoted himself to the cause of Irish home rule.
The Riddle of The Sands was published in 1903, so AR would have been aware of it from that time. Since both authors were based in London during the 1st decade of the 20th century, a meeting could have possible.