Invisible Crying Tree

By Christopher Morgan and Tom Shannon

The true story of an extraordinary friendship 

In the summer of 1992, Christopher Morgan, a farmer, joined a penfriend scheme whose aim was to give prisoners a window on the world. He was allocated Tom Shannon, a lifer, inside for murder. Through their correspondence, a strong and honest friendship developed between the two men whose lives were poles apart.  

Never intended for publication, the authenticity of these letters is all the more powerful and convincing. Whilst portraying the grim reality of prison life in Britain in the 1990s, they also reassure us that friendship and respect can prevail in the most unlikely circumstances.  

'A small gem of a book.' Marie Claire 

'A remarkable insight into prison conditions and human nature…The murderer, defying a poor education…finds an eloquent voice which rings with poetry, humour and a moral certitude.' Sunday Times 

'A truly revealing insight into the mind and existence of a "lifer". A sensitive and telling dialogue between an understanding outsider and a man condemned to life inside prison.' Jon Snow 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Shannon Trust
• Release date: Apr 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781386799184

Christopher Morgan

I was born in Montreal, Canada in the Summer of 1966. To the sheer frustration of many teachers throughout my life, my grades tended to directly reflect my interest in a given subject. Literature was the worst, with marks varying between A+ and D-, depending on the book being covered at the time. A fan of Historical Fiction from an early age, I fell in love with Fantasy at the age of 16, when I was given a copy of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. I've since read it a dozen times. I followed that by reading most of the classics of Sci-Fi and Fantasy before venturing into the new breeds of work that were blossoming during the ’90s. After moving to New York in the late 1990s, I started considering some of the stories that had been mulling around in my head might be worthy of being put to paper. It wasn’t until reading a copy of Jim Butcher’s Stormfront that I decided to stop procrastinating and get to it. While living in Boulder, Colorado in 2008, I finished The Emperor's Opal and posted it on Createspace and Amazon. I then moved back to Canada and was unable to collect royalties from it, so I basically just let it sit, unloved. Over the past few months I have redeveloped the itch to bring my characters back to life, so I started book 2 and decided to put some time, effort and money into promoting book 1. I think it's a good book. Otherwise I wouldn't bother. Those who have read it enjoyed it and have been bugging me about book 2, so I figure it must be decent. Did I mention I stink at blowing my own horn. :) I live in Ottawa, Canada, with my fiancé. I have four children from a previous relationship, three of which are in college. I spend my weekends rebuilding an old house in the Laurentians region of Quebec, where my family has lived for over 80 years.

Book preview

The Invisible Crying Tree

Tom Shannon

Christopher Morgan

Shannon Trust

Contents

Shannon Trust

Also by Christopher Morgan

Introduction by Eric Alison

Prologue

Part 1

10 July 1992

25th August 1992

Late August 1992

2nd September 1992

25th September 1992

1st October 1992

7th October 1992

15th October 1992

22nd October 1992

Lifer Review Board Summary

30th October 1992

11th November 1992

18th November 1992

Image 2.

25th November 1992

30th November 1992

Part 2

8th December 1992

15th December 1992

25th December 1992

29th December 1992

December 1992

Untitled

5th January 1993

Part 3

25th January 1993

10th February 1993

22nd February 1993

18th February 1993

23rd February 1993

4th March 1993

6th March 1993

25th March 1993

Mid March 1993

2nd April 1993

3rd April 1993

8th April 1993

12th April 1993

15th April 1993

April 1993

17th April 1993

23rd April 1993

29th April 1993

30th April 1993

5th May 1993

Part 4

7th May 1993

10th May 1993

16th May 1993

19th May 1993

May 1993

21 May 1993

23rd May 1993

25th May 1993

28th May 1993

May / June 1993

20th June 1993

Part 5

2nd June 1993

23rd June 1993

25th June 1993

29th June 1993

8th July 1993

15th July 1993

22nd July 1993

22nd July 1993

25th July 1993

5th August 1993

3rd August 1993

8th August 1993

21st August 1993

Prison Reform Trust Article

Part 6

21st August 1993

23rd August 1993

26th August 1993

28th August 1993

23rd August 1993

7th September 1993

17th September 1993

Epilogue

About Shannon Trust

‘Dear Mr Shannon,

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I received a letter today from the Prison Reform Trust saying that you would welcome having someone with whom to exchange letters. I’m afraid you’ve drawn my name out of the hat.

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It is Christopher.’

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Dear Christopher

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I did indeed receive your first letter. It was as you said, how to start a correspondence with a stranger.

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About me? I’m fifty four, soon to be fifty five.

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Born in Camberwell London; raised in Scotland, in various homes; did National service, (Royal Scots); married an american girl at thirty nine; lived in Detroit for six and half years; came home after divorce; got drunk; got in a fight; eighteen weeks later charged with Murder; pleaded guilty; got a life sentence. I’m not proud.

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That’s the hard part of the letter over. I can breath out now.’

Shannon Trust

All royalties earned from the sale of this book will be used to support Shannon Trust.

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Shannon Trust is a national charity supporting prisoners who can read to teach prisoners who can’t.

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Each year, they support, train and inspire thousands of men and women in prison to unlock the power of reading.

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Shannon Trust was set up by Christopher Morgan.

www.shannontrust.org.uk

Also by Christopher Morgan

DON CARLOS AND COMPANY - THE TRUE STORIES OF SOME MUCH SUNG HEROES

I would like to thank several friends who read Tom’s letters and encouraged me to seek a publisher, in particular George Henderson, Evangeline and Tenniel Evans and Christopher Spence.

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Christopher Morgan

The rights of Christopher Morgan and Tom Shannon to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

Originally published in 1996 by Doubleday, a division of Transworld Publishers Ltd.

This edition published by Shannon Trust

The Foundry, 17 Oval Way, London SE11 5RR

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ISBN 978-1-9129091-16-4

© Christopher Morgan 1996.

The Publishers have made every effort to contact the owners of illustrations reproduced in this book. Where they have been unsuccessful they invite the copyright holder to contact them directly.

Cartoon by Graham Allen.

For Frederick William Shannon

and Thomas Michael Shannon

Introduction by Eric Alison

As a journalist writing mainly about prisons and the criminal justice system in general, I don’t come across too many happy stories. The problems surrounding both areas are manifold and may be familiar to many of those reading this book, so I will not dwell on them here.

Suffice to say, it made a lovely change when, in 2006, I visited two prisons to report on the work of Shannon Trust for The Guardian.

I was immediately struck by the beautiful simplicity of the scheme; prisoners who could read teaching those who could not. When I sat in with Learners and Mentors, I was overwhelmed by the air of positivity and enthusiasm which permeated the sessions. The joy of these prisoners on being able, for the first time, to read a letter from loved ones, a prison notice, or food menu, was matched by the satisfaction of those who helped them achieve this state. They were transformed from prisoners to teachers.

I went in as a reporter and left as a convert.

Most journalists write up their stories and then move on. But I was so impressed by what I’d seen, that I stayed on and joined the board of Shannon Trust. And I got to know the two men whose letters are chronicled here, and those letters formed the foundation of the charity set up in the name of one of them.

Christopher Morgan died in 2011. In his obituary for The Guardian, I wrote that, in the summer of 1992, when he sat down to write to a prisoner who was serving a life sentence for murder, he could have had no inkling of where the correspondence would take him. It was an unlikely pairing; Christopher was a gentleman farmer who was educated at Eton, while Tom, by his own admission, was a rough-and-ready, semi-literate orphan who had survived decades of imprisonment by standing up for himself. Yet they formed a bond that eventually led to the scheme which has given tens of thousands of prisoners the gift of literacy.

Despite their vastly different backgrounds, Christopher and Tom had at least one thing in common: neither sought personal credit for their great achievement. It was typical of Christopher that he named the charity after Tom, rather than himself. And when I met Tom Shannon, soon after his release from prison in 2015, he gave Christopher all the credit. I just wrote a few letters, he said.

I am proud to endorse this latest edition of the Invisible Crying Tree. These few letters are as moving and as relevant to the state of the prison system today as they were when they were written.

Enjoy them; then look at the work of Shannon Trust and marvel, as I do, at what this unique correspondence led to.

Eric Allison

Prisons correspondent

The Guardian

Prologue

In the summer of 1992, I enrolled in a penfriend scheme that had been recently introduced by the Prison Reform Trust. Its object was to give prisoners a window on the outside world. I was allocated to Tom Shannon. These letters are the result. I have not edited Tom's letters except where his grammar seriously disrupts his flow. I have also disguised the names of some officials.

My own letters, which I have been urged to include, are reconstructions. Since Tom gets so few letters, I felt I should take trouble over mine. I therefore always made preliminary notes and drafts which I kept in case he ever referred back to some­ thing in an earlier letter. I have tried not to cheat and improve on the originals but, since Tom did not keep them, I cannot be sure. They were probably longer and more full of waffle.

Otherwise, I think the letters speak for themselves. I do want to say, however, that neither Tom nor I will benefit financially if they make any money. He is not allowed to and I do not want to. A charity has been set up, to be known as the Shannon Trust, whose aims will be to help elderly lifers prepare for and cope with the 'out'. Such money as the book earns will be used to fund this trust. Christopher Morgan

Part 1

Feeling our way

10 July 1992

c/o Prison Reform Trust

59 Caledonian Road

Nl 9BU

Dear Mr Shannon

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I received a letter today from the Prison Reform Trust saying that you would welcome having someone with whom to exchange letters. I'm afraid you've drawn my name out of the hat. It is Christopher. The Trust did not know your first name, only that you were Mr J. Shannon, 55 years old and liked reading and coarse fishing. Maybe they told you as much about me so I won't repeat it.

I suppose Shannon is Irish. The only other Shannon I have known was an Ulsterman, a really nice older colleague at work. He must be ancient now for I am 65. Someone on the radio this morning repeated that old saying that 'Youth is wonderful but wasted on the young.' Quite right. I am alarmed that my life seems to have slid by so fast, but I would not want to be young again - all that bashfulness and not knowing how to cope with girls. (I still don't but it doesn't really matter anymore.)

I think I'd like to stay 65 but, of course, that's not allowed either. I guess, in your situation, you'd rather be almost any other age - before your troubles or after your release.

The Trust sent a bundle of pamphlets about life in gaol. All pretty depressing to read but not able to give a real feel of what it's like. Perhaps you'll be able to supply me with that. I don't think many people outside have much idea. The nearest I ever got to gaol was a staff dance at Strangeways. Thank God! I found that gloomy enough.

Can you get the books you want? What do you like to read? Can you get the peace and quiet you need for reading?

I mostly read history books but am at present ploughing through an incredibly badly written book on the 'Shining Path' - Peru's terrifying terrorist movement.

Do you like writing? I do and I think it works away anger to write about it. Let's try to help each other by writing then. I will look forward to hearing from you.

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Yours sincerely

Christopher Morgan

25th August 1992

c/o Prison Reform Trust

59 Caledonian Road

Nl 9BU

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Dear Mr Shannon,

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Back in July, I wrote to you at the suggestion of the Prison Reform Trust who said you wanted a penfriend outside gaol. I had a feeling that you might think you had drawn rather a short straw in me, an old bloke. I will quite understand if you want another dip in the bran tub again in case there's someone in there younger and prettier!

On the other hand, perhaps it's just the difficulty of start­ ing to write to a stranger. I quite agree. I found it difficult. What seemed an amusing idea beforehand suddenly looks different when you've got to do it. Even so, I think you should have a go. The very fact that it's difficult makes it worth a try.

Anyway, here is another SAE. Please use it if only to tell me to piss off! Then I could go back to the bran tub.

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Yours sincerely

Christopher Morgan

Late August 1992

In replying to this letter, please write on the envelope:

Number . . . C61329 . . . Name . . . Shannon ...

Medway Wing

H.M. Prison County Road

Maidstone

Kent ME14 lUZ

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Dear Christopher,

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I did indeed recieve your first letter. It was as you said, how to start a corresdence with a stranger.

After seven years of nullifying bourdom, well, Im off now as you can see. For you to bother a second time is good.

About me? Im fifty four, soon to be fifty five. Born in Camberwell London; raised in Scotland, in various homes; did National Service, [Royal Scots]; married an american girl at thirty nine; lived Detriot for six and half years; came home after divorce; got drunk; got in a fight; eighteen weeks later charged with Murder; pleaded guilty; got a life sentence. 'I'm · not proud.'

That's the hard part of the letter over. I can breath out now.

When we inmates recieve a letter, our names are put on a letter board. An hour before I could get to the censors office, I knew I had a letter.

With comments like - 'Here Tom, you got a letter' - 'Caw who'd write to that old xxxx?' - 'Not a bird is it Tom?' 'No, it's from a man' I won't tell you what the next few comments where, you can gess.

It was nice, thank you. I'll have to owe you for the first stamp you sent. I sold it for a cigarette. Don't send any more

stamped envelopes. I get one second class letter free every week. I have hundreds in hand at the censor's office.

I hope this one finds you in good health.

The biggest battle in prison is lathergy. I have started a Gym routine to try and pull myself together. A P.T. officer has taught me to swim. I'm like a kid in the pool, makeing up for all the years I could not swim.

I'll have to go to the library for a book on how to write let­ ters. I hope you can make sence of this one. 'There's no stopping me now I'v started.'

Anything you want to ask me about, me or prison life, feel free. It's nice to talk to someone,

Sorry about your first letter,

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