A drawing of the Bloomsbury Street offices from an advert in The Times 28th January 1918.

William Joseph Ennever would have been expected to have followed in his father's and grandfather's footsteps by joining the family's well-established pianoforte manufacturing business.  Instead he ran away to sea and spent three years travelling to many countries which brought him into contact with "all sorts and conditions of men".  On his return he held various administrative positions and became a journalist on several newspapers.  He was then asked to manage a popular course in memory training by a Professor Loisette.  From these beginnings grew the work he has become identified with.

The text reads "Farmer X, having developed the "will to move" by the end of the "little grey books" focusses his powers upon a weak-minded hen......with astounding results!"  Punch 1919.

He founded the Pelman Institute in 1898, aged 29, and subsequently established branches in India, Australia, South Africa, Canada, France and America and was responsible for the word "Pelmanism" being introduced to the English language.  More details about the Pelman Institute and the mind training course itself can be found here.

William Joseph is described in the "New Century Cyclopaedia of Names" Vol 2. as the "English journalist who originated the mnemonic training system known as Pelmanism."

He travelled extensively as part of his work and can be found sailing from London to Boston in 1902 aboard the SS Caledonian, from Liverpool to New York in 1903, from Southampton to New York in 1905 and in 1919 from England to New York with his ex-wife Emmy Elvira, from whom he was divorced in 1914.  He is also recorded as sailing alone as a tourist from Sydney to California in Dec 1927 aboard the SS Tahiti and again in February 1930 from Southampton to the USA and then from Havana, Cuba to the USA in April 1930.  Interestingly, he is travelling alone in February and is recorded as single while in April he is accompanied by a June Ennever and is recorded as married.  There is no trace of this marriage nor do his family believe that he did in fact remarry.

He had achieved considerable success with his training system and in 1905 the business was taken over by a limited company, registered as Pelman Schools, Limited, which in 1920 was merged into the Pelman Institute, Limited.  Shortly before its formation William Joseph had disposed of his shareholding in Pelman Schools, Limited, for £100,000.  This would be the equivalent of nearly £3m today.

Pelman Institute, Limited Cumulative Preference Share Certificate dated 1920

The success of Pelmanism and "the little grey books" was at its height after the First World War and was even featured in a Punch magazine cartoon by W Heath Robinson in 1919, one of the great late-Victorian / early-twentieth century illustrators.

The Times reported that William Joseph had resumed control of the Pelman Institute in 1921 "to safeguard the interests of tens of thousands of students all over the world".

The Times 29/12/1921 (Copyright The Times)

In the promotional booklet "The Efficient Mind", probably published in the 1930s, many well-known people of the time extol the virtues of Pelmanism.  These included Sir Max Pemberton, who wrote the forward, Baroness Orczy, author of "The Scarlet Pimpernel", Sir John Foster Fraser, Jerome K. Jerome, Lieut-Gen. Lord Baden-Powell, the brother of the King of Sweden and others.

The Pelman Institute was then based at Bloomsbury Street, London W.C.1. with offices also in Melbourne (396 Flinders Lane), Durban (Natal Bank Chambers), New York (71 West 45th Street and also at 271 North Avenue, New Rochelle), Delhi (10 Alipore Lane) and Paris (35 Rue Boissy d'Anglais).  There are also records of offices in Calcutta (102 Clive Street) and Java (Kromhoutweg 8, Bandoeng).  Enrolment in the course cost £6.6.0 and it was claimed to have been adopted by over 500,000 men and women.  The education was delivered using a correspondence system that it is thought he modelled on the American system.  It is also claimed that Pelmanism was practised in the Great War in "well-nigh every battalion in the Army and on practically every warship in the Fleet, and its votaries included many Admirals and Generals...".

Pelman Institute, Application Form. India.

In a similar promotional booklet published in the USA in 1927 (see below), entitled "Scientific Mind Training", illustrations of Pelman Institute offices from several locations around the world were shown as well as interiors from the London office.  The Royal Academy portrait of William Joseph Ennever, which is also featured in the table of contents, can just be seen hanging above the fireplace in the "Chief Consultant's Offices" in the London Headquarters.

William Joseph's book "Your Mind and How to Use It" published in about 1940 claims that over 100,000 members of His Majesty's Forces enrolled for a course that was specially designed for them.  Enrolment in the war-time course called "The Ennever Foundation Course" cost £1.10.0d.  The offices were now located at Vernon House, Sicilian Avenue, London W.C.1.