William Holmgrove

William Holmgrove is not a Centurion, but is a member in good standing of the London branch of the Century Club. Like many others associated with the Century Club, this service to humanity ran in his family's blood. According to his own testimony he has served as the chief liaison between the Century Club, the Centurions and the British government since 1894 and got to know many of the Centurions active in the region. As of 1914 he was also in charge of the Wapping safehouse. He was chiefly responsible for protecting Century Club assets - and more importantly the young Centurions - from the Shadow Federation's attack of April 1st 1914. Accordingly, he let them take shelter in the safehouse and helped them come up with and carry out their plans, while holding the fort and coordinating efforts with other interested parties.

Unlike his younger right hand man Henry Atkins, William was a naturally more cautious sort, counseling more defensive and passive courses of action where possible and suggesting that the young Centurions should try to escape towards the train station as soon as possible and go to Alderley Edge, where they would be protected by John Spencer. Nonetheless, when the Centurions resolved to attack the Shadow Federation's base in the district, he supported them fully. Later he advised them (by telegraph) to wait for other Centurions to return to Britain instead of storming Saint Haven on their own but was likewise wholly ignored. He also seems to have been wholly neglected by Jacob London and never let in on anyone's shadowy secret plans. Despite this he continued to dutifully serve the Club.

A rather encumbered, heavy-set, stout, fat man, William Holmgrove actually appeared to do somewhat better in the years after the war; though he got a bit fatter and shorter, he also seemed more relaxed, possibly because of a relative dearth in major internal crises within his purview, or more likely due to shifting much of his workload onto Atkins. As of May 1917, Holmgrove was overseeing the renovation of the Century Club building on Leicester Square and looking to introduce his unmarried niece, Margaret Holmgrove, to the family business of the Club business.