64-552: John Edward Masefield OM ( / ˈ m eɪ s ˌ f iː l d , ˈ m eɪ z -/ ; 1 June 1878 – 12 May 1967) was an English poet and writer, and Poet Laureate from 1930 until his death in 1967. Among his best known works are the children's novels The Midnight Folk and The Box of Delights , and the poems " The Everlasting Mercy " and " Sea-Fever ". Masefield was born in Ledbury in Herefordshire to George Masefield,
128-401: A 1935 film , and as an opera . His second novel, Trilby , published in 1894, fitted into the gothic horror genre that was undergoing a revival. Hugely popular, it tells of a poor artist's model, Trilby O'Ferrall, transformed into a diva under the spell of an evil musical genius, Svengali . Soap, songs, dances, toothpaste, and even the city of Trilby, Florida , were named after her, as
192-481: A bad egg, Mr. Jones." The curate replies, "Oh no, my Lord, I assure you – parts of it are excellent!" The gag was not original to du Maurier, however, as it had appeared in a similar cartoon a few months earlier in Judy , a less widely read competitor to Punch . In an earlier (1884) cartoon, du Maurier coined the expression " bedside manner ", with which he satirised medical care. Another of his notable cartoons depicted
256-438: A battalion of black soldiers danced and sang for him after his lecture. During this tour he matured as a public speaker and realised his ability to touch the emotions of his audience with his style of speaking, learning to speak publicly from his own heart rather than from dry scripted speeches. Towards the end of his visit both Yale and Harvard Universities conferred honorary doctorates of letters on him. Masefield entered
320-479: A fanciful videophone conversation in 1879, using a device he called " Edison 's telephonoscope ". While producing black-and-white drawings for Punch , du Maurier created illustrations for several other popular periodicals: Harper's , The Graphic , The Illustrated Times , The Cornhill Magazine , and the religious periodical Good Words . Furthermore, he did illustrations for the serialisation of Charles Warren Adams 's The Notting Hill Mystery , which
384-476: A great green commonwealth of Thought Which ranks the yearly pageant, and decides How Summer's royal progress shall be wrought, By secret stir which in each plant abides? Does rocking daffodil consent that she, The snowdrop of wet winters, shall be first? Does spotted cowslip with the grass agree To hold her pride before the rattle burst? And in the hedge what quick agreement goes, When hawthorn blossoms redden to decay, That Summer's pride shall come,
448-505: A large number of dramatic pieces. Most of these were based on Christian themes, and Masefield, to his amazement, encountered a ban on the performance of plays on biblical subjects that went back to the Reformation and had been revived a generation earlier to prevent production of Oscar Wilde's Salome . However, a compromise was reached and in 1928 his The Coming of Christ was the first play to be performed in an English cathedral since
512-523: A life at sea and to break his addiction to reading, of which his aunt thought little. He spent several years aboard this ship, and found that he could spend much of his time reading and writing. It was aboard the Conway that Masefield's love of story-telling grew. While he was on the ship, he listened to the stories told about sea lore, continued to read, and decided that he was to become a writer and story-teller himself. Masefield gives an account of life aboard
576-801: A mathematics teacher, Constance was a good match for him, despite the difference in their ages. The couple had two children: Judith, born Isabel Judith, 28 April 1904, in London, died in Sussex, 1 March 1988; and Lewis Crommelin, born in 1910, in London, killed in action in Africa, 29 May 1942. In 1902 Masefield was put in charge of the fine arts section of the Arts and Industrial Exhibition in Wolverhampton. By then his poems were being published in periodicals and his first collection of verse, Salt-Water Ballads ,
640-526: A member of staff at the British satirical magazine Punch in 1865, drawing two cartoons a week. His commonest targets were the affected manners of Victorian society , the bourgeoisie and members of Britain's growing middle class in particular. His most enduring cartoon, True Humility (1895), popularised the expressions "good in parts" and "a curate's egg ". In it, a bishop addresses a humble curate , whom he has invited to breakfast: "I'm afraid you've got
704-740: A neck ribbon (as a necklet ), while women wear theirs on a ribbon bow pinned to the left shoulder, and aides-de-camp may wear the insignia on their aiguillettes . Since 1991, the insignia must be returned upon the recipient's death. number appointment There have been no honorary members of the Order of Merit since the death of the last such member, Nelson Mandela , in December 2013. Secretary and Registrar : Robin Janvrin, Baron Janvrin GCB , GCVO , QSO , PC As
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#1732791969633768-427: A passenger aboard a steamship. In 1901, when Masefield was 23, he met his future wife, Constance de la Cherois Crommelin (6 February 1867 – 18 February 1960, Rockport , County Antrim , Northern Ireland ; a sister to Andrew Claude de la Cherois Crommelin ), who was 35 and of Huguenot descent. They married on 23 June 1903 at St. Mary, Bryanston Square . Educated in classics and English Literature , and
832-761: A report to the British Foreign Office and suggested that he should be allowed to write a book about the failure of the Allied effort in the Dardanelles that might be used in the United States to counter German propaganda there. The resulting work, Gallipoli , was a success. Masefield then met the head of British Military Intelligence in France and was asked to write an account of the Battle of
896-640: A solicitor, and his wife Caroline (née Parker). He was baptised in the Church at Preston Cross, just outside Ledbury. His mother died giving birth to his sister when Masefield was six, and he went to live with his aunt. His father died soon afterwards, following a mental breakdown. After an unhappy education at the King's School in Warwick (now known as Warwick School), where he was a boarder between 1888 and 1891, he left to board HMS Conway , both to train for
960-517: A wide variety of genres. To those he had already used he now added autobiography, producing New Chum , In the Mill , and So Long to Learn . It was not until he was about 70 that Masefield slowed his pace, mainly due to illness. In 1960 Constance died aged 93, after a long illness. Although her death was heartrending, he had spent a tiring year watching the woman he loved die. He continued his duties as poet laureate. In Glad Thanksgiving , his last book,
1024-558: Is a windy day with the white clouds flying, And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying. From " Sea-Fever ", in Salt-Water Ballads (1902) In 1894 Masefield boarded the Gilcruix , destined for Chile. This first voyage brought him the experience of sea sickness, but his record of his experiences while sailing through extreme weather shows his delight in seeing flying fish, porpoises and birds. He
1088-573: Is often seen as the first detective story of novel length to have appeared in English. Among several other novels he illustrated was Misunderstood by Florence Montgomery in 1873. His deteriorating eyesight caused du Maurier to reduce his involvement with Punch in 1891 and settle in Hampstead , where he wrote three novels. His first, Peter Ibbetson (1891), was a modest success at the time and later adapted for stage and screen, most notably in
1152-576: Is restricted to a maximum of 24 living recipients from the Commonwealth realms, plus honorary members. While all members are awarded the right to use the post-nominal letters OM and wear the badge of the order, the Order of Merit's precedence among other honours differs between countries. In around 1773, George III considered establishing an order of knighthood to be called the "Order of Minerva " with membership restricted to 24 distinguished artists and authors. Knights would be entitled to
1216-439: The Conway in his book New Chum . I must down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky, And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by, And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking, And a grey mist on the sea's face and a grey dawn breaking. I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied; And all I ask
1280-631: The Dominions of the British Empire became independent countries within the empire, equal in status to the UK, the Order of Merit continued as an honour open to all these realms and, in many, became a part of their newly developing national honours systems. The order's statutes were amended in 1935 to include members of the Royal Air Force and, in 1969, the definition of honorary recipients
1344-547: The Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia , stated that the Order of Merit was the highest civilian award for merit a Canadian could receive. Some orders of precedence are as follows: Order of wear George du Maurier George Louis Palmella Busson du Maurier (6 March 1834 – 8 October 1896) was a Franco-British cartoonist and writer known for work in Punch and a Gothic novel Trilby , featuring
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#17327919696331408-742: The Regency courtesan Mary Anne Clarke . He was brought up to believe his aristocratic grandparents had fled from France during the Revolution , leaving vast estates behind, to live in England as émigrés . In fact, du Maurier's grandfather, Robert-Mathurin Busson, was a tradesman who left Paris, France , in 1789 to avoid charges of fraud and later changed the family name to the grander-sounding du Maurier. Du Maurier studied art in Paris, France , in
1472-539: The Royal Academy of Arts , advised against the new order, primarily because of its selection process. It was Victoria's son Edward VII who eventually founded the Order of Merit on 26 June 1902 (the date for which his coronation had been originally scheduled ) as a means to acknowledge "exceptionally meritorious service in Our Navy and Our Army, or who may have rendered exceptionally meritorious service towards
1536-480: The 1920s as an accomplished and respected writer. His family was able to settle on Boar's Hill , a somewhat rural setting not far from Oxford , where Masefield took up beekeeping , goat-herding and poultry-keeping. He continued to meet with success: the first edition of his Collected Poems (1923) sold about 80,000 copies. A narrative poem, Reynard The Fox (1920), has been critically compared with works by Geoffrey Chaucer , not necessarily to Masefield's credit. This
1600-726: The Admiralty Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham and William Pitt exchanged correspondence concerning the possible creation of an order of merit, though nothing came of the idea. Later, Queen Victoria , her courtiers , and politicians alike, thought that a new order, based on the Prussian order Pour le Mérite , would make up for the insufficient recognition offered by the established honours system to achievement outside public service, in fields such as art, music, literature, industry and science. Victoria's husband, Albert, Prince Consort , took an interest in
1664-672: The Isthmus, Dipping through the Tropics by the palm-green shores, With a cargo of diamonds, Emeralds, amethysts, Topazes, and cinnamon, and gold moidores. Dirty British coaster with a salt-caked smoke stack, Butting through the Channel in the mad March days, With a cargo of Tyne coal, Road-rails, pig-lead, Firewood, ironware, and cheap tin trays. From " Cargoes ", in Ballads (1903) From 1895 to 1897, Masefield
1728-624: The Middle Ages. In 1921 Masefield gave the British Academy's Shakespeare Lecture and received an honorary doctorate of literature from the University of Oxford. In 1923 he organised Oxford Recitations, an annual contest whose purpose was "to discover good speakers of verse and to encourage 'the beautiful speaking of poetry'". Given the numbers of contest applicants, the event's promotion of natural speech in poetical recitations, and
1792-463: The Order of Merit The Order of Merit (French: Ordre du Mérite ) is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms , recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by Edward VII , admission into the order remains the personal gift of its Sovereign—currently Edward VII's great-great-grandson Charles III —and
1856-592: The Order of Merit is open to the citizens of 15 countries, each with their own system of orders, decorations, and medals, the order's place of precedence varies from country to country. While, in the United Kingdom, the order's postnominal letters follow those of Knights and Dames Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath , membership in the Order of Merit itself gives members no place in any of the orders of precedence in
1920-425: The Order of Merit, members are entitled to use the post-nominal letters OM and are entrusted with the badge of the order. The insignia consists of a badge, which consists of a golden crown from which is suspended a red enamelled cross pattée , itself centred by a disk of blue enamel, surrounded by a laurel wreath . The obverse of the badge's central disk bears the words FOR MERIT in gold lettering, while
1984-514: The Order, having been admitted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1968, when he was 47 years old. Robin Eames , Baron Eames represented the order at the coronation of Charles III and Camilla on 6 May 2023. All citizens of the Commonwealth realms are eligible for appointment to the Order of Merit. There may be, however, only 24 living individuals in the order at any given time, not including honorary appointees, and new members are personally selected by
John Masefield - Misplaced Pages Continue
2048-517: The Somme . Although Masefield had grand ideas for his book, he was denied access to official records and what was intended to be the preface was published as The Old Front Line , a description of the geography of the Somme area. In 1918 Masefield returned to America on his second lecture tour, spending much of his time speaking and lecturing to American soldiers waiting to be sent to Europe. These speaking engagements were very successful. On one occasion
2112-594: The Speaking of Verse, on the other hand, continued to develop through the influence of associated figures such as Marion Angus and Hugh MacDiarmid and exists today as the Poetry Association of Scotland . In 1930, on the death of Robert Bridges , a new poet laureate was needed. On the recommendation of the Prime Minister, Ramsay MacDonald , King George V appointed Masefield, who remained in
2176-578: The Summer's rose, Before the flower be on the bramble spray? Or is it, as with us, unresting strife, And each consent a lucky gasp for life? "Sonnet", in The Story of a Round-House (1915) After his appointment, Masefield was awarded the Order of Merit by King George V and many honorary degrees from British universities. In 1937 he was elected President of the Society of Authors . In 1938 he
2240-461: The United Kingdom . However, Stanley Martin says in his book The Order of Merit 1902–2002: One Hundred Years of Matchless Honour , that the Order of Merit is the pinnacle of the British honours system. Similarly, though it was not listed in the Canadian order of precedence for honours, decorations, and medals until December 2010, Christopher McCreery, an expert on Canadian honours and secretary to
2304-564: The advancement of Art, Literature and Science". All modern aspects of the order were established under his direction, including the division for military figures. From the outset, prime ministers attempted to propose candidates or lobbied to influence the monarch's decision on appointments. But, the Royal Household adamantly guarded information about potential names. After 1931, when the Statute of Westminster came into effect and
2368-503: The by then long-widowed Queen a draft constitution for an Order of Merit in Science and Art, consisting of one grade split into two branches of knighthood: the Order of Scientific Merit, for Knights of Merit in Science, with the post-nominal letters KMS , and the Order of Artistic Merit, for Knights of Merit in Art, with the post-nominal letters KMA . However, Frederic Leighton , President of
2432-502: The character Svengali . His son was the actor Sir Gerald du Maurier . The writers Angela du Maurier and Daphne du Maurier and the artist Jeanne du Maurier were all granddaughters of George. He was also father of Sylvia Llewelyn Davies and grandfather of the five boys who inspired J. M. Barrie 's Peter Pan . George du Maurier was born in Paris , France , son of Louis-Mathurin Busson du Maurier and wife Ellen Clarke, daughter of
2496-406: The commission for Queen Alexandra's Memorial Ode with music by Elgar, many of Masefield's short poems were set as art songs by British composers of the time. Best known by far is John Ireland 's " Sea-Fever ". Frederick Keel composed several songs drawn from the Salt-Water Ballads and elsewhere. Of these, "Trade Winds" was particularly popular in its day, despite the tongue-twisting challenges
2560-637: The course of their marriage, the couple first settled in Hampstead in 1869, initially at Gang Moor near the Whitestone Pond for three years, before moving to 27 Church Row and later at New Grove House in Hampstead Grove in 1881. In 1891, the family is recorded as residing at 2 Porchester Rd in Paddington. They had five children: Beatrix (known as Trixy), Guy , Sylvia , Marie Louise (known as May) and Gerald . Du Maurier became
2624-414: The last person so honoured. Honorary members form another group, to which there is no numerical limit, though such appointments are rare; individuals from countries in the Commonwealth of Nations that are not headed by King Charles are therefore considered foreigners, and thus are granted only honorary admissions, such as Nelson Mandela (South Africa) and Mother Teresa (India). Upon admission into
John Masefield - Misplaced Pages Continue
2688-475: The matter; it was recorded in his diary that he met Sir Robert Peel on 16 January 1844 to discuss the "idea of institution of a civil Order of Merit" and, three days later, he conferred with the Queen on the subject. Though nothing came of the idea at the time, the concept did not wither and, more than 40 years later, on 5 January 1888, Prime Minister Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury submitted to
2752-452: The new order grew so heated that George ultimately dropped the idea, though he briefly reconsidered it in 1789; on 6 February of that year, he revised the design of the order, with the breast star to have sixteen points, the motto to be the Latin for "Learning improves character" and with membership to include distinguished scientists. Following the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, First Lord of
2816-605: The number of people learning how to listen to poetry, Oxford Recitations was generally deemed a success. Masefield was similarly a founding member of the Scottish Association for the Speaking of Verse in 1924. He later came to question whether the Oxford events should continue as a contest, considering that they might better be run as a festival. However, in 1929, after he broke with the competitive element, Oxford Recitations came to an end. The Scottish Association for
2880-440: The poem "The Piper of Arll" by Duncan Campbell Scott . Ten years later, Masefield wrote to Scott to tell him what reading that poem had meant to him: I had never (till that time) cared very much for poetry, but your poem impressed me deeply, and set me on fire. Since then poetry has been the one deep influence in my life, and to my love of poetry I owe all my friends, and the position I now hold. Stately Spanish galleon coming from
2944-417: The post until his death in 1967. The only person to hold the office for a longer period was Alfred, Lord Tennyson . On Masefield's appointment, The Times wrote of him that "his poetry could touch to beauty the plain speech of everyday life". Masefield took his appointment seriously and produced a large quantity of poems for royal occasions, which were sent to The Times for publication. Masefield's modesty
3008-545: The post-nominal letters KM , and would wear a silver nine-pointed breast star with the image of Minerva at its centre, along with a "straw-coloured" sash worn across the chest from the right shoulder. The motto of the Order would be "Omnia posthabita scientiae" (in Latin , 'Everything comes after science'). Once the King's proposal was made public, however, arguments within intellectual circles over who would be most deserving of
3072-793: The public and was praised by the critics. In 1912 he was awarded the annual Edmond de Polignac Prize. When the First World War began in 1914 Masefield was old enough to be exempted from military service, but he joined the staff of a British hospital for French soldiers, the Hôpital Temporaire d'Arc-en-Barrois in Haute-Marne, serving a six-week term during the spring of 1915. He later published an account of his experiences. At about this time Masefield moved his country retreat from Buckinghamshire to Lollingdon Farm in Cholsey ,
3136-447: The reigning monarch of the realms, currently Charles III , with the assistance of his private secretaries; the order has thus been described as "quite possibly, the most prestigious honour one can receive on planet Earth." Within the limited membership is a designated military division, with its own unique insignia; though it has not been abolished, it is currently unpopulated, Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma having been
3200-414: The reverse bears the royal cypher of the reigning monarch in gold. The insignia for the military grouping is distinguished by a pair of crossed swords behind the central disk. The ribbon of the Order of Merit is divided into two stripes of red and blue. The neck ribbon is 50mm in width, while the ribbon bar width is the standard British 32mm size for military or civilian wear. Men wear their badges on
3264-495: The setting that inspired a number of poems and sonnets under the title Lollingdon Downs , and which his family used until 1917. After returning home, Masefield was invited to the United States on a three-month lecture tour. Although his primary purpose was to lecture on English literature, he also intended to collect information on the mood and views of Americans regarding the war in Europe. When he returned to England, he submitted
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#17327919696333328-477: The studio of Charles Gleyre , and moved to Antwerp , Belgium, where he lost the vision in his left eye. He was reportedly studying chemistry at University College, London , in 1851. He is recorded in the 1861 England Census as a lodger at 85 Newman St in Marylebone. He met Emma Wightwick in 1853 and married her a decade later, on 3 January 1863, at St Marylebone, Westminster . Moving frequently over
3392-473: The text presents to the singer. Keel's defiant setting of "Tomorrow", written while interned at Ruhleben during World War I, was frequently programmed at the BBC Proms after the war. Another memorable wartime composition is Ivor Gurney 's climactic declamation of "By a bierside", a setting quickly set down in 1916 during a brief spell behind the lines. Sonnets (1916) Right Royal (1920) Member of
3456-474: The urge to become a writer and the hopelessness of life as a sailor overtook him, and in New York he jumped ship and travelled throughout the countryside. For several months he lived as a vagrant, drifting between odd jobs, before he returned to New York City and found work as a barkeeper's assistant. Some time around Christmas 1895, he read the December edition of Truth , a New York periodical, which contained
3520-669: The windy down, and let none see; And then thank God that there's an end of me. The Masefield Centre at Warwick School , which Masefield attended, and John Masefield High School in Ledbury, Herefordshire, have been named in his honour. Interest groups such as the John Masefield Society ensure the longevity of Masefield's opus. In 1977 Folkways Records released an album of readings of some of his poems, including some read by Masefield himself. Recordings preserved include Masefield's 1914 Good Friday . In addition to
3584-771: Was awarded the Shakespeare Prize , one of the only two such awards made by the Hamburg -based Alfred Toepfer Foundation before the Second World War. Masefield encouraged the continued development of English literature and poetry, and began the annual awarding of the Royal Medals for Poetry for a first or second published edition of poems by a poet under the age of 35. Additionally, his speaking engagements called him further away, often on much longer tours, yet he still produced significant amounts of work in
3648-426: Was awed by the beauty of nature, including a rare sighting of a nocturnal rainbow , on this voyage. On reaching Chile, he suffered from sunstroke and was hospitalised. He eventually returned home to England as a passenger aboard a steamship. His experiences on the voyage were used as material for his narrative poem Dauber (1913). In 1895 Masefield returned to sea on a windjammer destined for New York City. However,
3712-655: Was employed at the huge Alexander Smith carpet factory in Yonkers, New York, where long hours were expected and conditions were far from ideal. He purchased up to 20 books a week, and devoured both modern and classical literature. His interests at this time were diverse, and his reading included works by George du Maurier , Alexandre Dumas (père), Thomas Browne , William Hazlitt , Charles Dickens , Rudyard Kipling , and Robert Louis Stevenson . Chaucer also became very important to him during this time, as well as Keats and Shelley . In 1897, Masefield returned home to England as
3776-429: Was expanded to include members of the Commonwealth of Nations that are not realms. The order has always been open to women, Florence Nightingale being the first woman to receive the honour, in 1907. Several individuals have refused admission into the Order of Merit, including Rudyard Kipling , A. E. Housman , and George Bernard Shaw . Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh , remains the youngest person ever inducted into
3840-646: Was followed by Right Royal and King Cole , poems in which the relationship between humanity and nature is emphasised. After King Cole , Masefield turned away from long poems and back to novels. Between 1924 and 1939 he published 12 novels, which vary from stories of the sea ( The Bird of Dawning , Victorious Troy ) to social novels about modern England ( The Hawbucks , The Square Peg ), and from tales of an imaginary land in Central America ( Sard Harker , Odtaa ) to fantasies for children ( The Midnight Folk , The Box of Delights ). In this same period he wrote
3904-528: Was published that year. It included the poem "Sea-Fever". Masefield then wrote two novels, Captain Margaret (1908) and Multitude and Solitude (1909). In 1911, after a long period of writing no poems, he composed The Everlasting Mercy , the first of his narrative poems , and within the next year had produced two more, "The Widow in the Bye Street" and "Dauber". As a result, he became widely known to
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#17327919696333968-692: Was published when he was 88 years old. In late 1966 Masefield developed gangrene in his ankle. This spread to his leg and he died of the infection on 12 May 1967. In accordance with his stated wishes, he was cremated and his ashes were placed in Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey . However, the following verse by Masefield was discovered later, addressed to his "Heirs, Administrators, and Assigns": Let no religious rite be done or read In any place for me when I am dead, But burn my body into ash, and scatter The ash in secret into running water, Or on
4032-577: Was shown by his inclusion of a stamped and self-addressed envelope with each submission so that the poem could be returned if it was found unacceptable. Later he was commissioned to write a poem to be set to music by the Master of the King's Musick , Sir Edward Elgar , and performed at the unveiling of the Queen Alexandra Memorial by the King on 8 June 1932. This was the ode "So Many True Princesses Who Have Gone" . "Sonnet" Is there
4096-463: Was the variety of soft felt hat with an indented crown worn in the London stage dramatisation of the novel. The plot inspired Gaston Leroux 's 1910 novel Phantom of the Opera and innumerable works derived from it. Du Maurier eventually came to dislike the persistent attention the novel was given. The third novel was a long, largely autobiographical work entitled The Martian , published posthumously in 1898. Du Maurier died on 8 October 1896 and
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