The English Verse Prize has been awarded at Sherborne School since 1832. In 1938, Littleton Charles Powys was asked to judge the prize, and from 1939 to 1949 he co-judged the prize with his brother John Cowper Powys, who had himself won the prize in 1891 with his poem ‘Corinth’. Traditionally, the winning poem was recited during the prize-giving ceremony on Commemoration Day.
A number of past winners of the English Verse Prize have gone on to become notable writers and poets, including Lewis Morris (1851), Zachary Edwards (1857), Arthur Waugh (1885), John Cowper Powys (1891), Alec Waugh (1915), V.C. Clinton-Baddeley (1917, 1918), Cecil Day-Lewis (1922, 1923), S.J.H. Durnford (1936, 1937, 1938), Michael McCrum (1940, 1941), Michell Raper (1942), David Cornwell (John le Carré) (1948), Marcus Cumberlege (1955), Andrew Harvey (1967), and Anthony Lane (1979).
Winners of the English Verse prize judged by Littleton Powys and John Cowper Powys:
1938 – Stanley John Harper Durnford (School 1934-38) for ‘The Vision’.
1939 – Andrew Johnston Weatherhead (Abbeylands 1933-39) for ‘The Sun’.
1940 – Michael William McCrum (Abbey 1937-42) for ‘Spring’.
1941 – Michael William McCrum (Abbey 1937-42) for ‘The Air – A Dream’.
1942 – Godfrey Michell Hamilton Raper (Westcott 1940-45) for ‘The River’.
1943 – Michael Anthony Bate (School 1938-1943) for ‘The New World’.
1944 – John Anthony Charles Ardagh (Abbey 1942-46) for ‘Home’.
1945 – Timothy John Godfrey Rogers (Abbeylands1940-45) on ‘Childhood’.
1946 – John Anthony Charles Ardagh (Abbey 1942-46) for ‘Autumn. An Imaginative Ode in Five Parts’.
1947 – Richard Henry Kingdon Carless (School 1943-47) for ‘Nostalgia’.
1948 – David John Moore Cornwell (Westcott 1945-48) for ‘The Dream of the Deserted Island’.
1949 – Colin Penrose Angwin (Lyon 1945-50) for ‘The First Evening’.
At the end of their ten-year stint as prize adjudicators, Littleton and John Cowper Powys wrote the following articles for the School magazine (The Shirburnian, Lent & Trinity 1951 issues) about the poems they had judged during their term of office. After the articles are included transcripts of three letters written in 1950 and 1952 by Littleton Powys to R.S. Thompson in which he discusses some of the best poems. These are followed by biographical notes about the School poets mentioned in the articles and letters.
The Shirburnian, Lent & Summer 1951
Editorial (Lent 1951)
We are proud to print this term the first half of an article by Littleton C. Powys Esq., about Prize Poems of the ten years during which he and his brother, John Cowper Powys, have judged them… Sherborne has been sturdily supported by the Powys family; and this term’s article will be of interest to many. It will be completed next term and we shall also publish then a shorter note by John Cowper Powys summing up from his own point of view.
Prize Poems 1939-1949 – A Summary by Littleton C. Powys
It was in the early summer of 1938 that one day I was asked by the Headmaster to help in deciding which of the three competitors’ poems was the one to deserve the Prize. The subject was ‘Glastonbury Tor’; and I had no uncertainty in declaring S.J.H. Durnford the Winner [Stanley John Harper Durnford (School 1934-38) won the English Verse Prize in 1936, 1937 and 1938]. His was a really good poem, named by him ‘The Vision’, and full of poetic vision it was from beginning to end.
“It comes to me, how even I
Ran breathless to a certain tower,
Built in the heart of England’s sky,
And with no arms attacked her power,
Stormed the bold keep, and set my heart
High, like a banner, on her walls.
That lonely place! Set far apart
By time and space, it calls
In words that travellers know alone,
Of past and present, phantom faces
And familiar beauties, places known
Before, recalled by all the graces
Of the present.”
I wrote my report on the poems. The Headmaster accepted my recommendation, and then asked me to take upon my shoulders the responsibility of setting the subject and judging the Prize Poems in the future. I was delighted and said I would do it but on one condition… that I should have the help of my brother John Cowper Powys whose whole life had been devoted to Literature. This was granted with pleasure, and for a decade we two brothers acted as the Beirniadiaid (to use the language of the Welsh Eisteddfodd), the adjudicators.
I should have liked our mother to have known this. Her father, William Cowper Johnson (1813-1893), had won the Prize Essay here in 1833, and I can remember her excitement and pleasure when she came to Commemoration in 1891 to hear her son John recite the Prize Poem and to receive a prize for the English Essay too. To know that her two eldest sons had been given this appointment would have rejoiced her heart.
As judges John and I made a good combination; for I was more conservative and more of a formalist than he; he was more liberal-minded and quicker to see merit in poems of a more modern type. And we had the help of my wife Elizabeth Myers (1912-1947) as long as she was alive; and Redwood Anderson (1883-1964), himself a supreme poet, was always ready to give his counsel.
Second to Durnford in the poem on ‘Glastonbury Tor’ was A.J. Weatherhead [Andrew Johnston Weatherhead (Abbeylands 1933-39)], and it was he who won the Prize in 1939 with a poem on ‘The Sun’. Both he and Durnford continued to compose poetry during the war, Durnford as a Japanese prisoner, working on the Railway of Death and Weatherhead in India. The latter couldn’t forget his home country around Glastonbury and in a poem he sent me, he prays Abbot Whiting the Martyr to guard it for him until his return:
“Watch it for me, if I am long away,
It is my well, and from it day by day
I’ll be refreshed, it is
My memories’ warehouses.”
The next year’s winner was Michael McCrum [Michael William McCrum (Abbey 1937-42)], a Classical Scholar and a master of metre with a poem on ‘Spring’ inspired by his lovely Devonshire home. This year there was a remarkable poem of an experimental nature, full of conceits and eccentricities, but which showed so much intellectual ability that on John’s strong recommendation, the author, J.G. Biram [John Graham Swinton Biram (Harper 1936-40)] was awarded a praemium extra ordinem.
The 1941 Poem with ‘Air’ as the subject was again won by McCrum who dealt with a difficult subject by means of a dream in a poem which showed much poetic thought and expression. In this year there also competed Michael Courtenay [Michael John Francis Courtenay (Harper 1936-41)]. He always had a difficulty in versification, but was full of poetry. He was a thinker and the problems of life played a great part in his mind.
In 1942 there was a surprise. The subject of the poem was ‘The River’, and there was a number of competitors. McCrum the winner of the last two years sent in a really excellent poem written in the Scholar Gypsy metre which gave me great pleasure: but there was another that pleased my brother and me even more. This was a poem by a boy only just 15 – Michael Raper [Godfrey Michell Hamilton Raper (Westcott 1940-45)]. My brother wrote of this poem: “The interesting psychological thing is the fact that he allows not the slightest flicker of the war to show itself. Though the pillars of the earth shake, though the walls thereof reel and rock, our Sherborne poet will lose his own identity in the life of the river Parrett and turn that life into memorable beauty.”
Here are two verses:
“Men call me Parrett and my tongue
Has prattled through a thousand years,
And joined the thunder of the Weir’s
Deep hymn of caverns lichen-hung.
There is no end to my desire,
But surging on, my eddies press
Through low-hung beds of watercress,
And King-cups in tumultuous fire.
And down the hill with flashing beat
I chuckle through the morning grass,
And trip and tumble till I pass
The Turnpike by the Roman Street.
Where yet the tramp of Roman tread
And echoing of another time,
Come beating through the noon-day chime,
For such as these are never dead.”
Two other writers on ‘The River’ were Henry Watson [Henry Lewis Watson (Abbey 1935-1940)] and Christopher Warren [Christopher Paul Wyeth Warren (Abbey 1938-1942)]. Both these boys lost their lives in the war. I came to know Watson very intimately, admired his character greatly and it was he who introduced me to Mary Webb’s ‘Spring of Joy’. He left his copy with me to be mine, should he not return.
In 1943 the subject was ‘The New World’ – by no means an easy subject, but it was tackled bravely by a number of poets. The winner was M.A. Bate [Michael Anthony Bate (School 1938-1943)]. Raper, the winner of the previous year, competed, but something seemed to have gone wrong with him, and although his versification was corrected, he had become self-conscious and stilted. There was a spirited rhyming poem by I.G. Manning [Ian Gordon Manning (School 1939-1943)], who is now in a Cavalry Regiment but has found time now and again to send me poems.
1944 brought two fine poets to the fore, J.A.C. Ardagh [John Anthony Charles Ardagh (Abbey 1942-46)], who won the prize that year and in 1946, and Timothy Rogers [Timothy John Godfrey Rogers (Abbeylands 1940-45)], whose poem on ‘Home’ was an excellent one and who made no doubt about winning the Prize the following year with a poem on ‘Childhood’. My wife was so pleased with Adagh’s ‘Home’ poem that she sent it to the Poetry Review with an introduction written by herself. Rogers on leaving school went straight into the army, but he kept his love of poetry alive.
In 1946 Ardagh with his poem on ‘Autumn’ which he called ‘An Imaginative Ode in Five Parts’ was facile princeps. In 1945, 1946 and 1947 there was a boy with a remarkable gift for musical verse who competed but he never quite won the prize, Barry Blake [Barry Irwin Blake (Abbeylands 1943-47)].
In 1947 and the next two years we did not set a subject, but left it for the competitors to decide for themselves about what they intended to write. I think this was a change for the better, for it is always possible that a set subject will please one competitor and not the others. Anyway the experiment was very successful. There were more competitors and some good poems. The Prize that year was won by R.H.K. Carless [Richard Henry Kingdon Carless (School 1943-47)], with a poem called ‘Nostalgia’ which was not only full of poetic ideas but also showed a mastery of metre and rhyme. There was also a brilliant poem of the modern type by J.M. Wigglesworth [John Michael Wigglesworth (The Green 1942-47)]. He had competed the year before and offered a poem without form or metre, but this year his style seemed to suit his subject, ‘Shipwreck’, and the poem was full of dramatic effect. There was a thoughtful poem of philosophical character entitled ‘The Other Eden’ by an American boy, P. Gifford [Prosser Gifford (The Green 1946-47)], and also a daring poem called, ‘A Suite for Easter’ by M.C. Llewellin [Martin Cleeves Llewellin (Harper 1944-48)], the subject being really too great a one for so young a poet.
The 1948 Competition was very satisfactory. There was as many as seven competitors, not one of whom had sent in a poem before. They were younger than usual and the boy who was placed second had written his poem before he was fifteen. The progress of this boy, J.H.G. Terry [John Hugh George Terry (Lyon 1946-51)], has been rather checked by his love of introducing strange words and phrases into his verse in imitation of some modern poets; but his love of poetry and literature is genuine and eventually he will do well. It was a memorable year because the poem of D.J.M. Cornwell [David John Moore Cornwell (Westcott 1945-48)] who was awarded the Prize was written in free verse. The Poem was called ‘The Dream of the Deserted Island’ – an island deserted by the God Pan. It showed great imagination and was full of pleasing poetic imagery. It was a joy to read with its musical rhythm and mastery of vowel sounds.
Here are a few lines:
“Play us a tune. O Pan!, Pan! Why is this thing so?
Is all past and gone?
Shall no more the whispering willows wave their wands?
Shall no more thy music sing through the Island woods?
And the butterflies flit and glide like fireflies in the twilight;
And the cricket chirp as it blessed the morning air?
And Pan, my father, will you never blow
Another note of wonder from your pipes?
Shall the woods ne’er hear thy beauteous notes abound
Like orchids on the bank?
My father, shall this be ever so?”
….
“Mourn for Pan, my brothers, mourn for Father Pan.
Of an afternoon he sat upon his favourite stump,
His pipes upon his lips,
And played his music to the birds,
The Turtle dove and Swallow,
The sweetest music Nature ever made.
Sweeter far than memories,
Sweeter far than thought upon a Summer’s eve,
Sweeter far than sunrise on the sunny peaks of distant Alps
Which pour their rosy light upon the wakening day.”
And then there was Angwin [Colin Penrose Angwin (Lyon 1945-50)] with a poem, rather a heavy poem, on the death of Gandhi. He came into his own the following year. And Gelsthorpe [John Michael Gelsthorpe (The Green 1945-50)], who gave a glimpse of his thinking mind, and Oakley [Julian Phelps Oakley (The Green 1944-49)], inspired by his love of the Isle of Purbeck.
The next year 1949 was a good year, too. Again there were seven competitors. The winner was Angwin with a very exciting original poem, somewhat Miltonic in thought in going back to the beginning of things, to the daughters of the Gods, and the sons of Gods and mortal women, mighty giants. It was not written in Milton’s blank verse but in a series of Shakespearian Sonnets, a metre not very suitable, but he used it well. Gelsthorpe, too, sent in a poem full of thought dealing with Present, Past and Future; he called it ‘A Journey through Time’ and it consisted of three sonnets, again Shakespearian, with the titles (1) The Traveller, (2) The Road Behind, (3) The Road Ahead. There was a poem from Terry again – a difficult one. An admirable poem from Peacocke [Gerald Sydney Philip Peacocke (The Green 1945-50)] called ‘Wanderlust’. A lyric and two sonnets from Kirkbride [Timothy George Kirkbride (Abbeylands 1945-49)]; and for the second year running W.S. Blackshaw [William Simon Blackshaw (Westcott 1944-49)] entered with light rhyming poems somewhat 17th century in style.
And so the decade of judging the Poetry of Sherborne School was completed. For us it had been an interesting and enjoyable task; and if the actual standard of poetry was much the same, there had been a definite increase in the number of boys competing which was all to the good. The swing to the left, by which I mean to experimental verse without form and often obscure, had not been pronounced, J.G. Biram and J.M. Wigglesworth being the two principal exponents, both of whom were highly intelligent boys, and there had been one or two writers of free verse, including the 1948 winner [David Cornwell]. The poems had usually been written in one or other of our country’s traditional metres of which good knowledge had been shown, and in their poems had occurred many phrases and thoughts of true poetry which gave us a feeling of confidence that the poetic vision would be with these poets as they made their way through life.
The Shirburnian, Summer 1951
Prize Poems 1939-1949 – notes by John Cowper Powys
I would indeed like to add a word to my brother’s excellent summary of our combined attempts to weigh, analyse and assess in their literary and imaginative order of value, the Sherborne Prize Poems for the ten years from 1939 to 1949. As my brother suggests and I entirely agree with him, the remarkable thing that must arrest the attention of any devotee of poetry is the manner in which all the way through these ten years the compass-needle of these Sherborne poets’ practice, full of historic and psychological interest, even at the worst, swings backwards and forward between the old formal tradition of rhymes and metres, and the mysteriously attractive new style of poetry, where other, as yet only dimly realized, sequences, harmonies and laws and secrets of rhythmical utterance have, for many pioneers of poetic experiment, to a large extent superseded the old poetic rules. I think it reflects great and special credit on the methods of teaching English Poetry in the School employed by those concerned that this extremely important crisis in our poetic history, as a race, has been so clearly laid bare to the Sherborne boys throughout these chaotic years, and left to be regarded, as it essentially is, as an extremely subtle and so far only very darkly discerned point of departure, provocative of angry division of opinion, involving other arts than the art of poetry, and although leading itself to lively and furious disputations, for that very reason deepening our mental and emotional response to the whole problem. Let me add, though of course in these things a critic’s personal taste governs his feelings, that for me the two outstanding poems, I will not say poets, for there who can predict? (and all these poets change so quickly that the problem transcends prediction as well as adjudication) of these ten years are Raper’s ‘The River Parrett’ and Angwin’s ‘First Evening’.
J.C. Powys, November 1950.
Transcripts of three letters written in 1950 and 1952 by Littleton Charles Powys to Reginald Stanley Thompson (Assistant master at Sherborne School, 1922-1952, later Headmaster of Bloxham School) in which he discusses some of the best poets and poems:
‘Corbenic, West Pennard, Glastonbury, Somerset, 8 December 1950.
My dear Thomper
I thank you for the ‘Duffers Jubilee’ – you managed that affair well! Here is the 10 /-.
I have just made a summary of a Decade of Sherborne Prize Poems and John Cowper has added a characteristic note. I have written to the editors of the Shirburnian about it, but they have not as yet replied. I did not send it until I knew whether they would possibly want it or no. Do you have anything to do with that Paper? That would seem the simplest way of it reaching those who should read it. But for the other hand it may be that it is too long – 10 quarto sheets, about 3000 words. It is from Durnford to Ardagh in with short notes about them and a brief summary up to Old John Cowper in characteristic language! You can see the difference between the amateur & the Pro. But I believe it is an article of some worth.
My dear Thomper – I can just get about like a slug with my two sticks, but from my window I have a pastoral scene of wonderful beauty, a great green meadow with a magnificent oak & a fine ash within a few yards of us, then an orchard then grass slopes one after another heading up to the top of Pennard Ridge. You could not look for a more peaceful scene – Why not get these great men who think [?] to look at something like this.
Yours ever, Littleton’
‘Corbenic, West Pennard, Glastonbury, Somerset, 10 December 1950.
My dear Thomper
I thank you for your letter: I am sending the ‘Duffers Jubilee’ to my old brother; I think it will interest him for HRK [Henry Robinson King] meant more to him than any other master excepting I think old Wildman.
Now I am very grateful to you for your advice about the Prize Poems Summary, and I am sending it to you. It would be a help to me to have you as my representative: but, if you think it too long or too dull (JCP says it isn’t) send it back to me. But I can’t help thinking it is of some value. I notice the principal quotations only 2 of them are from poems of boys in your house. Raper and Cornwell [David Cornwell] – What news of Michael [Michell] Raper?
Yours ever, Littleton Powys’
‘Stronghold, West Pennard, Glastonbury, Somerset, 21 February 1952.
My dear Thomper,
Thank you for sending me once again your Duffers’ Programme for the Term. You have a high standard in your papers: the paper I should like to listen to most is Peter Currie on Montaigne. His is a human philosophy I can understand and appreciate. Spinoza is too mathematical for me, Ibsen is too depressing, but for all that I expect they will be interesting to others. The Philosophy of Dictatorship is a first rate subject for a paper & the Duffers should benefit greatly by it which is the object of the Society.
I have this morning had a letter from J.H. Weatherhead – ex prize poet he is studying at Blackfriars for the Priesthood in the RC Church. He had reviewed Elizabeth’s Letters for the Blackfriars Magazine which he sent me and he also sent 3 poems and I thought them jolly good. It is such a pleasure to one keeping in touch with so many of these Prize Poets – though I have lost sight of the poet who wrote the best poem of all Michael [Michell] Raper – I saw him I think it was 3 years ago, is he all right? My love to you & Barbara. I’ve not forgotten the day you brought her to the Blackhorse!
I live in my chair but happily; as my book has given me a great deal of correspondence.
Yours ever, Littleton’
Biographical notes on the boys who submitted poems for the English Verse Prize 1938-1949:
Colin Penrose ANGWIN (b.1932) (Lyon 1945-50)
In 1948 Angwin submitted a poem, described by Littleton Powys as ‘rather a heavy poem, on the death of Gandhi.’ In 1949 Angwin won the English Verse Prize for ‘The First Evening’, described by Littleton Powys as ‘a very exciting original poem, somewhat Miltonic in thought in going back to the beginning of things, to the daughters of the Gods, and the sons of Gods and mortal women, mighty giants. It was not written in Milton’s blank verse but in a series of Shakespearian Sonnets, a metre not very suitable, but he used it well.’ John Cowper Powys wrote: ‘Let me add, though of course in these things a critic’s personal taste governs his feelings, that for me the two outstanding poems, I will not say poets, for there who can predict? (and all these poets change so quickly that the problem transcends prediction as well as adjudication) of these ten years are Raper’s ‘The River Parrett’ and Angwin’s ‘First Evening’.’ In 1950 Angwin won the English Verse Prize for his poem ‘Sherborne’.
Colin Angwin went on to study at Pembroke College, Cambridge, and later qualified as a Barrister.
John Anthony Charles ARDAGH (1928-2008) (Abbey 1942-46)
Won the English Verse Prize in 1944 for ‘Home’ and in 1946 for ‘Autumn. An Imaginative Ode in Five Parts’, which Littleton Powys described ‘as facile princeps.’ The author Elizabeth Myers, who was married to Littleton Powys, thought so highly of Ardagh’s poem ‘Home’ that she sent it to Poetry Review with an introduction written by herself.
John Ardagh went on to study at Worcester College, Oxford. He was correspondent for The Times (1953-1959) and The Observer (1960-1965). He was an author, a freelance journalist, broadcaster, and lecturer.
Michael Anthony BATE (1925-1996) (School 1938-1943)
Won the English Verse Prize in 1943 for his poem ‘The New World’.
During the Second World War Michael Bate served as a Lieutenant with the Royal Engineers. He went on to study at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge and became a schoolmaster.
John Graham Swinton BIRAM (b.1922) (Harper 1936-40)
In 1940, on J.C. Powys’s recommendation, Biram was awarded a praemium extra ordinem for his poem ‘Spring, 1940’. Described by Littleton Powys as ‘the swing to the left, by which I mean to experimental verse without form and often obscure, had not been pronounced, J.G. Biram and J.M. Wigglesworth being the two principal exponents, both of whom were highly intelligent boys, and there had been one or two writers of free verse, including the 1948 winner.’
John Biram went on to study at UCL and became a radio engineer. During the Second World War he served as an Experimental Assistant in the Admiralty.
William Simon BLACKSHAW (1930-2016) (Westcott 1944-49)
Submitted poems in 1948 and 1949 described by Littleton Powys ‘with light rhyming poems somewhat 17th century in style.’
William Blackshaw went on to study at Hertford College, Oxford. He then went to teach at Repton School (1955-71) and was Headmaster at Brighton (1971-85). He was Chairman of the Bankside Gallery and an Honorary Member of the Royal Watercolour Society.
Barry Irwin BLAKE (1929-1997) (Abbeylands 1943-47)
Competed for the English Verse Prize in 1945, 1946 and 1947. Described by Littleton Powys as ‘a boy with a remarkable gift for musical verse who competed but he never quite won the prize.’
Barry Blake went on to study at Wadham College, Oxford. He taught at St Edmund’s, Canterbury (1952-90).
Richard Henry Kingdon CARLESS (1929-1998) (School 1943-47)
Won the English Verse Prize in 1947 for ‘Nostalgia’ which, according to Littleton Powys, ‘was not only full of poetic ideas but also showed a mastery of metre and rhyme.’
After National Service in the Intelligence Corps, Richard Carless went on to study at Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He later taught at Bristol Polytechnic, was Vice-Chair of the Danilo Dolci Trust, and an author.
David John Moore CORNWELL (1931-2020) (Westcott 1945-48)
Won the English Verse Prize in 1948 for his poem ‘The Dream of the Deserted Island’ which was written in free verse. Littleton Powys said ‘It showed great imagination and was full of pleasing poetic imagery. It was a joy to read with its musical rhythm and mastery of vowel sound’, it was part of ‘the swing to the left, by which I mean to experimental verse without form and often obscure, had not been pronounced, J.G. Biram and J.M. Wigglesworth being the two principal exponents, both of whom were highly intelligent boys, and there had been one or two writers of free verse, including the 1948 winner.’ David Cornwell, J.M. Gelsthorpe, W.S. Blackshaw, J.P. Oakley, G.H. Hallsmith and C.P. Angwin wrote a letter that was published in The Shirburnian (Summer 1948) asking for the criteria of the English Verse Prize to be expanded to include free verse: ‘We feel it is a tragedy that we should be censured for writing free verse for the prize poem competition, and that in future, without exception, only poems in the conventional forms of rhyme and metre ought to be entered. Poetry is an expression of thoughts that cannot always be contained by feet and regularity, and it is an injustice to a poet to force his hand, and demand that he write in a traditional style. The future poets of Sherborne should be allowed and encouraged to express themselves in the form that their thoughts demand, and remain unfettered by the necessity of subjecting them to a style that is both incongruous with, and unsuited for, modern ideas.’
David Cornwell went on to study at Bern University in Switzerland and at Lincoln College, Oxford. He taught at Eton College (1956-58) before joining HM Foreign Service (1960-64). He is an author who, under his pen name John le Carré, has published over eighteen novels, many of which have been adapted for film and TV.
Michael John Francis COURTENAY (b.1923) (Harper 1936-41).
According to Littleton Powys, Michael Courtenay ‘always had a difficulty in versification, but was full of poetry. He was a thinker and the problems of life played a great part in his mind.’
Michael Courtenay went on to study at Clare College, Cambridge. During the Second World War he served as a Captain in the Royal Engineers. He was awarded MB, BChir, and FRCGP by St Thomas’s Hospital and worked as a GP in Battersea (1952-88). He served as Senior Medical Adviser to the Council for Church’s Ministry and was Senior Research Fellow on the United Medical and Dental School.
Stanley John Harper DURNFORD (1920-1995) (School 1934-38)
Won the English Verse Prize in 1936, 1937 and 1938.
John Durnford went on to study at Trinity Hall, Cambridge. During the Second World War he joined the Royal Artillery and was seconded to the Lanarkshire Yeomanry. He was captured by the Japanese and held as a Prisoner of War from February 1942 to August 1945, during which time he was forced to work on building the railway over the River Kwai. During his three year ordeal he managed to write poems, mostly at night by the light of a lamp made from a tin filled with coconut oil: these poems were later published in two volumes, Immortal Diamond (1975) and A Form of Consolation. Poems, 1942-1945 (1984). After the war he obtained a Regular Commission in the Royal Artillery and later joined the Air Observation Post Squadron as a Flight Officer. He was invalided from the Army in 1953 and went on to teach at a school in Bristol. He was an author and a poet.
John Michael GELSTHORPE (1932-2009) (The Green 1945-50)
In 1948 Gelsthorpe submitted a poem which Littleton Powys said ‘gave a glimpse of his thinking mind. In 1949 he submitted a poem described by Littleton Powys as ‘full of thought dealing with Present, Past and Future; he called it ‘A Journey through Time’ and it consisted of three sonnets, again Shakespearian, with the titles (1) The Traveller, (2) The Road Behind, (3) The Road Ahead.’
John Gelsthorpe went on to study at Balliol College, Oxford. He served as a Captain in the RAEC before becoming a schoolmaster, and an Examiner in English.
Prosser GIFFORD (b.1929) (The Green 1946-47)
Submitted a poem in 1947 which was described by Littleton Powys as ‘a thoughtful poem of philosophical character entitled ‘The Other Eden’.’
Prosser Gifford went on to study at Yale University; as a Rhodes Scholar at Merton College, Oxford; and at Harvard Law School. He was Professor and Dean of the History Faculty at Amherst College (1967-79), Deputy Director of the Wilson International Center for Scholars (1980-88), Director of Scholarly Programmes at the Library of Congress (1990-2005), and edited volumes on African history, US foreign policy and French culture.
Timothy George KIRKBRIDE (1931-2015) (Abbeylands 1945-49)
Submitted a poem in 1949.
Timothy Kirkbride went on to study at Magdalene College, Cambridge. He worked in sales for Dunlop Rubber Co., India, and for Johnson Firth Brown, where he became Chairman and later Director of the Non-Ferrous Division.
Martin Cleeves LLEWELLIN (b.1930) (Harper 1944-48)
Submitted a poem in 1947 which Littleton Powys described as ‘a daring poem called, ‘A Suite for Easter’ by, the subject being really too great a one for so young a poet.’
Martin Llewellin went on to study at Caius College, Cambridge.
Ian Gordon MANNING (1925-2001) (School 1939-1943)
Submitted a poem in 1943 on the subject of ‘The New World’. Littleton Powys wrote that Manning ‘is now in a Cavalry Regiment but has found time now and again to send me poems.’
Ian Manning joined the Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards and retired as a Major in 1965.
Michael William McCRUM (1924-2005) (Abbey 1937-42)
Won the English Verse Prize in 1940 with ‘Spring’. Described by Littleton Powys as ‘a Classical Scholar and a master of metre’ whose poem was ‘inspired by his lovely Devonshire home’. He won the prize again in 1941 with his poem ‘The Air – A Dream’. In 1942 McCrum sent in what Littleton Powys described as ‘a really excellent poem written in the Scholar Gypsy metre which gave me [Littleton Powys] great pleasure.’
Michael McCrum went on to study at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. During the Second World War he served as a Sub-Lieutenant in the RNVR, after which he taught at Rugby School (1948-50). He was a Fellow and Tutor of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge (1950-62), Headmaster of Tonbridge (1962-70) and of Eton (1970-80), Master of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge (1980-94), and Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University (1987-89).
Julian Phelps OAKLEY (b. 1930) (The Green 1944-49)
Submitted a poem in 1948 inspired by his love of the Isle of Purbeck.
Julian Oakley went on to study at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, and the University of Wales, Cardiff. He worked for Oakley Bros., Agricultural Merchants (1954-74), was Senior Industrial Relations Officer with ACAS (1977-82),and Principal Finance Officer for the Dept. of Employment (1982-90).
Gerald Sydney Philip PEACOCKE (b.1931) (The Green 1945-50)
Submitted a poem in 1949 called ‘Wanderlust’.
After National Service in the Intelligence Corps, Gerald Peacocke went on to study at Trinity College Oxford and at the Hertfordshire College of Art & Design. He taught at Eton before joining the British Council (Turkey and Sudan 1957-62). He then taught at King’s, Canterbury, and was Headmaster at Betteshanger (1971-77) and at King’s College School, Cambridge (1977-93). He was manager at Eton Music Schools (1993-99) and a part-time tutor at Oxford University.
Godfrey Michell Hamilton RAPER (1926-1995) (Westcott 1940-45)
Won the English Verse Prize in 1942 (aged 15) with his poem ‘The River’. John Cowper Powys wrote of the poem: ‘The interesting psychological thing is the fact that he allows not the slightest flicker of the war to show itself. Though the pillars of the earth shake, though the walls thereof reel and rock, our Sherborne poet will lose his own identity in the life of the river Parrett and turn that life into memorable beauty… Let me add, though of course in these things a critic’s personal taste governs his feelings, that for me the two outstanding poems, I will not say poets, for there who can predict? (and all these poets change so quickly that the problem transcends prediction as well as adjudication) of these ten years are Raper’s ‘The River Parrett’ and Angwin’s ‘First Evening’.’ In 1943 Raper submitted a poem entitled ‘The New World’ but, according to Littleton Powys ‘something seemed to have gone wrong with him, and although his versification was corrected, he had become self-conscious and stilted.’
After National Service in Palestine, Michell Raper went on to study at Oriel College, Oxford. He worked as a broadcaster and producer with BBC TV and Radio.
Read: Raper’s account of being invited in July 1942 to visit Littleton Powys to discuss his winning prize poem, ‘The River’.
Timothy John Godfrey ROGERS (1927-2006) (Abbeylands 1940-45)
Submitted a poem in 1944 on ‘Home’ which, according to Littleton Powys, ‘was an excellent one and who made no doubt about winning the Prize in 1945 with a poem on ‘Childhood’. Rogers on leaving school went straight into the army, but he kept his love of poetry alive.’
Timothy Raper went on to study at King’s College, Cambridge. He was headmaster of Bosworth College, Leicestershire (1965-84), and wrote books about Rupert Brooke and Georgian Poetry.
John Hugh George TERRY (1933-1962) (Lyon 1946-51)
In 1948 he came second to David Cornwell with a poem he had written before he was fifteen. According to Littleton Powys ‘the progress of this boy has been rather checked by his love of introducing strange words and phrases into his verse in imitation of some modern poets; but his love of poetry and literature is genuine and eventually he will do well.’ He submitted another poem in 1949, described by Littleton Powys as ‘a difficult one.’
John Terry went on to study at Jesus College, Cambridge.
Henry Lewis WATSON (1921-1942) (Abbey 1935-1940)
Submitted a poem in 1942 on ‘The River’. Littleton Powys said he came to know Watson very intimately and admired his character greatly, saying ‘it was he who introduced me to Mary Webb’s ‘Spring of Joy’. He left his copy with me to be mine, should he not return.’
Henry Watson served in the second world war as a Lieutenant in the King’s Royal Rifle Corps and was killed in action at Ajdabiya, Libya on 27 November 1942, aged 21. He was buried at Benghazi War Cemetery, Libya, where the inscription on his headstone reads: ‘I SAW THE POWERS OF DARKNESS PUT TO FLIGHT, I SAW THE MORNING BREAK.’
Christopher Paul Wyeth WARREN (1924-1945) (Abbey 1938-1942)
Submitted a poem in 1942 on ‘The River’.
During the Second World War Christopher Warren served as a Flying Officer in 9 Squadron, RAFVR. He was killed in action on 8 April 1945, aged 20, when his Avro Lancaster Mk 1 bomber was hit by anti-aircraft fire when returning from bombing an oil refinery at Lützkendorf, Germany. He was buried at the British Military Cemetery, Heerstrasse, Berlin, where the inscription on his headstone reads: ‘NOT GIVEN IN VAIN, THESE GALLANT LIVES, NOT LOST, BUT LIVING UNTO THEE’. In 1947, the Christopher Warren Prize for English Literature was founded at Sherborne School by Christopher’s father. The intention of the prize was to foster an interest in English Literature among boys in the Middle and Lower Forms and consisted of a first and second prize awarded each year at Commemoration for the best piece of original English composition in verse or in prose submitted by boys in the Middle or Lower School.
Andrew Johnston WEATHERHEAD (1920-1976) (Abbeylands 1933-39)
Won the English Verse Prize in 1939 with a poem about ‘The Sun’. According to Littleton Powys, Weatherhead continued to write poetry during the Second World War whilst serving in India and sent Littleton Powys a poem praying that Abbot Whiting the Martyr guard Somerset for him until his return.
Andrew Weatherhead went on to study at Clare College, Cambridge, and during the Second World War served as a Captain in the Royal Signals. In 1946 he joined the Dominican Order.
John Michael WIGGLESWORTH (1929-2002) (The Green 1942-47)
Submitted a poem in 1947 that Littleton Powys described as ‘a brilliant poem of the modern type. He had competed the year before and offered a poem without form or metre, but in 1947 year his style seemed to suit his subject, ‘Shipwreck’, and the poem was full of dramatic effect.’ Littleton Powys described his poetry ‘as the swing to the left, by which I mean to experimental verse without form and often obscure, had not been pronounced, J.G. Biram and J.M. Wigglesworth being the two principal exponents, both of whom were highly intelligent boys, and there had been one or two writers of free verse, including the 1948 winner [David Cornwell].’
James Wigglesworth went on to work for the Public Works Dept. in Hong Kong.
See also:
The Powys Family and Sherborne School
An insight into the Powys family through the diaries of Henry Robinson King
David John Moore Cornwell (1931-2020) (John le Carré)
For further information about the Sherborne School Archives please contact the School Archivist.
Return to the School Archives homepage.