Thursday 30 July 2015

Enid Blyton (1897 - 1968) - British

ENID BLYTON (1897 – 1968) - BRITISH

It is always a pleasure to receive feedback about my weblog.  This morning came an e-mail from a gentleman called Cliff Watkins who brought my attention to the fact that the dates on my earlier post speculating as to whether Enid Blyton wrote any poetry during the First World War, are slightly incorrect.  Many thanks Indeed Cliff.

Although the 1901 Census lists Enid Blyton as ‘born in 1898’, she was in fact born in Dulwich on 11th August 1897.   It seems that Enid did write poetry during the First World War.  If you scroll down the excellent website of the Heritage Group in Beckenham (Kent, UK), you will find a school photograph taken in around 1914 showing what Enid looked like at that time.  You will also see that the trio of poems written by Enid and first published in ‘Nash’s Magazine’ during the First World War has been set to music by Gordon Carr.  These were performed on 9th March 2013 in St. George’s Church, Beckenham.

Nash’s Magazine was a British Literary Magazine, which merged in 1914 to form ‘Nash’s Pall Mall Magazine’ https://library.mcmaster.ca/archives/findaids/fonds/n/nashs.htm

Enid completed her secondary schooling in 1915 and enrolled the following year on a teacher’s training course, which she completed in December 1918.


There is also an Enid Blyton Society – see www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk

Enid Blyton’s work is still in copyright so I am unfortunately unable to give you examples of the poems she wrote at the time of WW1.

Saturday 4 July 2015

Event celebrating the life and work of Winifred Holtby, Hull, 19th September 2015

CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF WINIFRED HOLTBY

 
A one day event celebrating the life of Winifred Holtby will be held on Saturday, 19th September 2015 from 10 am till 4 pm at Hull History Centre, Worship Street, Hull, HU2 8GB (UK).  £20 per person.

The day will include exhibitions by Hull History Centre and Somerville College, Oxford and the duo The Hull to Scarborough Line will perform Take Back your Freedom – the Life and Times of Winifred Holtby. Rudston Tourist Office is involved with plans for a tour of some Winifred Holtby related locations.

If sufficient interest is shown, the Winifred Holtby Association may be relaunched.

For further information and to register, please contact the organiser Gill Fildes on corbinhwood@talktalk.net