Geoffrey Matheson Gwyther (8 October 1892 – 27 July 1944) was an English singer, actor, songwriter, and composer. Gwyther was educated at

Gresham's School Gresham's School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent Day school, day and boarding school) in Holt, Norfolk, Holt, Norfolk, England, one of the top thirty International Bac ...

Holt Holt or holte may refer to: Natural world *Holt (den), an otter den * Holt, an area of woodland Places Australia * Holt, Australian Capital Territory * Division of Holt, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives in Vic ...

, where he was taught by Geoffrey Shaw and took delight in the music of

Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer. Purcell's style of Baroque music was uniquely English, although it incorporated Italian and French elements. Generally considered among the greatest E ...

. From there, in 1910 he went on to

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

. In 1913, as a prelude to the musical ''Cupid in Clapham'', there was a performance in the West End of his setting of

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...

's '' Songs of Innocence''. This was later performed at Gwyther's old school, under the direction of Shaw, and was well received. On 3 October 1914, soon after the beginning of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Gwyther was commissioned into the

Suffolk Regiment The Suffolk Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army with a history dating back to 1685. It saw service for three centuries, participating in many wars and conflicts, including the First and Second World Wars, before bein ...

as a second lieutenant, on probation, the army relying on his years as a cadet in an Officers Training Corps at Gresham's. In March 1915, he was confirmed in that rank. By 1916, he had been promoted to lieutenant, and from April to June of that year had a temporary appointment as an instructor. In 1917, he was still serving with his regiment in France,Nathan Waring, "Gresham's", Chapter 4 in Bernarr Rainbow, Andrew Morris, ''Music in Independent Schools'' (2014)
p. 270
/ref> now with the rank of Captain, but on 9 May 1917 was transferred to the retired list, due to ill health. On returning to civilian life, and in the years after the war, Gwyther became a successful singer and songwriter, singing in

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

and also making appearances as an actor. In 1929, he played Kenneth McKay in the

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

Red Aces ''Red Aces'' is a 1930 British silent crime film directed by Edgar Wallace and starring Janice Adair, Muriel Angelus and Nigel Bruce. It was adapted by Wallace from one of his own novels, ''Red Aces'' (1929), featuring the character of J.G. Ree ...

'', directed by Edgar Wallace. Gwyther died on 27 June 1944 at the

Bryn Mawr Hospital Bryn Mawr Hospital, part of Main Line Health, is a 264-bed acute care hospital located in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1893, Bryn Mawr Hospital has been named among ''U.S. News & World Report’s'' Best Hospitals in the Philadelphia region ...

in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, following a heart attack. His obituary in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' noted that he had been wounded in the First World War."CAPT. GEOFFREY GWYTHER; English Actor, Composer Was Wounded in 1st World War"
(obituary), ''

'', 28 July 1944, accessed 9 February 2023

Notes

External links

Works by Geoffrey Gwyther
BBC Proms
Geoffrey Gwyther

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gwyther, Geoffrey 1892 births 1944 deaths 20th-century English singers Alumni of New College, Oxford People educated at Gresham's School Suffolk Regiment officers