James Donald Farrar (5 October 1923 – 26 July 1944) was an English poet.

Biography

Farrar was born on 5 October 1923 in London, the second son of Donald Frederic Farrar (1897–1982), a former

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

supply pilot, and Mabel Margaret Farrar, née Hadgraft (1896–1985). He lived in

Carshalton Carshalton () is a town, with a historic village centre, in south London, England, within the London Borough of Sutton. It is situated south-southwest of Charing Cross, in the valley of the River Wandle, one of the sources of which is Carshalton ...

, a small village in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, England. He attended the local grammar school,

Sutton Grammar School Sutton Grammar School (formerly Sutton Grammar School for Boys) is a selective state grammar school for boys aged 11-18 with a Mixed-sex education, coeducational sixth form. Located in South London, the school's main site is in Sutton, London, ...

, before working in London. He was the younger brother of the aeronautical engineer David J. Farrar – references to David appear throughout his published writings – and first cousin of

Stewart Farrar Frank Stewart Farrar (28 June 1916 – 7 February 2000) was an English screenwriter, novelist and prominent figure in the Neopagan religion of Wicca, which he devoted much of his later life to propagating with the aid of his seventh wife, ...

. As Farrar had volunteered for the RAF, he was called up in February, 1942 and received his commission as Pilot Officer the following year, serving as a flight navigator of a

de Havilland Mosquito The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, shoulder-winged, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the Second World War. Unusual in that its frame was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden Wonder", or ...

with 68 Squadron. On the night of 25–26 July 1944, Farrar and his pilot

Flight Lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...

Frederick John Kemp, on an anti-diver patrol over the

Thames Estuary The Thames Estuary is where the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea, in the south-east of Great Britain. Limits An estuary can be defined according to different criteria (e.g. tidal, geographical, navigational or in terms of salini ...

, attempted to intercept a

V-1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb (german: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Ministry of Aviation (Nazi Germany), Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buz ...

over the

Thames River The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

. The aircraft was destroyed during this action, killing Kemp and Farrar in the process. Farrar's body has not been recovered.

Literary achievements

James Farrar's collection of poetry and prose was published in 1950 in an anthology entitled, "The Unreturning Spring", edited by

Henry Williamson Henry William Williamson (1 December 1895 – 13 August 1977) was an English writer who wrote novels concerned with wildlife, English social history and ruralism. He was awarded the Hawthornden Prize for literature in 1928 for his book ''Tarka ...

. An abridged version, "Spring Returning" edited by

Christopher Palmer Christopher Francis Palmer (9 September 194622 January 1995) was an English composer, arranger and orchestrator; biographer of composers, champion of lesser-known composers and writer on film music and other musical subjects; record producer; and ...

, was published in 1986. Seven poems from "The Unreturning Spring" were set to music in 1965 by

Trevor Hold Trevor Hold (21 September 1939 – 28 January 2004) was an English composer, poet and author, best known for his song cycles, many of them setting his own poetry. Biography Born in Northampton, Hold suffered an attack of polio at the age of seven, ...

as a song cycle for soprano, baritone and chamber orchestra. His life has also been documented by Alwyn Trubshaw, Farrar's former English teacher from Sutton Grammar School. Trubshaw has been quoted as saying, "I say taught English, but it would be truer to say I taught English in his presence only. He had no need of my teaching. He was a natural born writer."Lost genius rediscovered in the suburb he immortalised
, Your Local Guardian, 29 November 2007 More recently, the Autumn of 2008 heralded a resurgence of interest in James Farrar, with a public performance of his writings taking place at The Charles Cryer Theatre, in Surrey; and re-publication of "The Unreturning Spring".

References

*Farrar, J. (1950)''The Unreturning Spring'', Williams & Norgate Ltd, London. Re-published Oct 2008 by Friends of Honeywood Museum *Trubshaw, A. ''James Farrar: An Appreciation'' *Bennetts, Ben
Portrait of the artist as a young introvert

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farrar, James 1923 births 1944 deaths Royal Air Force officers Royal Air Force personnel killed in World War II Writers from London People from Surrey (before 1965) People educated at Sutton Grammar School 20th-century English poets English male poets 20th-century English male writers Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1944 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in England