Louis Charles Richard Duncombe-Jewell (10 September 1866 – 1947), born Louis Charles Richard Jewell, was a soldier, special war correspondent of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' and ''

The Morning Post ''The Morning Post'' was a conservative daily newspaper published in London from 1772 to 1937, when it was acquired by ''The Daily Telegraph''. History The paper was founded by John Bell. According to historian Robert Darnton, ''The Morning Po ...

'', sportsman and sometimes poet. He was a champion of the

Cornish language Cornish (Standard Written Form: or ) , is a Southwestern Brittonic language, Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language family. It is a List of revived languages, revived language, having become Extinct language, extinct as a livin ...

, having been born at

Liskeard Liskeard ( ; kw, Lyskerrys) is a small ancient stannary and market town in south-east Cornwall, South West England. It is situated approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of Plymouth, west of the Devon border, and 12 miles (20 km) eas ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

. He assumed the additional surname Duncombe in accordance with his grandmother's will in 1895. His parents were members of the

Plymouth Brethren The Plymouth Brethren or Assemblies of Brethren are a low church and non-conformist Christian movement whose history can be traced back to Dublin, Ireland, in the mid to late 1820s, where they originated from Anglicanism. The group emphasizes ...

, which when they moved to South London brought him into contact with

Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley (; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pro ...

. The two remained lifelong associates. Duncombe-Jewell lived at Crowley's Scottish residence ' Boleskine' for several years from 1903. He later converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Military service

Formerly a Lieutenant in the 3rd Volunteer Battalion of the

Royal Fusiliers The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881. The regiment served in many wars ...

, he represented ''

'' in Spain during the rumours of an impending

Carlist Carlism ( eu, Karlismo; ca, Carlisme; ; ) is a Traditionalism (Spain), Traditionalist and Legitimists (disambiguation), Legitimist political movement in Spain aimed at establishing an alternative branch of the House of Bourbon, Bourbon dynasty ...

rising in 1898–99, and served as a Special War Correspondent for the ''

Morning Post ''The Morning Post'' was a conservative daily newspaper published in London from 1772 to 1937, when it was acquired by ''The Daily Telegraph''. History The paper was founded by John Bell. According to historian Robert Darnton, ''The Morning Po ...

'' newspaper in South Africa, the same paper that also employed

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

, with the 3rd Division South African Field Force.

Writing career

Duncombe-Jewell was a noted historian, novelist and verse-writer, and made numerous contributions to the ''

Pall Mall Gazette ''The Pall Mall Gazette'' was an evening newspaper founded in London on 7 February 1865 by George Murray Smith; its first editor was Frederick Greenwood. In 1921, '' The Globe'' merged into ''The Pall Mall Gazette'', which itself was absorbed int ...

'', and many other publications of the period. He was editor of ''Armorial Cornwall'', founder and Hon. Sec. Celtic-Cornish Society, and leader of the Cornish Language Movement. He was also an expert in the works of occultist,

who spent some time in Cornwall.

Interest in Cornish Nationalism

During the 1890s, Duncombe-Jewell flirted with the

Neo-Jacobite Revival The Neo-Jacobite Revival was a political movement that took place during the 25 years before the First World War in the United Kingdom. The movement was monarchist, and had the specific aim of replacing British parliamentary democracy with a restor ...

. He wrote a piece on the movement for ''The Albemarle'', which was critical of the more political

Legitimist Jacobite League of Great Britain and Ireland The Legitimist Jacobite League of Great Britain and Ireland was a Jacobite society founded in 1891 by Herbert Vivian, Melville Henry Massue and Ruaraidh Erskine following a split from the earlier Order of the White Rose. The League was consider ...

, but favourable towards the more artistic Order of White Rose. In 1901 he founded the Cornish Celtic Society ( kw, Cowethas Kelto-Kernuak), and at the Pan Celtic Congress of 1901 made a spirited plea for recognition of Cornwall as a

Celtic nation The Celtic nations are a cultural area and collection of geographical regions in Northwestern Europe where the Celtic languages and cultural traits have survived. The term ''nation'' is used in its original sense to mean a people who shar ...

.Koch, John T. ''Celtic Culture''; p. 495 He was a

flamboyant Flamboyant (from ) is a form of late Gothic architecture that developed in Europe in the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance, from around 1375 to the mid-16th century. It is characterized by double curves forming flame-like shapes in the bar-tr ...

individual who appeared at the 1902 Bangor

Eisteddfod In Welsh culture, an ''eisteddfod'' is an institution and festival with several ranked competitions, including in poetry and music. The term ''eisteddfod'', which is formed from the Welsh morphemes: , meaning 'sit', and , meaning 'be', means, a ...

as the Cornish delegate sporting a traditional Cornish costume of his own design. He was made a bard by the Welsh Gorsedd in 1904 and took the

bardic name A bardic name (, ) is a pseudonym used in Wales, Cornwall, or Brittany by poets and other artists, especially those involved in the eisteddfod movement. The Welsh term bardd ("poet") originally referred to the Welsh poets of the Middle Ages, who m ...

of ''Bardd Glas'' (the Blue Bard) because he was clad from his tights to his cap in this colour. Also involved with Cowethas Kelto Kernuak was

Henry Jenner Henry Jenner (8 August 1848 – 8 May 1934) was a British scholar of the Celtic languages, a Cornish cultural activist, and the chief originator of the Cornish language revival. Jenner was born at St Columb Major on 8 August 1848. He was th ...

who later retired to Cornwall following a distinguished career as librarian at the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

. Together with Jenner, he was jointly responsible for Cornwall gaining its acceptance as a Celtic nation by the Pan

Celtic Congress The International Celtic Congress ( br, Ar C'hendalc'h Keltiek, kw, An Guntelles Keltek, gv, Yn Cohaglym Celtiagh, gd, A' Chòmhdhail Cheilteach, ga, An Chomhdháil Cheilteach, cy, Y Gyngres Geltaidd) is a cultural organisation that seeks to ...

of 1904. Later Jenner helped found the

Cornish Gorseth Gorsedh Kernow (Cornish Gorsedd) is a non-political Cornish organisation, based in Cornwall, United Kingdom, which exists to maintain the national Celtic spirit of Cornwall. It is based on the Welsh-based Gorsedd, which was founded by Iolo Morg ...

. The Cowethas Kelto Kernuak organisation petered out, when in 1903, Duncombe Jewell left Cornwall to live at Boleskine near Loch Ness and the colourful and enigmatic Bardd Glas progressively turned his attention away from Cornish Celtic culture to Welsh.

Works

(Some publications under the name Ludovick Charles Richard Duncombe-Jewell or L. C. R. Cameron) *''The Handbook to British Military Stations Abroad'' (1898) *''Otters and Otter-hunting'', L. Upcott Gill, 1908. * ''Wild Foods of Great Britain: where to find and how to cook them'', George Routledge & Sons Ltd, 1917, (1977 reprint) * ''Minor Field Sports'', : London George Routledge & Sons N/D, 1920, (2005 reprint) * ''Rod, Pole & Perch: Fishing & Otter Hunting Sketches'', Martin Hopkinson & Company, London, 1928, (2006 reprint) * ''Love-Lies-Bleeding'': lyrics in Old French verse-forms (1929) * ''The Lady of the Leash: A Sporting Novel.'', London, Lincoln Williams, 1935 * ''The Hunting Horn: What to Blow and How to Blow it'', London, Kohler & Son N/D

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duncombe-Jewell, L. C. R. 1866 births 1947 deaths Bards of Gorsedh Kernow Bards of the Gorsedd Writers from Cornwall Cornish nationalists British war correspondents British Plymouth Brethren People from Liskeard Royal Fusiliers officers Celtic studies scholars Cornish-speaking people Neo-Jacobite Revival