Stewart Montagu Cleeve (20 October 1894 – 5 January 1993) was a professional soldier who later in life was an enthusiastic music teacher who assisted in the revival of the

viola d'amore The viola d'amore (; Italian for "viol of love") is a 7- or 6- stringed musical instrument with sympathetic strings used chiefly in the baroque period. It is played under the chin in the same manner as the violin. Structure and sound The viol ...

. Born in Southsea in Hampshire, he went to the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers of the Royal Corps of Sig ...

and commissioned into the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

. During the First World War, he became involved in super heavy artillery (see

BL 14 inch Railway Gun Ordnance BL 14-inch gun on truck, railway were 2 British 14-inch Mk IIIMk III = Mark 3. Britain used Roman numerals to denote Marks (i.e. models) of ordnance. Hence these were the third model of 14-inch gun in British service. naval guns mounted ...

) and was reputedly recalled to Dover in the Second World War on Churchill's instructions to help reassemble the same guns when they were deployed for coastal defence. After 1946, when he had retired from the army, he dedicated himself to music; especially the violin which he taught enthusiastically to many generations of London schoolboys. In later life, Cleeve helped with the revival of the

and he formed, with others, the Viola d'Amore Society with the composer

Frank Merrick Frank Merrick CBE (1886–1981) was an English pianist and composer in the early 20th century.Obituary, ''The Times'', 21 February 1981, p. 14 Life Merrick was born in Clifton, Bristol, Clifton, now part of Bristol, the son of musical parents.Me ...

as their first president (Ian White took over the Society in 1991). In 1967, Cleeve attended a class run by Maurice Bouette and made his first reproduction. He made several improvements to increase the volume and assist tuning to meet the demands of modern music, increasing the strings to 18. Through the Viola d'Amore Society he gave concerts, commissioned works from contemporary composers and edited some 400 himself.

References

External links

Imperial War Museum Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cleeve, Montagu 1894 births 1993 deaths English musical instrument makers People from Southsea 20th-century English businesspeople Military personnel from Portsmouth Royal Artillery officers Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich