Roy Beddington
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Roy Beddington (16 June 1910 – 31 May 1995) was a British
painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...
,
illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...
,
fisherman A fisher or fisherman is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishers may be professional or recreati ...
,
poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...
, writer on fishing, and journalist. As an artist he was known for his
watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...
s, with his first one-man shows being at Grafton and Walker's galleries in London in the 1930s. He continued to exhibit in shows for decades, with his last show exhibiting just shortly before he died in 1995 at 84 years old. In the mid 1930s he illustrated three books for Irish author Stephen Gwynn, mostly with a fishing theme. His work was part of the painting event in the art competition at the
1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...
. As an author, Beddington published a novel, a children's book, a biographical book on a yellow Labrador, two volumes of poetry, and a book on fishing. He also worked for many years as a journalist for '' Country Life''; notably penning a regular column on fishing while occasionally contributing stories on other topics to the magazine. His column and other stories often included his art work in addition to his writing.


Early life and education

Born into a prominent Jewish family in Paddington, London, Beddington was the son of
Reginald Beddington Reginald Beddington (15 August 1877''1939 England and Wales Register'' – 11 March 1962) was an English angler and humanitarian. Beddington was born in Paddington, London, and educated at Rugby School and Corpus Christi College, Oxford. He ...
; a well known fisherman in the United Kingdom who served terms as President of both the Freshwater Biological Association and National Association of Fishery Boards. His mother was the sister of the British philanthropist
Basil Henriques Sir Basil Lucas Quixano Henriques (17 October 1890 – 2 December 1961) was a British philanthropist of Portuguese Jewish origins, concentrating his work in the East End of London during the first half of the 20th century. Education From a pr ...
, and herself a talented
angler Angler may refer to: * A fisherman who uses the fishing technique of angling * ''Angler'' (video game) * The angler, ''Lophius piscatorius'', a monkfish * More generally, any anglerfish in the order Lophiiformes * '' Angler: The Cheney Vice Presi ...
who at one time was a record holder for the catching of salmon. He attended Lockers Park School in Hertfordshire before moving onto
Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...
where he experienced
antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
from some of the staff and students; often being teased about the family's historically Jewish surname, Moses, which had been altered generations earlier to avoid persecution. While there, he found solace in his art and spent considerable amounts of his time in the art room. The British philosopher and historian and fellow Jew
Isaiah Berlin Sir Isaiah Berlin (6 June 1909 – 5 November 1997) was a Russian-British social and political theorist, philosopher, and historian of ideas. Although he became increasingly averse to writing for publication, his improvised lectures and talks ...
later befriended Beddington when they were both students at
Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517, it is the 12th ...
, and he wrote the following about Beddington's experience at Rugby:
There was perhaps not a very nice teacher at Rugby where Roy Beddington was, who used to say to the boys, 'And the Lord said unto Moses, good morning, Mister Beddington.' I felt very sorry for Roy Beddington, but I never thought something like that could happen to me.
Beddington's father wanted his son to become an accountant; having secured him a place in that capacity with the
Mazawattee Tea Company The Mazawattee Tea Company, founded in 1887 by the Densham family, was one of the most important and most advertised tea firms in Britain during the late 19th century. Traditionally the origin of tea-drinking lies in China and the famous Tea Clip ...
. However, at Corpus Christi College he studied law and he pursued private studies in art with Bernard Adams. After graduating with a degree in law, he matriculated to the
Slade School of Fine Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...
where he was a pupil of
Randolph Schwabe Randolph Schwabe (9 May 1885 – 19 September 1948) was a British draughtsman, painter and etcher who was the Slade Professor of Fine Art at University College London from 1930 until his death. He served as a war artist in both World Wars, crea ...
and Karl Hagedorn.


Career

Beddington began his career as an artist in London in the 1930s; initially aided by his former teacher Bernard Adams and
Arnold Henry Mason Arnold Henry Mason (20 March 1885 - 17 November 1963) was a British portrait painter of the twentieth century. Early life and education Mason was born at Birkenhead, Cheshire, United Kingdom. He studied at the Macclesfield School of Art, the ...
, a Chelsea-based painter. The two men helped Beddington build connections with the artist community in that city; with initial presentations of his art in group shows. He met the publisher Noel Carrington, who had a profound impact on his career. Carrington was a publisher with '' Country Life'' who was in charge of the book publishing division of that organization. Drawn to Beddington's watercolours, he approached the artist about working for ''Country Life'' as an illustrator. He also assisted Beddington in other projects; including setting him up with his first one-man art shows at the London galleries of Ackermann, Grafton, and Walker. Beddington continued to exhibit his watercolours in shows for the next six decades, with his last show being in 1995 when he was 84 years old. He notably competed in the painting event of the art competition at the
1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...
. Many of his watercolours reflect his interest in fishing, and he once wrote:
The trouble is, one always wants to fish when one is painting and paint when one is fishing... When one is fishing down a pool, the light suddenly changes and a perfect picture reveals itself. At such a moment I have to make up my mind whether to go on fishing or to take up my paints.
In the mid 1930s Beddington illustrated three books with Irish author Stephen Gwynn: ''The Happy Fisherman'' (1936), ''From River to River'' (1937), and ''Two in a Valley'' (1938). All of these books had connections to fish and fishing, and it was Noel Carrington who had brought Beddington and Gwynn together as a team. In a review in ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' of the latter work, critic Gilbert Thomas wrote:
'Two in a Valley'—a handsome quarto—is the sketch-book of a successfully 'atmospheric' artist in black and white. Mr. Gwynn's accompanying letterpress, setting down the impressions of a comparative stranger in the Coln Valley, is slight, and sometimes, quite irrelevantly, he follows a red herring—or more precisely a trout! But even when most discursive he is good company... He brings both freshness and penetration of observation to the Cotswold scene, where as much as anywhere on our island, the works of Nature and man are one.
In addition to his work with Gwynn, Beddington also illustrated
Anthony Crossley Anthony Crommelin Crossley (13 August 1903 – 15 August 1939) was a British writer, publisher and Conservative politician. Early life Crossley was born on 13 August 1903, the only son of Sir Kenneth Irwin Crossley, 2nd Baronet. His father w ...
's ''The Floating Line for Salmon and Sea Trout'' (1939). At this point, he began to branch out into writing as well as painting after being encouraged by Gwynn to pursue writing as a career. He began working for ''Country Life'' as a columnist and wrote and illustrated the children's book ''The Adventures of Thomas Trout'' (1939). In 1955 he published ''To Be a Fisherman''; a work about the experiences of being an
angler Angler may refer to: * A fisherman who uses the fishing technique of angling * ''Angler'' (video game) * The angler, ''Lophius piscatorius'', a monkfish * More generally, any anglerfish in the order Lophiiformes * '' Angler: The Cheney Vice Presi ...
. In 1957 his children's novel, ''The Pigeon and the Boy'', was published by
Geoffrey Bles David Geoffrey Bles (1886–1957) was a British publisher, with a reputation for spotting new talent. He started his eponymous publishing firm in London in 1923 and published the first five books of C.S. Lewis' ''Narnia'' series. Early life Ble ...
. The work tells the story of a boy from a small English village who is taught how to train racing pigeons by his father. He grows up and becomes a young soldier in the British Army in France during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. He uses his talent with pigeons from his childhood to aid in the war against the Nazis; ultimately using his own pigeon to send a critical message across the
English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
. His third and final book, ''Pindar: a dog to remember'' (1975), was described by James Fergusson in ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' as "a remarkably unselfconscious biography of a yellow labrador". He also published two volumes of poetry.


Personal life and death

Beddington served in the
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, specializing in anti-aircraft work. He was discharged after being injured, after which he worked for the
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries may refer to one of several national organisations: * Danish Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, formerly the ''Ministry of Agriculture and Fishing'' * Ministry of Agriculture (France) * Ministry o ...
. He was involved with national policy making with Britain's Salmon & Trout Association and was a chairman of the Fisheries Committee's Hampshire River Board. In 1952 he married Anna Griffith with whom he had two daughters. The couple divorced after seven years of marriage, and he married a second time in 1961 to Diana Dobson with whom he had another daughter. Beddington died on 31 May 1995 at the age of 84 in
Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...
,
Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beddington, Roy 1910 births 1995 deaths 20th-century British painters Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art British children's writers 20th-century British journalists 20th-century British novelists British male painters 20th-century British poets Olympic competitors in art competitions People from Paddington Writers from London People educated at Rugby School British Army personnel of World War II British fishers English illustrators Angling writers 20th-century British male artists