Samuel Gorley Putt (9 June 1913 – 24 April 1995), was a British academic, author and stood as a

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

candidate, but failed to win a seat, at the 1945 General Election. He actively discouraged people from using his first name, Samuel, and was known as simply Gorley Putt.

Early life and education

He was the son of Poole Putt and Ellen Blake Gorley of

Brixham Brixham is a coastal town and civil parish, the smallest and southernmost of the three main population centres (the others being Paignton and Torquay) on the coast of Torbay in the county of Devon, in the south-west of England. Commercial fis ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

. His father was killed in 1918 during the First World War when his ship was torpedoed. He was educated at Torquay Grammar School and in 1930 won a scholarship to

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 170 graduate students. The college was founded by William Byngham in 1437 as ...

where he received a First Class Honours in both parts of the English

tripos At the University of Cambridge, a Tripos (, plural 'Triposes') is any of the examinations that qualify an undergraduate for a bachelor's degree or the courses taken by a student to prepare for these. For example, an undergraduate studying mat ...

in 1933. In 1934, with assistance from the Commonwealth Fund Fellowship he attended

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...

where he obtained his first MA. Putt's ''View from Atlantis'' released in 1955 recollected his experiences in America.

Professional career

In 1936 Putt became an assistant in the BBC Talks Department, resigning after around a year in 1938. He worked as a freelance literary reviewer, spent a year lecturing in English at the University College of the South West in Exeter, and then briefly served as warden of a hostel and secretary of the appointments committee at Queen's University of Belfast (1939–40). During the Second World War, he entered the Royal Navy and in 1940 was serving on a destroyer protecting convoys; in 1941 he became a Naval Intelligence officer and served at Bletchley Park, rising to the rank of Lieutenant-Commander by 1946. After the war, he went back to University College, Exeter, as the warden of Crossmead Hall, tutor to overseas students as well as the director of the International Summer School (1946–49). He became warden of Harkness House in London in 1949, remaining there until 1968. While there he also directed the

Commonwealth Fund The Commonwealth Fund is a private U.S. foundation whose stated purpose is to "promote a high-performing health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, particularly for society's most vulnerable, includ ...

's international fellowship division (1966–68). For this work he was awarded the OBE (1966) and later received the Cavaliere, Order of Merit of Italy (1980). In 1968 he became a Fellow, of Christ's College, Cambridge; Senior Tutor from 1968–78 and Praelector from 1976–80.'PUTT, S(amuel) Gorley', Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2007; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 200
accessed 14 Dec 2013
/ref> During this period, he held visiting professorships at the University of Massachusetts (1968), University of the South, Sewanee (1976), University of Pisa (1979) and Texas Christian University (1985).

Writings

Putt described his experiences at sea in the Second World War in ''Men Dressed as Seamen'' (1943). He wrote about his experiences at Yale in ''View from Atlantis'' (1955). His autobiography was entitled ''Wings of a Man's Life''. He wrote two books on the author

Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...

Political career

He was Liberal candidate for his home constituency, the

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paig ...

Division of Devon at the 1945 General Election. He did not stand for parliament again. In 1966 he was awarded the OBE.

Publications

Author *''Men Dressed As Seamen'' (1943), illustrated by

Roger K. Furse Roger Kemble Furse (11 September 1903 – 19 August 1972) was an English painter who worked as a costume designer and production designer for both stage and film. Career Roger Furse was the son of Lieutenant General Sir William Furse and J ...

*''View from Atlantis'' (1955) *''Coastline'' (1959) *''Scholars of the Heart'' (1962) *''A Reader's Guide to Henry James'' (1966) *''The Golden Age of English Drama'' (1981) *''A Preface to Henry James'' (1986) *''Wings of a Man’s Life'' (1990) *''Arthur Mizener'' (1991) Editor *''Essays and Studies'' (1963) *''Cousins and Strangers'' (1956)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Putt, Samuel Gorley 1913 births 1995 deaths Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature People from Brixham People from Oakington Yale University alumni