John Moore (author, British)
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John Cecil Moore (10 November 1907 – 27 July 1967) was a British writer and conservationist. He was described by Sir Compton Mackenzie as the most talented writer about the countryside of his generation. His best-selling trilogy, published in the years immediately after the Second World War – ''Portrait of Elmbury'', ''Brensham Village'' and ''The Blue Field'' – was followed by a series of novels and self-styled 'country-contentments'.


Literary career

Moore was the author of more than 40 published works, most of which explored themes relating to rural life in the first half of the 20th century. He wrote the commentary for the 1957 documentary '' The England of Elizabeth'', which is noted for its score composed by
Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams ( ; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...
. From 1943 to 1949 Moore was the organiser of the Tewkesbury Play Festival. He was also a founder and driving force behind the
Cheltenham Literary Festival ''The Times'' and ''The Sunday Times'' Cheltenham Literature Festival, a large-scale international festival of literature held every year in October in the English spa town of Cheltenham, and part of Cheltenham Festivals: also responsible for th ...
which was inaugurated in 1949. He contributed a weekly column on rural matters to the ''
Birmingham Mail The ''Birmingham Mail'' (branded the ''Black Country Mail'' in the Black Country and ''Birmingham Live'' online) is a tabloid newspaper based in Birmingham, England, but distributed around Birmingham, the Black Country, and Solihull and parts ...
'' for eighteen years and was a frequent broadcaster on Midlands radio.


Conservation

Moore's naturalist talents originated from his schooldays, and he campaigned for rural conservation in his local area, and in his many books, most of which had a rural setting. Long before the environment came to mainstream media attention, he wrote about some of the negative effects of technological advances on the countryside and rural life. Moore also fought to conserve the architectural heritage of
Tewkesbury Tewkesbury ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the north of Gloucestershire, England. The town grew following the construction of Tewkesbury Abbey in the twelfth century and played a significant role in the Wars of the Roses. It stands at ...
in Gloucestershire, his native town.


Personal life

Moore was born in Tewkesbury in 1907, where he is commemorated by the John Moore Primary School and the John Moore Countryside Museum. In the Second World War, he served as a carrier-based pilot in the
Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is the naval aviation component of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy (RN). The FAA is one of five :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, RN fighting arms. it is a primarily helicopter force, though also operating the Lockhee ...
, and this experience was reflected in several books including a history of the Fleet Air Arm; after recovering from rheumatic fever, he was posted to Supreme Allied Headquarters as a press attaché, landing in Normandy on
D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...
+1. While serving in the Royal Navy, he met
Wren Wrens are a family, Troglodytidae, of small brown passerine birds. The family includes 96 species and is divided into 19 genera. All species are restricted to the New World except for the Eurasian wren that is widely distributed in the Old Worl ...
Lucile Douglas Stephens, a daughter of noted Australian pediatrician, Henry Douglas Stephens, and they married on 1 April 1944. There were no children born to this marriage. During the latter part of his life, he and his wife lived in the village of
Kemerton Kemerton is a village and civil parish in Worcestershire in England. It lies at the extreme south of the county in the local government district of Wychavon. Until boundary changes in 1931, it formed part of neighbouring Gloucestershire, and ...
on the slopes of
Bredon Hill Bredon Hill is a hill currently located in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Evesham in the Vale of Evesham. The summit of the hill is in the parish of Kemerton, and it extends over parts of eight other parishes (listed below). The hill i ...
, which he popularised as 'Brensham Hill' in a number of his writings. He died in of cancer in
Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
in 1967. Lucile married again and died in 2003.


Selected works

* ''Dixon's Cubs'' (1930) * ''The Book of the Fly-rod'' (ed, with Hugh Sheringham) (1931) * ''Dear Lovers'' (1931) * ''Tramping Through Wales'' (1931) * ''English Comedy'' (1932) * ''King Carnival'' * ''The Walls are Down'' (1933) * ''The
Welsh Marches The Welsh Marches () is an imprecisely defined area along the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods. The English term Welsh March (in Medieval Latin ''Marchia W ...
'' (1933) * ''The
New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...
'' (1934) * ''Country Men'' (Biography) (1935) * ''The Angler's week-end Book'' (ed, with Eric Taverner) (1935) * ''Overture, Beginners!'' (1936) * ''The
Cotswolds The Cotswolds ( ) is a region of central South West England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper River Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and the Vale of Evesham. The area is defined by the bedroc ...
'' (1937) * ''Clouds of Glory'' (1938) * ''A Walk Through
Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
'' (1939) * ''The Countryman's England'' (1939) * ''Life and Letters of Edward Thomas'' (ed) (1939) * ''Wit's End'' (1942) * ''Fleet Air Arm'' (history) (1943) * ''Escort Carrier'' (1944) * ''The Navy and the Y Scheme'' (1944) * ''Portrait of Elmbury'' (1945) * ''Brensham Village'' (1946) * ''The Fair Field'' (1946) * ''The Blue Field'' (1948) * ''Dance and Skylark'' (1951) * ''Midsummer Meadow'' (1953) * ''Tiger, Tiger'' (short stories) (1953) * ''The Season of the Year'' (1954) * ''The White Sparrow'' (1954) * ''The Boy's Country Book'' (ed) (1955) * ''Come Rain, Come shine'' (1956) * ''September Moon'' (1957) * ''Jungle Girl'' (1958) * ''Man and Bird and Beast'' (1959) * ''You English Words'' (1961) * ''The Elizabethans'' (1962) * ''The Year of the Pigeons'' (1963) * ''Best Fishing Stories'' (1965) * ''The Waters Under the Earth'' (1965)


Legacy

John Moore and 'Elmbury' are commemorated at a number of locations in the Tewkesbury area, including: * The John Moore Museum near
Tewkesbury Abbey The Abbey Church of St Mary the Virgin, Tewkesbury, commonly known as Tewkesbury Abbey, is located in the town of Tewkesbury in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, England. A former Benedictine monastery, it is now a parish church. Conside ...
* The John Moore Nature Reserve, created and managed by
Kemerton Conservation Trust Kemerton Conservation Trust is a registered charity which aims ''"to conserve wildlife and places of beauty in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire and adjoining counties for the public benefit."'' Much of the Trust’s activity takes pla ...
on land in the village of Kemerton once owned by the author. * the name 'Elmbury' was given to the new Secondary Modern School for Girls on Ashchurch Road in the 1960s, which later became the nucleus of today's Tewkesbury School * "The John Moore Primary School" built on the Wheatpieces estate in September 2000 * the "Elmbury Suite" opened at Tewkesbury Hospital in January 2001 * a public house called "Elmbury Lodge", near Junction 9 of the M5 Motorway, opened in 2004 * The Tewkesbury branch of the Embroiderers' Guild is called the "Elmbury (Tewkesbury) Branch"


References


External links


John Moore Countryside Museum website

Kemerton Conservation Trust website

The John Moore Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, John 1907 births 1967 deaths People from Tewkesbury English writers English conservationists 20th-century English male writers