DBE IN LOUISIANA
A British and Commonwealth Women's Organization
JOHN BETJEMAN AT ST. PANCRAS
A statue of John Betjeman, by Martin Jennings, stands in St. Pancras Railway Station. He's standing there, so un-dusty-poet-like, holding on to his hat, with his coat tails flying, as though the train just flew into the station. He's gazing upwards, with a look of wonder on his face, like the very first time he set eyes on the magnificent arch of the station.
​
Since discovering this, I have read a lot of his poetry (coming from a very different place than when it was "required reading" in school.) Born in 1906, his family was from the Netherlands, and during World War I dropped the second "n" from their last name Betjemann, so it would sound less German. John had happy memories of family holidays in Trebetherick, Cornwall, where he eventually settled and is buried. In his loneliness from being an only child, he took comfort from his teddy bear, Archibald Ormsby-Gore (known as Archie) and his elephant known as Jumbo. Archie was featured in Betjeman's children's' book "Archie and the Strict Baptists" Archie and Jumbo went to Oxford with him, which later inspired his contemporary Evelyn Waugh to include Sabastian Flyte's teddy bear Aloysius in Brideshead Revisited.​​
John did not make good use of his educational opportunities at Oxford, where he did not complete his degree, but he made the acquaintance of many people who would influence his work, including Louis MacNeice, W.H. Auden, Maurice Bowra and the Sitwells. His various positions included work in teaching, journalism, all kinds of writing, and in later years, in broadcasting. Throughout his life he wrote his poems. John was rejected for active service during World War II, but worked for the Ministry of Information. He became the British press attaché in Dublin, which was a neutral country. He is rumored to have been selected for assassination by the IRA, but the order was rescinded, supposedly after a local commander read his poetry and decided he was no threat.
From "In Westminster"
​
"Gracious Lord, oh bomb the Germans,
Spare their women for Thy Sake,
And if that is not too easy,
We will pardon Thy Mistake.
But, gracious Lord, whate'er shall be,
Don't let anyone bomb me."
His passions were Victorian architecture, railways, Cornwall and campaigning against the evils of "progress." He was a founding members of the Victorian Society. With his friend Jack Beddington, he developed the "Shell Guides" and wrote the books on "Cornwall" and "Devon" himself. He was honored with the CBE in 1960, was knighted in 1969 and became Poet Laureate in 1972.
From "Inexpensive Progress" . . .
"Let's say goodbye to hedges
And roads with grassy edges
And winding country lanes.
Let all things travel faster
Where motor car is master
Till only Speed remains."
Louis MacNeice called Betjeman "a triumphant misfit." He never took himself too seriously. His poems are often humorous, and in broadcasting, he exploited his bumbling and fogeyish image. Because he wrote about everyday life, and was often seen on television, his poems reached a much larger audience than the norm.
​
Each year, a party called "Trains and Buttered Toast" is held around his statue at St. Pancras, including poetry readings, and the celebrating of the winners of the "John Betjeman Young Peoples' Poetry Competition."
