James Munro Bertram
Encyclopedia
James Munro Bertram was a Rhodes scholar, a journalist, writer, relief worker, prisoner of war and a university professor.
Bertram was born in Auckland on 11 August 1910, son of Ivo Edgar Bertram, a Presbyterian minister, and his wife, Evelyn Susan Bruce. He spent his early childhood in Melbourne and Sydney, and attended church schools. He returned to New Zealand for secondary schooling at Waitaki Boys' High School
, where he befriended Ian Milner and Charles Brasch
. Between 1929 and 1931 he attended Auckland University College
, where he met the third of his closest friends, J. A. W. Bennett
.
He edited a literary magazine, Phoenix, and with Bennett co-edited a Student Christian magazine, Open Windows. Following the Queen Street riot of 1932 Bertram briefly enlisted briefly as a special constable. In 1932 Bertram received his Diploma in Journalism and was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship
.
Studying at New College, Oxford
, he came first in English and second in Modern Languages. He was active in left-wing clubs and rugby.
Following Oxford he became an international correspondent with The Times
. In 1935 he received a travelling fellowship from the Rhodes Trust to visit China, where he learnt Mandarin in Beijing for a year. The fellowship was renewed for 1937 and he travelled to Xi'an
where General Chiang Kai-shek
had been captured by communist sympathisers. He was the first British journalist to interview Mao Zedong
and travelled for five months with the Eighth Route Army
in northern China. He wrote two books on these experiences: Crisis in China (1937) and North China Front (1939).
Bertram began to more actively support China, and performed aid work with the China Defence League, for whom he gave fund-raising lectures in a tour of the US, and led a convoy of supply trucks from Haiphong
in Indochina
to Yan'an
. Part-way through this journey England declared war on Germany, and he returned to New Zealand. Shortly later he returned to Hong Kong to continue work for the China Defence League.
He spent a few months as relief press attaché to the British ambassador in Chungking, but returned to Hong Kong until it was seized by the Japanese in December 1941. A volunteer gunner, he became a prisoner of war in awful conditions until the Japanese surrender nearly four years later.
After the war Bertram returned to Japan as an adviser to the New Zealand delegation to the Far Eastern Commission.
During 1946 Bertram wrote The Shadow of a War (1947). He also travelled throughout New Zealand as a CORSO representative, directing aid to Soong Ch'ing-ling and to Rewi Alley
. He applied, successfully, for a senior lectureship in English at Victoria University College
, Wellington.
In 1947 he married Jean Ellen Stevenson, a successful journalist and an old friend of Ian Milner's, and they settled in the Hutt Valley (near Wellington) in 1949. They had no children. Bertram continued as an academic until his retirement in 1975. He specialised in the lives and work of A. H. Clough, and Matthew
and Thomas Arnold
. He was given a personal chair in 1971. After his retirement he was general editor of the New Zealand Writers and their Work series, wrote on Charles Brasch
and Dan Davin
, and edited Brasch's memoir, Indirections. In 1981 he received an honorary LittD.
Bertram was a strong supporter of New Zealand literature. He helped Charles Brasch to found the Landfall
journal, and wrote many literary reviews, especially for the New Zealand Listener
. In 1985 he published some of his reflections on New Zealand writers.
For some years he remained active in communist groups such as the Society for Closer Relations with Russia and the New Zealand China Society, and tried unsuccessfully to persuade Victoria University to develop an Eastern Studies department.
James Bertram died in Lower Hutt on 24 August 1993, survived by his wife.
Bertram was born in Auckland on 11 August 1910, son of Ivo Edgar Bertram, a Presbyterian minister, and his wife, Evelyn Susan Bruce. He spent his early childhood in Melbourne and Sydney, and attended church schools. He returned to New Zealand for secondary schooling at Waitaki Boys' High School
Waitaki Boys' High School
Waitaki Boys' High School is a secondary school for boys located in the northern part of the town of Oamaru, Otago, New Zealand, with day and boarding facilities, and was founded in 1883. It currently has a school roll of just over 530....
, where he befriended Ian Milner and Charles Brasch
Charles Brasch
Charles Orwell Brasch was a New Zealand poet, literary editor and arts patron. He was the founding editor of the literary journal Landfall....
. Between 1929 and 1931 he attended Auckland University College
University of Auckland
The University of Auckland is a university located in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest university in the country and the highest ranked in the 2011 QS World University Rankings, having been ranked worldwide...
, where he met the third of his closest friends, J. A. W. Bennett
J. A. W. Bennett
Jack Arthur Walter Bennett was a New Zealand-born literary scholar. He was best known as a scholar of Middle English literature. He was editor of the journal Medium Aevum from 1956 to 1980, having earlier assisted his predecessor, C. T. Onions, and was a colleague of C. S. Lewis at Magdalen...
.
He edited a literary magazine, Phoenix, and with Bennett co-edited a Student Christian magazine, Open Windows. Following the Queen Street riot of 1932 Bertram briefly enlisted briefly as a special constable. In 1932 Bertram received his Diploma in Journalism and was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship
Rhodes Scholarship
The Rhodes Scholarship, named after Cecil Rhodes, is an international postgraduate award for study at the University of Oxford. It was the first large-scale programme of international scholarships, and is widely considered the "world's most prestigious scholarship" by many public sources such as...
.
Studying at New College, Oxford
New College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.- Overview :The College's official name, College of St Mary, is the same as that of the older Oriel College; hence, it has been referred to as the "New College of St Mary", and is now almost always...
, he came first in English and second in Modern Languages. He was active in left-wing clubs and rugby.
Following Oxford he became an international correspondent with The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
. In 1935 he received a travelling fellowship from the Rhodes Trust to visit China, where he learnt Mandarin in Beijing for a year. The fellowship was renewed for 1937 and he travelled to Xi'an
Xi'an
Xi'an is the capital of the Shaanxi province, and a sub-provincial city in the People's Republic of China. One of the oldest cities in China, with more than 3,100 years of history, the city was known as Chang'an before the Ming Dynasty...
where General Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
had been captured by communist sympathisers. He was the first British journalist to interview Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
and travelled for five months with the Eighth Route Army
Eighth Route Army
The Eighth Route Army was the larger of the two major Chinese communist forces that formed a unit of the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China which fought the Japanese from 1937 to 1945. In contrast to most of the National Revolutionary Army, it was controlled by the Communist...
in northern China. He wrote two books on these experiences: Crisis in China (1937) and North China Front (1939).
Bertram began to more actively support China, and performed aid work with the China Defence League, for whom he gave fund-raising lectures in a tour of the US, and led a convoy of supply trucks from Haiphong
Haiphong
, also Haiphong, is the third most populous city in Vietnam. The name means, "coastal defence".-History:Hai Phong was originally founded by Lê Chân, the female general of a Vietnamese revolution against the Chinese led by the Trưng Sisters in the year 43 C.E.The area which is now known as Duong...
in Indochina
Indochina
The Indochinese peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French, Indochine, as a combination of the names of "China" and "India", and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory...
to Yan'an
Yan'an
Yan'an , is a prefecture-level city in the Shanbei region of Shaanxi province in China, administering several counties, including Zhidan County , which served as the Chinese communist capital before the city of Yan'an proper took that role....
. Part-way through this journey England declared war on Germany, and he returned to New Zealand. Shortly later he returned to Hong Kong to continue work for the China Defence League.
He spent a few months as relief press attaché to the British ambassador in Chungking, but returned to Hong Kong until it was seized by the Japanese in December 1941. A volunteer gunner, he became a prisoner of war in awful conditions until the Japanese surrender nearly four years later.
After the war Bertram returned to Japan as an adviser to the New Zealand delegation to the Far Eastern Commission.
During 1946 Bertram wrote The Shadow of a War (1947). He also travelled throughout New Zealand as a CORSO representative, directing aid to Soong Ch'ing-ling and to Rewi Alley
Rewi Alley
Rewi Alley, 路易•艾黎, Lùyì Àilí, QSO, , was a New Zealand-born writer, educator, social reformer, potter, and member of the Communist Party of China....
. He applied, successfully, for a senior lectureship in English at Victoria University College
Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...
, Wellington.
In 1947 he married Jean Ellen Stevenson, a successful journalist and an old friend of Ian Milner's, and they settled in the Hutt Valley (near Wellington) in 1949. They had no children. Bertram continued as an academic until his retirement in 1975. He specialised in the lives and work of A. H. Clough, and Matthew
Matthew Arnold
Matthew Arnold was a British poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the famed headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold, literary professor, and William Delafield Arnold, novelist and colonial administrator...
and Thomas Arnold
Thomas Arnold
Dr Thomas Arnold was a British educator and historian. Arnold was an early supporter of the Broad Church Anglican movement...
. He was given a personal chair in 1971. After his retirement he was general editor of the New Zealand Writers and their Work series, wrote on Charles Brasch
Charles Brasch
Charles Orwell Brasch was a New Zealand poet, literary editor and arts patron. He was the founding editor of the literary journal Landfall....
and Dan Davin
Dan Davin
Daniel Marcus Davin was an author who wrote about New Zealand, although for most of his career he lived in Oxford, England, working for Oxford University Press....
, and edited Brasch's memoir, Indirections. In 1981 he received an honorary LittD.
Bertram was a strong supporter of New Zealand literature. He helped Charles Brasch to found the Landfall
Landfall (journal)
Landfall is New Zealand's oldest extant literary journal. First published in 1947 by Caxton Press, under the editorship of Charles Brasch, it features new fiction and poetry, biographical and critical essays, cultural commentary, and reviews of books, art, film, drama and dance.Additionally, the...
journal, and wrote many literary reviews, especially for the New Zealand Listener
New Zealand Listener
The New Zealand Listener is a New Zealand magazine. First published in 1939 and edited by Oliver Duff and the Monte Holcroft it originally had a monopoly on the publication of of upcoming television and radio programmes. In the 1980s it lost its monopoly on the publication of upcoming television...
. In 1985 he published some of his reflections on New Zealand writers.
For some years he remained active in communist groups such as the Society for Closer Relations with Russia and the New Zealand China Society, and tried unsuccessfully to persuade Victoria University to develop an Eastern Studies department.
James Bertram died in Lower Hutt on 24 August 1993, survived by his wife.