Norman Cameron
Encyclopedia
Norman Cameron was a Scottish poet, distantly related to Thomas Babington, Lord Macaulay who, between the two world wars, associated on Majorca with Robert Graves
and Laura Riding
. Later, as a part-time Fitzrovia
n, he was a colleague of Dylan Thomas
, Geoffrey Grigson
, Len Lye
, John Aldridge RA, Alan Hodge and many others. He worked as a copywriter at J. Walter Thompson (being responsible for one classic campaign, Horlicks for night starvation) and at Ogilvy, Benson & Mather.
. For his education he went to Alton Burn Preparatory School
in Nairn
and Fettes College
in Edinburgh, where, at only 11 years old, he was the youngest boy ever to be admitted to the main school. There he came under the influence of, and retained a friendship with, W.C. Sellar ( who would later write '1066 and all that').
He went on to Oriel College, Oxford, and his verse was published in Oxford Poetry
from 1925 to 1928. Needing money during the Great Depression, he taught briefly in Nigeria
, under the auspices of that Colonial Government's Education Department. Then he spent time working and travelling in Continental Europe. While in Germany, early in Hitler's reign, he saw an incident which shocked him all his life: starving inmates of a concentration camp being tormented by local inhabitants, who were throwing bread so that it landed only just beyond the captives' reach. As a result of this, he was utterly dismissive of all later German assertions that most people remained ignorant of what was happening within the worst of the camps.
During the war he worked in London at Broadcasting House
for the Political Intelligence Department, using his fluency in French and German; in the North African Campaign, from Alexandria, he continued in the same shadowy organisation, where with Bruno Adler
, he wrote radio scripts for a comedy series called 'Kurt and Willy', picked up by Rommel's Afrika Korps
. At some time, he was parachuted into Yugoslavia as a translator in dealings with Tito, probably with the 1943 mission led by Fitzroy Maclean. For his work in the war he was awarded an MBE.
At the war's end he worked in the British Zone of Austria (then under four power military occupation) in the British Delegation of the Allied Commission for Austria, in Vienna, based at Schönbrunn Palace
. His duties there involved restarting the local newspapers. It was during this period that he met the woman who became his third wife: Austrian journalist Dr Gretl Bajardi.
A fire broke out in the couple's flat in Queens Gate, South Kensington, in 1951; and though all his own writings were saved from the flames, his life's collection of considerable works of reference in art and literature was completely destroyed. He told his younger brother Angus (then working in the British Army Staff in Vienna) that he was distraught, that the loss 'was like losing his own soul and one which he thought, perhaps, spelt the end of his writing'.
Cameron, whom Dylan Thomas
said he regarded as his best friend, died in London of a brain haemorrhage, only six months before Thomas's own demise.
, Balzac and Rimbaud and he also translated and contributed to Hitler's Table Talk
1941-1944, with others including Hugh Trevor-Roper.
Mostly self-taught as a writer, he was nevertheless subtly influenced by his friend Robert Graves; and for a while he became a poetic disciple of Laura Riding, but ceased close dealings with her when he was convinced that she was exercising undue influence on his own style. This breach caused considerable consternation to Laura and some loss to his own wealth – but not to his own dignity.
Robert Graves
Robert von Ranke Graves 24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985 was an English poet, translator and novelist. During his long life he produced more than 140 works...
and Laura Riding
Laura Riding
Laura Jackson was an American poet, critic, novelist, essayist and short story writer.- Early life :...
. Later, as a part-time Fitzrovia
Fitzrovia
Fitzrovia is a neighbourhood in central London, near London's West End lying partly in the London Borough of Camden and partly in the City of Westminster ; and situated between Marylebone and Bloomsbury and north of Soho. It is characterised by its mixed-use of residential, business, retail,...
n, he was a colleague of Dylan Thomas
Dylan Thomas
Dylan Marlais Thomas was a Welsh poet and writer, Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 11 January 2008. who wrote exclusively in English. In addition to poetry, he wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, which he often performed himself...
, Geoffrey Grigson
Geoffrey Grigson
Geoffrey Edward Harvey Grigson was a British writer. He was born in Pelynt, a village near Looe in Cornwall.-Life:...
, Len Lye
Len Lye
Len Lye, born Leonard Charles Huia Lye , was a Christchurch, New Zealand-born artist known primarily for his experimental films and kinetic sculpture. His films are held in archives such as the New Zealand Film Archive, British Film Institute, Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and the Pacific...
, John Aldridge RA, Alan Hodge and many others. He worked as a copywriter at J. Walter Thompson (being responsible for one classic campaign, Horlicks for night starvation) and at Ogilvy, Benson & Mather.
Life
Born in Bombay, Cameron was the eldest of four children of a Presbyterian Minister (Chaplain of the Bombay Presidency) who died prematurely in 1913. Subsequently, he and his siblings returned with their mother to live in EdinburghEdinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. For his education he went to Alton Burn Preparatory School
Preparatory school (UK)
In English language usage in the former British Empire, the present-day Commonwealth, a preparatory school is an independent school preparing children up to the age of eleven or thirteen for entry into fee-paying, secondary independent schools, some of which are known as public schools...
in Nairn
Nairn
Nairn is a town and former burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is an ancient fishing port and market town around east of Inverness...
and Fettes College
Fettes College
Fettes College is an independent school for boarding and day pupils in Edinburgh, Scotland with over two thirds of its pupils in residence on campus...
in Edinburgh, where, at only 11 years old, he was the youngest boy ever to be admitted to the main school. There he came under the influence of, and retained a friendship with, W.C. Sellar ( who would later write '1066 and all that').
He went on to Oriel College, Oxford, and his verse was published in Oxford Poetry
Oxford Poetry
Oxford Poetry is a literary magazine based in Oxford, England. It is currently edited by Hamid Khanbhai and Thomas A Richards.Founded in 1910 by Basil Blackwell, its editors have included Dorothy L...
from 1925 to 1928. Needing money during the Great Depression, he taught briefly in Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, under the auspices of that Colonial Government's Education Department. Then he spent time working and travelling in Continental Europe. While in Germany, early in Hitler's reign, he saw an incident which shocked him all his life: starving inmates of a concentration camp being tormented by local inhabitants, who were throwing bread so that it landed only just beyond the captives' reach. As a result of this, he was utterly dismissive of all later German assertions that most people remained ignorant of what was happening within the worst of the camps.
During the war he worked in London at Broadcasting House
Broadcasting House
Broadcasting House is the headquarters and registered office of the BBC in Portland Place and Langham Place, London.The building includes the BBC Radio Theatre from where music and speech programmes are recorded in front of a studio audience...
for the Political Intelligence Department, using his fluency in French and German; in the North African Campaign, from Alexandria, he continued in the same shadowy organisation, where with Bruno Adler
Bruno Adler
Bruno Maria Adler was a German art historian and writer. He taught art history in Weimar and lectured about it at the Bauhaus...
, he wrote radio scripts for a comedy series called 'Kurt and Willy', picked up by Rommel's Afrika Korps
Afrika Korps
The German Africa Corps , or the Afrika Korps as it was popularly called, was the German expeditionary force in Libya and Tunisia during the North African Campaign of World War II...
. At some time, he was parachuted into Yugoslavia as a translator in dealings with Tito, probably with the 1943 mission led by Fitzroy Maclean. For his work in the war he was awarded an MBE.
At the war's end he worked in the British Zone of Austria (then under four power military occupation) in the British Delegation of the Allied Commission for Austria, in Vienna, based at Schönbrunn Palace
Schönbrunn Palace
Schönbrunn Palace is a former imperial 1,441-room Rococo summer residence in Vienna, Austria. One of the most important cultural monuments in the country, since the 1960s it has been one of the major tourist attractions in Vienna...
. His duties there involved restarting the local newspapers. It was during this period that he met the woman who became his third wife: Austrian journalist Dr Gretl Bajardi.
A fire broke out in the couple's flat in Queens Gate, South Kensington, in 1951; and though all his own writings were saved from the flames, his life's collection of considerable works of reference in art and literature was completely destroyed. He told his younger brother Angus (then working in the British Army Staff in Vienna) that he was distraught, that the loss 'was like losing his own soul and one which he thought, perhaps, spelt the end of his writing'.
Cameron, whom Dylan Thomas
Dylan Thomas
Dylan Marlais Thomas was a Welsh poet and writer, Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 11 January 2008. who wrote exclusively in English. In addition to poetry, he wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, which he often performed himself...
said he regarded as his best friend, died in London of a brain haemorrhage, only six months before Thomas's own demise.
Work
His poetic output amounted to about 70 poems, he translated works by François VillonFrançois Villon
François Villon was a French poet, thief, and vagabond. He is perhaps best known for his Testaments and his Ballade des Pendus, written while in prison...
, Balzac and Rimbaud and he also translated and contributed to Hitler's Table Talk
Hitler's Table Talk
Hitler's Table Talk is the title given to a series of wartime conversations and monologues delivered by Adolf Hitler, which were transcribed from 1941 to 1944...
1941-1944, with others including Hugh Trevor-Roper.
Mostly self-taught as a writer, he was nevertheless subtly influenced by his friend Robert Graves; and for a while he became a poetic disciple of Laura Riding, but ceased close dealings with her when he was convinced that she was exercising undue influence on his own style. This breach caused considerable consternation to Laura and some loss to his own wealth – but not to his own dignity.
Works
- The Winter House (1935)
- Work in Hand (1942) with Robert GravesRobert GravesRobert von Ranke Graves 24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985 was an English poet, translator and novelist. During his long life he produced more than 140 works...
and Alan Hodge, Hogarth PressHogarth PressThe Hogarth Press was founded in 1917 by Leonard Woolf and Virginia Woolf. It was named after their house in Richmond, in which they began hand-printing books.... - Forgive Me, Sire (1950)
- Collected Poems 1905–1953 (1957) Hogarth Press
- Norman Cameron: Collected Poems and Selected Translations (1990) edited by Warren HopeWarren Hope-Biography:Hope was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1944, and educated in the public schools there. After graduating from Philadelphia's Central High School, Hope served in the United States Air Force, and then attended the Community College of Philadelphia. Hope eventually received a BA,...
and Jonathan Barker (published by Anvil Press Poetry) ISBN 0 856 202 07