John Betjemen was a renowned British poet who spent much of his life in the small village of Wantage in Oxfordshire. He was born to a middle-class family and his father worked as a gents outfitter and his mother stayed at home to raise the family.
Betjeman first became interested in poetry when he was young and began reciting it to his friends. His passion for verse eventually led him to attend Oxford University where he studied English literature. During this time, he wrote some of his most famous works including ‘Summoned by Bells’ and ‘A Subaltern’s Love Song.’
Throughout his career, Betjeman captured moments of everyday life in Britain with witty and sometimes humorous writing. For example, in one of his poems ‘A Slough’, he wrote about an industrialised town near London with lines such as ‘Come friendly bombsand fall on Slough! It isn’t fit for humans now.’ This poem is a reflection of how Betjeman perceived many developing towns during the 20th century and yet it still manages to provide a humorous take on it all.
In 1972, Betjeman was awarded the title of Poet Laureate; an honour given by the Royal Family that comes with lifetime membership at The Athenaeum Club in London. He held this position until his death in 1984, after which he was buried near Wantage churchyard, where he had attended Sunday school as a child.
Today, John Betjeman is remembered as one of Britain’s greatest writers and many landmarks around England have been named after him such as John Betjemen Way in Northampton or “the Betjemen statue” at St Pancras Station which captures him peering out from behind a pillar with an umbrella tucked under one arm and clutching a suitcase – making sure you will never miss this iconic poet in London!
