JMBarrie
JMBarrie => JMBarrie => Topic started by: Nicholas on March 10, 2009, 02:22:24 PM
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I came upon a reference to Barrie and the War Graves Commission in Skelton and Gliddon's Lutyens and the Great War. Barrie was friendly with Lutyens and supported his plan to place a simple stone monument 'The War Stone' in each of the British cemetries on the Western Front. JMB wrote to Sir Fabian Ware, Vice -Chairman Imperial War Graves Commission, on 25 July 1917:
''I think that there is something rather grand in its simplicityabout this proposal. The one stone means little enough but that one in each of the consecrated places becomes impressive. If a happy name were found for this object it would begin to stand out in our minds, some name that would at least henceforth apply to nothing else. It should be like a new word added to the language. The poetry of the future should make it an immortal word. Lutyens's is one of the most imaginative minds I have ever known, and I'd like to see some practical development of this idea from him.''
The ''immortal word'' crystalised into centotaph, the name by which Lutyens war memorial in Whitehall became known.
Skelton and Gliddon's book has a star system to grade the architectural merits of Lutyens many war cemeteries in France and Belgium. The Voormezeele cemetery (where George lies) is graded an excellent three stars for Enclosures One and Two but a boring one star for enclosure Three.
There's more in the book, including Barrie's proposal to mount bells in the cemetery monuments and his suggestion that the inscription on The War Stone should read ''All's Well''.
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Fascinating stuff, Nicholas, and many thanks for sharing it.
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I believe I am correct in saying that Barrie's top floor flat was remodelled for him by Lutyens before he moved up from the flat below. I wonder whether Lutyens' drawings still exist wherever the archive of his papers is deposited.