reilly 55

Inserted: obituary of Lilian Bowes Lyon, from the Times, 30th July 1949 and short article from Sunday times, July 31, 49: "Lilian Bowes Lyon: An Appreciation" by William Plomer


Lilian Bowes-Lyon (or Bowes Lyon) (1895–1949) was a British poet. She was a cousin of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.

She was born at Beltingham, Northumberland and brought up there. She studied for a time at the University of Oxford, but not at a college, and did not take a degree. She was friendly with Laurens van der Post, William Plomer, among others in the London literary circles. During World War II she was active in voluntary work, moving to the East End of London in 1942.

Her observations of the country she loved form the subject of her early poems, but after her removal to the East End of London in 1942, her poetry is concentrated on the war. Her verse appeared in many periodicals and her Collected Poems came out in 1948, when C. Day-Lewis (q.v.) who dedicated a poem to her, noted the influences of Emily Dickinson, Hopkins and Christina Rossetti. Lilian Bowes Lyon wrote much of Northumberland, and poem titles include 'Allendale Dog' and 'Northumbrian farm'.