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Tom Driberg

Born

in Crowborough, Sussex, The United Kingdom

May 22, 1905

Died

August 12, 1976

Genre

Biography, History, Poetry

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At the age of eight he began as a day-boy at the Grange school in Crowborough. He subsequently won a classics scholarship to Christ Church, Oxford.

One of his poems,, in the style of Edith Sitwell, was published in 'Oxford Poetry 1926' and when Sitwell visited Oxford to deliver a lecture, he invited her to have tea with him, and she accepted. After her lecture he found an opportunity to recite one of his own poems, and was rewarded when Sitwell declared him 'the hope of English poetry'. He regarded Sitwell as his mentor.

Later his social contacts led to him getting a permanent contract with the Daily Express, as assistant to Percy Sewell who, under the name "The Dragoman", wrote a daily feature called 'The Talk of London'. On Sewell's retirem At the age of eight he began as a day-boy at the Grange school in Crowborough. He subsequently won a classics scholarship to Christ Church, Oxford.

One of his poems,, in the style of Edith Sitwell, was published in 'Oxford Poetry 1926' and when Sitwell visited Oxford to deliver a lecture, he invited her to have tea with him, and she accepted. After her lecture he found an opportunity to recite one of his own poems, and was rewarded when Sitwell declared him 'the hope of English poetry'. He regarded Sitwell as his mentor.

Later his social contacts led to him getting a permanent contract with the Daily Express, as assistant to Percy Sewell who, under the name "The Dragoman", wrote a daily feature called 'The Talk of London'. On Sewell's retirement in 1932, he took over the column that was renamed as 'These Names Make News', and its by-line changed to "William Hickey", after the 18th century diarist and rake.

In the latter part of the 1930s he travelled widely, twice to Spain, to observe the Spanish Civil War, to Germany after the Munich Agreement of 1938, to Rome for the coronation of Pope Pius XII and to New York for the 1939 New York World's Fair.

After his mother died in July 1939, with his share of her money and the help of a substantial mortgage, he bought and renovated Bradwell Lodge, a country house in Bradwell-on-Sea on the Essex coast,. He lived and entertained there until the house was requisitioned by the Royal Air Force in 1940.

In November 1941 he went to America and was in Washington on Monday 8 December, after the attack on Pearl Harbour. And he reported President Roosevelt's speech to Congress announcing America's entry into the war.

A strong Winston Churchill supporter, he became a Member of Parliament in 1942 and he remained in the House until May 1955. He was to return to the House as member for Barking from 1959 to 1974.

Recognised as being openly homosexual, on 16 February 1951 he surprised his friends by announcing his engagement to Ena Mary Binfield (née Lyttelton). The pair were married on 30 June 1951.

In November 1975 he was granted a life peerage and on 21 January 1976 he was entered the House of Lords as Baron Bradwell, of Bradwell juxta Mare in the County of Essex.

He died on 12 August 1976 (aged 71) in Paddington, London, ...more

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Average rating: 3.47 · 34 ratings · 10 reviews · 19 distinct works • Similar authors

	Ruling Passions 3.62 avg rating — 26 ratings — published 1977 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Guy Burgess: A portrait with background 2.83 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 1956	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Colonnade 1937-1947 really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	"Swaff"; the life and times of Hannen Swaffer liked it 3.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 1974	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Private Eye Crosswords 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Beaverbrook: a Study in Power and Frustration 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Mystery of Moral Re-Armament: a Study of Frank Buchman and His Movement 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Best of Both Worlds: A Personal Diary 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	THE MYSTERY OF MORAL RE-ARMAMENT - A Study of Frank Buchman and His Movement 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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“Sincerity is all that counts -- it’s a widespread modern heresy. Think again. Bolsheviks are sincere. Fascists are sincere. Lunatics are sincere. People who believe the earth is flat are sincere. They can’t all be right.”
― Tom Driberg

tags: sincerity

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Tom Driberg’s Followers (3)

Tom Driberg

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