John Betjeman was born on August 28th, 1906, near Highgate, London. His father was Ernest Betjemann, a cabinet maker, a trade which had been in the family for several generations. The family name was Betjemann, with two ‘n’s, but John dropped the second 'n’ during the First World War, to make the name less German.

John was an only child, and by all accounts had a lonely childhood, taking comfort from his teddy bear, Archibald, later to feature in his children’s story, ‘Archie and the Strict Baptists’.

Having attended his first schools in Highgate, John became a boarder at Dragon School, Oxford, aged eleven. Three years later, he went to Marlborough College, again as a boarder.

Throughout John’s childhood, his family went for holidays to Trebetherick in Cornwall, where his father owned a number of properties. These seemed to have been his happiest times, and are remembered in many of his poems.

In 1925, John went to Magdalen College, Oxford, but the distractions of college life deflected him from his studies and, having failed a Divinity exam, did not complete his degree. He became a teacher at Thorpe House School, Gerrard’s Cross, before working as a private secretary, and then at another prep school.

In 1930, he became an assistant editor of The Architectural Review. In 1931, his first book of poems, ‘Mount Zion’, was published by an old Oxford friend, Edward James. Soon afterwards, John met and married Penelope Chetwode, the daughter of Field Marshal Lord Chetwode, a former Commander-in-Chief in India, who disapproved of his son-in-law.

His second book was ‘Ghastly Good Taste’, a commentary on architecture, published in 1934.

John and Penelope moved to Uffington in Berkshire, and John was given the job of film critic for the Evening Standard, but he continued to write poetry, and his next book, Continual Dew, appeared in 1937. He also began work on the series of Shell Guides to the counties of England.

His prolific writing output continued throughout the 30s and 40s, with books and magazine articles appearing regularly. In 1941, John went to Dublin as the Press Officer to the British Representative. Many years later it was revealed that the IRA thought he was a spy and considered assassinating him. However, on reading his poetry, they decided otherwise. His daughter Candida was born in 1942.

Returning to England in 1943, John worked in the Ministry of Information, and continued to write for a number of publications. The family eventually settled in Wantage in 1951. ‘A Few Late Chrysanthemums’ was published in 1952, and by the mid 1950s he was a well-known figure, making both radio and television appearances, commenting on architecture and campaigning for many threatened buildings. ‘Collected Poems’ and his verse autobiography, ‘Summoned by Bells’, were best sellers. His broadcasting career continued during the 1960’s and 70’s, with documentaries such as ‘Metroland’ and ‘A Passion for Churches’.

In 1969 he was knighted and in 1972 he was made Poet Laureate. His last book of poems, ‘A Nip in The Air’, was published in 1974. He began to suffer from Parkinson’s Disease, and a series of strokes reduced his mobility.

John Betjeman died on May 19th 1984 at his home in Trebetherick. He was buried in the nearby church of St.Enodoc.