Vernon Watkins facts for kids

Vernon Phillips Watkins (June 27, 1906 – October 8, 1967) was a famous Welsh poet and translator. He was a very good friend of another well-known poet, Dylan Thomas. Dylan Thomas once called Vernon "the most profound and greatly accomplished Welshman writing poems in English."

Growing Up and School Years

Vernon Watkins was born in Maesteg, a town in Glamorgan, Wales. He mostly grew up in Swansea. A fun fact is that when he was born, there were small earthquakes! Another baby born that night was even named John Earthquake Jones.

Vernon's parents were William Watkins and Sarah ("Sally") Phillips. His dad worked for Lloyds Bank. His mom loved poetry and books. She even spent two years studying in Germany. Vernon was the middle child, with an older sister, Marjorie, and a younger sister, Dorothy. Their family lived in a big house near Caswell Bay, about 4 miles from Swansea.

Vernon could read very well by the age of four. When he was five, he decided he wanted to be a poet. He even said he didn't want his poems published until after he died! He started writing and reading a lot of poetry when he was about eight or nine. He especially liked the works of poets like John Keats and Shelley.

He went to a special school in Sussex, then Repton School in Derbyshire. Later, he studied at Magdalene College, Cambridge. At Repton, Vernon was a quiet and gentle boy. Older students sometimes picked on him. But in his last years, he became more popular. He was good at tennis and cricket. After he passed away, his school said he was "perhaps the best poet Repton has had."

His headmaster at Repton was Geoffrey Fisher, who later became a very important church leader, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Even though Vernon's parents were not part of the Church of England, his time at school made him decide to join it. He studied modern languages at Cambridge, but he left before finishing his degree.

Life and Work

Friendship with Dylan Thomas

Vernon Watkins met Dylan Thomas in 1935. Vernon had returned to his job at a bank in Swansea. They became very close friends. About once a week, Dylan would visit Vernon's parents' house. This house was high up on the cliffs of the Gower peninsula.

Vernon was the only person Dylan Thomas would ask for advice about his poems. He was always the first to read Dylan's finished work. They stayed friends for their whole lives. Dylan even joked about Vernon's very sensitive personality. Once, during a wartime blackout in London, Vernon tripped and fell. Dylan looked with a flashlight and found that Vernon had tripped over a tiny, black feather!

Vernon was also the godfather to Dylan Thomas's son, Llewelyn. Dylan Thomas's letters to Vernon were published in a book in 1957. Vernon's wife, Gwen, also wrote a book in 1983 about their friendship called Portrait of a Friend.

Vernon was part of a group of friends in Swansea. They were known as the "Kardomah boys". This group included the composer Daniel Jones, writer Charles Fisher, and artists Alfred Janes and Mervyn Levy. Vernon wrote a special tribute when Dylan Thomas died. Later, when Vernon passed away, another famous poet, Philip Larkin, wrote a tribute for him.

Working at Bletchley Park

During Second World War, Vernon worked as a code-breaker at Bletchley Park. This was a secret place where people worked to break enemy codes. He met his future wife, Gwen, there. She was a member of the WAAF. They both worked on breaking German air force codes.

Vernon and Gwen were both Flight Sergeants. They worked at Bletchley from June 1942 until May 1945. They got married in London on October 2, 1944. They had five children together.

His Poetry

Vernon Watkins really wanted his poetry to be successful. He became a very important figure in Anglo-Welsh poetry. His poems were included in many important collections. During the war, he was connected with a group called the New Apocalyptics.

His first book, Ballad of the Mari Llwyd, was published in 1941 by Faber and Faber. This publisher was known for supporting its authors. The publisher said that Vernon's work had a unique rhythm and imagery. They also noted that his style was different from other poets, except for a "racial quality" that made it similar to Dylan Thomas's work.

The British Library has a draft of one of his poems. It shows notes from T. S. Eliot, who was an editor at Faber. The Library also has many of Vernon's poems, including some that were never published.

Vernon wrote poetry for several hours every night. He was familiar with the works of poets like W. B. Yeats, T. S. Eliot, and Philip Larkin. In 1966, he received an honorary Doctorate of Literature from the University of Wales. This was after he retired from his bank job. He was even being considered for the special title of Poet Laureate when he died.

Death and Remembering Vernon

Memorial plaque at St Mary's Church, Pennard, Glamorgan

Vernon Watkins had a serious heart condition. But he didn't let it stop him. He kept playing his favorite sports, tennis and squash, with his usual energy. He passed away on October 8, 1967, at the age of 61. He was playing tennis in Seattle, where he was teaching a course on modern poetry at the University of Washington.

His body was brought back to Britain. He was buried in the Gower, at St Mary's Church, Pennard. There is a small granite memorial for him at Hunt's Bay, Gower. It has two lines from his poem "Taliesin in Gower" carved on it: "I have been taught the script of stones, and I know the tongue of the wave."

A painting of Vernon Watkins by his friend Alfred Janes can be seen in the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery in Swansea. In 2011, a group painting of the "Kardomah Boys" was shown in Swansea. It features Vernon Watkins, Dylan Thomas, and other friends.

In 2012, Rowan Williams, who was the Archbishop of Canterbury, spoke about Vernon Watkins on a BBC Radio 3 program. Williams believes Vernon Watkins is "one of the 20th century's most brilliant and distinctive yet unjustly neglected voices."

In October 2014, Swansea Council put up a blue plaque for Vernon Watkins. It's on the building where he worked for Lloyds Bank for 38 years. Many of Vernon's original writings are kept at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth.

His grandson, Marley Watkins, is a professional football player.

Published Books

Here are some of the books of poetry Vernon Watkins published:

• The Ballad of the Mari Lwyd and other poems (1941)
• The Lamp and the Veil (1945)
• The Lady with the Unicorn (1948)
• The Death Bell (1954)
• The North Sea (1955) - This book is Vernon's translation of poems by Heinrich Heine.
• Cypress and Acacia (1959)
• Affinities (1962)
• Fidelities (1968)
• Uncollected Poems (1969)
• The Ballad of the Outer Dark and Other Poems (1979)
• The Breaking of the Wave (1979)
• The Collected Poems of Vernon Watkins (1986)
• LMNTRE Poems by Vernon Watkins Illustrated by Alan Perry (1999) - This book mainly has poems for children.
• Taliesin and the Mockers by Vernon Watkins ... images by Glenys Cour (2004)
• Vernon Watkins New Selected Poems Edited ... by Richard Ramsbotham (2006)

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