The Dearmer family were friends with Kathleen Scott, the sculptor and widow of Robert Falcon Scott (known as Con), the Antarctic explorer. Geoffrey wrote poems to Kathleen and they used to go dancing together. When war broke out in 1914, both the Dearmer boys were studying at Christ Church College, Oxford University. They volunteered and Geoffrey was commissioned and served with the London Regiment at Gallipoli and on the Western Front during The Somme Offensive. Christopher became a pilot with Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) and died of wounds received while serving in Gallipoli in 1915. Geoffrey was appointed a Lieutenant in the Royal Victorian Order (LVO).
In 1915, the boys’ father Percy Dearmer volunteered as a Red Cross Chaplain and he and his wife went to Serbia, joining the Third Serbian Relief Unit. Mabel served as a nursing orderly. Mabel contracted enteric fever (typhoid) in June, and died on 11th July 1915. Her letters were posthumously published as “Letters from a field hospital. With a memoir of the author by Stephen Gwynn”. See https://inspirationalwomenofww1.blogspot.com/2014/04/mabel-dearmer-1872-1915.html
From 1936-1958 Geoffrey was Examiner of Plays in the Lord Chamberlain's office. In 1936, Geoffrey married Margaret Proctor and they had one daughter.
Geoffrey died on 18th August 1996 in Birchington, Kent, at the age of 103.
Geoffrey’s WW1 poetry collections were “The Day’s Delight: Poems” (Murray, 1923) and “Poems” (Heinemann, 1918). His poems were published in nine WW1 poetry anthologies.
In 1997, The Geoffrey Dearmer Award for new poets was founded in his memory.
Geoffrey was one of the poets featured in the Exhibition of Poets, Writers & Artists of the Somme, held at the Wilfred Owen Story in Birkenhead, Wirral, UK in July 2016.
Sources:
“A Task of Great Happiness: The Life of Kathleen Scott” by Louisa Young (Macmillan, London 1995)
“English Poetry of the First World War: A Bibliography” by Katherine W. Reilly (St. Martin’s Press, New York, 1978)
Photograph of Geoffrey photographer unknown.
“A Task of Great Happiness: The Life of Kathleen Scott” by Louisa Young (Macmillan, London 1995)
“English Poetry of the First World War: A Bibliography” by Katherine W. Reilly (St. Martin’s Press, New York, 1978)
Photograph of Geoffrey photographer unknown.
NOTE: Royal Victorian Order LVO AND RVO
The Royal Victorian Order is a British dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch of the Commonwealth realms, members of the monarch's family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the monarch. The present monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, is the sovereign of the order, the order's motto is Victoria, and its official day is 20th June. The order's chapel is the Savoy Chapel in London.
Prior to 1984, the grades of Lieutenant and Member were classified as Members (fourth class) and Members (fifth class), respectively, but both with the post-nominals MVO. On 31st December of that year, Queen Elizabeth II declared that those in the grade of Member (fourth class) would henceforth be Lieutenants with the post-nominals LVO.
