St enodoc church john betjeman biography

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 the happiest times for JB, and are remembered in many of his poems.

In 1925, JB went to Magdalen College, Oxford.

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