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Ronald Symond

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Ronald Tudor SymondMC
Born(1895-12-31)31 December 1895
Liverpool,England
Died7 January 1947(1947-01-07)(aged 51)
London, England
NationalityBritish
Occupation(s)Soldier, author, journalist
EmployerDaily Mail
Notable workThe Main Chance,Homage to Cricket

Ronald Tudor SymondMCwas born inLiverpool,England in December 1895, the second son of a solicitor Elwy Davies Symond, and died at the age of 51 of a heart attack in London in February 1947. He is notable for his membership of the avant-garde,modernist,literary and artistic circles of theLeft Bankof Paris in the 1930s.

Early life[edit]

Symond spent his youth inSefton Park,Liverpool, and attendedLiverpool College,where he was captain of the First Eleven cricket team in July 1913. "Has made a popular and energetic captain. A really good bat, with splendid style, and plenty of scoring strokes. Has bowled well on occasions, and is a brilliant fielder in any position. Should lead the College to great victories next season"[1]This laid the foundation for a lifelong interest incricket.

Military record[edit]

At the age of 19, in 1915, Symond enlisted and served in theInfantryfor three years in Northern France, on theWestern Front,during World War I. He attained the rank of Lieutenant in the 6th Battalion of theLiverpool Regiment,and was awarded theMilitary Crossin April 1918.

"For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He led a bombing attack with the utmost determination, and after a fight lasting for four hours, ejected the enemy from the trenches. He showed great courage and determination."[2]

At that time 'a bombing attack' meant an attack usinghand grenades.

He was then transferred to theRoyal Flying Corps,which became theRoyal Air Forcein August 1918, and undertook training in England, returning to France as the war was ending. He resigned his commission in 1921.[3]

Symond's elder brother Stuart was seconded to theMachine Gun Corpsand his younger brother John to theTank Corps.Both brothers survived the war but John was wounded after one week at the front and served in Britain until 1921.[4]

On 26 February 1940 Ronald Symond enlisted again (in World War II). He was transferred to theIntelligence Corpson 15 July 1940[5]and attained the rank ofCaptain.He served until 1945.[6]The Intelligence Corps was formally reconstructed in July 1940, having been disbanded after World War I.

Literary critic and translator[edit]

Ronald Symond resided in both France and England between 1919 and 1939, becomingbilingual,and was a minor figure among theexpatriatewriters living in Paris in that period. He was therefore a member of theLost Generation.He was active in literary criticism and published in the Parisian literary journal 'transition', which was edited byEugene Jolas,who regarded Symond as one of his friends, together withStuart Gilbert.[7]The three of them organised an 'International Workshop on Orphic Creation' in 1932.[8]

In March 1932 Symond published his translation[9]ofMr. James Joyce et son nouveau Roman 'Work in Progress',byLouis Gillet.[10]Later, in 1935, Gillet became amember of the Académie française,occupying 'Seat 13' out of the 40 seats.

Symond wrote a literary critique onWork in ProgressbyJames Joyce,while it was being published intransition,and before it was published in its final form asFinnegans Wake.In April 1934 he published a critical review,The Third Mr. Joyce; Comments on 'Work in Progress'.[11][12]

He was a signatory, together with Eugene Jolas, to a manifesto of expatriate writers living in Paris in the 1930s, entitledPoetry is Vertical.

Non-fiction books[edit]

Ronald Symond wrote two books of non-fiction, during the inter-war years:

  1. He publishedThe Main Chancein 1926, a work of religion and philosophy, classified under 'Altruism, Life, Love'[1].
  2. He publishedHomage to Cricketin 1935[2].This was written under thepen nameofGryllus,a Latin word for the 'cricket' insect, a kind of grasshopper, as a clearly intendedpun.

Sports journalism[edit]

Before and after World War II, until his death in 1947, Symond worked as a sports correspondent forThe Daily Mail,coveringcricketandrugbymatches. He reported at least one cricket Test match in which the AustralianDon Bradmanplayed, meeting Bradman in 1938, when he came to the Press Box.[13]Symond's coverage ofThe Ashesin 1938 was syndicated in numerous newspapers in Australia.[14][15]He died of a heart attack at the age of 51.

Sources[edit]

  • Deming, Robert H., 1964,A Bibliography of James Joyce Studies,University of Kansas Publications

References[edit]

  1. ^Liverpool College Magazine, No. 66, July 1913, p9
  2. ^The London Gazette, Special Supplement, 16 September 1918, p 11023
  3. ^The London Gazette (1915–1921)
  4. ^The London Gazette (1915–1922)
  5. ^The London Gazette, Issue 34988, 8 November 1940, pp 6484–6485
  6. ^The London Gazette (1940–1945)
  7. ^transition,no. 21 (March 1932)
  8. ^transition,no. 21
  9. ^transition,no. 21, 263–272
  10. ^Revue des Deux Mondes,LXXXIV, (August 1931), 928–939
  11. ^London Mercury,XXIX (February 1934), 318–321
  12. ^Reprinted inLiving Edge,CCCXLVI (April 1934), 160–164.
  13. ^"CRICKET".The Northern Miner.Charters Towers, Qld.: National Library of Australia. 7 June 1938. p. 4.Retrieved27 December2013.
  14. ^"WYATT UNLIKELY TO PLAY IN TESTS".Western Argus.Kalgoorlie, WA: National Library of Australia. 7 June 1938. p. 11.Retrieved27 December2013.
  15. ^"Wicket Free From Dope".The Courier-Mail.Brisbane: National Library of Australia. 8 July 1938. p. 14.Retrieved27 December2013.
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