Mr John Drinkwater smoking a pipe

A poet and playwright, John Drinkwater was born at Leytonstone, Essex, the son of a schoolmaster who turned to acting. He grew up in Oxfordshire and, on leaving school at 15, became an insurance clerk in Nottingham, moving with the company in 1901 to Birmingham. He found this work un-interesting and turned to literature, his first volume of poetry being published when he was twenty-one. A founder member of the Pilgrim Players he went on to become the first manager of the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. John Drinkwater's first full-length play was 'Rebellion' (1914) but his first real success writing for the theatre came in 1918 with 'Abraham Lincoln'. He followed this with 'Mary Stuart ' (1921) 'Oliver Cromwell' (1921) and 'Bird in Hand' (1927), a popular comedy. He also wrote stories for children and critical studies on William Morris, Algernon Swinburne and Samuel Pepys.