Walter de la Mare

Walter John de la Mare, OM CH (25 April 1873 Ô[][] 22 June 1956) was an English poet, short story writer and novelist, probably best remembered for his works for children and the poem "The Listeners". He was born in Kent (at 83 Maryon Road, Charlton, now part of the London Borough of Greenwich), descended from a family of French Huguenots, and was educated at St Paul's Cathedral School. His first book, Songs of Childhood, was published under the name Walter Ramal. He worked in the statistics department of the London office of Standard Oil for eighteen years while struggling to bring up a family, but nevertheless found enough time to write, and, in 1908, through the efforts of Sir Henry Newbolt he received a Civil List pension which enabled him to concentrate on writing. De la Mare also wrote some subtle psychological horror stories; "Seaton's Aunt" and "Out of the Deep" are noteworthy examples. His 1921 novel, Memoirs of a Midget, won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction.