Archibald Ormsby-Gore
Encyclopedia
Archibald Ormsby-Gore, better known as Archie, was the teddy-bear of English
poet laureate
John Betjeman
. Together with an elephant known as Jumbo, he was a lifelong companion of Betjeman's.
Betjeman brought his bear with him when he went up to university at Oxford
in the 1920s, and as a result Archie became the model for Aloysius
, Sebastian Flyte's bear in Evelyn Waugh
's novel Brideshead Revisited
. In the 1940s, Betjeman also wrote an illustrated a story for his children, entitled Archie and the Strict Baptists, in which the bear's sojourns at the family's successive homes in Uffington
and Farnborough
are fictionalised. Archie is here described as a member of the Strict Baptist
denomination, riding a hedgehog to chapel, and enjoying amateur archaeology, digging up molehills, "which, he considered, were the graves of baby Druids". A version of the story with illustrations by Phillida Gili was published as a children's book in 1977.
Betjeman also wrote a poem "Archibald" in which the bear is temporarily stuffed in the loft for fear of Betjeman appearing "soft" to his father.
Archie and Jumbo were in Betjeman's arms when he died in 1984.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
poet laureate
Poet Laureate
A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...
John Betjeman
John Betjeman
Sir John Betjeman, CBE was an English poet, writer and broadcaster who described himself in Who's Who as a "poet and hack".He was a founding member of the Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture...
. Together with an elephant known as Jumbo, he was a lifelong companion of Betjeman's.
Betjeman brought his bear with him when he went up to university at Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
in the 1920s, and as a result Archie became the model for Aloysius
Aloysius (Waugh)
Aloysius is Lord Sebastian Flyte's teddy bear in Evelyn Waugh's novel Brideshead Revisited .The model for Aloysius was Archibald Ormsby-Gore, the beloved teddy bear of John Betjeman, Waugh's friend at Oxford....
, Sebastian Flyte's bear in Evelyn Waugh
Evelyn Waugh
Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh , known as Evelyn Waugh, was an English writer of novels, travel books and biographies. He was also a prolific journalist and reviewer...
's novel Brideshead Revisited
Brideshead Revisited
Brideshead Revisited, The Sacred & Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder is a novel by English writer Evelyn Waugh, first published in 1945. Waugh wrote that the novel "deals with what is theologically termed 'the operation of Grace', that is to say, the unmerited and unilateral act of love by...
. In the 1940s, Betjeman also wrote an illustrated a story for his children, entitled Archie and the Strict Baptists, in which the bear's sojourns at the family's successive homes in Uffington
Uffington, Oxfordshire
Uffington is a village and civil parish about south of Faringdon. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire. Uffington is most commonly known as the location of the Uffington White Horse hill figure....
and Farnborough
Farnborough
Farnborough may refer to:* Farnborough, Berkshire, a small village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire* Farnborough, Hampshire, a town in the Rushmoor district of Hampshire, England...
are fictionalised. Archie is here described as a member of the Strict Baptist
Strict Baptist
Strict Baptists, also known as Particular Baptists, are Baptists who believe in a Calvinist or Reformed interpretation of Christian soteriology. The Particular Baptists arose in England in the 17th century and took their namesake from the doctrine of particular redemption.-Further reading:*History...
denomination, riding a hedgehog to chapel, and enjoying amateur archaeology, digging up molehills, "which, he considered, were the graves of baby Druids". A version of the story with illustrations by Phillida Gili was published as a children's book in 1977.
Betjeman also wrote a poem "Archibald" in which the bear is temporarily stuffed in the loft for fear of Betjeman appearing "soft" to his father.
Archie and Jumbo were in Betjeman's arms when he died in 1984.
Other sources
- Introduction to an exhibition on Betjeman at the Bodleian LibraryBodleian LibraryThe Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
- Betjeman: a "whim of iron", article by Brooke Allen in The New CriterionThe New CriterionThe New Criterion is a New York-based monthly literary magazine and journal of artistic and cultural criticism, edited by Hilton Kramer and Roger Kimball. It has sections for criticism of poetry, theater, art, music, the media, and books...
- Advertisement for a facsimile of Betjeman's original version of Archie and the Strict Baptists.