John Bayliss was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 poet

Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

 and significant literary editor of the World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 period; later in life a civil servant. He was born in Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....

, and was an undergraduate at St Catharine's College, Cambridge

St Catharine's College, Cambridge

St. Catharine’s College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1473, the college is often referred to informally by the nickname "Catz".-History:...

. He served in the RAF

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 during the war.

He edited: The Fortune Anthology (1942) with Nicholas Moore

Nicholas Moore

Nicholas Moore was an English poet, associated with the New Apocalyptics in the 1940s, who later dropped out of the literary world.Moore was born in Cambridge, England; his father was the philosopher G. E. Moore...

, and Douglas Newton; New Road (1943 and 1944) with Alex Comfort

Alex Comfort

Alexander Comfort, MB BChir, PhD, DSc was a medical professional, gerontologist, anarchist, pacifist, conscientious objector and writer, best known for The Joy of Sex, which played a part in what is often called the sexual revolution...

; A Romantic Miscellany (1946) with Derek Stanford

Derek Stanford

Derek Stanford FRSL was a British writer, known as a biographer, essayist and poet. He was educated at Upper Latymer School, Hammersmith, London.As a conscientious objector during World War II he served in the Non-combatant Corps...

. His collection The White Knight and other poems was published in 1944. He contributed in the war years to Poetry London and Poetry Quarterly; later to Poetry Review. He was also published in Air Force Poetry (1944). In 1977 he published "Venus in Libra" in full, some sections of which had been published in "Poetry Quarterly" and "New Road 1944"

He is sometimes associated with the New Apocalyptics

New Apocalyptics

The New Apocalyptics were a poetry grouping in the UK in the 1940s, taking their name from the anthology The New Apocalypse , which was edited by J. F. Hendry and Henry Treece...

, perhaps because of his poem Apocalypse and Resurrection; he is also called a surrealist, or New Romantic.

John Bayliss died on the 18th August 2008