William Jeffrey Prowse, often known as Jeff Prowse (6 May 1839 - 17 April 1870) was an English

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...

 journalist, poet, humorist and lyricist. An only child born in Torquay

Torquay

Torquay is a town in the unitary authority area of Torbay and ceremonial county of Devon, England. It lies south of Exeter along the A380 on the north of Torbay, north-east of Plymouth and adjoins the neighbouring town of Paignton on the west of the bay. Torquay’s population of 63,998 during the...

, Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

, he resided with his uncle, shipbroker John Sparke Prowse in Greenwich

Greenwich

Greenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...

, following the death of his father in 1844 when Prowse aged eight, and inherited from his mother Marianne Jeffrey - who "contributed to the annuals, and published a volume of poems" - her literary skills. His mother would die in 1850. Prowse, a "journalist of great brilliancy and power", contributed to Chambers' Journal, Ladies' Companion, National Magazine and the Aylesbury News, before writing for the Daily Telegraph when covering the Oxford Cambridge boat races. Prowse was also noted for his affection for polar expeditions and cricket

Cricket

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

 - and is known for his seven verse eulogy for Alfred Mynn

Alfred Mynn

Alfred Mynn was an English cricketer during the game's "Roundarm Era". He was a genuine all-rounder, being both an attacking right-handed batsman and a formidable right arm fast bowler. The noted cricket writer John Woodcock ranked him as the fourth greatest cricketer of all time. Simon Wilde...

.

Prowse died in Nice

Nice

Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...

 on Easter Day, 17 April 1870. Thomas Hay Sweet Escott called him "the last of the highly-gifted Bohemians of London." The majority of his poems were published after his death in a volume entitled Nicholas Notes edited by Tom Hood

Tom Hood

Tom Hood , was an English humorist and playwright, son of the poet and author Thomas Hood. A prolific author, he was appointed, in 1865, editor of the magazine Fun. He also founded Tom Hood's Comic Annual in 1867....

, and in 1890 the Nation

The Nation

The Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...

remembered the work as "yet a delight to the few who recall its pleasant humour."