Robert Cedric Sherriff, FSA,

FRSL The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the ...

(6 June 1896 – 13 November 1975) was an English writer best known for his play '' Journey's End'', which was based on his experiences as an army officer in the First World War. He wrote several plays, many novels, and multiple screenplays, and was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

and two

BAFTA awards The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs or BAFTA Awards, is an annual film award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best Cinema of the United Kingdom, British and Worl ...

Early life

Sherriff was born in

Hampton Wick Hampton Wick is a Thamesside area of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England, contiguous with Teddington, Kingston upon Thames and Bushy Park. Market gardening continued until well into the twentieth century. With its road and rail ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

, to insurance clerk Herbert Hankin Sherriff and Constance Winder. He was educated at Kingston Grammar School in

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames, colloquially known as Kingston, is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, England. It is situated on the River Thames, south-west of Charing Cross. It is an ancient market town, notable as ...

from 1905 to 1913. After he left school, Sherriff began working at an

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect ...

office as a clerk in 1914.

Military service

Sherriff served as an officer in the 9th battalion of the

East Surrey Regiment The East Surrey Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1959. The regiment was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 31st (Huntingdonshire) Regiment of Foot, the 70th ( ...

in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, taking part in the fighting at Vimy Ridge and Loos. He was severely wounded at Passchendaele near

Ypres Ypres ( ; ; ; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres/Ieper ...

in 1917.

Post-war period

After recovering from his wounds, Sherriff worked as an insurance adjuster from 1918 to 1928 at Sun Insurance Company, London. Sherriff read history at

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

, from 1931 to 1934. He was a fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 800 Fellows, elect ...

and the

Society of Antiquaries of London The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society of historians and archaeologists in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1707, received its royal charter in 1751 and is a Charitable organization, registered charity. It is based ...

Career

Playwright

Sherriff wrote his first play to help Kingston Rowing Club raise money to buy a new boat. Sherriff started writing his seventh play, '' Journey's End'', probably his most famous, during the summer of 1927 in one of the railway carriage bungalows at

Selsey Selsey () is a seaside town and civil parishes in England, civil parish, about south of Chichester, West Sussex, England. Selsey lies at the southernmost point of the Manhood Peninsula, almost cut off from mainland Sussex by the sea. It is in ...

. It was published in 1929 and was based on his experiences in the war. It was given a single Sunday performance, on 9 December 1928, by the Incorporated Stage Society at the Apollo Theatre, directed by

James Whale James Whale (22 July 1889 – 29 May 1957) was an English film director, theatre director and actor, who spent the greater part of his career in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood. He is best remembered for several horror films: ''Fra ...

and with the 21-year-old

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...

in the lead role. In the audience was Maurice Browne who produced it at the Savoy Theatre where it was performed for two years from 1929. The play was hugely successful and there was wide press coverage which reveals how audience responses provoked by this play shaped understanding of the First World War in the interwar years.

Novelist

A novelised version of ''Journey's End'', co-written with Vernon Bartlett, was published in 1930. '' The Fortnight in September'', Sherriff's first true novel of 1931, describes a Bognor holiday enjoyed by a lower-middle-class family from

Dulwich Dulwich (; ) is an area in south London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark, with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth, and consists of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, West Dulwich, and the Southwark half of H ...

. It was nominated by

Kazuo Ishiguro is a Japanese-born English novelist, screenwriter, musician, and short-story writer. He is one of the most critically acclaimed contemporary fiction authors writing in English, having been awarded several major literary prizes, including the 2 ...

as a book to 'inspire, uplift and offer escape' in a 2020 list compiled by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. He described it as "just about the most uplifting, life-affirming novel I can think of right now". Sherriff's 1936 novel ''Greengates'' is a realistic novel about a middle-aged couple, Tom and Edith Baldwin, moving from an established London suburb into the new suburbs of

Metro-land Metro-land (or Metroland – see note on spelling, below) is a name given to the suburban areas that were built to the north-west of London in the counties of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Middlesex in the early part of the 20th century th ...

. His 1939 novel, '' The Hopkins Manuscript'' is an

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...

-influenced post-apocalyptic story about an earth devastated after a collision with the Moon. Its sober language and realistic depiction of an average man coming to terms with a ruined England is said to have been an influence on later science fiction authors such as

John Wyndham John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris (; 10 July 1903 – 11 March 1969) was an English science fiction writer best known for his works published under the pen name John Wyndham, although he also used other combinations of his name ...

and

Brian Aldiss Brian Wilson Aldiss (; 18 August 1925 – 19 August 2017) was an English writer, artist and anthology editor, best known for science fiction novels and short stories. His byline reads either Brian W. Aldiss or simply Brian Aldiss, except for oc ...

Award nominations

Sherriff was nominated along with

Eric Maschwitz Albert Eric Maschwitz Order of the British Empire, OBE (10 June 1901 – 27 October 1969), sometimes credited as Holt Marvell, was an English entertainer, writer, editor, broadcaster and broadcasting executive. Life and work Born in Edgbaston, ...

and

Claudine West Claudine West (16 January 1890 – 11 April 1943) was a British novelist and screenwriter who was a three-time Academy Awards, Academy Award nominee. She moved to Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood in 1929, and was employed by MGM on many films, in ...

for an Academy award for writing an adapted screenplay for '' Goodbye, Mr. Chips'' which was released in 1939. His 1955 screenplays, '' The Dam Busters'' and '' The Night My Number Came Up'' were nominated for best British screenplay

BAFTA award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs or BAFTA Awards, is an annual film award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to f ...

Work

Plays

*1921: '' A Hitch in the Proceedings'' *1922: '' The Woods of Meadowside'' *1923: ''

Profit and Loss An income statement or profit and loss accountProfessional English in Use - Finance, Cambridge University Press, p. 10 (also referred to as a ''profit and loss statement'' (P&L), ''statement of profit or loss'', ''revenue statement'', ''statement o ...

'' *1924: '' Cornlow-in-the-Downs'' *1925: ''The Feudal System'' *1926: '' Mr. Bridie's Finger'' *1928: '' Journey's End'' - the 2007 Broadway revival won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play and the

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Awards are among the most esteemed honors in New York theater, recognizing outstanding achievements across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions within the same categories. The awards are considered a signific ...

for Outstanding Revival of a Play *1930: '' Badger's Green'' *1933: '' Windfall'' *1934: '' Two Hearts Doubled'' *1936: '' St Helena'' *1948: '' Miss Mabel'' *1950: '' Home at Seven'' *1953: '' The White Carnation'' *1955: '' The Long Sunset'' *1957: ''The Telescope'' *1960: ''A Shred of Evidence (or The Strip of Steel)''

Film scripts

*1919: '' The Toilers'' *1933: ''

The Invisible Man ''The Invisible Man'' is an 1897 science fiction novel by British writer H. G. Wells. Originally serialised in '' Pearson's Weekly'' in 1897, it was published as a novel the same year. The Invisible Man to whom the title refers is Griffin, a s ...

'' *1934: '' One More River'' *1937: '' The Road Back'' *1939: '' Goodbye, Mr. Chips'' – nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay adapted from previously established material. The most frequently adapted media are novels, but other adapted narrative formats include stage plays, mus ...

along with his co-writers

*1939: '' The Four Feathers'' *1941: '' That Hamilton Woman'' *1942: '' This Above All'' *1942: '' Stand by for Action'' *1947: '' Odd Man Out'' *1948: '' Quartet'' *1950: '' Trio'' *1950: '' No Highway in the Sky'' *1955: '' The Dam Busters'' – nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best British Screenplay *1955: '' The Night My Number Came Up'' – nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best British Screenplay (NB: both films were nominated for the 1955 BAFTA awards.) *1955: ''Cards with Uncle Tom'' (TV) *1963: ''The Ogburn Story'' (TV)

Books

* * (Reprinted in 2006 by Persephone Books); * (Reprinted in 2015 by Persephone Books) * (Revised and reissued as a Pan Paperback in 1958 under the title ''The Cataclysm''; Reprinted in 2005 by Persephone Books under its original title.) * * * * * *

Notes and references

Notes

References

External links

*
Sherriff's literary agents
* *
The Man from Esher and his Theatre of War
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sherriff, R. C. 1896 births 1975 deaths British Army personnel of World War I East Surrey Regiment officers Military personnel from the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames English male screenwriters Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London People from Kingston upon Thames War writers Alumni of New College, Oxford People educated at Kingston Grammar School English male dramatists and playwrights English male novelists 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English male writers Artists' Rifles soldiers English male non-fiction writers 20th-century English screenwriters Territorial Force soldiers