Major General John Hay Beith, CBE MC (17 April 1876 – 22 September 1952), was a British schoolmaster and soldier, but is best remembered as a novelist, playwright, essayist, and historian who wrote under the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

Ian Hay. After reading

Classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, Beith became a schoolmaster. In 1907 his novel '' Pip'' was published; its success and that of several more novels enabled him to give up teaching in 1912 to be a full-time writer. During the First World War, Beith served as an officer in the army in France. His good-humoured account of army life, ''The First Hundred Thousand'', published in 1915, was a best-seller. On the strength of this, he was sent to work in the information section of the British War Mission in Washington, D.C. After the war, Beith's novels did not achieve the popularity of his earlier work, but he made a considerable career as a dramatist, writing light comedies, often in collaboration with other authors including P. G. Wodehouse and

Guy Bolton Guy Reginald Bolton (23 November 1884 – 4 September 1979) was an Anglo-American playwright and writer of musical comedies. Born in England and educated in France and the US, he trained as an architect but turned to writing. Bolton preferred ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

Beith served as Director of Public Relations at the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

, retiring in 1941 shortly before his 65th birthday. Among Beith's later works were several war histories, which were not as well received as his comic fiction and plays. His one serious play, '' Hattie Stowe'' (1947), was politely reviewed but had a short run. In the same year he co-wrote a comedy, '' Off the Record'', which ran for more than 700 performances.

Life and career

Early years

John Hay Beith was born at Platt Abbey,

Rusholme Rusholme () is an area of Manchester, England, two miles south of the city centre. The population of the ward at the 2011 census was 13,643. Rusholme is bounded by Chorlton-on-Medlock to the north, Victoria Park and Longsight to the east, F ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

, the third son and sixth child of John Alexander Beith, and his wife Janet, ''née'' Fleming. Beith senior was a cotton merchant, magistrate, and leading member of the local Liberals.Murray, Patrick
"Beith, John Hay (1876–1952)"
rev. Katherine Mullin, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004, retrieved 23 February 2013 Both Beith's parents were of Scottish descent; his paternal grandfather was a Presbyterian clergyman, Alexander Beith, one of the founders of the Free Church of Scotland in 1843. Like his father, Beith had a lifelong pride in his Scottish ancestry; he did not share his father's political views, and was a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

."The Durham Contest", ''The Times'', 17 March 1939, p. 38 Beith was educated at a Manchester preparatory school, Lady Barn House, and then at

Fettes College Fettes College () is a co-educational independent boarding and day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, with over two-thirds of its pupils in residence on campus. The school was originally a boarding school for boys only and became co-ed in 1983. In ...

, Edinburgh."Maj.-Gen. J. H. Beith – 'Ian Hay', Novelist and Playwright'", ''The Times'', 23 September 1952, p. 8 A contemporary there was the future Liberal cabinet minister John Simon, for whom the young Beith fagged.Adcock, p. 98 From Fettes he went up to

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The ...

, where he read

, distinguished himself at rugby, and captained the college boat club. After graduating with a second class degree, he held temporary teaching posts at Charterhouse and Fettes. Unable to secure a permanent position teaching Classics he returned to Cambridge and spent what a biographer called "a laborious year in acquiring sufficient knowledge of chemistry and physics to fit him for a Senior Mastership". Beith joined Durham School in 1902 as junior science master; he also coached the rugby and boating crews. Durham was the model for Marbledown School in his 1936 play ''

Housemaster {{refimprove, date=September 2018 In British education, a housemaster is a schoolmaster in charge of a boarding house, normally at a boarding school and especially at a public school. The housemaster is responsible for the supervision and care ...

''. After four years at Durham, Beith taught for six years at Fettes, as master of one of the lower forms. He spent much of his leisure time in writing. His first novel, the schoolboy romance '' Pip'' (1907), appeared while he was still teaching at the school. He used the pen-name Ian Hay to save himself embarrassment in his professional capacity if the book failed. He offered the work to a succession of publishing firms, but it was rejected. Finally he paid a firm £50 to publish the book. ''Pip'' was an immediate success, and was still selling forty years later. It was a critical as well as a commercial success: ''

The Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

'' said, "''Pip'' is a restful and cheering book. We recommend it earnestly to any one who may be suffering from a glut of the 'feminism' of the current English imitations of Maupassant." Beith's cautiously adopted pen name was redundant for its original purpose of camouflage in case of failure, but he decided to stick with it; he remained "Ian Hay" in all his published work thereafter. Between 1908 and 1914 he followed ''Pip'' with five more novels, characterised by ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...

'' as "of the right stuff and happy-go-lucky, their good feeling saved from insipidity by its seasoning of piquant humour". In 1912, Beith resigned from Fettes, to work full-time as an author. In April the following year he was chosen as prospective Unionist (i.e. Conservative) candidate for the Kirkaldy Burghs constituency. He was unable to contest the seat as there was no general election until 1918, when the Unionists did not oppose the sitting member, a

coalition Liberal The Coalition Coupon was a letter sent to parliamentary candidates at the 1918 United Kingdom general election, endorsing them as official representatives of the Coalition Government. The 1918 election took place in the heady atmosphere of victory ...

First World War

On the outbreak of war in 1914, Beith joined the army as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army unt ...

in the

Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

. He was in France in April 1915, one of the first 100,000 of

Kitchener's Army The New Army, often referred to as Kitchener's Army or, disparagingly, as Kitchener's Mob, was an (initially) all-volunteer portion of the British Army formed in the United Kingdom from 1914 onwards following the outbreak of hostilities in the Fi ...

. In 1915 he married Helen Margaret Speirs, was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

. He compiled a book, published as ''The First Hundred Thousand''. It was assembled with the help of his publisher from a series of articles written for ''

Blackwood's Magazine ''Blackwood's Magazine'' was a British magazine and miscellany printed between 1817 and 1980. It was founded by the publisher William Blackwood and was originally called the ''Edinburgh Monthly Magazine''. The first number appeared in April 1817 ...

'', describing with wry humour life in his battalion. It became one of the most popular books of the time, with multiple editions in Britain (including a 1940 Penguin paperback) and the US, and was published as in France. ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' called it "a book which was read eagerly not only by the civilian public but also found its way into countless dugouts and redoubts in France, Mesopotamia, Palestine and Salonika." In 1916, Beith was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

for his conduct in the

Battle of Loos The Battle of Loos took place from 1915 in France on the Western Front, during the First World War. It was the biggest British attack of 1915, the first time that the British used poison gas and the first mass engagement of New Army units. Th ...

. Later that year, on the strength of the impact ''The First Hundred Thousand'' was making in neutral America, Beith was sent to Washington to join the information bureau of the British War Mission. His biographer Patrick Murray writes, " eith'senergy and success were rewarded by a CBE (1918) and promotion to the rank of

major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...

." While in the US, Beith contributed a series of six long articles to ''

'', running to a total of more than 8,000 words. Under the title of "The New America" they described American life and outlook for the better understanding of British readers. The paper commissioned a second series of such articles, published under the collective title "America at War" in March 1918. Unusually for ''The Times'' in that period, these articles were signed. The by-line was "Ian Hay"; it was public knowledge that Hay was a pen-name, and that it belonged to Beith, but he chose to go on maintaining a distinction between the author and the soldier.

Playwright

After the war Beith continued to write novels, but they did not achieve the great popularity of his earlier books. He became interested in the theatre, and wrote a succession of plays, several of which had notably long runs. ''The Times'' remarked that as a playwright Ian Hay was a name to conjure with. Between the First and Second World Wars, Beith had eight plays produced of which he was the sole author, and a further eleven written in collaboration with others. His co-authors were Anthony Armstrong,

Seymour Hicks Sir Edward Seymour Hicks (30 January 1871 – 6 April 1949), better known as Seymour Hicks, was a British actor, music hall performer, playwright, actor-manager and producer. He became known, early in his career, for writing, starring in and p ...

Stephen King-Hall William Stephen Richard King-Hall, Baron King-Hall of Headley (21 January 1893 – 2 June 1966) was a British naval officer, writer, politician and playwright who served as the member of parliament for Ormskirk from 1939 to 1945. Early life and ...

A E W Mason Alfred Edward Woodley Mason (7 May 1865 – 22 November 1948) was an English author and politician. He is best remembered for his 1902 novel of courage and cowardice in wartime, ''The Four Feathers'' and is also known as the creator of Inspect ...

Edgar Wallace Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (1 April 1875 – 10 February 1932) was a British writer. Born into poverty as an illegitimate London child, Wallace left school at the age of 12. He joined the army at age 21 and was a war correspondent during th ...

and P. G. Wodehouse."Beith, Maj.-Gen. John Hay"
''Who Was Who'', A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edition, Oxford University Press, December, retrieved 23 February 2013 His longest running plays in the inter-war years were '' Tilly of Bloomsbury'' (1919; 414 performances), '' Good Luck'' (with Seymour Hicks, 1923; 262 performances), '' The Sport of Kings'' (1924; 319 performances) and ''

'' (1936; 662 performances). Beith was intermittently involved with the cinema. While in the US in 1917 he had served as technical adviser to Cecil B. DeMille on the film '' The Little American''. Between the wars he wrote or co-wrote original screenplays, such as ''

Keep Your Seats, Please ''Keep Your Seats, Please'' is a 1936 British comedy film directed by Monty Banks and starring George Formby, Florence Desmond and Alastair Sim. It marked the film debut of the child star Binkie Stuart. The film was made by Associated Talking Pi ...

'' (1936); and adapted his own and other authors' works for the screen, including ''

Tommy Atkins Tommy Atkins (often just Tommy) is slang for a common soldier in the British Army. It was certainly well established during the nineteenth century, but is particularly associated with the First World War. It can be used as a term of reference ...

'' (1928), and '' The 39 Steps'' (1935). For several more films of the period, Beith's original plays such as '' The Middle Watch'' (1930) were adapted by other writers. In all, Beith's work featured in one of these ways in 25 films between 1921 and 1940. In 1938 Beith published ''The King's Service'', described by ''The Times'' as "an attempt to give an informal history of the British infantry soldier in peace and war". Like his novels and plays, the book was published under his customary pen-name. The work so impressed the

Secretary of State for War The Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, which existed from 1794 to 1801 and from 1854 to 1964. The Secretary of State for War headed the War Office and ...

, Leslie Hore-Belisha, that he appointed Beith Director of Public Relations at the

. From being a major on the retired list, Beith was given the honorary rank of

major-general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

. He served from November 1938 to January 1941, retiring as he approached his 65th birthday.

Last years

After leaving the War Office, Beith published several volumes of war histories, but his habitual light and witty prose was widely thought unsuited to so grave a subject. In 1947 his only serious play, ''Hattie Stowe'' was presented at the Embassy Theatre,

Swiss Cottage Swiss Cottage is an area of Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden, England. It is centred on the junction of Avenue Road and Finchley Road and includes Swiss Cottage tube station. Swiss Cottage lies north-northwest of Charing Cross. Th ...

, London. The play was a biographical study of

Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and became best known for her novel '' Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1852), which depicts the har ...

; it was respectfully reviewed, but made little impact. In the same year he had one of his greatest successes, with '' Off the Record'' (co-written with Stephen King-Hall), which ran for 702 performances. Beith's prose was praised by ''The Times'' for "its lightness and deftness". Among his best-known coinages are (from ''Housemaster'') "What do you mean, funny? Funny-peculiar or funny ha-ha?" and (from ''The First Hundred Thousand'') "War is hell, and all that, but it has a good deal to recommend it. It wipes out all the small nuisances of peace-time." He either invented or popularised the phrase "nothing to write home about", denoting something mediocre or unexceptional. Beith died in the Hillbrow Nursing Home in

Liss Liss, Lyss or LISS may refer to *Liss (band), a Danish musical group * Liss (name), a given name and surname *Liss, Hampshire, a village in England **West Liss, the oldest part of Liss village **Liss Forest, a hamlet near Liss ** Liss Athletic F. ...

, near

Petersfield Petersfield is a market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is north of Portsmouth. The town has its own railway station on the Portsmouth Direct line, the mainline rail link connecting Portsmouth a ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

, on 22 September 1952 after several weeks' illness. His wife outlived him; there were no children of the marriage. He was buried in

Brookwood Cemetery Brookwood Cemetery, also known as the London Necropolis, is a burial ground in Brookwood, Surrey, England. It is the largest cemetery in the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe. The cemetery is listed a Grade I site in the Regi ...

Bibliography

Books

*'' Pip'', 1907 *''The Right Stuff'', 1908 *''A Man's Man'', 1909 *'' A Safety Match'', 1911 (illustrated by Frank G. Cootes) *''Happy-Go-Lucky'', 1913 *''A Knight on Wheels'', 1914 *''The Lighter Side of School Life'', 1914 *''The First Hundred Thousand "K (1)"'', 1915 *''Carrying On'', 1917 *''The Last Million'', 1918 *''The Willing Horse'', 1921 *''The Lucky Number'', 1923 *''The Shallow End'', 1924 *''Paid in Full'', 1925 *''Paid With Thanks'', 1925 *
Half-a-Sovereign
', 1926 *''The Poor Gentleman'', 1928 *''The Middle Watch'', 1930 *''Their Name Liveth'', 1931 *''

The Midshipmaid ''The Midshipmaid'' is a 1932 British comedy film directed by Albert de Courville and starring Jessie Matthews, Frederick Kerr, Basil Sydney and Nigel Bruce. The film is based on the 1931 play of the same title by Ian Hay and Stephen King-Ha ...

'', 1933 *''The Great Wall of India'', 1933 *''David and Destiny'', 1934 *''Lucky Dog'', 1934 *
Housemaster
', 1936 *''The King's Service'', 1938 *''Stand at Ease'', 1940 *''Little Ladyship'', 1941 *''America Comes Across'', 1942 *''The Unconquered Isle (Malta, GC)'', 1943 *''The Post Office went to War'', 1946 *''Peaceful Invasion'', 1946 *''ROF, the Story of the Royal Ordnance Factories'', 1948 *''Arms and the Men'', 1939–1945 *''The History of the King's Bodyguard for Scotland (1676–1950) *''100 years of Army Nursing'', 1953 (published posthumously) *''Cousin Christopher'', 1953 (published posthumously)

Plays

*'' Tilly of Bloomsbury'' (1919) *'' A Safety Match'' (1921) *''

The Happy Ending ''The Happy Ending'' is a 1969 drama film written and directed by Richard Brooks, which tells the story of a repressed housewife who longs for liberation from her husband and daughter. It stars Jean Simmons (who received an Oscar nomination), J ...

'' (1922) *'' Good Luck'' (1923, with Seymour Hicks) *'' The Sport of Kings'' (1924) *''A Damsel in Distress'' (1928, with P G Wodehouse) *''Baa, Baa, Black Sheep'' (1929, with P G Wodehouse) *'' The Middle Watch'' ( 1929, with Stephen King-Hall) (filmed in

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will b ...

, 1940 and

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

) *''

A Song of Sixpence ''A Song of Sixpence'' is a 1964 novel by A. J. Cronin about the coming to manhood of Laurence Carroll and his life in Scotland. Its sequel is ''A Pocketful of Rye ''A Pocketful of Rye'' is a 1969 novel by A. J. Cronin about a young Scotti ...

'' (1930, with Guy Bolton) *''

Leave It to Psmith ''Leave It to Psmith'' is a comic novel by English author P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on 30 November 1923 by Herbert Jenkins, London, England, and in the United States on 14 March 1924 by George H. Doran, New York.M ...

'' (1930, with P G Wodehouse), *'' Mr Faint-Heart'' (1931) *''

'' (1931, with Stephen King-Hall) *'' Orders Are Orders'' (1932, with Anthony Armstrong) *'' A Present from Margate'' (1933, with A E W Mason) *''

Admirals All ''Admirals All'' is a 1935 British comedy film directed by Victor Hanbury and starring Wynne Gibson, Gordon Harker, Anthony Bushell and George Curzon. It was based on the 1934 play of the same title by Ian Hay and Stephen King-Hall. Premise ...

'' (1934, with Stephen King-Hall) *''

The Frog ''The Frog'' is a 1937 British crime film directed by Jack Raymond and starring Gordon Harker, Noah Beery, Jack Hawkins and Carol Goodner. The film is about the police chasing a criminal mastermind who goes by the name of The Frog, and the 193 ...

'' (1936, from novel by Edgar Wallace), *''

'' (1936) *'' The Gusher'' (1937) *''

Little Ladyship ''Little Ladyship'' is a 1939 comedy play by the British writer Ian Hay. It premiered at the King's Theatre, Glasgow before beginning its West End run at the Strand Theatre and later transferring to the Aldwych Theatre. The original West End r ...

'' (1939) *'' Off the Record'' (1947, with Stephen King-Hall) *'' Hattie Stowe'' (1947) *'' The White Sheep of the Family'' (1951, with L. du Garde Peach),

Notes and references

;Notes ;References

Sources

* *

External links

* * * * *
Portraits
in the

National Portrait Gallery (London) The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beith, John Hay 1876 births 1952 deaths Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders officers British Army personnel of World War I 20th-century British novelists Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Commanders of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Fettes College Recipients of the Military Cross Scottish dramatists and playwrights Burials at Brookwood Cemetery