Samuel Syrus Hunt (1873–1953) wrote poetry under the pseudonym Bernard Moore. He had six books published of both his own and collected works beginning in 1914. His subject was mainly

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, in particular its fishermen but he also wrote

war poetry War poetry is poetry on the topic of war. While the term is applied especially to works of the First World War, the term can be applied to poetry about any war, including Homer's ''Iliad'', from around the 8th century BC as well as poetry of th ...

. Many of his poems are written in the

Cornish dialect The Cornish dialect (also known as Cornish English, Anglo-Cornish or Cornu-English) is a dialect of English spoken in Cornwall by Cornish people. Dialectal English spoken in Cornwall is to some extent influenced by Cornish grammar, and often i ...

. He also collected some Cornish songs. He is best known for his poem 'Travelling' which contrasts the sights and sounds of a

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

journey through grimy

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

with the

tranquility Tranquillity (also spelled tranquility) is the quality or state of being tranquil; that is, calm, serene, and worry-free. The word tranquillity appears in numerous texts ranging from the religious writings of Buddhism—where the term refers to ...

of one on the

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

Looe Valley Line The Looe Valley Line is an community railway from Liskeard railway station, Liskeard to Looe railway station, Looe in Cornwall, England, that follows the valley of the River Looe, East Looe River for much of its course. It is operated by Great ...

Personal life

Hunt lived in

Catford Catford is a district in south east London, England, and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Lewisham. It is southwest of Lewisham itself, mostly in the Rushey Green (ward), Rushey Green and Catford South Ward (electoral subdivi ...

, London and later near

Tring Tring is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Dacorum, Hertfordshire, England. It is situated in a gap passing through the Chiltern Hills, classed as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, from Central London. Tring is linked ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

. While working as a teacher in London in 1918 he enlisted in the British Army and served as a Sergeant in the

and

Middlesex Regiment The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1966. The regiment was formed, as the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment), in 1881 as part of the Childers Re ...

s from 1918-19. He was made a bard of the

Cornish Gorseth Gorsedh Kernow (Cornish Gorsedd) is a non-political Cornish organisation, based in Cornwall, United Kingdom, which exists to maintain the national Celtic spirit of Cornwall. It is based on the Welsh-based Gorsedd, which was founded by Iolo Mor ...

in 1934 taking the

bardic name A bardic name (, ) is a pseudonym used in Wales, Cornwall, or Brittany by poets and other artists, especially those involved in the eisteddfod movement. The Welsh language, Welsh term bardd ('poet') originally referred to the Welsh poets of the M ...

'Morrep'

Travelling (poem)

In his poem written c. 1919, Hunt lists stations along the railway line towards the City as called out by the

Porter Porter may refer to: Companies * Porter Airlines, Canadian airline based in Toronto * Porter Chemical Company, a defunct U.S. toy manufacturer of chemistry sets * Porter Motor Company, defunct U.S. car manufacturer * H.K. Porter, Inc., a locom ...

: : ‘

Peckham Rye Peckham Rye is an open space and road in the London Borough of Southwark, London, England. The roughly triangular open space lies to the south of Peckham and consists of two contiguous areas, Peckham Rye Common to the north and Peckham Rye Park t ...

Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood (borough), Charnwood Borough of Leicestershire, England; it is the administrative centre of Charnwood Borough Council. At the United Kingdom 2021 census, the town's built-up area had a popula ...

Elephant Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...

, St. Paul’s,’ and contrasts them with idyllic sounding destinations on the

Liskeard and Looe Railway The Liskeard and Looe Railway was a railway originally built between Moorswater, in the valley west of Liskeard, and Looe, in Cornwall, England, UK, and later extended to Liskeard station on the Cornish Main Line railway. The first section was ...

: : ‘ Moorswater, Causeland,

Sandplace Sandplace () is a small village in the parish of Morval, Cornwall, Morval, located two miles north of Looe in Cornwall, Great Britain. It is situated on the B3254, the old Liskeard to Looe road which connects the A387 to the south. The village lie ...

Looe Looe (; , ) is a coastal town and civil parish in south-east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, with a population of 5,280 at the 2011 census. Looe is west of Plymouth and south of Liskeard, divided in two by the River Looe, East Looe () a ...

’… ''The Bookman'' wrote of it in 1919 "There is sincerity in every line ..a note of deep feeling in the seemingly lightly expressed poem 'Travelling'". In 1925 the Rev. T. W. Slater in the journal ''The United Methodist'' wrote "I wonder how many Cornishmen there are in and around London! I have no idea, but I am certain in all that vast number there's not one but shares Mr. Moore's feeling in 'Travelling'. The poem inspired the creation of a computer simulation of the Looe branch line in 2007. In 2012 the railway author Michael Williams called it "one of the most evocative, I reckon, ever written about a country branch line". When written Peckham Rye, Loughborough Junction, Elephant & Castle and St. Paul’s were stations on the

London, Chatham and Dover Railway The London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR or LC&DR) was a railway company in south-eastern England. It was created on 1 August 1859, when the East Kent Railway was given parliamentary approval to change its name. Its lines ran through Lond ...

, now Kent

Thameslink Thameslink is a mainline route on the British railway network, running from , , , , , and via central London to , , , Rainham, , , and . The network opened as a through service in 1988, with severe overcrowding by 1998, carrying more than ...

. St. Paul's has since been renamed Blackfriars and Kent Thameslink trains no longer call at Loughborough Junction. Moorswater closed to passengers in 1901 when a connection to

Liskeard Liskeard ( ; ) is an ancient stannary and market town in south-east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of Plymouth, west of the Devon border, and 12 miles (20 km) east of Bodmin. Th ...

was opened.

Bibliography

*
Cornish Catches
' (1914), London: Erskine Macdonald * ''A Cornish Haul'' (1916), London: Arthur H. Stockwell *
A Cornish Chorus
' (1919), London:

Sidgwick and Jackson Sidgwick & Jackson was an imprint of book publishing company Pan Macmillan. Formerly it was an independent publisher; as such, it was founded in Britain in 1908. Its early authors include poet Rupert Brooke and novelist E.M. Forster. In more ...

* ''Cornish Corners'' (1923), London: C. W. Daniel * ''A Cornish Collection'' (1933), London: C. W. Daniel * ''A Cornish Gleaning'' (1948), London: Peter Ratazzi * ''Cornish Crowsheaf'' (1949), self-published

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Bernard 1953 deaths 20th-century English poets 1873 births English male poets Writers from Cornwall British Army personnel of World War I British World War I poets 20th-century English male writers Bards of Gorsedh Kernow

Personal life

Travelling (poem)

Bibliography

See also

References