George Llewelyn Davies (20 July 1893 – 15 March 1915) was the eldest son of

Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

and

Sylvia Llewelyn Davies Sylvia Jocelyn Busson Llewelyn Davies (née du Maurier; 25 November 1866 – 27 August 1910) was the mother of the boys who were the inspiration for the stories of Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie. She was the daughter of cartoonist and writer George ...

. Along with his four younger brothers, George was the inspiration for playwright

J. M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succe ...

's characters of

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical ...

and the Lost Boys. The character of Mr. George Darling was named after him. He was killed in action 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 ...

. He was the first cousin of the English writer

Daphne du Maurier Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning, (; 13 May 1907 – 19 April 1989) was an English novelist, biographer and playwright. Her parents were actor-manager Gerald du Maurier, Sir Gerald du Maurier and his wife, actress Muriel Beaumont. Her gra ...

Early life

Davies (the family only used the double surname Llewelyn Davies on official occasions) and his brother

Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, incl ...

met Barrie during their regular outings to

Kensington Gardens Kensington Gardens, once the private gardens of Kensington Palace, are among the Royal Parks of London. The gardens are shared by the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and sit immediately to the west of Hyde Pa ...

, with their nurse Mary Hodgson. As the oldest (he was four years old when he met Barrie) he featured most prominently in the early storytelling and play adventures from which the writer drew ideas for Barrie's works around that time about young boys. He and Jack (and to a lesser extent

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

) were featured in a photo storybook ''The Boy Castaways'' which Barrie made during a shared holiday at Barrie's Black Lake Cottage in 1901. In the 1904 play ''

Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up ''Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up'', often known simply as ''Peter Pan'', is a work by J. M. Barrie, in the form of a 1904 play and a 1911 novel titled ''Peter and Wendy''. Both versions tell the story of Peter Pan, a mischievou ...

'', Peter Pan is roughly 10 – the same age that Davies was when Barrie began writing the play in 1903. Barrie reported taking some of the characterisation of Peter and individual Lost Boys from things Davies and his younger brothers said or did. For example, in response to Barrie's oral tales about babies who died and went to live in

Neverland Neverland is a fictional island featured in the works of J. M. Barrie and those based on them. It is an imaginary faraway place where Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, Captain Hook, the Lost Boys, and some other imaginary beings and creatures live. ...

, the boy reportedly exclaimed, "To die will be an awfully big adventure"; this became one of Peter Pan's most memorable lines. Barrie financially supported Davies and his brothers following the death of their father (1907), and became their primary guardian following the death of their mother (1910). Davies remained very close with "Uncle Jim" as he grew up and went away to school, with the two exchanging letters regularly. His youngest brother

Nico Christa Päffgen (; 16 October 1938 – 18 July 1988), known by her stage name Nico, was a German singer, songwriter, actress, and model. Nico had roles in several films, including Federico Fellini's '' La Dolce Vita'' (1960) and Andy Warhol's ...

later described him (and their brother

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

) as "The Ones": the boys who meant the most to Barrie.

Adult life

Davies attended the

Berkhamsted School Berkhamsted School is a private day school (known in the UK as a public school), in the market town of Berkhamsted, in Hertfordshire, England. The present school was formed in 1997 by the amalgamation of the original Berkhamsted School, founded ...

followed by

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

, where he excelled at sports (especially

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

) and was elected to the elite social club Pop while still an underclassman. He later attended

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, where he joined the Amateur Dramatic Club (ADC), following in the footsteps of both his uncle, actor

Gerald du Maurier Sir Gerald Hubert Edward Busson du Maurier (26 March 1873 – 11 April 1934) was an English actor and Actor-manager, manager. He was the son of author George du Maurier and his wife, Emma Wightwick, and the brother of Sylvia Llewelyn Davies ...

, and his dramatist guardian. Following the UK's entry into

World War I 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 ...

, Davies and his brother

volunteered for service. He received a commission as a second lieutenant in the

King's Royal Rifle Corps The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United Sta ...

and served in the

trenches A trench is a type of excavation or depression in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a swale or a bar ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or pit). In geology, trenches res ...

in Flanders On the morning of 15 March 1915, Davies attended an early morning briefing with the battalion's colonel, where the officers were receiving instructions for an advance on the German position at St. Eloi (Ypres). Resting on a bank, Davies had not realised he was sitting in an exposed position. He died of a gunshot wound to the head, aged 21, killed by a German sniper. This occurred six days after the death of his uncle, Colonel

Guy du Maurier Guy Louis Busson du Maurier Distinguished Service Order, DSO (18 May 1865, London, England – 9 March 1915, Kemmel, Flanders, Belgium) was an English people, English Officer (armed forces), army officer and playwright. He was the son of the ...

. J. M. Barrie wrote to George to inform him of his uncle's death, but by the time Barrie received his reply, George himself had been killed.Birkin, Andrew: ''J. M. Barrie & the Lost Boys'' Yale University Press, 2003 Originally buried near where he fell, his remains were later moved to the Voormezeele Enclosures Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemeteries in Voormezele, 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 ...

, Belgium.

Portrayals

In the 1978

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

mini-series In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

The Lost Boys ''The Lost Boys'' is a 1987 American comedy horror film directed by Joel Schumacher, produced by Harvey Bernhard, and with the screenplay written by Jeffrey Boam, Janice Fischer, and James Jeremias, from a story by Fischer and Jeremias. The ...

'', he was portrayed at various ages by Barnaby Holm (son of actor

Ian Holm Sir Ian Holm Cuthbert (12 September 1931 – 19 June 2020) was an English actor. After graduating from RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) and beginning his career on the British stage as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he became a ...

, who portrayed Barrie), Paul Holmes, Philip Kassler, Mark Benson and Christopher Blake. In the 2004 film '' Finding Neverland'' he was portrayed as a child by Nick Roud. In 2014 he was portrayed by Sawyer Nunes in the musical adaptation ''Finding Neverland'' and in its 2015 Broadway production.

References

*Birkin, Andrew: ''J. M. Barrie & the Lost Boys'' (Yale University Press, 2003) {{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, George Llewelyn 1893 births 1915 deaths

George George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

King's Royal Rifle Corps officers Military personnel from London British military personnel killed in World War I British Army personnel of World War I People educated at Eton College Du Maurier family Deaths by firearm in Belgium Burials at Voormezeele Enclosure 3 Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery