Gerald Yorke
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Major Gerald Joseph Yorke (10 December 1901 – 29 April 1983) was an English soldier and writer. He was a
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correspondent while in China for two years in the 1930s, and wrote a book ''China Changes'' (1936).


Life

Gerald Joseph Yorke was born in the family home, Forthampton Court, near
Tewkesbury Tewkesbury ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the north of Gloucestershire, England. The town grew following the construction of Tewkesbury Abbey in the twelfth century and played a significant role in the Wars of the Roses. It stands at ...
,
Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...
, on 10 December 1901; the second son of Vincent Wodehouse Yorke and Hon. Maud Evelyn Wyndham. His younger brother was the novelist, Henry Yorke, who wrote under the penname 'Henry Green'. He attended
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 ...
, and then Trinity College,
Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
, where he gained a first class degree in history
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
. On leaving university, an interest in the occult and mysticism led him to contact
Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley ( ; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, novelist, mountaineer, and painter. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pr ...
, with whom he was closely associated for four years. Yorke was also a member of Crowley's magical order the
A∴A∴ The A∴A∴ ( ) is a magical organization established in 1907 by Aleister Crowley, a Western esotericist. Its members are dedicated to the advancement of humanity by perfection of the individual on every plane through a graded series of univ ...
, and supervised a number of neophyte members. He joined the Territorial Army and was commissioned in the 21st (Gloucestershire Hussars) Armoured Car Company, Tank Corps in 1922, later gaining the rank of
Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...
. In September 1932 Yorke left England for China, where he travelled extensively reporting for
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...
on the civil war and Japanese occupation of
Manchuria Manchuria is a historical region in northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day northeast China and parts of the modern-day Russian Far East south of the Uda (Khabarovsk Krai), Uda River and the Tukuringra-Dzhagdy Ranges. The exact ...
, and studying Chinese culture and
Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
. The travels of Yorke together with his interpreter Li through often bandit-stricken areas were described in his book ''China Changes'' and also commented on by adventurer and Special Correspondent to ''The Times'' Peter Fleming in his '' One's Company'', a travelogue of a journey to China in 1933. Some of his papers from this period have been given to the library of the
School of Oriental and African Studies The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury area ...
at London University. Returning to England he took a managerial position with the family firm, Pontifex & Co., brewing and sanitary engineers. He married Angela Vivien Duncan, elder daughter of Major General Sir John Duncan, and the pair had three children: John Sarne, Vincent James and Michael Piers. During the war years the family lived in Cambridge where Yorke was posted to oversee airfield defence. At the cessation of hostilities, he took a position in the London office of Pontifex, with the family dividing their time between Forthampton Court and their house in Montagu Square, Marylebone. Yorke was also the personal representative to the West of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama (died 1933) and the author of an original foreword to a secret book on the Kalachakra initiation. Although no longer a practising occultist, Yorke retained a strong interest in the subject, particularly in the work of Aleister Crowley. Towards the end of Crowley's life Yorke was known as his chief disciple and during this period and after Crowley's death, Yorke assembled an important collection of relevant books and documents which he bequeathed to the
Warburg Institute The Warburg Institute is a research institution associated with the University of London in central London, England. A member of the School of Advanced Study, its focus is the study of cultural history and the role of images in culture – cros ...
of the University of London. In his late fifties, Yorke became increasingly immersed in the study and practice of Buddhism, served on the council of the Buddhist Society, and spoke regularly at their meetings. His editorial skills and contacts in the publishing industry, especially his part time position with Rider & Co. and Allen & Unwin, meant that he was able to play an important role in bringing the works of the Dalai Lama to an English-speaking audience, and he also oversaw the publication of texts by then-unknown but now-famous authors such as
B.K.S. Iyengar Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar (14 December 1918 – 20 August 2014) was an Indian teacher of yoga and author. He is the founder of the style of yoga as exercise, known as "Iyengar Yoga", and was considered one of the foremost Modern ...
, whose work was seminal to the introduction of Yoga to the West. From this period his correspondence with authors and publishers has been gifted to
Reading University The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, ...
. Yorke died in his eighty-second year after a short illness. (inside front jacket flap).


Cricket

He was also a keen
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 ...
er who made a single first-class appearance for
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, against
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during the 1925 season. From the middle order, he scored a duck in the first innings in which he batted, and 6 runs in the second.


Publications

* * * * Includes "A Reminiscence" by Timothy d'Arch Smith; "The Yorke Bibliography of Aleister Crowley" revised by Clive Harper; and "Some Memories and an Interview " by
David Tibet David Tibet (born David Michael Bunting; 5 March 1960) is an English poet, artist and musician. He is best known for the musical group Current 93, which he founded and is the only consistent member of, along with his contributions to the b ...
.


References


External links


Gerald Yorke
at Cricket Archive

at Cricinfo {{DEFAULTSORT:Yorke, Gerald 1901 births 1983 deaths English journalists 20th-century English poets People educated at Eton College Royal Gloucestershire Hussars officers English cricketers Gloucestershire cricketers People from Tewkesbury Cricketers from Gloucestershire