Mercer Frederick Hampson Simpson (27 January 1926 – 11 June 2007), was an English-born writer who spent most of his life in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. He was born in

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandswo ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, and educated at King Edward VI School, Bury St Edmunds. He served in the

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

during

World War II 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, and afterwards studied at

Magdalene College, Cambridge Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mar ...

. In 1950, having trained as a teacher, he moved to

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

, where he spent most of the rest of his life. In 1967 he was appointed a lecturer at what later became the

University of Glamorgan , image_name = University of Glamorgan arms.png , image_size = 220px , caption = University of Glamorgan coat of arms , motto = Success Through Endeavour , established = , closed = , administrative_staff = , chancellor = John Morris ...

. He was active in Welsh literary circles, and was a contributor and editor of several anthologies. *''East Anglian Wordscapes '' (1993) *''Rain from a Clear Blue Sky'' (1994) *''Early Departures, Late Arrivals'' (2006);

Sources

Independent obituary
1926 births 2007 deaths People educated at King Edward VI School, Bury St Edmunds Academics of the University of Glamorgan Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge Anglo-Welsh poets Royal Marines personnel of World War II 20th-century Welsh poets {{Wales-writer-stub