R. P. Keigwin

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Keigwin (right) with A. E. J. Collins at Clifton College, about 1902

Richard Prescott Keigwin (/ˈkɛɡwɪn/ KEG-win;[1] 8 April 1883 – 26 November 1972) was an English schoolmaster, sportsman, translator, and author. He played first-class cricket for Cambridge University, the Marylebone Cricket Club, Essex, and Gloucestershire, and hockey for Essex and England.

After teaching at the Royal Naval College, Osborne, he was a naval officer during the First World War, then a master at Clifton College, and was notable for his translations from the work of Hans Christian Andersen.

Early life

Keigwin was born in

racquets pair and was also the school racquets captain. He also captained the school cricket XI of 1902, in which Collins also played.[2]

He then joined Peterhouse, Cambridge, where in March 1903 he was runner-up at the

Tony Wilding without winning a game.[3]

He represented Cambridge University at cricket, rackets,

soccer, and hockey, and also played for the Marylebone Cricket Club
.

Keigwin's best bowling figures in first-class cricket were 8/79 against Sussex in 1903.[4] A year later, he scored his only first-class hundred, for Cambridge against Warwickshire.[5]

In 1906 he graduated BA in the Classics and Modern Languages

MA
.

After leaving Cambridge, Keigwin taught modern languages at the Royal Naval College, Osborne.[2]

His brothers, Herbert Keigwin and Henry Keigwin both also played first-class cricket.

First World War

In 1914, Keigwin was commissioned as a Lieutenant into the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. He served in the First World War on the battlecruiser HMS Indomitable and was stationed off the Belgian coast. He was present at the surrender of the Imperial German Navy
fleet.

He was created a Chevalier of

and awarded King Christian X's medal for "Valuable assistance rendered to Denmark during the war."

Later career

After the war, Keigwin returned to his old school, Clifton College, as an assistant master from 1919, and was House Tutor of Watson's House (his own old house) in 1919 and 1920. From then until 1935 he was the housemaster of Dakyns' House.[2]

He was the editor of The Granta in 1919.

In the 1920s, Keigwin played hockey for

Netherlands cricket XI, although he did not appear for Free Foresters at first-class
level.

In 1935, Keigwin published his first translation from the work of Hans Christian Andersen and also became Warden of Wills Hall at the University of Bristol, where he remained for ten years.[2]

In retirement, Keigwin spent some years living in

Incogniti, Gentlemen of Worcestershire, and Sir Julien Cahn
's XI.

He was President of the Old Cliftonian Society from 1957 to 1959, and also became a Governor of Clifton College.[6]

The grave of R. P. Keigwin in the churchyard of St Mary, Polstead, Suffolk

Keigwin died at Polstead, Suffolk, and is buried there in St Mary's churchyard.

Published works

  • Lanyard Lyrics (1914)
  • Lyrics for Sport (1917)

Keigwin was a noted translator of Danish into English:

  • Four Tales from Hans Andersen (1935)
  • Kaj Munk, Playwright, Priest and Patriot (1944)
  • The Jutland Wind (1944)
  • In Denmark I Was Born (1948)
  • Denmark, Land of Beauty (1950)
  • Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen (3 volumes, 1950)
  • Tales the Moon Can Tell by Andersen (1955)
  • Heinemann's Illustrated Hans Andersen Series (1955)
  • Seven Tales from Hans Christian Andersen (1961)
  • Five Plays (1964)
  • The Ugly Duckling by Andersen (1973)
  • The Snow Queen: A Story in Seven Parts by Andersen (1975)
  • 80 Fairy Tales by Andersen (1976)

Keigwin also contributed to Centenary Essays on Clifton College (1962).


References

  1. ^ G. M. Miller, BBC Pronouncing Dictionary of British Names (Oxford University Press, 1971), p. 78.
  2. ^ a b c d "Keigwin, Richard Prescott" in J. A. O. Muirhead, Clifton College Register (Bristol; J.W. Arrowsmith for Old Cliftonian Society, April, 1948), p. 213
  3. ^ "Sport at the Varsities". Sheffield Evening Telegraph. British Newspaper Archive. 19 March 1903.
  4. ^ "Sussex v Cambridge University in 1903". CricketArchive. Retrieved 6 December 2008.
  5. ^ "Warwickshire v Cambridge University in 1904". CricketArchive. Retrieved 6 December 2008.
  6. ^ Clifton College Register (1862–1962) (Old Cliftonian Society, 1962)

External links