Nora Bomford (1894 - 1968) - British poet

Nora was born in India on 24^th March 1894.  Her father, Sir Gerald Bomford, was a Surgeon General in the British Army and her mother was Mary Bomford, nee Eteson.   Nora’s siblings were Hugh, born in 1883, Lorna, born in 1884 and Guy born in 1900.   When in England, the family lived in Dover.

During the First World War, Nora did social work among the poor in north London and Lorna worked in the Food Rationing Service.   On 8^th June 1938, Nora married her cousin Major-General Claude le Golchey, MC in Holburn, London.  The couple had no children.

During the Second World War, she looked after her nephew while her brother Guy was in India.  Nora died on 12^th May 1968.     Her WW1 poetry collection “Poems of a Pantheist” was published by Chatto & Windus in 1918 and was dedicated to “P.Q.R.”.    

Photo:  Nora in Cairo in 1939, reproduced with kind permission from www.bomford.net

A relative of Nora with whom I have been in contact, sent me this about Nora's collection which received mixed reviews:

"According to Nora's inscription in the front of my copy, a review in “The Nation” was 'the best of 15 reviews'. There was a photo in the “Daily Mirror”, and a 'scathing account' in “The New Witness”. The photo from the “Daily Mirror” (I assume) is pasted into the book (copy attached), but I haven't found any of the reviews."
 
Sources:  http://www.bomford.net/IrishBomfords/Chapters/Chapter26/Chapter26.htm#26.7.3__Nora_Bomford__1894_-1968_

Catherine W. Reilly “English Poetry of the First World War A Bibliography” (St. Martin’s Press, New York, 1978) and “Poems of a Pantheist” by Nora Bomford

E-mails from Richard Bomford

And with grateful thanks to Dr. Margaret Stetz who is the Mae and Robert Carter Professor of Women’s Studies at the University of Delaware in America for her continued support and encouragement of this commemorative exhibition project. Without her help I would not be able to do as much.

I stopped what I was doing the other day to answer an SOS e-mail from Suzy Glass.  There is to be an event at the Edinburgh Art Festival on Sunday, 31^st July 2016 at which one of Nora Bomford’s poems will be read and they needed information about Nora.  Here is information about the event – tickets are limited so if you are interested don’t delay:

https://www.facebook.com/events/1570588263246355/