Crosbie Garstin
| Crosbie Garstin | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Crosbie Albert Norman Garstin 1887 Penzance, Cornwall, UK |
| Died | 19 April 1930 Salcombe, Devon, UK |
| Nationality | British |
| Known for | Novelist, poet and travel-writer |
| Notable work | Penhale trilogy |
| Spouse(s) | Lilian Barkworth |
Crosbie Garstin (1887 – 19 April 1930) was a poet, best-selling novelist and the eldest son of the Newlyn School painter Norman Garstin. He is said to have been untameable as a child, and to have died in mysterious circumstances after a boating accident in the Salcombe estuary. He is known for the Penhale trilogy, a novel based in 18th-century Cornwall.
Crosbie was born in Mount Vernon, Newlyn, Cornwall to Norman Garstin and Louisa ‘Dochie’ née Jones. He was the eldest of three children; Denys (later Denis) (1890 – 1918) and Alethea (1894 – 1978). He was educated at Brandon House, Cheltenham, Elstow School, Bedford and in Germany. He was head-boy of his school due to sporting prowess in rugby union and swimming.
As a young man he travelled and worked as a bronco buster in Montana, United States and as a lumberjack in Canada. He also travelled to China, Hawaii, Japan and Morocco. On returning home his father, fed-up with Crosbie's inability to get suitable qualifications and hold down a job, sent him to South Africa. From 1912, he ran a cattle ranch in Bechuanaland, and acted as a bush ranger to the Tati Concessions. With the outbreak of World War I he came back to Britain and in October 1914 joined B Squadron of the King Edward's Light Horse as a private. The cavalry regiment, which was open to colonials, was initially based in Watford and in the following spring, Bishop's Stortford. The regiment left for France on 21 April 1915 and Garstin was promoted to lance corporal shortly before leaving. He was commissioned on the battlefield as a 2nd lieutenant on 14 September 1915, and joined C Squadron, which was attached to the 47th (London) Division at Nœux-les-Mines and was involved in the Battle of Loos and on the Italian Front. In 1916, he was posted to Dublin as an Intelligence Officer during the rebellion there. [Louis Bolze, Publishers' Introduction to reprint edition of Crosbie Garstin, The Sunshine Settlers (1918, Books of Rhodesia edn. Bulawayo, 1971), p.ii.] As well as writing poetry he made contributions to Punch (magazine) which were well received.
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