Dornford Yates
| Cecil William Mercer | |
|---|---|
_by_George_Charles_Beresford_(1909).jpg)
Cecil William Mercer in 1909
|
|
| Born |
7 August 1885 Walmer, Kent |
| Died | 5 March 1960 (aged 74) Umtali, Southern Rhodesia |
| Pen name | Dornford Yates |
| Occupation | Author |
| Nationality | English |
| Alma mater | University College, Oxford |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom
|
| Service/branch |
 British Army
|
| Years of service | 1914–1919 |
| Rank | Second Lieutenant |
| Unit | County of London Yeomanry |
| Battles/wars | World War 1 |
Dornford Yates was the pseudonym of the English novelist, Cecil William Mercer (7 August 1885 – 5 March 1960), whose novels and short stories, some humorous (the Berry books), some thrillers (the Chandos books), were best-sellers in the 21-year interwar period between the First and Second world wars. The pen name, Dornford Yates, first in print in 1910, resulted from combining the surnames of his grandmothers – the paternal Eliza Mary Dornford, and the maternal Harriet Yates.
William (Bill) Mercer was born in Walmer, Kent, the son of Cecil John Mercer (1850–1921) and Helen Wall (1858–1918). His father was a solicitor whose sister, Mary Frances, married Charles Augustus Munro; their son was Hector Hugh Munro (the writer Saki); Bill Mercer is said to have idolised his elder cousin.
Mercer attended St Clare preparatory school in Walmer from 1894 to 1899. The family moved from Kent to London when he joined Harrow School as a day pupil in 1899, his father selling his solicitor’s practice in Kent and setting up office in Carey Street. Leaving Harrow in 1903, he attended University College, Oxford in 1904, where he achieved a Third in Law.
At university, he was active in the Oxford University Dramatic Society (OUDS), becoming secretary in 1906 and president in 1907, his final year. He acted in the 1905 production of Aristophanes’ The Clouds, of which the Times reviewer said: "Among individual actors the best was Mr. C.W. Mercer, whose ‘Strepsiades’ was full of fun, and who possesses real comic talent." After a small part in the 1906 production of Measure for Measure, in his final year, he appeared as ‘Demetrius’ in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and as ‘Pedant’ in The Taming of the Shrew, a production which included the professional actresses Lily Brayton as ‘Katherine’, and her sister Agnes as ‘Bianca’.
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