THE LETTERS OF RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

The White Gates,
Dorking,
SURREY.

16th November, 1949

Dear Provost,¹

I venture as a stranger, to write to you about Robert Trevelyan. Do you think there is any chance that he would be given an Hon. LL.D. at next summer’s ceremony?
You know, probably even better than I do, what fine work he has done, his original poems and his translation of Lucretius, Catullus and of the Oresteia. He has done all this work without much hope of public recognition, but now I think, towards the end of his life some token that he was appreciated would be very gratifying to him.
He was about to publish a complete edition of his works but this was destroyed during the war, which I think was a great blow to him.
I was advised to write to you by Professor Moore of Trinity College, who I think is also writing to you himself, and I feel sure that other authorities like Desmond McCarthy and E.M. Forster would back my request.²
Yours sincerely

R. Vaughan Williams

The Provost,
King’s College, CAMBRIDGE.

1. Sir John Sheppard was Provost of King’s College, Cambridge, 1933-1954.
2. VW’s efforts on behalf of his old friend came to nothing.