James Lennox Kerr (1 July 1899 – 11 March 1963) was a Scottish socialist author noted for his children's stories written under the pseudonym of Peter Dawlish.[1]
Kerr lived in Paisley until 1915, joined the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve by claiming to be 18, then served on merchant ships until 1929. After spending some time in Australia and America he settled in Pimlico in 1930, marrying Elizabeth "Mornie" Birch of Penwith, Cornwall in 1932. She was the daughter of Samuel John "Lamorna" Birch the RA painter.[2]
His first book, for adults, Back Door Guest, described life as a hobo in USA and Canada, and is full of social comment which was then controversial. He wrote 32 books for children, most with a nautical theme and 23 books for adults, many commenting on working class life in Scotland, America and Australia.[3] As an author he used, in addition to his own name, the pseudonyms "Gavin Douglas" for adult books and "Peter Dawlish" for children's books after 1938. [1]
Kerr served in World War I, on minesweepers in World War II, assisted at Omaha beach, and was mentioned in despatches.[1][4]
Kerr was a self-proclaimed socialist, but he was never a member of the Communist Party. He joined and then left the Labour Party. W. H. Marwick, in his bibliography on Scottish economic history, comments on the role of Kerr in representing proletariat labourers in his novels.[5] Kerr was survived by a son, Adam Kerr, whose reminiscences of his father were used in works by authors Austin Wormleighton and Stephen Bigger.[6][1]
^ abcdBigger, Stephen (2007). "Sea Adventures: Peter Dawlish (James Lennox Kerr), a Writer Amongst Artists". University of Worcester. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
^Kerr, James Lennox (1940). The Eager Years. Edinburgh: Collins.
^On the Fly!: Hobo Literature and Songs, 1879-1941. Oakland, California: PM Press. 2018. p. 367.
^Kerr, Adam (2016). Charting Polar Seas. Lulu.com. ISBN 9781326573164.
^Marwick, W.H. (1952). "A Bibliography of Works on Scottish Economic History Published during the Last Twenty Years". Economic History Review. New Series (4(3)).
^Wormleighton, Austin (1995). A Painter Laureate: Lamorna Birch and his Circle. Bristol: Sansom & Company.
James or Jim Kerr may refer to: JamesKerr (football manager) (died 1933), English football manager JamesKerr (footballer, born 1894), Scottish football...
Lady Sarah Lennox (14 February 1745 – August 1826) was the most notorious of the famous Lennox sisters, daughters of Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond...
built in 1866 Dauntless, a fictional sailboat in children's books by JamesLennoxKerr Dauntless, a fictional starship in The Lost Fleet: Dauntless by John...
Kavvadias, Greek poet Jack Kerouac, American author, On The Road JamesLennoxKerr, Scottish socialist author noted for his children's stories Jack London...
Godden – The Doll's House Clare Hoskyns-Abrahall – Prelude (biography) JamesLennoxKerr (as Peter Dawlish) – Dauntless Finds Her Crew (first in the Dauntless...
of Sir Thomas Kerr of Ferniehirst and Janet Scott included: JamesKerr Thomas Kerr Anne Kerr, who married John Elphinstone, 2nd Lord Balmerino Robert Carr...
James made Lennox the only duke in Scotland. The king, then fifteen years old, remained under the influence of Lennox for about one more year. Lennox...
March 11 Deirdre Cash (Criena Rohan), Australian novelist (born 1924) JamesLennoxKerr (Peter Dawlish, Gavin Douglas), Scottish novelist and children's writer...
sexual involvement with Lennox". Keith Coleman's 2023 biography James VI and I: The King Who United Scotland and England see James's relationships with Somerset...
Frenchman Esmé Stewart, 1st Duke of Lennox, and James Stewart, Earl of Arran, who shared control of the government. James VI was seized while he was hunting...
(Edinburgh, 1882), p. 156. Miles Kerr-Peterson & Michael Pearce (2020), pp. 74-86. David M. Bergeron, The Duke of Lennox, 1574-1624: A Jacobean Courtier's...
1972). "Theater: Moonchildren". The New York Times. Retrieved June 21, 2017. Kerr, Jean (1973). Finishing Touches. United States: Dramatists Play Service,...
The Duke of Lennox, 1574-1624: A Jacobean Courtier's Life (Edinburgh, 2022), p. 29. Adrienne McLaughlin, 'Rise of a Courtier', Miles Kerr-Peterson & Steven...
Calendar State Papers Milan (London, 1912), no. 514. Robert Kerr Hannay, Letters of James IV (SHS: Edinburgh, 1953), p. 9. Thomas Dickson, Accounts of...
a title in the Peerage of Scotland, which was created in 1701 for Robert Kerr, 4th Earl of Lothian. The Marquess of Lothian holds the subsidiary titles...
Patient Vanishes (1941); Hatter's Castle (1941) with Robert Newton and Deborah Kerr; The Night Has Eyes (1941); Alibi (1942) with Margaret Lockwood; Secret Mission...
"after" the death of James V. James V, Mary of Guise and David Beaton are prominently depicted. Robert Kerr Hannay, Letters of James IV (SHS: Edinburgh...
Boyd included; James Elphinstone Paul Goatman, 'James VI, noble power and Glasgow', in Miles Kerr-Peterson and Steven J. Reid, James VI and Noble Power...
4th Earl of Lennox. He received a pardon on 9 May 1526 for an attempt to capture the Earl of Arran. Later that year the young king James V enlisted Scott's...
Global Information