- Jasper Rootham
Jasper St John Rootham (21 November 1910 - August 1990), was a civil servant, soldier, central banker, merchant banker, writer and poet.
Biography
Jasper Rootham was born on
21 November ,1910 inCambridge , UK.Childhood and adolescence
Rootham was an only child.
His paternal grandfather was the singer, organist, and conductor Daniel Wilberforce Rootham (1837-1922). His father
Cyril Rootham was a well-known musician and composer based atSt John's College, Cambridge . His mother Rosamond Margaret Rootham (née Lucas) had been a notable suffragette, and continued as a campaigner on various social issues throughout her life.Rootham studied at Tonbridge School before moving on to
St John's College, Cambridge .University
Rootham read Classics at St John's College, Cambridge, and commenced his studies there in 1928. He became acquainted with
Enoch Powell with whom he formed a life-long friendship. (Powell gave the address at Rootham's funeral in Wimborne in 1990.)During his vacations Rootham travelled in France, Germany and Switzerland, gaining fluency in French and German.
Rootham distinguished himself in the classics, graduating with a double First. While at St John's he also found time for sport (St John's Rugby Club) and music (playing the cello in the Cambridge University Musical Society under the baton of his father
Cyril Rootham ).Early career
Rootham started his working life as a civil servant. At the start of the Second World War, Rootham was working in the office of prime minister
Neville Chamberlain , where his fluency in French and German were often called upon during negotiations with the French and German governments. After Chamberlain's resignation in May 1940, Rootham worked for Chamberlain's successor as prime ministerWinston Churchill .econd World War
Anxious to play his part in the war effort, Rootham resigned from the Civil Service in 1941 in order to join the
Special Operations Executive . He was posted to Cairo where he was trained as a parachutist, eventually to be dropped into Yugoslavia. While in Cairo, he also learned Russian in which he became fully fluent. On completion of his training he was parachuted into Yugoslavia with a small team of British soldiers, their purpose being to support the Serb army underDraža Mihailović in their fight against the German army. Rootham became fluent in Serbo-Croat.However, the policy of the British government later changed, and UK support was switched from Mihailović to the communist partisans under
Josip Broz Tito . At that point, Rootham and his British troops were hurriedly withdrawn from Yugoslavia - an action which Rootham regarded as a betrayal of Mihailović. After the war had ended, he wrote an account of this military venture which was published under the title "Miss-Fire".In 1945, Rootham was posted to Berlin where his fluency in Russian involved him in negotiations with the Soviet army in the run-up to the
Potsdam Conference .Marriage and family
At the end of the Second World War in 1945, Rootham married Joan McClelland who was a ballerina with Ballet Rambert (later to become the
Rambert Dance Company ).In 1947 they had a son John Daniel ("Dan") Rootham, and in 1951 a daughter Catherine Virginia ("Tutu") Rootham.
Joan McClelland continued to dance with Ballet Rambert until the birth of their second child, and in later years she also taught at Ballet Rambert.
Post-war career
On leaving the armed forces, Rootham joined the
Bank of England where he remained for twenty years. In the mid-1950s Rootham and his wife travelled toRussia as part of an official delegation sent by the Bank of England. During his career at the Bank of England, Rootham travelled regularly to meetings of theBank for International Settlements in Basel.In 1968, Rootham left the Bank of England to join the London merchant bank Lazard Brothers. He was once heard to remark that he made more profit for Lazard in preventing unprofitable deals than in acquiring new business.
Rootham also held non-executive directorships with the British Sugar Corporation (now
British Sugar plc ) and with the Agricultural Mortgage Corporation.Writings
Throughout his life, Rootham found pleasure in writing. He wrote an autobiographical account of his wartime experiences in Yugoslavia under the title "Miss-Fire". Two novels "Demi-Paradise" and "Cupid and the Willow Wood" followed, and in his later years Rootham published several volumes of poetry.
Musical activity
Rootham was extremely keen that the music of his father
Cyril Rootham should be performed and heard more widely. From 1960 until his death in 1990, Jasper Rootham was tireless in promoting performances and recordings of Cyril's works. Several of these performances were released on LP or CD.Around 1965 the BBC also broadcast one of Cyril Rootham's major works: his setting of Milton's poem "Ode on the Morning of Christ's Nativity".
Bibliography of published works
* Prose
** 1946, "Miss-Fire", Chatto & Windus.
** 1960, "Demi-Paradise", Chatto & Windus.
*Poetry
** 1936, "City in the West", set for chorus and orchestra by Cyril Rootham
** 1972, "Verses 1928-1972", Rampant Lions Press, Cambridge.
** 1975, "The Celestial City and other poems", Two Jays Press, Saffron Walden.
** 1978, "Reflections from a Crag", Unit Offset Ltd, Northumberland.
** 1980, "Selected Poems", The Weybrook Press, London.
** 1981, "Stand Fixed in Steadfast Gaze: XIII Poems at Seventy", The Lomond Press, Kinnesswood.
** 1982, "Affirmation", The Lomond Press, Kinnesswood: ISBN 0907765041
** 1990, "Saluting the Colours", Dorset Publishing Company: ISBN 0948699221
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