Charles Stanley Causley, poet, teacher and broadcaster, the only son of Charles Causley and Laura Bartlett, was born in Launceston, Cornwall on 24th August 1917 and educated at Launceston National School, Horwell Grammar School, Launceston College and Peterborough Training College. His father, a groom and gardener, died in 1924 from tuberculosis exacerbated due to gas exposure during the First World War, and Charles left school at 15 to work in a builder's office and then for an electrical company.
During the Second World War he served in the Communications Branch of the Royal Navy, as a coder, but with the exception of these Navy years, he lived in Launceston, Cornwall, all his life. After the war Causley returned to Cornwall and taught there until 1976 when he chose to concentrate solely on his writing career.
Although he wrote and published plays in the 1930s (Runaway, 1936 and The conquering hero, 1937) it wasn't until after the war that his career as a writer and poet blossomed. His poetry was heavily influenced by traditional popular forms such as folk songs, verses and hymns and he was considered to be the finest writer of ballads in English in his day. Equally influential was his experience in the Navy, which provided both the substance and the atmosphere for some of his finest poetry. His first and best known book of poetry, 'Farewell Aggie Weston' is a reference to Agnes Weston, the founder of sailors' hostels. The deep rootedness of his work in the Cornish landscape led to him being dubbed 'The Poet Laureate of Cornwall', and the depth and range of his work justified the title. He received a number of honours for his work including the Queen's Medal for Poetry (1967). He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society for Literature in 1958, and received an Hon DLitt from the University of Exeter in 1977. He also served on the poetry panel of the Arts Council and, in 1986, was appointed CBE.
Causley was much admired and loved by his fellow practitioners and he is closely associated with the development of a strong regional identity for creative writing in the South West. He was also instrumental in securing the literary papers of Jack Clemo (EUL MS 68) and Frances Bellerby (EUL MS 50b) for Exeter University. He died on November 4, 2003, aged 86, and was buried next to his mother's grave in St Thomas' Churchyard, barely 100 yards from where he was born. In June 2007, Causley's house, Cypress Well, Launceston was saved for posterity, thanks to funds raised by a trust founded by the poet's supporters.
