Hugo Dyson (The Forgotten Inkling)

Hugo Dyson was a big part of the CS Lewis posse known as "The Inklings". Not a whole lot is known about Hugo by the general public because he wasn't a prolific writer. But it was the conversation and general way of life presented by Dyson, together with JRR Tolkien, that had the biggest impact on Lewis' conversion to Christianity.

It seems to me from reading the letters of Jack that, Warnie Lewis, (Jack's older brother) seemed to like Dyson best of all the Inklings. Hugo Dyson was generally thought of as the fun one of the bunch. When the BBC was looking for someone to give televised lectures on Shakespeare in the mid 1960's, they turned to Hugo Dyson partly because he was an expert on Shakespeare and partly because of his charm. The BBC series was fairly successful and this led one of the show's producers to ask Dyson to appear in a film called, Darling, starring Dirk Bogarde and Julie Christie. His role was so small that it went un-credited and yet his character was pivotal. He played the part of, Professor Walter Southgate, a writer who was presented as the last of a literary breed from London that left a huge impact on the world. He's only onscreen for a couple of minutes but the death of his character leaves a lasting impact on the rest of the script.

The film is quite unremarkable in every way except for the character of Southgate. Not only do we get to see an actual Inkling on film but we get to see Lewis' friend play a character not unlike Jack himself in his waning years. For this alone, the movie, Darling, is worth searching out for fans of CS Lewis and The Inklings.

I've culled the few moments from the film that have to do with Dyson's character and edited them together in the chronological order they appeared, and in so doing have created a sort of 5-minute mini-movie that comes off like the death of CS Lewis and the impact he left behind on a few people, namely Julie Christie's character. Its not every day you get to see an Inkling on film. I hope you enjoy it.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• Hugo
• Dyson
• CS
• Lewis
• JRR
• Tolkien
• Charles
• Williams
• Inklings
• Darling

[trippendale742]

im going to see his grave!

[gmdinformation]

Let us know if he speaks to you.

[gmdinformation]

@TheNaturalMtDew None of that will yield any results. I know Richard Sturch quite well. He's never seen or heard of such a photo either. There has to be one somewhere though. I would guess that if one were to visit all the schools the kid went to that one of them would have a class picture with him in it. Also, Charles' sister, Edith, had several photos of her brother and family that biographers have used over the years. I'm guessing that no one even thought to ask about her nephew though.

[TheNaturalMtDew]

@gmdinformation I gave google images a decent hunt, but could not find any images of Michael Williams. Have you looked for photos in Charles Williams' biographies or contacted the Charles Williams Society? (charleswilliamssociety[dot]or­g[dot]uk/) Best wishes!

[gmdinformation]

@TheNaturalMtDew Williams and Dyson in the same graveyard? Interesting.

On a slightly different note, I've been trying to find a picture of Charles Williams' son for several years with no luck at all. If anyone ever come across one, I'd like a copy!

[TheNaturalMtDew]

@rbonzo2000 Hugo Dyson's grave is in Oxford's Holywell Cemetery. There is a map in the graveyard that points out Dyson's grave. Fellow Inkling, Charles Williams, is also buried in Holywell cemetery. Kenneth Graham of The Wind and the Willows fame is also buried there.

[eslubin]

@trippendale742 maybe you weren't listening

[batourey]

It's interesting that the poster and those who comment seem to hate the film Darling, yet in it's day it was quite popular and well thought of; Julie Christie won an Academy Award for her part in it. As British films of it's era, it was very important, and I believe it still holds up. If you are interested in Britain in the 60s, I would recommend it.

[sthugh]

No idea.

[rbonzo2000]

Hi i live in london do you know where his grave is thanks

[trippendale742]

he didnt speak to me...hes dead... but it was cool.