Sir John Mortimer: a tribute (From Bucks Free Press)

Tributes pour in for Sir John Mortimer, author of Rumpole of the Bailey

2:59pm Thursday 22nd January 2009 in Search By Francine Wolfisz

TRIBUTES aplenty have poured in for dramatist and author Sir John Mortimer, who died earlier this week, aged 85, at his home in Turville.

Sir John, who practised as a barrister in the 1940s, made his name with his Rumpole of the Bailey books, which were later adapted into a popular television series starring Leo McKern. He then went on to become one of Britain’s most prolific writers of books and screenplays, including a television adaptation of Laurie Lee’s Cider With Rosie, and Franco Zeffirelli’s Tea With Mussolini.

But it was his autobiographical account, A Voyage Round My Father, which was adapted for both the stage and screen, that Sir John himself professed as one of his proudest works.

Revolving around Turville Heath Cottage, the family home that Clifford Mortimer built in 1932, Sir John reveals his fond, yet stormy relationship with his blind father.

The prolific writer was to stay in Turville Heath for the rest of his life, sitting at the same desk used by his father, and even using his old walking sticks and bed.

In an interview with the Bucks Free Press two years ago, Sir John told how he and second wife Penny loved living on the sprawling estate he knew as home throughout his lifetime. He said: “I love living in the Chilterns. We keep pigs, chickens, ducks and dogs, and we have 45 acres of woods.”

“He was a man who never held back on giving his own view, but I think that was because he felt it was the right thing to do.

Martin Denny, director of the Windsor Festival

Sir John was also a supporter of the local arts scene and a regular at literary festivals. Martin Denny, director of the Windsor Festival, this week described him as “someone I admired enormously.”

Martin adds: “It was a great honour to welcome Sir John to Windsor Festival on two occasions, and to hear his wonderful stories.

“He was a man who never held back on giving his own view, but I think that was because he felt it was the right thing to do. Our audiences certainly appreciated his honesty and openness, and greatly enjoyed the events.”

Sir John made his final public appearance last September at the Henley Literary Festival alongside Valerie Grove, his official biographer.

Director Sue Ryan says the event was “a very warm, moving occasion.” She adds: “I think it’s very fitting that his last performance should have been in Henley, the town he loved, at the Kenton, a theatre he loved, to an audience who just adored him.

“John was always a great thinker in all things literary and a supporter of all things Henley. When I first thought about setting up the festival two years ago, John was the first person I called.

“He invited me round for a drink and said that he very much wanted to be involved. Then he opened up that vast contacts book he owned and helped others come on board.

“He was just a lovely, warm, amusing, witty person, who was very good company, and no doubt will be sorely missed.”

Close friend Nansi Diamond, who is also involved with the Henley Literary Festival and a retired director of the Kenton Theatre, recalls Sir John’s lovable, if not mischievous, sense of humour. The Henley resident tells me: “I first met John about 20 years ago when Paradise Postponed was being filmed at my house. One day after the shoot, there was a note left on my kitchen table simply stating, “I’ve stolen a book.”

“Apparently John had seen a book on my shelves that he wanted to borrow. I met him shortly after that and we became good friends, and this story always stayed as something of a joke between us.”

In later years, Sir John, who often organised fundraising performances around the area, invited Nansi to take part in his touring show, Mortimer’s Miscellany, a collection of humorous anecdotes and stories.

Nansi recalls: “We arrived at this venue in Abingdon, but we discovered there was no stage as such to perform upon.

“Someone suggested we just do the show on the billiards table, so we all clambered up onto the green baize and got into position. When the show finally began, John took much pleasure in telling the audience, “this is the first time Nansi and I have ever done it on a billiards table”. And everyone just fell about laughing.

“But that was just John. He was always so funny, right to the end.”