Henry John Newbolt

He was the son of HF Newbolt, vicar of St Mary's, Bilston, Staffordshire (where he was born). He was educated at Clifton College, where he was head of the school in 1881 and edited the school magazine, and at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. He was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1887 and practised until 1899. His first book was a story, Taken from the Enemy (1892), and in 1895 he published a tragedy, Mordred; but it was the publication of his ballads, Admirals All (1897), that created his literary reputation. These were followed by other volumes of stirring verse, The Island Race (1898), The Sailing of the Long-ships (1902), Songs of the Sea (1904).

Probably the best known of all Newbolt's poems and the one for which he is now chiefly remembered is Vitae Lampada, which contains the memorable refrain:

Play up, play up, and play the game.

From 1900 to 1905, Newbolt was the editor of the Monthly Review. During the First World War, he became controller of telecommunications and worked as an official historian.

Other works

• The Old Country (1906)
• The New June (1909)
• The Naval History of the Great War (1920)

This entry is updated and expanded from the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.