Leonard Shepherd Munn
Leonard Shepherd Munn was an accomplished musician, concert pianist, and musical educator.
Early life
Leonard Shepherd Munn, also known as Shepherd L. Munn, was born in Ludlow, Shropshire on 31 July 1898. His father was Joseph Shepherd Munn and his mother Kate née Glendinning. Joseph studied at the theological college of St Aidan’s in Birkenhead from 1881-1882. St Aidan’s was organized along strongly Evangelical lines and created a social composition wherein non-graduates of the suburban middle classes were accepted into the College. The more usual method of entry to theological colleges was with an undergraduate degree, usually from Oxford or Cambridge, but Joseph did not attend university. At the time of Leonard's birth, Joseph was a Deacon at the church of St Laurence in Ludlow.
In 1901 the family moved to the small village of Orleton in Shropshire where Joseph took up the position at the church of St George. St George’s is a 13th century Norman church and is famous for being known as the place where the resurrection of the dead will begin at the sounding of the last trumpet.[1]
Leonard attended The College of St. Michael and All Angels in Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire. This was a boys’ school founded by Frederick Ouseley in 1856 to provide a model for the performance of Anglican church music. The school was founded in reaction to the decline of Anglican church music in the Victorian period. Ouseley deliberately sited it in a remote location so as to insulate it from the influence of London. Until its closure the school regularly sang 150 settings of evensong; it was the last educational establishment in England to sing the orders throughout the week. In the school chapel the choir was separated from the chancel by an ornate gilded screen topped by candles. The choir was backed by an organ, painted with a representation of St Michael defeating the dragon. As a chorister Leonard was one of three boys from St Michael’s who travelled up to London to sing at the coronation of George V on 22 June 1911.[2] He was 12 at the time.
Military career
Leonard was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant on 4 August 1915[3] and joined the 6th Battalion the King's Shropshire Light Infantry (6 KSLI) when it was raised during as part of Kitchener’s New Army. 6 KSLI was part of the 20th Light Division and, in March 1918, was in the defensive line when the Germans attacked at Saint Quentin in what was to be the last major offensive of the war, termed the ‘Kaiserschlacht’.[4] The fighting was heavy:
The British infantry and the most forward-placed artillery face the "perfect storm" on the morning of 21 March: they are attacked in overwhelming strength in thick fog, wearing gas masks for much of the day, finding that fast-moving enemy infantry has broken through gaps in the defences and is rounding them up from behind. Thousands are killed and more captured. Many garrisons of strongpoints hold out although surrounded, but the Germans drive deep into the British positions in several areas, precipitating retreat and chaos that develops over the next few days.[5]
And 2nd Lt Munn was among those captured on 21 March. He was incarcerated as a prisoner of war in Graudenz Castle (now Grudziądz in Poland) until December 1918.[6]
When 6 KSLI was re-raised in WWII, with the rank of Major, Leonard was Second in Command to his brother Robert Basil Shepherd Munn, MC, the Commanding Officer. According to a history of 6 KSLI[7] Leonard decided to leave the battalion and he subsequently transferred to the RAF, being appointed a Squadron Leader on 27 December 1941.[8]
Career
Between the wars Leonard pursued a musical career. He was an excellent pianist and studied under Robert Teichmüller at the Leipzig Conservatory. According to his family, he played with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. In the Promenade Concert (Proms) at the Queens Hall, London, on 12 August 1930 Leonard played Les Djinns by César Franck under the direction of the founder of the Proms, Sir Henry Wood. The concert was broadcast live on the BBC.[9]
The following year Leonard travelled to Jamaica where he taught music, returning to England in 1934.
After WWII Leonard returned to Jamaica with his family and ran a guesthouse in the central highlands at Flamstead.
In 1953, Leonard and his family moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, and then moved south to Seattle in the United States in 1958. During his time in Seattle Leonard was active in church affairs and was the organist at the Trinity Parish Episcopal Church from 1958 to 1960.[10]
Personal life
Leonard married Patricia Montagu Thynne in early 1945. They had a daughter Annabel Corinna Shepherd in 1946, and a second daughter, Celia Rosemary Shepherd in 1948.
Death
Leonard died on 23 April 1976 and was buried in the Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Seattle, under the name of L. Shepherd Munn.
References
- ↑ "Amble around Orleton to a famous churchyard". 27 November 2003.
- ↑ "The Coronation of King George the Fifth and Queen Mary in Westminster Abbey, June 22, 1911". The Coronation of King George the Fifth and Queen Mary in Westminster Abbey, June 22, 1911. (1911). The Musical Times, 52(821), 433–437. https://Doi.org/10.2307/907261. 52 (821): 433–437. 1911. doi:10.2307/907261. JSTOR 907261. External link in
|journal=(help) - ↑ The London Gazette: 300. 20 August 1915. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ .
Kaiserschlacht, - Kaiser’s battle. Also known as the Spring Offensive or the Ludendorff Offensive.
Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ "Welcome".
- ↑ "Graudenz".
- ↑ Neal, Don (2001). Guns and Bugles. Brewin Books, Studley, Warwickshire. pp. 3, 44. Search this book on
- ↑ The London Gazette: 912. 24 February 1942. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ "Proms 1930 Calendar - by Date - BBC".
- ↑ "Church and Organ News". The Musical Times. 99 (1384): 338–340. 1958. JSTOR 938426.
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