James Lennox Kerr

James Lennox Kerr (1 July 1899 – 11 March 1963) was a Scottish socialist author noted for his children's stories written under the pseudonym of "Peter Dawlish". He lived in Paisley until 1915, joined the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve by claiming to be 18, then served on merchant ships until 1929. After spending some time in Australia and America (his first book, for adults, Back Door Guest, described life as a hobo in USA and Canada, and is full of social comment which was then controversial) he settled in Pimlico in 1930, marrying Elizabeth "Mornie" Birch of Penwith, Cornwall (daughter of John "Lamorna" Birch the RA painter) in 1932. These details are in his autobiography (Kerr 1940). He wrote 32 books for children, most with a nautical theme and 23 books for adults, many commenting on working class life in Scotland, America and Australia. He served on minesweepers in World War II, assisted at Omaha beach, and was Mentioned In Despatches. As an author he used, in addition to his own name, the pseudonyms "Douglas Gavin" for adult books and "Peter Dawlish" for children's books after 1938 (Bigger, 2007). Kerr was a self-proclaimed socialist, but he was never a member of the Communist Party. He joined and then left the Labour Party. He is survived by a son whose reminiscences are used by Wormleighton (1995) and Bigger (2007).