Laurie Lee
Laurie Lee came to live in Slad, near Stroud, at the age of three. He went to the village school and later to Stroud Central School before leaving Gloucestershire for Europe in 1935. He came back to Slad to live with his wife Cathy in the early 1960s and remained until his death in 1997. His memories of his childhood in Slad before the arrival of the motorcar are vividly recorded in his most famous work, the autobiographical Cider with Rosie.
Primarily a poet, Laurie Lee published four volumes of poetry including The Sun My Monument (1944), and A Bloom of Candles (1947) before writing Cider with Rosie. Although his poetry has received critical acclaim and remains his first love, it is his prose works which have brought him the recognition of a wider audience.
As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning, about his experiences in Spain before the Civil War, followed 10 years after Cider with Rosie, and his last published work, A Monument of War, considered by many to be his best book, completed the trilogy in 1991. Other works have included A Rose for Winter, about a trip he made to Andalusia 15 years after the Civil War, and numerous contributions to journals and magazines.
During the war he worked for the Ministry of Information and from 1950-51 was Caption-Writer-In-Chief and Curator of Eccentricities for the Festival of Britain. He was awarded the MBE in 1952. Laurie Lee died in 1997 aged 83.
You can hear some of his poetry on our Johnny Coppin Page
See also Famous Gloucester City People.
| Sir Edward Jenner | Invented vaccination |
| Sir Jimmy Young | Broadcaster & singer from the Forest Of Dean |
| William Tyndale | Bible Translation |
| W. G. Grace | Famous Cricketer |
| Gustav Holst | Cheltenham Composer |
| Edwin Beard Budding | Stroud man who invented the lawn mower |
| Henry Hook | Winner of the Victoria Cross |
| J. K. Rowling | Creator of Harry Potter |
| Laurie Lee | Poet and Author of "Cider with Rosie" |
| Dennis Potter | Forest of Dean Author |
The Gloucestershire Portal is produced by Gloucestershire people who live in and care about the county. Don't forget if you are looking for businesses in Cheltenham then our directory lists them.
our directory
We only list Gloucestershire sites in our free directory. If you run a local site, why not submit it free.
virtual gloucestershire
We have articles, pictures and video clips of Gloucester, Cheltenham, Stroud and many other towns and villages of Gloucestershire
message boards
Have your say on Gloucestershire news or just chat with our friendly members. We also have event boards telling you what's on in Gloucestershire.