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Concept
W. N. P. Barbellion
Summary
Wilhelm Nero Pilate Barbellion was the pen name of Bruce Frederick Cummings (7 September 1889 – 22 October 1919), an English diarist who was responsible for The Journal of a Disappointed Man. Ronald Blythe called it "among the most moving diaries ever created".
Cummings was born in Barnstaple 16 Cross Street on 7 September 1889, the youngest child of John and Maria Cummings. He was a naturalist at heart and ended up working at the British Museum's Department of Natural History in London. Having begun his journal at the age of thirteen, Cummings continued to record his observations there – gradually moving from dry scientific notes to a more personal, literary style. Despite an obvious passion for the subject from an early age, Cummings, upon the advice of others, followed his father and Brother (Arthur John) into the world of journalism, which he hated, as he often mentioned in his diary. His literary ambitions changed course in 1914 upon reading the journal of the Russian painter Marie Bashkirtseff, in whom he recognised a kindred spirit. In his 15 January 1915 entry he indicated that he intended his Journal to be published: "Then all in God’s good time I intend getting a volume ready for publication."
Cummings' life changed forever when he was called to enlist in the British Army to fight in World War I in November 1915. He had consulted his doctor before taking the regulation medical prior to enlisting, and his doctor had given him a sealed, confidential letter to present to the medical officer at the recruitment center. Cummings did not know what was contained in the letter, but in the event it was not needed; the medical officer rejected Cummings as unfit for active duty after the most cursory of medical examinations. Hurt, Cummings decided to open the letter on his way back home to see what had been inside, and was staggered to learn that his doctor had diagnosed him with multiple sclerosis, and that he almost certainly had less than five years to live.
The news changed Cummings profoundly, and his journal became much more intense and personal as a result.
Official source
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