Baring, Maurice, 1874-1945

Maurice Baring was born on April 27, 1874, as the eighth child and fifth son of Edward Charles Baring, first Baron Revelstoke and Louisa Emily Charlotte Bulteel. Born in the West End of London, Baring attended Eton College and then Trinity College, Cambridge. In 1898, he joined the diplomatic service. In 1904, he became a journalist and reported on the Russo-Japanese War in Manchuria for the Morning Post. Later, he was a correspondent in Russia and Istanbul (Constantinople).

During World War One, Baring joined the headquarters staff of the Royal Flying Corps. In 1918, Baring served as a staff officer in the Royal Air Force and was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). In 1925, Baring received an honorary commission as a wing commander in the Reserve of Air Force Officers.

Baring published novels, including C (1924), Cat’s Cradle (1925), and Daphne Adeane (1926); poems, parodies, and essays, such as Dead Letters (1910) and Diminutive Dramas (1911); and a study of Sarah Bernhardt (1933). He was staunch in his anti-intellectualism with respect to the arts. He was also a distinguished Russian scholar and translator. He recorded his personality and experiences, until the outbreak of World War I, in The Puppet Show of Memory (1922), and his anthology Have You Anything to Declare? (1936). During the last 15 years of Baring’s life, he suffered from Parkinson’s Disease. Baring died of complications from Parkinson’s on December 14th, 1945 in Beaufort Castle, Beauly, Inverness-shire, Scotland.