Author. The second wife of composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. She is best known for "RVW: A Biography of Ralph Vaughan Williams" (1964), considered by many the definitive book on his life. Born Joan Ursula Penton Lock in Malta, the daughter of Major-General Sir Robert Lock, she married a career British Army officer in 1933 and pursued a writing career in London. She first met Vaughan Williams in 1938 and became a close family friend and literary advisor, especially after she was widowed during World War II. Following the death of the composer's first wife, Adeline, in 1951, Ursula became his personal assistant and they married in February, 1953; she was 41, he was 80. She wrote additional verses for Vaughan Williams' opera "Pilgrim's Progress" (1951) and the Christmas oratorio "Hodie" (1954), and the texts for his vocal pieces "The Sons of Light" (1950), "Silence and Music" (1953), "Epithalamion" (1957), and "Four Last Songs". After her husband's death in 1958 she carried on his legacy, especially in her generous support of young musicians. "RVW" remains a primary source of information about the man, though Ursula was reticent about their life together and left musical discussion to the experts. Her other books include the novels "Set to Partners" (1968) and "The Yellow Dress" (1984), five volumes of poetry, among them "Half My Days and Nights" (1984), and a memoir, "Paradise Remembered" (2002). She also wrote verses and opera librettos for many other composers, among them Gerald Finzi, Herbert Howells, Malcolm Williamson, and Elizabeth Lutyens. She was Honorary Vice President of the Ralph Vaughan Williams Society from its inception until her death in London at 96.
Author. The second wife of composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. She is best known for "RVW: A Biography of Ralph Vaughan Williams" (1964), considered by many the definitive book on his life. Born Joan Ursula Penton Lock in Malta, the daughter of Major-General Sir Robert Lock, she married a career British Army officer in 1933 and pursued a writing career in London. She first met Vaughan Williams in 1938 and became a close family friend and literary advisor, especially after she was widowed during World War II. Following the death of the composer's first wife, Adeline, in 1951, Ursula became his personal assistant and they married in February, 1953; she was 41, he was 80. She wrote additional verses for Vaughan Williams' opera "Pilgrim's Progress" (1951) and the Christmas oratorio "Hodie" (1954), and the texts for his vocal pieces "The Sons of Light" (1950), "Silence and Music" (1953), "Epithalamion" (1957), and "Four Last Songs". After her husband's death in 1958 she carried on his legacy, especially in her generous support of young musicians. "RVW" remains a primary source of information about the man, though Ursula was reticent about their life together and left musical discussion to the experts. Her other books include the novels "Set to Partners" (1968) and "The Yellow Dress" (1984), five volumes of poetry, among them "Half My Days and Nights" (1984), and a memoir, "Paradise Remembered" (2002). She also wrote verses and opera librettos for many other composers, among them Gerald Finzi, Herbert Howells, Malcolm Williamson, and Elizabeth Lutyens. She was Honorary Vice President of the Ralph Vaughan Williams Society from its inception until her death in London at 96.
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
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