Magdalen honours C.S. Lewis

Mr Anthony Smith unveiling the C.S. Lewis memorial at Magdalen College

A memorial plaque to mark the centenary of the birth of the author and academic, Clive Staples Lewis, has been unveiled at Magdalen College, where he served as a Tutor in English for almost 30 years. Probably best known for his children's stories, The Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis was a student at University College before and after his military service during the First World War. He was elected Fellow of English Language and Literature at Magdalen in 1925. The plaque, inscribed with a poem by Lewis entitled `What the bird said early in the year', is by Addison's Walk, a path in the college grounds he often took during his time there. It was unveiled by Mr Anthony Smith, President of the college, following a special evensong in Magdalen Chapel on Wednesday, 13 May. The choir sang the anthem Veni Sancte Spiritus, which was composed for the film Shadowlands, based on the author's life. The lessons were read by two people who knew the author, his godson, Mr Laurence Harwood, and Lady Freud, who as a war-time child evacuee lived for two years at Lewis's house, The Kilns. The centenary of the author's birth will also be marked by a number of conferences world-wide; the publication of a book by a former pupil, Professor John Lawlor; a new statue to be unveiled in Belfast; and the issue of a Royal Mail stamp series on writers of children's literature, which will also feature Oxford academics J.R.R. Tolkien and Charles Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll.