AustLit

Moore Raymond was one of five children, son of Joe Raymond, an itinerant Queensland schoolteacher and bee-keeper of Irish descent and his wife, Violet Ethel Sarah nee Neill, of Scottish descent. The family spent six years in Pimpama, south of Brisbane and, after a period in Sharon near Bundaberg, in 1913 moved to Augathella, north of Charleville until 1918. Raymond's brother, Robert Raymond (q.v.), recalls in From Bees to Buzz-Bombs (1992): 'My brother was at the time an active, inquisitive boy in his early teens. In the three Smiley books he wrote in London thirty years later he recalled with affection the time he spent in the hot, dusty little town, and brought to life many of its quirky characters'. He attended the University of Queensland in the 1920s and was working on the Brisbane Mail by 1929 for around five pounds per week.

Raymond went to Britain around 1930 and continued with journalism. His first wife, Flora, followed him from Brisbane in 1930 but died suddenly in England of pneumonia while pregnant. Raymond subsequently married an English woman, Joy, but had no children. Robert Raymond describes his brother's life in 1935: 'My brother was clearly at home in London. He had just come back from a spell in Spain, reporting for the Daily Express, and was moving into theatre and film criticism. He was dabbling with song writing, and published the occasional short story. He was a member of the Press Club, the Chelsea Arts Club, and the Savage Club, much frequented by musicians and writers. His great ambition, however, was to belong to the Magic Circle, whose members were dedicated to the art of prestidigitation.' (1992): 117

During the war Raymond was engaged in radio broadcasting to the armed forces and was a well paid film reviewer for the BBC. Robert Raymond reports that Raymond was now 'an established figure in Fleet Street, a member of the select Critics' Circle and on a first name basis with every national editor.' (1992): 178 During the late 1930s and 1940s Raymond wrote a number of lyrics set to music by various composers. 'Who are you a-shovin' of?' (1941) was sung by George Formby.

Source: Robert Raymond From Bees to Buzz-Bombs : Robert Raymond's Boyhood-to-Blitz Memoirs (1992)