Hugh Raymond Spilsbury Pocock (1904–1988) was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 author

Author

An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

.

Pocock was born in Kent

Kent

Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. He won a scholarship to St Paul's School before accepting a scholarship in Greats (the classics in Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 and Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...

) at Pembroke College, Oxford

Pembroke College, Oxford

Pembroke College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, located in Pembroke Square. As of 2009, Pembroke had an estimated financial endowment of £44.9 million.-History:...

. From there he went on to join the Shell Oil Company

Shell Oil Company

Shell Oil Company is the United States-based subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, a multinational oil company of Anglo Dutch origins, which is amongst the largest oil companies in the world. Approximately 22,000 Shell employees are based in the U.S. The head office in the U.S. is in Houston, Texas...

 where he worked until retirement. After moving to Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

 as General Manager, where he met his wife, he moved on to head up the office at Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

, before returning to London as secretary to the Board of Directors. He retired to Jersey

Jersey

Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...

 in 1959.

Writing

Pocock published a book of poetry, Farmyard Comedian and other Poems, as well as The Conquest of Chile, and The Memoirs of Lord Coutanche about the wartime Bailiff of Jersey. He also left to the island detailed research on its Martello towers. A keen amateur astronomer

Astronomy

Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...

, his interests brought him into the acquaintance of Sir Patrick Moore. He was also a talented composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

, and left behind the full piano

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

 score to a musical of one of Oscar Wilde's plays, in the style of Gilbert and Sullivan.

Ancestors

H. R. S. Pocock is a descendant of William Wilmer Pocock

William Wilmer Pocock

William Wilmer Pocock was a British architect.- Buildings:Pocock was responsible for the design of, among others:* the Metropolitan Tabernacle, London* the Worshipful Company of Carpenters in the City of London...

, Master of the Worshipful Company of Carpenters

Worshipful Company of Carpenters

The Worshipful Company of Carpenters is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The Carpenters were traditionally different from a fellow wood-crafting company, the Joiners' and Ceilers' Company, in that the Carpenters utilised nails while the Joiners used adhesives to attach wood.The...

, who was responsible for the design of Carpenter's Hall.