Walter John de la Mare, OM CH , was an English poet, short story writer and novelist, probably best remembered for his works for children and "The Listeners". He was born in Kent , descended from a family of French Huguenots, and was educated at St Paul's Choir School. His first book, Songs of Childhood, was published under the name Walter Ramal. He worked in the statistics department of the London office of Standard Oil for eighteen years while struggling to bring up a family, but nevertheless found enough time to write, and, in 1908, though the efforts of Sir Henry Newbolt he received a Civil List pension which enabled him to concentrate on writing;