Peter Llewelyn Davies, taken in 1917.

Peter Llewelyn Davies MC (1897-April 5, 1960) was one of the Llewelyn Davies family sons befriended by J. M. Barrie. Barrie publicly identified him as the source of the name for the title character in his famous play Peter Pan. The association would plague Llewelyn Davies throughout his life. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (500x741, 43 KB)Peter Llewelyn-Davies, taken in 1917. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (500x741, 43 KB)Peter Llewelyn-Davies, taken in 1917. ... 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar (see: 1917 Julian calendar). ... The Military Cross (MC) is the third level military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Army and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries. ... 1897 (MDCCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... is the 95th day of the year (96th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... You may be looking for James Barry, surgeon Sir James Matthew Barrie, Bt. ... This article is about the play by J.M. Barrie. ...

After Llewelyn Davies' parents died young, Barrie, who had become a friend of the family, adopted him and his four brothers (George, Jack, Michael and Nicholas). Their affectionate moniker for Barrie was "Uncle Jim". Llewelyn Davies, like his brothers (apart from Jack), attended Eton College. George Llewelyn Davies (20 July 1893 - 15 March 1915) was the eldest son of Arthur and Sylvia Llewelyn Davies, and along with his brothers was the inspiration for J. M. Barries character Peter Pan. ... John Jack Llewelyn Davies (11 September 1894 – 17 September 1959), was one of the Llewelyn Davies boys befriended by J. M. Barrie. ... Michael Llewelyn Davies (June 1900 - 19 May 1921) was the fourth (second youngest) son of Arthur and Sylvia Llewelyn Davies, and along with his brothers was the inspiration for J. M. Barries character Peter Pan. ... Nicholas Nico Llewelyn Davies (24 November 1903 - 1980) was the youngest child of the Llewelyn Davies family (the famous inspirations for J.M. Barries Peter Pan). ... The Kings College of Our Lady of Eton beside Windsor, commonly known as Eton College or just Eton, is a public school (privately funded and independent) for boys, founded in 1440 by King Henry VI. It is located in Eton, near Windsor in England, north of Windsor Castle, and...

Llewelyn Davies was part of the generation of young men who participated in World War I. He was a Signal Officer in France and spent his fair share of time in the trenches; at one point he was hospitalized with impetigo. Llewelyn Davies ultimately won the Military Cross, but was scarred by his wartime experience. “The Great War ” redirects here. ... The Military Cross (MC) is the third level military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Army and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries. ...

In 1917, while still in the military, Llewelyn Davies met and began to court Vera Willoughby, which was one of the first in a series of events that would estrange him from Barrie, his guardian. Willoughby was married and a good deal older than Peter, which scandalized Barrie and caused a rift between the two. 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar (see: 1917 Julian calendar). ...

Around this time, Llewelyn Davies suffered a series of family tragedies, beginning with the death of his brother George, who was killed at 21 in the trenches during World War I. His brother Michael drowned under suspicious circumstances at the age of 20 while at Oxford. Michael's best friend, Rupert Buxton, drowned with him — their hands were said to have been tied together — causing people to speculate that they may have been lovers. This article is about the city of Oxford in England. ...

Llewelyn Davies went on to be a publisher, and had mixed feelings about having his name associated with what he called "that terrible masterpiece". But perhaps the worst insult was being cut out of Barrie's will — instead of going to the surviving brothers, upon his death in 1937 Barrie's fortune went to his secretary, Cynthia Asquith. (In 1929, Barrie gave the copyright to Peter Pan to Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London). Some have speculated that this drove Llewelyn Davies to drink — he eventually became an alcoholic. Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

One of Llewelyn Davies' sons, Ruthven (b. 1933), would later write:

"My father had mixed feelings about the whole business of Peter Pan. He accepted that Barrie considered that he was the inspiration for Peter Pan and it was only reasonable that my father should inherit everything from Barrie. That was my father's expectation. It would have recompensed him for the notoriety he had experienced since being linked with Peter Pan — something he hated."

On April 5, 1960, after lingering at the bar of the Royal Court Hotel, 63-year-old Llewelyn Davies walked to nearby Sloane Square and committed suicide by throwing himself under a train as it was pulling into the station. A coroner's jury ruled he had killed himself "while the balance of his mind was disturbed". At the time of his suicide, he had been editing family papers and letters, assembling them into a document he called the Morgue. He had more or less reached the documents having to do with his brother Michael's possible suicide. Another factor possibly contributing to his suicide was the knowledge that his wife and all three of his sons had inherited Huntington's disease. Sloane Square is a small hard landscaped square on the boundaries of the fashionable London districts of Belgravia and Chelsea. ... Sloane Square tube station is a London Underground station in Sloane Square, Chelsea. ...

In the 1978 BBC mini-series The Lost Boys, he was portrayed at various ages by Jean-Benoit Louveaux, Matthew Blakstad, Dominic Heath, and Tom Kelly. In the 2004 film Finding Neverland he was portrayed as a child by Freddie Highmore; Highmore won a Screen Actors Guild award nomination for his performance. For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... A miniseries, in a serial storytelling medium, is a production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. ... People named Tom Kelly include: Tom Kelly (baseball) Tom Kelly (engineer) Tom Kelly (Ireland) Tom Kelly (musician) Tom Kelly (UK) Tom Kelly (USA) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Finding Neverland is an Academy Award-winning film that released in 2004, starring Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet. ... Freddie Highmore as Charlie Bucket in the 2005 film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Freddie Highmore (born February 14, 1992 in London, England) is an English child actor. ... The Screen Actors Guild (S.A.G.) is the labor union representing over 120,000 film actors in the United States. ...

Llewelyn Davies was married to Margaret Ruthven, and had three children with her: Ruthven (b. 1933), George (b. 1935) and Peter (b. 1940).

Reference

• Edwards, David (October 28, 2004). The Tragic True Story Behind Peter Pan. Mirror
• Birkin, Andrew: J M Barrie & the Lost Boys (Yale University Press, 2003)
  

External links

• Website with information on Barrie and the Llewelyn Davies family