"That Most Unselfish Man": George Sayer, 1914-2005: Pupil, Biographer, And Friend of Inklings (Biography‪)‬

GEORGE SAYER IS A SUPERB EXAMPLE of one of the greatest blessings of an academic life: a student who becomes, in time, a good friend. His 1988 biography of C.S. Lewis, Jack: C.S. Lewis and His Times, is rightfully respected as the best of the many recollections of Lewis's life, a final act of loyalty and love. He likewise was a friend of J.R.R. Tolkien, and it was his encouragement that led Tolkien to resubmit The Lord of the Rings for publication when he had despaired of ever seeing it in print. An occasional Inkling, he was, in Lewis's apt description, "that most unselfish man" (Letters 577). No fewer than thirty letters in The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis Volume III attest to his generosity and the affection Lewis felt for him. Like many a man blessed with great teachers, he became a remarkable teacher himself. None of those who met him will ever forget him. George Sydney Benedict Sayer was born June 1, 1914, in Bradfield, Berkshire, the son of an irrigation engineer whose work abroad included projects in Egypt. During the hot seasons there, George was sent back to England for schooling. Christopher Mitchell, director of Wheaton College's Marion E. Wade Center, writes that he described "his first schooling experience, a pre-prep school in Eastbourne, as brutal and abusive, similar to what Lewis himself experienced at Wynyard. His prep school, located in the northern regions of Perthshire, Scotland, was an improvement--there he was 'merely bored'" ("Profile" 35).