Francis Webb (poet) - Early Life

Early Life

Francis Webb was born in Adelaide, South Australia. His father was a musician, Director of the North Sydney Academy of Music before moving to Adelaide where he became the owner of a piano importing business in Grenfell Street. His mother was a socialite with a keen interest in ~horse racing. She died when he was two years old, and his father was hospitalised a year later. In 1928, Webb and his three sisters (Mavis, Claudia, and Leonie) were sent to live with their paternal grandparents, Charles and Amy Webb-Wagg, in Sydney.

Webb wrote his first poems as a birthday present for his paternal grandmother when he was 7 years old, under the tutelage of an aunt who died before she could see them in print. When Webb was 14 years old his much loved grandfather died. Webb's first major individual publication came with the appearance of 'Palace of Dreams' in The Bulletin (10 June 1942).

At the completion of high school, Webb considered entry into Sydney University on a scholarship, but this plan was disrupted by the Second World War. He enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force between 1943 and 1945 and spent time during the war based in Canada. His father died at Callan Park Hospital a few weeks after his demobilisation.