En:Lionel Logue

Here is a potted history I wrote on WBro Lionel Logue, speech therapist in the film "The King's Speech"

Worshipful Brother Lionel Logue

a WA Freemason we can all be proud of

The Archives Committee has had many enquiries lately concerning WBro Lionel Logue. Those of you who have seen or heard of the recent film “The King's Speech” will know that Lionel Logue, the character played by Geoffrey Rush, was the speech therapist who helped King George VI cure his stammer.

What you may not know was that Lionel George Logue was a member of St George's Lodge (now J D Stevenson St George's Lodge).

Lionel Logue was born in Adelaide on 26 February 1880 and educated at Prince Alfred College in Adelaide. WBro Logue studied elocution and worked in Adelaide as a teacher. He moved to Kalgoorlie apparently to work in a gold mine. Later he moved to Perth where he met Myrtle Gruenert; they married on 20 March 1907 in St George's Anglican Cathedral, Perth.

His Masonic records show that at his Initiation on 18 September 1908, WBro Logue was a Professor of Elocution residing at 9 Emerald Terrace, West Perth (now believed to be Emerald Hill Terrace). He was Passed to the Second Degree on 16 October 1908, and Raised to the Sublime Degree of a Master Mason on 20 November 1908. His rise through the Officers' Chairs was as follows: Steward 1909, Junior Deacon 1910, Inner Guard 1913, Junior Deacon 1914, Senior Deacon 1915, Junior Warden 1916, Senior Warden 1918, Worshipful Master 1919.

WBro Logue seems to have had a busy professional life in Perth. He taught elocution, public speaking and acting, as well as producing stage plays. He worked to help soldiers returning from World War I who were afflicted with speech impediments caused by shell-shock.

In 1924 he set up consulting rooms in Harley Street, London where he treated both rich and poor alike; apparently the exorbitant fees he charged the rich subsided the treatment of his poorer clients. In 1926 he was consulted by the then Duke of York (later King George VI) for help to overcome his stammer. At the Coronation of King George VI on 12 May 1937, WBro Logue wore the MVO decoration awarded by the King the night before.

WBro Logue was a founder of the British Society of Speech Therapists and a founding fellow of the College of Speech Therapists and he was speech therapist to the Royal Masonic School. In 1944 his MVO was elevated to CVO. He retained his friendship with King George VI until the King's death in 1952. WBro Logue passed to the Grand Lodge Above on 12 April 1953.

The Carrington Lodge (WAC 363)

Bassendean RAC (WAC 20)

18th Boucaut RC (AASR Australia 5)

The Carrington Lodge

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Lionel George Logue

Source: Wikipedia

Lionel George Logue, CVO (26 February 1880 – 12 April 1953) was an Australian speech therapist and stage actor who successfully treated, among others, King George VI, who had a pronounced stammer.

Early life and family

Lionel George Logue was born in College Town, Adelaide, South Australia, the eldest of four children. His grandfather Edward Logue, originally from Dublin, set up Logue's Brewery in 1850, which, after Edward's death in 1868, would merge with the South Australian Brewing Company. His parents were George Edward Logue, an accountant at his grandfather's brewery who later managed the Burnside Hotel and Elephant and Castle Hotel, and Lavinia Rankin. Although not a Catholic himself, he was reportedly "a relation to Cardinal Logue", who was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

He attended Prince Alfred College between 1889 and 1896. Unable to decide what to study, Logue came across Longfellow's The Song of Hiawatha:[4]

    Then lagoo, the great boaster,
    He the marvellous story-teller,
    He the traveller and the talker,
    He the friend of old Nokomis,
    Made a bow for Hiawatha
    —Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

What inspired Logue was the rhythm and he decided to put his interest in voices to good use. After leaving school at sixteen, he received elocution training from Edward Reeves. Reeves had moved to Adelaide in 1878 and taught elocution to his pupils by day and gave popular recitals to audiences in Victoria Hall by night. Logue worked for Reeves as a secretary and assistant teacher from 1902, while studying music at the University of Adelaide's Elder Conservatorium. While working for Reeves, Logue began to give recitals of his own for which he was praised for his "clear, powerful voice." Adelaide, 1896

After his father died on 17 November 1902, Logue set up his own practice as a teacher of elocution. By 1904, he had gained a good reputation and was receiving praise from the local newspapers.[6] However, he decided to take a contract with an engineering firm some 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) westward in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, installing an electricity supply at a gold mine.

Professional career

His professional career began in Perth, where, in addition to teaching elocution, acting, and public speaking, he put on plays and recitations, and also founded a club for public speakers. He was also involved with Perth's Young Men's Christian Association and schools such as Methodist Ladies' College, Loreto Convent, Scotch College, Perth Technical School, and Claremont Teachers College.

In 1911, Logue set out on a tour of the world to study methods of public speaking. Following his return to Perth after the Great War, he developed treatments for Australian war veterans who had impaired speech due to shell-shock. In addition to physical exercises, which helped with patients' breathing, Logue's distinctive therapy emphasised humour, patience, and "superhuman sympathy".

In 1924, Logue took his wife and three sons to England, ostensibly for a holiday. Once there, he took jobs teaching elocution at schools around London. In 1926, Logue opened a speech-defect practice at 146 Harley Street. It was there that the Duke of York, the future King George VI, sought Logue's help. Logue used fees paid to him by wealthy clients to subsidise patients who could not afford to pay. Logue became a founding fellow of the College of Speech Therapists in 1944

Treatment of King George VI

Before he ascended to the throne, Albert, Duke of York dreaded public speaking because he suffered from a severe stammer.His closing speech at the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley on 31 October 1925 proved an ordeal for speaker and listeners alike. The experience left the Duke resolved to find a way to manage his stammer, so he engaged Logue in 1926.

Diagnosing poor co-ordination between the Duke's larynx and thoracic diaphragm, Logue prescribed a daily hour of vocal exercises. Logue's treatment gave the Duke the confidence to relax and avoid tension-induced muscle spasms. As a result, he suffered only the occasional hesitancy in speech. By 1927, he was speaking confidently and managed his address at the opening of the Old Parliament House in Canberra without stammering.

Logue worked with the Duke through the 1930s and 40s. He used tongue-twisters to help his patient rehearse for major speeches, his coronation, and his radio broadcasts to the British Empire throughout the Second World War. The two men remained friends until the King's death.

Honours

In 1944, King George VI appointed Logue a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO), elevating him from Member of the Order (MVO). However, he was not elevated to Knight of the Order (KVO), which would have entitled him to use the prefix of "Sir".

As declared prior to the closing credits of the film The King's Speech: "This high honour from a grateful King made [Logue] part of the only order of chivalry that specifically rewards acts of personal service to the Monarch."

Personal life

Logue married Myrtle Gruenert, a 21-year-old clerk, at St George's Anglican Cathedral, Perth, on 20 March 1907.[21] They had three sons, Valentine, Laurie and Anthony.

Logue was a Freemason, initiated, passed and raised in 1908, and became Worshipful Master in 1919; he was a member of St. George's Lodge (now J.D. Stevenson St. George's Lodge No.6, Western Australian Constitution).

He lived in a 25-room Victorian villa called Beechgrove in Sydenham from before 1933 until about 1940

Death

He died in London on 12 April 1953, aged 73; his funeral was held on 17 April in Holy Trinity, Brompton before his body was cremated. The Queen and the Queen Mother both had representatives attend the funeral service.

In popular culture

Logue's grandson, Mark, wrote a book with Peter Conradi about his grandfather's relationship with the Duke of York, who later became King George VI, The King's Speech: How One Man Saved the British Monarchy. The short title was used for the 2010 British film The King's Speech, a historical drama written by David Seidler, in which Logue was played by Geoffrey Rush and his patient by Colin Firth. In February 2011, The King's Speech won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Colin Firth.

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