R. Welldon Finn

Reginald Arthur Welldon Finn (14 March 1901 – 1971) was an English historian whose main interest was in Domesday Book. His work appeared under the names R. W. Finn, R. Welldon Finn, and Rex Welldon Finn.

Born at Sandbach, Cheshire, Finn was the son of Sidney Wallace Finn, of School House, Sandbach, headmaster of Sandbach grammar school, and was educated at Rossall School and Peterhouse, Cambridge, where he held a scholarship in history. He graduated BA in the History Tripos in 1923 and took his MA in 1929. On leaving Cambridge, he joined the publishing firm William Heinemann.[1]

In 1937, Finn's The English Heritage was the first selection of the newly established Right Book Club.[2]

In November 1941, during the Second World War, Finn was commissioned into the Administrative and Special Duties Branch of the Royal Air Force with the rank of Pilot Officer.[3]

A review of Finn's The Norman Conquest and Its Effects on the Economy, 1066–1086 (1971) noted that "Mr Welldon Finn has contributed greatly to Domesday studies in the course of the last generation."[4]

In 1926, at Frome, Finn married Phyllis Ward.[5] In 1939, they were living at Frinton, Essex.[6]

  1. ^ "REGINALD ARTHUR WELLDON FINN" in E. Ansell, Admissions to Peterhouse (2015), p. 47
  2. ^ Right Book Club, publishinghistory.com, accessed 8 August 2021
  3. ^ The London Gazette, Issue 35387, 19 December 1941, p. 7190
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference HRL was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Reginald A W Finn" in England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005: "Name: Reginald A W Finn / Registration Quarter: Apr-May-Jun 1926 / Registration District: Frome / Spouse: Phyllis Ward / Volume Number: 5c / Page Number: 890"
  6. ^ National Registration Act 1939, Frinton and Walton, p. 17: "Green Tiles, Cambridge Road, Finn, Reginald A W, Book Publisher; Finn, Phyllis, unpaid domestic duties"