WATERFIELD, William W. 14.8.1832 — Teignbridge, Devon 24.1.1907. British Civil Servant and Poet in India. Educated at Haileybury. Arrived in India in 1852, 1857 he was in Revenue Survey in Berhampore. In 1859-64 in financial department. After a furlough in England civil paymaster in North-Western Provinces, 1877 Accountant-General, then Comptroller-General. Retired in 1881. Twice married, 1864 Louisa Bentall and 18?? Rose Herschel, father of Philip W. His diaries, 1852-65, are kept in British Library. He knew Bengali, Hindi and some Sanskrit.
Publications: Indian Ballads, and Other Poems. 1868, new ed. 306 p. L. 1885 (own poetry, often based on Sanskrit texts); Hymns for holy days and seasons. L. 1877.
– The Lay of Alha. A Saga of Rajput Chivalry as s87 p. ung by Minstrels of Northern India. Partly translated in English Ballad Metre by the late W.W. With an introduction and abstracts of the untranslated portions by Sir G. Grierson. 278 p. Oxford 1923 (translation made in the 1870s and published in Calcutta Review 61-63).
Sources: *Máire ní Fhlatháin, W.W. 2011: years in Wikisource; stray notes in Internet.
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