Stewart Montagu Cleeve (20 October 1894 – 5 January 1993) was a professional soldier who later in life was an enthusiastic music teacher who assisted in the revival of the viola d'amore.
[1] During the First World War, he became involved in super heavy artillery (see BL 14 inch Railway Gun) and was reputedly recalled to Dover in the Second World War on Churchill's instructions to help reassemble the same guns when they were deployed for coastal defence.
After 1946, when he had retired from the army, he dedicated himself to music; especially the violin which he taught enthusiastically to many generations of London schoolboys.
In 1967, Cleeve attended a class run by Maurice Bouette and made his first reproduction.
Through the Viola d'Amore Society he gave concerts, commissioned works from contemporary composers and edited some 400 himself.