The Song of Tiadatha

[burlington]

I had the pleasure last night, at the Gwent Branch of the WFA, of listening to a presentation of Major Owen Rutter's epic poem 'The song of Tiadatha' by his grandson!

Absoutely amazing even though the IT support, ie the projector, had collapsed.

If you do a Google you will find quite a few references to Tiadatha eg HERE.

The part of the poem presented last night was concerned with Tiadatha's experiences in Salonika in WW1.

What did Tiadatha stand for- Tired Arthur of course!! And the format of the poem is based on Hiawatha.

Martin

[bobpike]

Martin,

Sounds a real treat,

Bob

Major Owen Rutter

1889-1944

'Song of Tiadatha,' by Major Owen Rutter. [New York] : Duffield & Company, MCMXXX.

Major Owen Rutter (1889-1944), using the pseudonym "Klip-Klip," wrote one of the masterpieces of Great War verse. A parody of Longfellow's, 'Song of Hiawatha', entitled 'Song of Tiadatha,' (1919-1920); a book-length tale of one Tiadatha, a rather naive, privileged young man, and his transformation through his war experiences. 'Song of Tiadatha' enjoyed success, and was followed by 'Travels of Tiadatha,' (1922).

(See also David Jones,' 'In Parenthesis,' for an example of an epic poem from the Great War, and MacKinlay Kantor's 'Glory for Me,' for an example of a narrative poem from the Second World War -- eventually produced as the 1946 motion picture 'The Best Years of Our Lives: Glory For Me,' / MacKinlay Kantor. -- New York : Coward-McCann, 1945.)

[Owen D]

Owen Rutter was in 7 Wilts.

More info from their War Diary here with mentions of "Rutter".My Webpagehttp://www.thewardrobe.org.uk/wardiary.php3?action=keywords&keywords=rutter&logic=and

Alsohttp://www.salonika.freeserve.co.uk/Select...ibliography.htm

Rutter, O. The Song of Tiadatha (BSF Library, 1919)

Later published along with the post-war poem The Travels of Tiadatha (London, Philip Allan & Co, 1935), this classic epic poem of the Salonika Campaign forms an account of an infantry subaltern’s war in Macedonia. The central character Tiadatha (Tired Arthur) is, in Rutter’s own words, ‘a sort of composite of my brother officers.’ Rutter served with the 7th Battalion Wiltshire Regiment, taking part in the First Battle of Doiran, which is vividly described in his poem. The Song of Tiadatha initially appeared in serialised form during the Campaign in the British Salonika Force newspaper The Balkan News

[Steven Broomfield]

The only copy in print I've seen is extracts in an anthology of Great War poetry "Never such innocence", I bought a couple of years ago. I loved it, and wondered - is it in print now?

[marina]

Found this little bit on the net:

From 'The Song of Tiadatha '

(by Owen Rutter)

In this war the Hun has brought us,

Some have learnt to make returns out,

Some have learnt to write out orders.

Some have learnt the way to kill Hulls,

Some to lead the men that kill them,

Some have learnt to cope with bully,

Learnt to shave with army razors,

Learnt to make the best of blizzards,

Mud and slush and blazing sunshine,

Learnt to coax a little comfort

Out of bivvies, barns and dug-outs,

Learnt of things they never dreamed of

In July of 1914.

And they all have learnt this lesson,

Learnt as well this common lesson,

Learnt to hold a little dearer

All tile things they took for granted

In July of 1914-

Whether it be Scottish Highlands,

Hills of Wales or banks of Ireland,

Or the swelling downs of Dudshire,

Or tile pavement of St. James's --

Even so my Tiadatha.

So I leave him and salute him

Back in his beloved London,

Knowing that the war has one thing

(If no others) to its credit --

It has made a nut a soldier,

Made a silk purse from a sow's ear,

Made a man of Tiadatha

And made men of hundreds like him.

And the world has cause to thank us

For that band of so-called filberts,

For those products of St. James's,

Light of heart and much enduring,

Straight and debonair and dauntless,

Grousing at their small discomforts,

Smiling in the face of danger.

Who have faced their great adventure,

Crossed through No Man's Land to meet it,

Lightly as they'd cross St. James's.

Eyes and heart still full of laughter,

Till the world had cause to wonder

Till tile world had cause to thank us

For the likes of Tiadatha.

Marina

[burlington]

We had that, and much more, read to us last night.

Inspiring is one word for it.

Martin

[MartinWills]

The Song of Tiadatha was originally printed in parts in the Balkan Times (which Rutter edited). At the end of the war it was published in it's entirety in the BSF (British Salonica Force) series of little paperback volumes. This is the most commonly found of the volumes (there were four, I think). The paper quality is very poor and invariably a fine shade of sepia or darker and of a coarse texture. The typesetting and prinitng was by local (Thessaloniki) printers whose grasp and understanding of English was not of the highest order, though a fine achievement considering it was in a foreign tongue. There are a number of printer's typos.

The sequel, Travels of Tiadatha followed 2 or 3 years later and the two were published a little while later in a combined volume in the UK with typos corrected. A number of signed copies were produced as a short limited edition and make for an item to treasure if you can find one.