Notable Persons who served in WW1-Part 1-Art, Music & Literature

[toofatfortakeoff]

Frank Wyndham Goldie 

Famous actor in the 30s 40s including British SciFi B Movie Cosmic Monsters 

1897-1957

Lieutenant in RMLI.

 

[EvgenyS]

Nikolay Gumilev (1886-1921) - a Russian poet, literary critic, traveler.

When World War I started, Gumilev joined cavalry. He fought in several battles in Eastern Front in 1914-1916, and then was part of the Russian Expeditionary Force in France. He was awarded the St. George Military Cross twice and published a book about his experiences in the war, 'Cavalryman's Diary'. 

Valentin Kataev (1897-1986) - a Russian and Soviet novelist and playwright. 

He volunteered for the army in 1915, serving in the artillery for 2 years, and was awarded two St. George Military Crosses and St. Anna's order.

Mikhail Zoshchenko (1894 - 1958) - a Soviet and Russian writer and satirist.

During WWI, Zoshchenko served as an infantry officer. He was wounded and gassed, and was decorated 5 times. His war injuries led to a heart disease that haunted him till his death.

 

[michaeldr]

Jean Verdenal [exempted from his obligatory military service while he studied medicine at university] in May 1913 joined 18th Regiment d'Infantrie in his home town of Pau.
In 1915 the CEO's 1st Division included the 175th Regiment d'Infantrie, which was made up of drafts from various regiments around France, including Pau's 18th.
The regiment reached Mudros in mid-March 1915. There is no record of Verdenal taking part in the landing at Kum Kale, so he must have landed at 'V' Beach, Cape Helles, on the 27th or 28th April 1915 together with his regiment's service de sante.
Within hours Verdenal was in the thick of it, earning a Citation a l'Odre du Regiment (30 April 1915) - “Scarcely recovered from pleurisy, he did not hesitate to spend much of the night in the water up to his waist helping to evacuate the wounded by sea, thus giving a notable example of self-sacrifice.”
On 2 May 1915 a further French attack took place and Verdenal went forward with his stretcher bearers to bring in a wounded lieutenant of the 175th who was lying in the Petit Ravin. Bending over the officer to administer first aid, Verdenal was struck in the forehead by a Turkish rifle bullet and died instantly.
A second Citation was made on 25th June 1915 a l'Order de l'Armee - “He performed his duties with courage and devotion. He was killed on 2nd May 1915 while dressing a wounded man on the field of battle.”
On 17th February 1920 Verdenal was posthumously awarded the Medaille militaire [There is also a mention of the Croix de Guerre being presented to his parents (but no firm details or reference)]

In the 'Arts' the name of Jean Verdenal has come down to us in the dedication by T. S. Eliot to his first book, “Prufrock and Other Observations”. Obviously a significant character in Eliot's life, the poet remembered him in 1934 as “a friend coming across the Luxembourg Gardens in the late afternoon, waving a branch of lilac … … … (later he was) to be mixed with the mud of Gallipoli.”

[details from Claudio Perinot's article in the South Atlantic Review]

[EvgenyS]

 Fyodor Stepun (1884 – 1965) - a Russian and German writer, philosopher, historian and sociologist.

During the first World War he was an officer in artillery, and his wartime expereince is described in his book 'Letters from an Artillery Officer'. He was severly wounded and almost lost his leg and was decorated 4 times. In 1922 he emigrated and lived in Germany.

Pyotr Kapitsa (1894–1984) - a leading Soviet physicist and Nobel laureate.

In 1914-1916 he served as an ambulance driver in the Eastern Front.