Great War Poetry

[Jack Sheldon]

I know that Isaac Rosenberg has already had a brief mention in this thread, but I think him worth bringing back up to the top of the heap once more. I must admit that I was not familiar with his poems until I started work with Nigel Cave on the new Battleground guide to Vimy but, because one of our objectives is to encourage visitors to go and see his grave in Bailleul Road East Cemetery, I began to read up on him and I must say that anyone who can turn an imaginary conversation with a rat into a finely observed, meaningful piece gets my vote. He also earns considerable credit in my mind, because he left the warmth of South Africa in 1914, where he was living for the sake of his precarious health and returned to UK to sign on and serve in the ranks as a private soldier with the King's Own right up until his death in 1918. Here is his masterpiece in full:

Break of Day in the Trenches

The darkness crumbles away.

It is the same old druid time has ever,

Only a live thing leaps my hand,

A queer sardonic rat,

As I pull the parapet's poppy

To stick behind my ear.

Droll rat, they would shoot you if they knew

Your cosmopolitan sympathies.

Now you have touched this English hand

You will do the same to a German

Soon, no doubt, if it be your pleasure

To cross the sleeping green between.

It seems you inwardly grin as you pass

Strong eyes, fine limbs, haughty athletes

Less chanced than you for life,

Bonds to the whims of murder,

Sprawled in the bowels of the earth,

The torn fields of France.

What do you see in our eyes

At the shrieking iron and flame

Hurled through still heavens?

What quaver - what heart aghast?

Poppies whose roots are in man's veins

Drop, and are ever dropping;

But mine in my ear is safe,

Just a little white with the dust.

His special memorial is at V C 12 in Bailleul Road East, on the D 919 about 2.5 km east of Roclincourt, so the next time you visit Vimy Ridge, try to set aside a few moments for a visit. Then, just like his rat, walk the few metres to St Laurent Blangy German Cemetery, where in a space hardly big enough to swing a cat, 32,000 of them are crammed in.

Jack

[Ozzie]

Jack, very striking, a rat and a poppy, war.

Kim

[squirrel]

That's one of my top 10 WW1 favourite poems; very evocative and personal.

[Hett65]

Found in a local newpaper; Trooper William Herbert of the 1st Life Guards wrote a poem about a friend who lived in the same street as him in Spennymoor, Co Durham. Herbert survived the war but was wounded in action and had to have a leg amputated. The poem was for was for Serjeant 15949 John Sinclair 12th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry who was KIA 1st January 1917 aged 25 years. He was the son of Ann Sinclair of Weardale Street, Spennymoor and the late J. Sinclair. The title of the poem is as follows;

IN REMEMBERANCE

TO THE MEMORY OF JACK SINCLAIR, A SPENNYMOOR LAD

I write these lines in wintry France

As the snow lies all around

I think of the lads who have 'done their bit'

And now lie peaceful 'neath the ground'

There's one that I shall ne'es forget

His memory will never fade

He was Jack Sinclair, a Spennymoor lad

A debt that can never be paid

O Jack it is hard to think

That of you I've seen the end

All who knew you found you to be

An honest, trusty friend

I little thought when I left home

That your time was, oh, so near

And that you would have to part with all

You held on earth so dear

I looked forward to the time

When this war would be past

And pictured to myself at times

Of cracks that long would last

You've left a vacant chair at home

Which time can never fill

But though your place is empty

Forget you they never will

In God's keeping now we leave you

Dear departed friend

Your life you gave in serving Him

Until your journey's end

It appears to be a poem written by Herbert for a good friend, I have not seen any other poem that matches with these words.

John

[marina]

I also like his other war epitaph:

It says it all about the Great War.

A favourite of mine too - see my signature!

Marina

[Jon Miller]

This is my absolute favorite 'military themed' poem. The sentiments expressed in the verses say it all - regardless of race, religion, etc. and have a special meaning for me.

NOT A HERO

(Clyde Hamilton)

I see that no-one has commented on this poem - I imagine their thoughts have been on other discussions within the thread. Well, I'd like to say that this one is marvellous, and immediately finds its way in among my favourites.

Jon.

[marina]

Missed that poem , Jon - glad you brought it back to the top! It's a very poignant piece.

Did Wayne say he had more poems by Burns?

HINT! HINT!

Marina

[witzend]

The Son Clifford Dyment

Found the letter in a cardboard box,

Unfamous history. I read the words.

The ink was frail and brown, the paper dry

After so many years of being kept.

The letter was a soldier's, from the front -

Conveyed his love and disappointed hope

Of getting leave. It's cancelled now, he wrote.

My luck is at the bottom of the sea.

Outside the sun was hot; the world looked bright;

I heard a radio, and someone laughed.

I did not sing, or laugh, or love the sun,

Within the quiet room I thought of him,

My father killed, and all the other men,

Whose luck was at the bottom of the sea.

[marina]

That's a nice piece - poignant.

Marina

[KateJ]

I saw an excellent play in the West End during the week called "Not about heros". It's about the friendship between Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen. If anyone has a spare evening next week, it's well worth seeing.

http://www.feelgoodtheatre.co.uk/current.htm

Kate

[Greyhound]

For my first contribution to the forum (I can see I have many hours of reading to look forward to!), may I offer this obscure poem, entitled "November 11".

It appears in "Berkshire Vale", a collection of 17 poems by Wilfrid Howe Nurse, published in a single edition in 1927. His only published poetry. Lovely book with illustrations by Cecil Aldin.

A maroon was fired from the Didcot Dump

and the sound spread over the hill,

To a wheat stub field on Blewbury Downs,

where ploughman and team stood still.

Then silence covers the misty vale

where the people stoop to pray,

With thankful hearts to the God of Peace

for the Great Deliverance Day.

And thanks arise for the brave young hearts

who all to their Land did give:

Who gave their sight that the World might see,

their life that the World might live.

And the ploughman out on the lonely Downs,

head bowed and cap in hand,

Remembers a well-loved son who lies

away in a foreign land.

A second maroon from the Didcot Dump:

The ploughman caps his head,

The team moves on and the world awakes,

but the grave still keeps its Dead.

I especially like it because I live near Blewbury Downs and walk my dog there - but I think it's a rather good poem, and evocative of its time.

[marina]

Appropriate for today as well. Thanks for that,

Marina

[liverpool annie]

Annie,

The poem is also on this website:

http://www.warpoetry.co.uk/RemembranceB.ht...W%20YOUR%20NAME

It states that the poem was written by Kenny Martin following a visit he made with his son to Commonwealth War Graves in the Arnhem/Oosterbeek/Nijmegen area of Holland - his first ever poems.

What a talent.

Amazing what the heart can bring to the mind .... isn't it ??

I know that until I started looking into my Granddad's war history I had no idea all that he went through and yet I knew so much about the war itself !! ......... and now I could weep for all the wonderful men who went through the Hell ..... on both sides !! Egbert gave us a huge taste of that with his wonderous thread and my own research has given me such insight !!

Kenny Martin is to be commended for writing down the thoughts that belong to us all !!

Thanks for introducing me to him !! Did you see this one too ??

I WENT TO SEE THE SOLDIERS

I went to see the soldiers, row on row on row,

And wondered about each so still, their badges all on show.

What brought them here, what life before

Was like for each of them?

What made them angry, laugh, or cry,

These soldiers, boys and men.

Some so young, some older still, a bond more close than brothers

These men have earned and shared a love, that's not like any others

They trained as one, they fought as one

They shared their last together

That bond endures, that love is true

And will be, now and ever.

I could not know, how could I guess, what choices each had made,

Of how they came to soldiering, what part each one had played?

But here they are and here they'll stay,

Each one silent and in place,

Their headstones line up row on row

They guard this hallowed place.

Kenny Martin

© 2003

Annie

[stuartd]

I haven't read through every entry on here so forgiveme if it has been mentioned before, but my personal favourite would be 'Before Action' by William Noel Hodgson. Beautifully written and moving.

[bjomanson]

Hello all,

Would like to put in a plug for an nearly unknown Yank poet who has been receiving some serious critical attention in the past year or two. Name is John Allan Wyeth, and he was with Headquarters Detachment, 33rd Division, AEF. Wrote a sonnet-sequence of some 50 sonnets covering his experiences on the Western Front in 1918. More about him, including one of his sonnets, can be found at http://www.scuttlebuttsmallchow.com/listyank.html. Scroll down to "Wyeth". There are links to additional sonnets. His book, THIS MAN'S ARMY is long out-of-print, but there are plans by an American university press to reprint it.

Would be interested in any opinions.

Thanks,

BJ Omanson

[Guest tombell]

A favourite of mine too - see my signature!

Marina

please help me i know of this poem and am doing a project on it but i cannot find the information about the author if you can help me send an email to 0401820@kambahhs.act.edu.au

[marina]

Hi, Tom,

If you google his name, there is a ton of stuff about his life and career.

Marina

[Borden Battery]

The CEF Study Group is updating its list of Recommended Great War websites on 1 December 2006. In addition, we have added a new chapter section entitled Great War Poetry. Marina's suggestions initiated the creation of this separate section.

Borden Battery

Great War Poetry - Part 29

Note: CEF Study Group member websites denoted with asterisk "*"

==============================================

Modern History Sourcebook:World War I Poetry

This simple website contains some poems by Sassoon, Owen, Read, Hodgson, Gibson and Larkin. [Recommendation by marina - GWF][CEF Study Group – Dec 2006]

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1914warpoets.html

Prose & Poetry - FirstworldWar.com

An extensive summary of a wide range of Great War poets with biographies and sample poems. [Recommendation by marina - GWF][CEF Study Group – Dec 2006]

http://www.firstworldwar.com/poetsandprose/index.htm

Archive of Classic Poems

A small website with poems by Wilfred Owen. There are several links to other poetry websites. [Recommendation by marina - GWF][CEF Study Group – Dec 2006]

http://www.everypoet.com/Archive/Poetry/Wi...en_contents.htm

Where Death Becomes Absurd and Life Absurder

Literary Views of the Great War 1914-1918

A literary discussion paper from Bonn University regarding Great War poetry.

[Recommendation by marina - GWF][CEF Study Group – Dec 2006]

http://www.uni-erfurt.de/eestudies/eese/ar...ges/thegr68.htm

More World War One War Poetry

This simple website contains about thirty poems from the Great War.

[Recommendation by marina - GWF][CEF Study Group – Dec 2006]

http://www.angelfire.com/wa/warpoetry/Ww1poetry.html

120 War Poems by War

From wars of the last century, for students of literature and history.

Edited by C. Stevin and V. Bergmann

[Recommendation by marina - GWF][CEF Study Group – Dec 2006]

http://website.lineone.net/~nusquam/wpmain.htm

Lost Poets of the Great War

Harry Rusche is the author of Lost Poets of the Great War, a hypertext document on the poetry of World War I; his address is the English Department, Emory University, Atlanta, GA. [CEF Study Group – Dec 2006]

http://www.english.emory.edu/LostPoets/index.html

[marina]

That's a wonderful resource, BB! Well done!

Marina

[Borden Battery]

Hello marina

I am waiting for your next installment of recommmended Great War Poetry websites. In addition, there appears to be several others who I am expecting to come forward with more recommendations.

However, at the moment, this is unofficially known at the "marina chapter" for poetry.

Borden Battery

[Dragon]

I am waiting for your next installment of recommmended Great War Poetry websites. ... However, at the moment, this is unofficially known at the "marina chapter" for poetry.

I regret I am not Marina, but perhaps I might offer a contribution. These are generally not anthology sites but academic analysis or literary criticism.

Are you aware of the Wilfred Owen Multimedia Digital Archive? You can access it through the pages of the English Faculty at Oxford University, or I’ll try and put a direct link: here.

Again, via Oxford’s English Faculty, there are the Seminars:

http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ltg/projects/jtap...ials/index.html

Publications such as The Hydra:

http://www.hcu.ox.ac.uk/jtap/pubs/

a Great War poetry discussion board:

http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ltg/projects/jtap...o/comments.html

and the Links page is worth browsing, for example here, on literature:

http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ltg/projects/jtap...literature.html

but other links here (some of which have expired):

http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ltg/projects/jtap/links/index.html

Gwyn

[Dragon]

Not to forget Wales...

Hedd Wyn (Ellis Humphrey Evans, killed at Pilkem Ridge, 1917), about whom the acclaimed film ‘Hedd Wyn’ was made, has a page on Casglu’r Ylysau / Gathering the Jewels, which is the website for Welsh cultural history:

http://www.tlysau.org.uk/en/item10/32226

Clicking on ‘Explore this theme’ takes you to items relating to him: a MS of ‘Yr Araw’ (The Hero) the awdl for which he was posthumously awarded the chair at the National Eisteddfod (the Black Chair); and a postcard showing his bardic chairs which links to biographical information about his home life in Trawsfynydd.

Gwyn

[Borden Battery]

Hello Gwyn

I will review your recommendations, prepare a short abstract for each, list you as the one who made the recommendation and then add them to the CEF Study Group list of recommended Great War websites. Just a few more recommendations and you might displace marina as the matriarch poet.

Borden Battery

[Dragon]

Hello BB

I'm not in competition with anyone. Great War poetry isn't really my area of expertise anyway, though I enjoy it. Now if you were asking about Chaucer...

If you do credit me (and it isn't necessary in this context), then I would prefer you to use my real name, not a pseudonym.

I simply hope that the links will be of interest to someone and will enhance the reader's appreciation.

Gwyn

[marina]

Have sent you another list, BB!

Marina