W N Hodgson's- Before Action

[burlington]

This is his poem which ends:

By all delights that I shall miss,

Help me to die , O Lord

I always thought that this was written 29/30 June 1917- Hodgson died before Mametz early on 1 July.

An excellent anthology of WW1 peoms by Hudson says that this poem was PUBLISHED in June 1916.

Can anyone help please. Perhaps the anthology merely has a typo.

[Tom Morgan]

I believe the poem was published in June 1916, just a couple of days before Hodgson's death. This may have given rise to the oft-quoted "factoid" that he wrote it two days before his death.

Tom

[Dragon]

The difference is between the date of composition and the date of publication. It was published in New Witness on 29 June 1916, which leads to the common misconception that he wrote it in the trenches just before his death.

Therefore your anthology is correct.

(It was also published in Verse and Prose in Peace and War in November 1916.)

Gwyn

[burlington]

I believe the poem was published in June 1916, just a couple of days before Hodgson's death. This may have given rise to the oft-quoted "factoid" that he wrote it two days before his death.

Tom

Thank you Tom for this.

I think there are too many factoids going the rounds and confusing the likes of me.

I remember when I was a mere stripling ( in WW1 terms) two years ago I went to Ypres on a guided tour and was told by a well respected author and part time guide that McCrea died of his wounds on the Ypres front after being operated on by 2 (?) VC bearing surgeons.

I now learn that he died of pneumonia in 1918.

The problem is that when I took my friend on a DIY tour later I repeated the factoid.

What are mere students like me to make of it all?

[Tom Morgan]

Burlington,

Your guide had a startling mish-mash of factoids there and no mistake!! He must have been passing on a confused and half-remembered "factoid" account of how Capt. Chavasse, (who won the VC twice) was evacuated to hospital where he was operated on by Lt.- Col. Arthur Martin-Leake RAMC, who had also won the VC twice.

Almost true - Lt. Col. Martin-Leake (VC and Bar) was the Commanding Officer of 46th Field Ambulance, based at Brandhoek Crossroads, through which Noel Chavasse passed on the way to Casualty Clearing Station No. 32. The Casualty Clearing Station was also at Brandhoek and Chavasse was operated on there, but not by Martin-Leake as it wouldn't have been his job.

Tom

[paul guthrie]

Most of you know WFA Stand To! editor Ann Clayton has written fine biographies of Martin-Leake and Chavasse, quite good!, available paperback.