Recently in an article on Siegfried Sassoon, we mentioned he had been included on the "Poets of the First World War Memorial" at Westminster Abbey. I thought it would be of interest to our readers to present an article on the memorial and the list of 16 poets honored. MH
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The Memorial and Dedication
The idea for this memorial came from the Dean of Westminster, Edward Carpenter, who initially thought that five or seven poets could be chosen to represent all the poets of the Great War. He consulted with eminent historians and authors to ask for their suggestions. From those suggestions a final list of sixteen representative poets was drawn up and funding was obtained.
A floor stone it is located today at the South Transept of the Abbey, Poets' Corner. The stone is of dark green Westmoreland slate, cut by Harry Meadows. The inscription in red lettering around the names reads:
My subject is War, and the pity of War.
The Poetry is in the pity
The date "1914+1918" appears at the base.
On 11 November 1985, Ted Hughes, the Poet Laureate, unveiled the memorial, followed by the oration for the dedication service, given by Professor Michael Howard, Regius Professor of Modern History and Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford. The readings from the honored poets were by Jill Balcon, Ted Hughes, Stephen Lushington and Richard Pasco.
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| Poet's Corner Setting |
About the Poets
Sixteen poets of the Great War (World War I) are remembered on this memorial. None of the poets are actually buried in the Abbey. Listed here are their names, and their works chosen for reading at the dedication.
Richard Aldington (1892-1962) who served in the trenches and achieved success with his novel Death of a Hero based on his war experiences.
*** 'On the march'
Laurence Binyon (1869-1943) whose words 'They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old…', from his war poem 'For the Fallen', are heard each year on Remembrance Sunday. He was buried at Aldworth in Berkshire.
*** 'They went with songs to the battle'
Edmund Blunden (1896-1974) who fought at Ypres and the Somme and later became Professor of Poetry at Oxford and wrote poems on rural life as well as the war. He is buried at Long Melford in Suffolk.
Rupert Brooke (1887-1915) 'the handsomest young man in England' died en route to the Dardanelles and is buried on the Greek island of Skyros. His War Sonnets included 'The Soldier' with the famous lines 'If I should die, think only this of me: That there's some corner of a foreign field that is for ever England'.
*** 'The Soldier' and 'The Dead'
Wilfrid Gibson (1878-1962) of Northumberland whose poetry also dealt with rural themes.
*** 'A Lament',
Robert Graves (1895-1985) was badly wounded on the Somme but was the only one of the poets still living at the time of the unveiling. He was professor of poetry at Oxford and his novels include I, Claudius.
*** 'Two Fusiliers'
Julian Grenfell (1888-1915) whose celebrated poem 'Into Battle' appeared in the same year that he was killed at Ypres.
*** 'Into Battle'
Ivor Gurney (1890-1937) was gassed during the war and never fully recovered, being taken into care for the last years of his life. He also composed many songs.
*** 'To the poet before battle'
David Jones (1895-1974) had a Welsh father but was born in Kent and served throughout the Great War. His epic work was In Parenthesis on the subject of war.
Robert Nichols (1893-1944) had early success with his poem 'Invocation' in 1915 but he later turned to writing plays.
*** 'By the wood'
Wilfred Owen (1893-1918), from whose Collected Poems the quote on the stone is taken, won the Military Cross and was killed just a week before the Armistice.
***'Anthem for doomed youth' and 'Futility'
Sir Herbert Read (1893-1968) had a distinguished war record and was poet, critic and writer on fine art, being knighted in 1953.
*** 'The refugees'
Isaac Rosenberg (1890-1918) was killed in action. The publication in 1937 of his Collected Works confirmed his importance as a writer of realistic war poetry.
*** 'Break of day in the trenches'
Siegfried Sassoon (1886-1967) won the Military Cross and was invalided out. His volume of bleak anti-war poems, Counter Attack, was published in 1918 but his reputation became established in the following decade. He was buried at Mells in Somerset.
*** 'The Hero' and 'Reconciliation'
Charles Sorley (1895-1915) was killed at the battle of Loos aged only 20 so left comparatively few complete poems but was well regarded by his contemporary poets.
*** 'All the hills and vales along'
Edward Thomas (1878-1917) was encouraged to write by the American poet Robert Frost and was killed at Arras and his work is now highly regarded. He is the source of the title of this blog.
*** 'Lights Out' and In 'Memoriam-Easter 1915'
Source: Westminster Abbey Website
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