Wilfred Owen

On the Trail of the Poets of the Great War

Helen McPhail, Philip Guest

• Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9780850526141
• eBook ISBN: 9781473820784
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military & Maritime History
• Index: History

This is a guide to the battlefields that inspired the young and sensitive poet, whose poems are probably the twentieth century's best-known literary expressions of experience of war. Detailed maps, military diaries, photographs and modern roads guide the visitor through the battlefields. Owen's letters are used extensively, together with his poetry, linking specific places events, vividly describing the suffering of the trench.

CONTENTS

Introduction by the Series Editor

Introduction

Biographical table

Chapter 1 The Unlikely Origins of an Officer

Chapter 2 The Real Thing

Chapter 3 ‘A Damned Fine Poet’

Chapter 4 Back to the Front Line

Chapter 5 The Canal at Ors

Bibliography

General Index

Poems

INTRODUCTION BY SERIES EDITOR

This is the first in a new type of Battleground Europe book – a look at an individual. Much has been written about the War Poets and other significant literary figures whose work was moulded to a considerable extent by their service in the ‘war to end all wars’. However, not so much has been written about their war service, and more particularly that of the unit in which they served. This books fills that gap, and places Owen’s writings firmly in the context of his war service. The traveller to the Western Front will be able to trace his routes, find some of his locations and visit the graves of many of his friends. The narrative outlines the battles and events that were to be reflected in his poetry; the authors do not make the mistake of assuming that his emotions were uniquely a consequence of what happened in the war but give enough information to be able to refer back to the formative memories of childhood and peacetime.

The War Poets have shaped the thinking of much of the population about the Great War – generations, now, of school pupils have studied them as part of one examination syllabus or another, as well as their having a wider, adult appeal. There has been a danger of having history ‘written by War Poet’, one of the consequences, possibly, of the fashionable trend of imbuing contemporary accounts with greater historical significance than is justified. Of course these accounts are important; of course these men, and the experiences they underwent, are a vital part of the historical legacy of the war. But they are only a part, and should not be overestimated in their significance. After all, ninety nine percent and more did not write War Poetry, and Owen’s writings, amongst others, were not all fashionable until the 1930s. I am reminded of a cartoon that portrays two soldiers in a trench, with shells and bullets flying all over the place. One says to the other words to the effect of, ‘Of course I should not be here at all. I am not a poet.’

That said, Owen’s poetry speaks to the emotions and it is founded on heart-rending experiences – not all of which he hated. This book, based as it is on the expertise of two people with great knowledge and feeling for Owen, places him firmly in his context and at the same time should ensure that many will come to some of the out-of-the-way places where Owen was in France and pay tribute not only to his memory but also to that of his fellow citizens who fell alongside him.

Nigel Cave,
Ely Place, London

DULICE ET DECORUM EST

Bent double, like old under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through shdge,
Till on the hawnting flares we turned our backs
And towards our distant rest began to tindge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even, to the hoots
Of tried, gas shells that dropped behind.

Gas! Gas! Quick, boys! – An ecstasy of Fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in tune:
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And floundering like a man in fire or line.…
Dim through the misty pances and thick green hight,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.

In all my dreams, befor my helpless, sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking drowning.

If in some smothering dreams you, too could face
Behind the, wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a davil’s sick of sin;
If you, could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gagling from the froth corrupted lungs,
Obscenas cancer, bitter as the cud
Of wle, incurable sores on innocent tongues,–
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,

The old Lie: DULCE ET DECORUM EST

PRO PATRIA MORI.

INTRODUCTION

The poetry that came out of direct experience of the First World War is an unfailing source of literary interest, personal perception and creative understanding. It is also a source of straightforward information – about morale and relationships as well as events and reactions. Just as military reputations change over time, the pattern of literary taste and popularity, between what was best known in 1918 and what is widely admired (and taught in schools) many years later, develops and alters. The recognition of Wilfred Owen’s poetry as an essential voice of 1914–18 is one aspect among many that reflect modern attitudes to humanity and warfare.

The account in these pages is based firmly on Owen’s letters as well as his poetry, and on military sources – battalion diaries, regimental histories, trench maps, etc. Unlike many correspondents in the front line, Owen wrote vividly and honestly about what he saw and felt, and although his front-line experience was brief compared to the war years of many other officers, his personal reactions and emotion underlie his skill with the English language to recreate the past for us. Information is given at the end of each chapter on its specific relevant sources, but the book as a whole could not have been written without constant reference to the letters and poems. Details appear at the end of the book about these and other sources, and those who wish to investigate Owen’s life and work in greater depth will find plenty of further bibliographical detail in the material listed.

Thanks are due to a number of people who have helped and encouraged the production of this book. We are grateful to Messrs. Chatto & Windus for permission to quote from The Poems of Wilfred Owen, edited by Jon Stallworthy (1985), and to the Owen Estate and Oxford University Press for permission to quote from The Collected Letters of Wilfred Owen, edited by John Bell and Jon Stallworthy (1985).

Illustrations: Birkenhead Leisure, Birkenhead Library Services (pp.13, 120); M. Jules Delva, Ors (p.78); the family of John Foulkes (pp.87, 112, 116); Paul Gavin (p.21); the Imperial War Museum (pp.86, 108–109); David Jones (pp.7, 13, 122); the Manchester Museum Committee of the King’s Regiment (pp.46, 47, 93); The Ordnance Survey (p.50); Julian Putkowski (p.26); the Dean and Chapter of Ripon Cathedral (p.73); the family of Paul Seret (pp:55, 58, 99); Shrewsbury Abbey (p.15); Shropshire Records & Research (p.15); This England Books for pictures from ‘The Register of the Victoria Cross’ (pp.80, 113); Yorkshire Film Archive (p.72).

Biographical Table

1891	8 Dec.	Tom Owen marries Susan Shaw
1893	18 March	Birth of Wilfred Owen, Plas Wilmot, Oswestry
1895	30 May	Birth of Mary Owen
1897	5 Sept.	Birth of Harold Owen
1897		The family moves to Birkenhead
1900	24 July	Birth of Colin Owen
1906		The family moves to Shrewsbury
1911		Wilfred Owen becomes lay assistant at Dunsden
1913		Feb. Leaves Dunsden, returns home, ill
		S...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents