Skip to main content

Month: July 2011

The Lady of Loos

In all of the many stories about the First World War, there have been many accounts of heroic deeds and medals justly awarded, but none is more inspirational or unheralded than the story of Emilienne Moreau.

Born in the summer of 1898, Emilienne grew up with her family in Loos-en-Gohelle, where her father, a retired miner, opened a grocery shop in 1914. In October 1914, the Germans invaded the town and took many of the local men, including Emilienne’s father, as prisoners. As a result of this action and his subsequent treatment, Monsieur Moreau died two months later. Many of the children in the village were in a similar position, having lost their fathers, or sometimes both of their parents and some found their way to Emilienne, who, in February 1915, opened a school in the basement of her family’s home.

Later in 1915, when the British invaded the village of Loos, Emilienne did not hesitate in offering her assistance as a guide for the advancing forces, showing the Allied troops where the Germans had set their defences. Following this, she set up a first aid post and attended to the wounded, with the assistance of British Red Cross men. At one stage, this first aid post came under fire from German snipers, so Emilienne ‘borrowed’ some hand grenades from a British soldier and hurled them in the direction of the firing, killing or wounding all three of the German soldiers who were there. When the house later came under renewed attack from the Germans, she shot two of the advancing soldiers.

As a result of her actions, seventeen year old Emilienne received many medals and accolades, including the Croix de Guerre and the Croix du Combatant from the French authorities. The British awarded her the Military Medal and the Royal Red Cross and, on behalf of the Empire, she received the Venerable Order of St John, which honour is rarely bestowed upon a woman and is a royal order of chivalry, given to those who ‘prevent and relieve sickness and injury’.

Emilienne’s exploits were widely reported in newspapers around the world and she was soon invited to meet French President, Raymond Poincaré and King George V. After the war, Emilienne was married to Just Evrard and in the Second World War, went on to work with British Intelligence and fought in the French Resistance movement, for which she was awarded the title Compagnon de la Libération at the end of that conflict. The latter part of her life was spent in politics and she died in 1971, her story largely forgotten, except by those who were there and remembered the exploits of this unique woman: a heroin, among so many heroes.

Edward Thomas

PERSPECTIVES OF POETRY

Edward Thomas enlisted and fought because he loved his country, in every way – even though he knew, prophetically, that going overseas would almost certainly cost him his life. He gave up his future happiness with his wife, Helen, and their children, for his England and a way of life which he cherished and treasured above all else, knowing that his loss would cost them dearly, but hoping that his country would appreciate his and their sacrifice. When the time came, he left Helen and his children with just a little under £1000 in his will, made – prudently – ten days before he enlisted. The War Office, in its benevolence, reclaimed just over 7 shillings of this from Helen Thomas, five months after her husband’s death, upon discovering that he had been overpaid. Not, perhaps, the actions of the grateful nation for which he’d anticipated he would be giving his life.

So, how does that nation perceive Edward Thomas and his poetry today…?

Edward Thomas’s 144 poems were written over a relatively short period of time, beginning in December 1914 with Up in the Wind and ending, just a little over two years later on January 13th 1917, with Last Poem (The Sorrow of True Love). In between there lies a vast array of poems which demonstrate Thomas’s growing talent, as well as his frequent problems and mood-swings.

Today, many students are required to study his poetry, focusing mainly on one or two central pieces. However, from September 2011, Edward Thomas’s work will become a core focus on a main A-Level syllabus in the UK, despite the fact that relatively little is known about this poet, or his work, compared with the likes of Wilfred Owen, who (for good or bad) seems to have become the mainstay of First World War literature in schools. The lack of readily available information about Edward Thomas has led, in my opinion, to some fundamental errors on the part of the examining board, in the selection of the poems to be studied. There seems to me to be no thread within the collection; no theme or relationship to speak of. Then, dealing with the poems individually, for example, the inclusion of the poem No one so much as you (which should, by the way, also be listed by its alternative title of [M.E.T]), is an interesting and valuable choice, but should surely be studied in conjunction with Thomas’s I may come near loving you or  [P.E.T.], which is not included in the selection. The fact that these two poems were written within days of each other and are addressed to Thomas’s mother and father (respectively) means that students would be given the fascinating opportunity to study Thomas’s markedly different feelings towards his parents, as expressed in these two pieces – if the selectors on the examining board had shown sufficient wisdom (or knowledge) to include them both.

This omission demonstrates perfectly the importance of an in-depth grasp and understanding of the poet(s) involved. The same could be said of the many “blogs” which are now appearing all over the internet, claiming to offer analysis of poetry, some by supposed “experts”, but occasionally by teachers of English. However, these can often be seen to be giving erroneous studies, which merely show how little research the “bloggers” have really done. The study of war poetry requires a thorough understanding of the background of the poet; a knowledge of his or her life and experiences, so as to really comprehend why the poem may have been written at the time and in the style that it was. In his poem Melancholy, for example, Thomas never actually mentions the war, although its presence may be assumed, provided that the reader understands the poet’s position at the time he was writing the piece. In the case of war poetry, it is not enough to simply look at a poem and understand (or think you have understood) the words themselves.

So, returning to Thomas’s poem No one so much as you or [M.E.T.], it is interesting to know that, within a few weeks of writing this, Thomas had also composed poems to his wife Helen and his three children, showing that his frame of mind was clearly focused around his family in the early months of 1916. This was a period of time when Thomas was arguing with his father over his decision (at that time) not to apply for a commission. Meanwhile, his father was also being quite critical of Thomas’s poetry and his decision to become a writer in the first place, which Thomas found offensive. Being as Thomas was staying with his parents, this might well have caused an uneasy atmosphere in the house and this knowledge may provide an explanation as to why Thomas’s mind was so focused on his family, and especially his parents – that February.

From a student’s perspective, one of the most confusing things about Edward Thomas’s poetry is that most of his works have an ulterior motive, purpose or meaning which is secondary to the obvious. Unfortunately, without a really sound knowledge of the poet, above and beyond his fairly well-known biography, the whole significance of the poems can so easily be lost.

W N Hodgson

Born: 3rd January, 1893 – Died: 1st July, 1916

From his birth in Gloucestershire and subsequent upbringing in Northumberland, William Noel Hodgson quickly learned and developed tolerance and understanding as well as consideration for others and a love of his natural surroundings. At Durham School he was a popular and successful student, as well as an outstanding sportsman, playing cricket, rugby and athletics, as well as rowing, and while there he formed many close friendships, especially with fellow poet Nowell Oxland.

Despite being at Christ Church, Oxford when the First World War began, Hodgson interrupted his studies and immediately enlisted, joining the 9th Devonshire Regiment. Following his training, he embarked for France on 28th July 1915, although shortly after his arrival he heard the devastating news that Nowell Oxland had been killed in Gallipoli. Hodgson and his men participated in the Battle of Loos and defended their trench against a German counter-attack for over 36 hours. For his gallantry during this operation, Hodgson received the Military Cross.

During the spring and early summer of 1916, Hodgson’s regiment continued to fight and were also involved in the preparations for the Battle of the Somme. On 1st July 1916, the objective of the 9th Devonshires was a trench system to the west of Mametz, but as they advanced towards this position, they were mown down by machine gun fire.

William Noel Hodgson was shot in the leg and neck: his batman, who rushed to his aid was also shot and killed. Three days later 161 casualties from the 8th and 9th Devonshire Regiments were buried in their old front-line trench and a wooden sign was erected, which read:

The Devonshires held this trench. The Devonshires hold it still.

Although the original wooden sign has now disappeared, there is a plaque containing these words, near the entrance to this unusual cemetery.

Hodgson’s poem Before Action has come to epitomise the waste of youthful enthusiasm that was the Battle of the Somme and is made more poignant by the fact that in his volume of poetry entitled Verse and Prose in Peace and War, Hodgson’s father dated this piece 29th July 1916, namely two days before the poet’s death. There remains, however, some confusion as to whether this is accurate as the date may refer to the original date of publication, rather than of composition. Either way, the poem was undoubtedly written in the build-up to the battle.

Hodgson was a poet of remarkable understanding, considering his youth. He shows in his poetry and prose an extraordinary sympathy for the suffering of others, and his words indicate a deep inner sadness not only for the anticipated loss of his own life and for those of the men around him, but also for a way of life, which he had the maturity to realise had already been lost due to the decimation of his generation. Today, those of us lucky enough to read his words have come to understand what a talented and gentle man was squandered on that day.