Tag: Laurence Binyon

Isaac Rosenberg

Written by Lawrance, W on 25th November, 2011. Posted in Poet Biographies.

Isaac Rosenberg was born in Bristol on 25th November 1890, the oldest son and second child of Jewish-Lithuanian immigrants, Dovber and Hacha Rosenberg. Isaac’s twin brother died at birth, making his mother rather protective of him, especially given his poor health and diminutive stature. Dovber and Hacha changed their christian names to Barnet and Anne; the former working as a drapery dealer, although theirs was an impoverished life and the couple had a hostile relationship. This, however, did not prevent the births of four more children by 1899.

In 1897, the family moved to Stepney in London’s East End, where they joined a close Jewish community. Isaac’s artistic nature soon became apparent and his parents did everything they could to assist and encourage their son. He initially attended local Board Schools, but also took additional art classes at the Stepney Green Art School.

At fourteen, Rosenberg left school and was apprenticed as an engraver to Carl Hentschel’s in Fleet Street. This was not really what Rosenberg wanted to do, and he quickly became demoralised, although he kept this position until 1911, realising that his parents needed him to make a financial contribution to the household. In the meantime, to satisfy his craving for literature, Rosenberg joined The Whitechapel Group, which was an assembly of aspiring writers. He also enrolled at the Birkbeck Institute, where he met Paul Nash and concentrated mainly on life drawings, which greatly impressed his tutors.

Having left Hentschel’s in 1911, Rosenberg intended pursuing a career as an artist, but soon found that talent and ambition were not sufficient qualities to guarantee fee paying work. However, his luck changed later that year when three wealthy Jewish benefactors decided to sponsor his tuition at the Slade School of Art.

Although Rosenberg enjoyed his time at the Slade, he found it difficult to make friends and sought solace in poetry, some of which he sent to Laurence Binyon, who gave him enthusiastic encouragement. In 1913, Rosenberg was also introduced to Edward Marsh, who promoted several young poets and the two men would correspond regularly for the remainder of Rosenberg’s life.

When Rosenberg left the Slade in 1914, his health had deteriorated significantly, so he decided to visit his newly married sister, Minnie, in South Africa, where he remained until May 1915. Upon his return to England, Rosenberg still felt no burning urgency to enlist and, in fact only really did so in October 1915, because there was more financial stability to be gained in the army. He initially tried to enlist in the Royal Army Medical Corps, but his health and general physique were considered too poor, so he was sent to a regiment of “Bantams”, formed specifically for men under 5’3″ tall. He served at first with the 12th Suffolk Regiment, until January 1916, when he was transferred to the 12th South Lancs. After this, he was sent to complete his training with the 11th Battalion, Kings Own Royal Lancasters.

As in other establishments in the past, Rosenberg found it difficult to make friends in the army: he was over-sensitive, clumsy and absent-minded, being dubbed as “completely hopeless” by his captain. Despite this, he was sent out to France in June 1916, and went into the trenches near Béthune. Being a private, rather than an officer, it wasn’t easy for Rosenberg to write poetry – even acquiring paper was difficult, but in the autumn of 1916, he still managed to produce what is arguably his most famous poem, Break of Day in the Trenches.

In March 1917, Rosenberg was transferred behind the lines to work on repairing roads and railways and after and uneventful summer, he was finally granted some leave. Like many soldiers, however, although he appreciated the respite from the war, he also found it difficult to adjust to life on the home front. Back in France, the Bantams saw action at Bourlon Wood, where they suffered devastating casualties, although Rosenberg escaped this slaughter, as he was hospitalised in October, suffering from influenza.

March 21st 1918, saw the beginning of the German Spring Offensive and Rosenberg soon found himself in the front lines. On the night of March 31st, he went out on a routine patrol and was killed in the early hours of April 1st. Initially Rosenberg’s body was buried on the battlefield, together with nine of his comrades. Much later, in 1926, the grave was discovered and the bodies removed to Bailleul Road Cemetery. None of the bodies was identifiable, but the Imperial War Graves Commission decided that each should have his own headstone. The following year, the Rosenberg family asked to have the words “Artist and Poet” added to their son’s grave marker.

The War at Sea and the Home Front, 1915

Written by Lawrance, W on 26th May, 2011. Posted in Featured Posts, History.

THE WAR AT SEA

The only real naval battle of 1915 was the Battle of Dogger Bank, which followed a German raid on the east coast towns of Scarborough, Whitby and Hartlepool in December 1914. Although this raid caused outrage, the German commander, Admiral Franz von Hipper decided that he would continue to launch offensives on the British east coast. On 24th January 1915, his fleet was intercepted by the British Navy at Dogger Bank. The British ships, commanded by Admiral Beatty, outnumbered the Germans and two German vessels (Blücher and Seydlitz) were damaged or sunk at the cost of almost one thousand lives. Although Beatty had the upper hand, he decided to withdraw for fear of a U-boat attack, resulting in some criticism that he did not take the opportunity to do more substantial damage to the German fleet.

THE WAR AT HOME

The Miners Strike

In July 1915, Welsh coal miners went on strike, demanding a pay increase, rather than a ‘war bonus’ offered by the government, which they believed would be withdrawn at the end of the conflict. At that time, mines were privately owned and the miners were dissatisfied because the coal was being sold at higher prices, but the owners were not passing these profits down to the workers.

This strike caused difficulties throughout the country, since coal was the major source of fuel, both for consumers and industry, but more importantly, the Royal Navy required vast quantities of coal to maintain the fleet. The government was forced to become involved after less than a week, sending Munitions Minister David Lloyd George to Cardiff to negotiate with the strikers. The government conceded to the miners’ demands and the strike ended on 20th July.

Zeppelin Raids

On January 19th 1915, the Germans launched their first Zeppelin raids in the British Isles, in Great Yarmouth and Kings Lynn, killing nine civilians. The effects of this upon the population were a drop in morale and an increase in the fear that the Germans might invade. Further Zeppelin raids were launched throughout the year and into 1916, mainly on East Coast towns, and also in London.

After the initial fear had died down, by the late summer of 1915, these raids actually had the effect of drawing people closer together and also of making them feel more involved with the war.

As Laurence Binyon put it, in his poem The Zeppelin:

“Of those who yet fight,
Spending for each of us
Their glorious blood
In the foreign night, –
That now we are neared to them
Thank we God.”

Laurence Binyon

Written by Lawrance, W on 10th August, 2010. Posted in Poet Biographies.

Born in Lancaster on 10th August 1869, Laurence Binyon was the second of the nine children of Frederick and Mary Binyon, who both came from Quaker families and Frederick was the vicar of Burton-in-Lonsdale, Yorkshire. Laurence was awarded a scholarship to St Paul’s School, London and then went on to Trinity College, Oxford. He was a published poet by the age of sixteen and won the Newdigate prize for poetry in 1890.

Following his graduation, Binyon started work at the British Museum, beginning in the Department of Printed Books, before transferring to the Department of Prints and Drawings in 1895. He showed a particular interest in Chinese, Japanese and Indian art and built up the Museum’s collections within these genres.

In 1904, Binyon married Cicely Margaret Prior Powell, who was seven years younger, and the couple went on to have three daughters: twins Helen and Margaret, followed by Nicolete, who was born in 1911. By this time, Binyon had been promoted to Assistant Keeper and the family moved from Tite Street in Chelsea to 118 Belgrave Road, Pimlico.

Having instigated a sub-department of Oriental Prints and Drawings at the British Museum, Binyon became its first Head in 1913. The First World War began in August of the following year and on 21st September, The Times published a poem by Binyon entitled For The Fallen, which contains one of the most quoted verses of poetry ever written. Given the early date of composition and publication, this poem is remarkably prophetic and, when read as a whole, is a haunting tribute not only to The Fallen, but to the author himself.

Although he was to old to enlist himself, Binyon served during the conflict, as an orderly in Military Hospitals in France during 1915 and 1916 and worked for the Red Cross during 1917.

After the war, Binyon returned to the British Museum and wrote numerous books on Oriental art, as well as continuing to publish poetry. He was promoted, once again, to become Keeper of the Department of Prints and Drawings, where he remained until his retirement in 1933. The following year was spent as Norton Professor of Poetry at Harvard University.

Upon his return to England in June 1934, he and Cecily bought a farmhouse in Berkshire and he settled down to writing poetry, although he continued to organise exhibitions of Far Eastern Art. Binyon died on 10th March 1943 and was mourned by those who knew him as a ‘warm’ and ‘happy’ man, who very probably always appreciated that he, unlike so many others, had been allowed to grow old.