Remembering

What passing bells for these who die as cattle?
Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
Only the stuttering rifle's rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons.
No mockeries now for them; no prayers, nor bells,
Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,
The shrill demented choirs of wailing shells,
And bugles calling for them from sad shires.
What candles may be held to speed them all?
Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes,
Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes.
The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall,
Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,
And each, slow dusk a drawing down of blinds.”

ANTHEM1 FOR DOOMED YOUTH
Wilfrid Owen

In the grounds of the Craiglockhart Campus of Napier University are the remains of this small castle. This is “The tower” that one of the most famous War Poets Wilfrid Owen often mentioned in letters to his mother.

Today we had a very informative visit to the War Poets Collection at Craiglockhart in Edinburgh. The former Hydropathic was requisitioned for use as a hospital for the treatment of shell shocked officers during the Great War and among its patients were Siegfrid Sassoon and Wilfrid Owen. Sassoon was already a published poet and he encouraged Owen to develop his poetry using his experiences of war.

Wilfrid Owen had seen a good deal of frontline action and had been blown up, concussed and suffered shellshock and so was sent to Craiglockhart for treatment of neurasthenia, as it was called. There the doctors did pioneering treatment and ergotherapy and those who were treated successfully were returned to the front line again. Of 1801 officers treated between 1916 and 1919 Owen was one of the 758 who were sent back to the trenches. He returned in September 1918 and in October won the Military Cross. Unfortunately he was killed on November 4th and just as the church bells were being rung to celebrate the Armistice his parents had the news of his death.

Having read the story of his short life he seems to have been a most remarkable man and now he is among those commemorated by the 888,246 ceramic poppies in the Tower of London’s moat – one for each of the British and Colonial soldiers, sailors and airmen who perished in the Great War.

(Yesterday's Sand Sculpture blip accidentally has the wrong date so this really is the 3rd November)