_cropped.jpg)
Source: File: Julian Grenfell.jpg, 2015. Portrait of British
soldier poet Julian Grenfell (1888-1915).
Photo dated to 1915 due to presence of DSO ribbon on uniform, which was awarded
in 1914 and formally announced in the London Gazette on 1 January 1915. 5 January
1915. [online] (updated 1
January 2015) Available at:< http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Grenfell>[Accessed: 5 January 2015].
Julian Henry Francis Grenfell -
The first son of Lord Desborough -
To be born 1888 – followed by
His younger brother, by two years,
Billy Grenfell - they were as twins,
In shared energetic company.
Julian, educated at Summerfields,
Eton and Oxford - developed a depth
Of beliefs, that came from traditions
Of a home life – Religion linked to his
Love of sport and activity - God as his
Belief - came to him in a thunderstorm.
1906 and Julian reached over six foot.
As brothers their passions paralleled -
For life and their strong held beliefs -
1910 Oxford ended for Julian Grenfell;
As horizons formed the haze of travel.
With Billy entering law, Julian felt a pull
Of the army - to serve time in India
With the Royal Dragoons – India,
Where in the rains made 'grass grow,
As fast as a horse galloping.'
1911 arrived and South Africa called
The regiment - at first he was dismayed
In a call to a barren place - but then
Fondness grew for Grenfell, for the open
Veld and loved company of greyhounds,
Horses and sports of boxing and polo.
1914 and July brought the rumours
Of potential war - the army’s purpose
To fight might have meant being kept
In South Africa, or sent to in Egypt -
The captain desired a return to Britain
Wanting to 'throw stones at Germans.'
For him, such optimism of war stirred
Up failing beliefs in the 'Mother Country,'
And the 'Old Flag’ whose 'Imperial Idea,'
Had a tendency to waver in peace time.
With his return to the home country,
In September, saw Grenfell’s
regiment
On Salisbury Plain - After two days
Home leave, October took the Royals
On the fifth, making leave for
France -
Captain Grenfell felt all perfectly
'bird.'
Billy too, by then took a commission
In Rifle Brigade as Second
Lieutenant.
To wait for post exams, was less
than
What might be glorious - for both, war
Seemed like life – as brothers
though,
War had started to lose their
friends.
From Flanders the captain’s letters
Came of how, in fierce fights, the
men
Go straight in - and how he feels so
fit
And at his happiest - Claims of
liking it
Though can lead to careless dangers-
As war can equally be a total
‘beast.’
Confusion may come from not knowing
Their own front - with troops on the
flank
Or behind and firing on their own
men -
Four officers paused, talked and
laughed,
Upon a road, when a dozen shots made
Them dive into a door-to fall over
each other.
With refuge in nearest dirt-filled
outhouse
Still laughing - one man exclaimed
'I have a bullet through my best
Sandon
Twillette breeches' - to realise in
two days,
The bullet had also gone through him
too.
By then Grenfell, a Cavalryman,
found
The redundancy of his profession
they had
Become merely infantry – to man the
trench
System – words sent home gave honesty,
Admitting to lack of washing for
over a week,
While his boots remained on over two
weeks.
'Best fun' was cooking in morning
before
A start and hot food in the dark -
armed
With daytime cold rations - all
suited his
Stolidity and barbarity - with
contradictory
Love for a man, when trying to kill
him.
Grenfell noted noises of shelling is
hard
To describe - as they can be heard
coming
From a distance - their noise
imitated
In expectation, by the infantry
members -
Such shellfire explodes upwards in
force.
One time a shell blew him off his
horse,
Yet he kept a cigarette solidly in his
mouth.
Another time in capture of Germans,
He felt hatred in thought of the
English
Dead - He scowled, as others jeered
At the officer, who saluted as he
passed –
Despite his capture the man was proud
-
To make Grenfell self ashamed.
Another time he took on an escapade,
Back and forth to the enemy
trenches -
In concern against the German sniper
Menace - Captain Grenfell had
requested
Often to go and have a shot back at
them.
Finally given leave to do so, he
disputed
Of orders to take a section - so
went
Out alone - He crawled a yard a
minute,
On the sodden clay earth, out to the
right,
Where Germans were nearest to them –
Waiting - hearing nothing –
Then suddenly, Germans talking,
One head Lifted, but awkwardly
He could not shoot - so crawled
Closer to their parapet – a thrill
Filled him – again a head lifted
A German laughing - Grenfell fired.
The man crumpled - others whispered,
Frightened, not understanding how…
Heart thumping, Grenfell crawled
back.
The afternoon saw him take another
go -
This time the trench remained empty
-
With an hour passed, nobody appeared.
The third time, the day after at
dawn,
Grenfell crawled out and discovered
The same trench quiet - then a blasé
Noisy German appeared from woods.
With him at twenty five yards he
fired,
The German dropped, without a sound.
Nothing - then a noise of twenty
more
As they halted, Grenfell picked the
officer,
And fired at him between the
shoulders.
He went down and Grenfell at a
galloping
Crawl, left with a message that the
enemy
Was then in the process of massing.
Came the Germans in close formation,
To within almost ten yards - the
British
Gunners started and mowed them down.
The act of Grenfell’s stalking was
frowned
On – that it was likely he would be
called
To face the General, regarding such
action.
Grenfell argued in losing two
officers a day
To snipers, it was needed to be rid
of threat -
Adding that habits of taking such a
venture,
Had been taken up as 'popular amusement.’
The fact of a daring chance, led to
Grenfell’s
Mention in dispatches - as
December's leave
Came, Grenfell was to wear his D.S.O
ribbon.
Now prepared with the experience of
fighting,
An officer’s poetic talents were
yet to compose
Those lines of experience - of going
into battle.
by Jamie Mann.
Meynell, V., 1917(?). Julian Grenfell. Reprinted from The Dublin
Review
Burns and Gates, 28, Orchard Street, London.
W.
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