A poem for Harry Patch

Andrew Motion, the Poet Laureate, has written and performed a poem to mark the birthday of Harry Patch, Britain’s only survivor of battle on the Western Front. I was all ready to be horrible and cynical about this, but Motion does seem to have been keen to write about how one – relatively brief – part of a life can come to dominate the whole of it. It might be an interesting addition to courses on the First World War and poetry.

Update: some interesting discussion on George Simmers’ site of this poem

What did you do in the Second World War, Daddy?

1/7 Battalion Middlesex Regiment Routine Orders, Roman Way Camp, Colchester, 27 November 1940

…407. Discipline.

It has been reported by the Police Authorities that in certain areas, soldiers who are desirous of catching a lift from passing motorists are adopting the practice of hailing vehicles after ‘black-out’ by standing in the middle of the road. It is obvious that under present lighting conditions this practice is one which lead [sic] to accidents and gives the motorist little chance to avoid a collision. All ranks will be informed of the need for discretion in this matter.

(1/7 Middlesex War Diary Sept-Dec 1939, June-Sept 1940, National Archives, WO 166/4461).

One of the problems in calculating casualty figures is working out who should be defined as a ‘casualty of war’.

Cheap shot

I know this story fits a whole set of stereotypes in the way it’s reported, but it is a cracking picture.