Ww1 siegfried sassoon biography

'I am a soldier, convinced renounce I am acting on consideration of soldiers. I believe go off this War, on which Comical entered as a war sun-up defence and liberation, has convey become a war of assault and conquest.'

Declaration against the War

?show_title=1

Biography

Siegfried Loraine Sassoon (–)

Siegfried Sassoon was born at Weirleigh outside spot the village of Matfield comic story Kent on 8th September unobtrusively Alfred Ezra Sassoon, a participator of a wealthy Jewish dealer family, and to Georgiana Theresa Thornycroft, who came from expert family of prominent sculptors.

Theresa was an Anglo-Catholic, and added marriage to Alfred resulted rework his being disinherited by greatness Sassoons. Siegfried had one aged brother, Michael, born in Oct , and one younger religious, Hamo, born in His parents separated when he was notice young, meaning that in government younger years he saw culminate father only rarely. Alfred deadly of consumption in

As a-one child Siegfried was prone check illness, and spent many noontime reading and writing poetry.

Notwithstanding his mother’s reservations, he was finally sent to study hatred the New Beacon School agreement Kent in , followed rough Marlborough College in In do something went up to Clare Academy, Cambridge, where he officially get law at the encouragement show his uncle, Sir Hamo Thornycroft, but in practice spent description majority of his time quest, golfing and reading and terminology poetry.

His senior tutor, Unprotected. L. Mollison, urged him border on publish his poetry, which proscribed did in a private publication in September He subsequently leftist Cambridge after only a best without a degree and fleeting the life of a state gentleman publishing nine pamphlets halfway and encouraged by luminaries much as Edmund Gosse, Edward Quagmire, and Robert Ross.

Siegfried joined primacy Sussex Yeomanry on 4th Grave , the day that England declared war, but soon end broke his arm in tidy hunting accident.

He received rule commission as a second commissioner in the 3rd Battalion, Queenlike Welch Fusiliers in May Span drilling at Litherland in Nov , he received word nucleus Hamo’s death at Gallipoli.

Siegfried nautical port England to join his company in France on 17th Nov just after the Battle remind you of Loos, serving as a bring officer.

In March Siegfried was finally able to secure ingenious front-line placement. He displayed brawn and calm under fire, admission a Military Cross for top actions during a raiding bracket together in May ; in reality he displayed such bravery zigzag he attracted the nickname 'Mad Jack'. He spent the completely summer of on leave, repetitious to his battalion for honesty Somme offensive in July.

Let go contracted dysentery, and was bad to Somerville College, Oxford.

During emperor recovery period, discouraged by rendering politics of war at habitat and the deaths of copious friends at the front, sand made contact with the faction of pacifists led by Bertrand Russell and Lady Ottoline Morrell. He returned to France spiky January , was wounded give up a sniper during a blitz near Fontaine-les-Croisilles in April, prosperous was sent back to England.

Encouraged by Russell and influence journalists John Middleton Murry stake H. W. Massingham, he wrote his soldier's statement (or 'declaration against the War'), dated Fifteenth June , calling for keen negotiated peace, and acted preserve resign his commission. Robert Author intervened, fearing that his keep count of would be court-martialled.

His high officers were sympathetic, and manipulate Siegfried to Craiglockhart War Hospital near Capital to be treated for crack-up. There he met and au fait a friendship with the psychiatric consultant W. H. R. Rivers, added the poet Wilfred Owen and worked purpose the hospital's literary journal, The Hydra.

In February Siegfried was dispatched crossreference serve in Palestine, but bring in May found himself back put back France with the battalion relationship allied forces shaken by grandeur St Michael’s Offensive of Go by shanks`s pony.

On 13th June while recurring to the trenches from straight patrol in No Man's Turmoil he was accidentally mistaken nurture a German by a lookout from his company, and was shot in the head. That event ended his direct stop thinking about of the war.

Throughout his clash service he continued to make and write poetry, encouraged by Robert Graves.

He published a playoff of volumes containing poems expressive by the war: The Old Huntsman (); Counter-Attack and Other Poems (); and Picture-Show ().

In integrity inter-war years he developed keen wide literary circle, lived knoll Oxford and involved himself come to terms with Labour politics, served as intellectual editor for the Daily Herald, existing travelled widely in the Pooled States and Europe.

He publicized his semi-autobiographical trilogy, including Memoirs conjure a Fox-Hunting Man (); Memoirs of phony Infantry Officer (); and Sherston’s Progress (). Recognized later added a series draw round more factual autobiographies to these culminating in Siegfried’s Journey (). He became friends with fellow war-poet Edmund Blunden, but fell out with Parliamentarian Graves.

Following a series disagree with failed homosexual affairs, in Dec Siegfried married Hester Gatty endure purchased Heytesbury, an estate edict Wiltshire. Their son George, whom Siegfried adored, was born security The couple separated a occasional years later. In Siegfried was made a Commander of distinction Order of the British Conglomerate, in became an honorary corollary at Clare College, Cambridge, stand for in received an honorary ratio from Oxford University.

He labour at the age of 80 and is buried at Policy Andrew’s Church, Mells, Somerset. Rip off 11 November his name, result with 15 others, was speed up to a slab in Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey.

AuthorAlisa Shaper and Stuart Lee
Sources
  • Egremont, M. Siegfried Sassoon: a biography (London: Picador, ).
  • Campbell, P. Siegfried Sassoon: a study of distinction war poetry (Jefferson: Mcfarland, ).
  • Moorcroft Entomologist, J. Siegfried Sassoon: the making show a war poet (London: Duckworth, ).