famous poets and writers
Above, in my own homeCounty of Mayo the 'GreatFamine ' memorial at
Doo Laugh Pass, to commemorate the ' hungry poor ' who walked here in 1849
Doo Laugh Pass, to commemorate the ' hungry poor ' who walked here in 1849
The location was ' Red House ' on the edge of Chalk Pit; the date on the letter, September 25th, 1915.
" This will be my last letter most likely for some time, " wrote John Kipling, a second Lieutenant with the Irish Guards on his first tour of duty to the front line.
" The trenches are nine miles from here so it won't be a very long march...funny to think one will be in the thick of it tomorrow. "
There followed a few short lines about the impending advance that would become known as the Battle of Loos, before he signed off: " Well, so long old dears. Dear love, John. "
Two days later, stumbling blindly through the mud of north-eastern France, the young officer just turned 18, was fatally wounded by an exploding mortar shell. John's body was never found. It was not, in all the horror of the First World War, such an unusual tale. But of all the thousands who lost their lives on the battlefields, John's story is one of the most poignant.Rudyard Kipling became a deeply unfashionable figure because of his jingoistic views on Empire and manhood.
" The trenches are nine miles from here so it won't be a very long march...funny to think one will be in the thick of it tomorrow. "
There followed a few short lines about the impending advance that would become known as the Battle of Loos, before he signed off: " Well, so long old dears. Dear love, John. "
Two days later, stumbling blindly through the mud of north-eastern France, the young officer just turned 18, was fatally wounded by an exploding mortar shell. John's body was never found. It was not, in all the horror of the First World War, such an unusual tale. But of all the thousands who lost their lives on the battlefields, John's story is one of the most poignant.Rudyard Kipling became a deeply unfashionable figure because of his jingoistic views on Empire and manhood.
Destiny: John with sisters Elsie, left, and Josephine in 1898
During his youth John suffered severe shortsightedness, just like his father. His eyesite was so bad he was unable to read the second letter on the optician's chart, even with thick glasses, and had been refused entry to the Forces three times. It was only Kipling's conection with his life-long firend Lord Roberts
( an Irishman ) Commander-in Chief of the British Army, that secured his son a commission. John grew up in a society where God and country meant everything, so when the call came to go to war, his father was not only willing, but eager for his son to join up. John's mother Carrie recorded in her diary on August 15th, 1915: " John leaves at noon for Warley ( barracks in Essex ) He looks very straight and smart and young, as he turned at the top of the stairs to say, " send my love to Dad-o. "
Just over a month later, on August 26th, John went into battle. The next day-only his second on the front line - he was dead. Rudyard Kipling was so grieved by the loss of his only son he was inspired to write the following poem about him.
( an Irishman ) Commander-in Chief of the British Army, that secured his son a commission. John grew up in a society where God and country meant everything, so when the call came to go to war, his father was not only willing, but eager for his son to join up. John's mother Carrie recorded in her diary on August 15th, 1915: " John leaves at noon for Warley ( barracks in Essex ) He looks very straight and smart and young, as he turned at the top of the stairs to say, " send my love to Dad-o. "
Just over a month later, on August 26th, John went into battle. The next day-only his second on the front line - he was dead. Rudyard Kipling was so grieved by the loss of his only son he was inspired to write the following poem about him.
My Boy Jack
' When do you think that
he'll come back? '
Not with this wind
blowing, and this tide.
' Has anyone else had
word of him? '
Not this tide.
For what is sunk will
hardly swim,
Not with this wind
blowing, and this tide.
' Oh dear, what comfort
can i find? '
None this tide,
Except he did not
shame his kind-
Not even with that wind
blowing, and that tide.
' Then hold your head
up all the more,
This tide,
And every tide;
Because he was the
son you bore,
And gave to that wind
blowing and that tide!
he'll come back? '
Not with this wind
blowing, and this tide.
' Has anyone else had
word of him? '
Not this tide.
For what is sunk will
hardly swim,
Not with this wind
blowing, and this tide.
' Oh dear, what comfort
can i find? '
None this tide,
Except he did not
shame his kind-
Not even with that wind
blowing, and that tide.
' Then hold your head
up all the more,
This tide,
And every tide;
Because he was the
son you bore,
And gave to that wind
blowing and that tide!
Rudyard Kipling was a wonderful father and loved his son dearly. It was not until 1919 that he accepted that his son wad dead. John's name was engraved on the Loos Memorial Wall in Dud Corner Cemetary, in Loos-en-Gohelle. In a moving tribute, Kipling paid the head gardener , Mr Prynn, to have the Last Post sounded every night in honour of his son. In 1992, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission names a previously unidentified soldier buried in France as John Kipling ( background picture see here ), but what should have been a fitting end has become a subject of controversy, with some experts saying there is no evidence to confirm that the grave is John's. I like to think that it is.....
