Roy Fuller and Alun Lewis
Image of ill fated troop ship HMT Lancastria attacked and sunk on 17th June 1940
courtesy of Wikipedia. In the public domain.
Troop Ship- Roy Fuller
" Now the fish fly, the multiple skies display
Still more astounding patterns, the colours are
More brilliant than fluid paint, the grey more grey.
At dawn I saw a solitary star
Making a wake across the broken sea,
Against the heavens swayed a sable spar.
The hissing of the deep is silence,the
Only noise is our memories.
O far,
From our desires, at every torrid port,
Between the gem-hung velvet of the waves,
Our sires and grandsires in their green flesh start,
Bend skinny elbows, warn: 'We have no graves,
We passed this way, with good defended ill.
Our virtue perished, evil is prince there still. "
From 'Collected Poems 1936- 1961' -Roy Fuller
published 1961
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O far,
From our desires, at every torrid port,
Between the gem-hung velvet of the waves,
Our sires and grandsires in their green flesh start,
Bend skinny elbows, warn: 'We have no graves,
We passed this way, with good defended ill.
Our virtue perished, evil is prince there still. "
From 'Collected Poems 1936- 1961' -Roy Fuller
published 1961
Part of the case for taking World War 2 poetry seriously as a historical record is that those caught up in the conflict would use poetry to disclose feelings that are harder to express in other ways.
The tension of embarkation in World War 2 must have been immense. As well as sailing off to fight in a foreign land in a distant continent, there was the realisation that loved ones remaining in the home country weren't safe from bombing, even invasion. The chances of home leave were particularly remote if posted to fight in Africa or Asia. And any sea voyage was hazardous with prowling U Boats and enemy ships discarding mines, or aerial bombing. In fact the worst maritime disaster in British history was the sinking of His Majesty's Troopship Lancastria taking soldiers and civilians fleeing the German invasion of France from St Nazaire on 17th June 1940.
Roy Broadbent Fuller ( 11th February 1912- 27th September 1991) was already a published poet when he was conscripted into the Royal Navy in 1941. His first collection 'Poems' appeared in 1939, and he'd also appeared in the prestigious 'Twentieth Century Verse 1937-1939' anthology edited by Julian Symonds. His next collections, 'The Middle of a War' (1942) and the 'Lost Season' ( 1944 ) were well received. He was promoted to Petty Officer and served in Africa in 1942, returning to Britain as a lieutenant in the Admiralty in London in 1943. He was demobbed in December 1945.
Fuller became a reviewer of some note, further poetry collections and novels followed. His careers were varied, including a directorship with The Woolwich, and professor of poetry at Oxford University (1968- 1973). Fuller also became a BBC governor, and held positions on the Arts Council and Library Advisory Council for England. He had the distinction as a poet of having his later work held in high esteem. In fact his 1989 collection 'Available for Dreams' is often cited as featuring his greatest poetry.
Fuller became a reviewer of some note, further poetry collections and novels followed. His careers were varied, including a directorship with The Woolwich, and professor of poetry at Oxford University (1968- 1973). Fuller also became a BBC governor, and held positions on the Arts Council and Library Advisory Council for England. He had the distinction as a poet of having his later work held in high esteem. In fact his 1989 collection 'Available for Dreams' is often cited as featuring his greatest poetry.
A Troopship in the Tropics -Alun Lewis
" Five thousand souls are here and all are bounded
Too easily perhaps by the ostensible purpose,
Steady as the ploughshare cleaving England,
Of this great ship, obedient to its compass.
The sundeck for the children and the officers
Under the awning, watching the midsea blue
Until the nurses pass with a soft excitement
Rustling the talk of passengers and crew.
Deep in the foetid holds the tiered bunks
Hold restless men who sweat and toss and sob;
The gamblers on the hatches, in the corner
The accordionist and barber do their job.
The smell of oranges and excrement
Moves among those who write uneasy letters
Or slouch about and curse the stray dejection
That chafes them with its hard nostalgic fetters "........
So Alun Lewis portrayed his journey in 1942 on board a troopship as grimy and squalid. Yet Lewis was a relatively popular officer with his men, and was also the Entertainments Officer on board. The reference to "restless men who sweat and toss and sob" was unlikely to have been intended to be demeaning.
Alun Lewis, born near Abedare in Wales in 1915, his parents were teachers who were the children of miners. A poet who connected to the Anglo-Welsh sphere and avoided the 'Apocalypse' /'New Romantic' movements of the 1940's. Lewis' poems covered love affairs, the countryside, his war poetry reflected boredom, disillusionment. His work also covers the experience of being posted to India whilst in uniform and encountering the poverty there. . The poetry of Edward Thomas was a great influence on Lewis. He found the whole concept of killing difficult but in 1940 Lewis enlisted in the Royal Engineers, and by the time of his death was a lieutenant serving with the South Wales Borderers.
On 5th March 1944 Alun Lewis was found shot in the head behind the lines near Arakhan, Burma. He died six hours later, his death registered as 'died of accidental wound' though he may have decided to end his life. Depression, a football injury, the guilt of an extra- marital affair, perhaps further reluctance to take part in actual fighting, may have combined to overwhelm him. Lewis's poetry and short stories were already being read during the War, and broadcast on radio. His death was widely reported. Lewis also had the distinction of being the only World War 2 poet in uniform to be acknowledged by Robert Graves, who wrote introductions to his posthumous collections Ha Ha Amongst the Trumpets (1945) and Selected Poems of Alun Lewis (1981)
Sources
Selected Poems of Alun Lewis , with a forward by Robert Graves ,Unwin Paperbacks, 1981
Collected Poems of Alun Lewis edited by Cary Archard, Seren Books, 1994 Soldier Poets Documentary
Soldier Poets Documentary Presented by the poet Tom Paulin, in 2009 (?) looking at the lives of Keith Douglas and Alun Lewis, now on Youtube.
Contact: Michael Bully World War 2 Poetry@mail.com ( please ram words together without spaces)
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Other blogs by Michael Bully
Bleak Chesney Wold 19th century related literature & dark history
a Burnt Ship 17th century War & literature
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