Sunday WW1 Remembered...

Ordinary Lives of the First World War

One of my favourite WW1 poems is My Boy Jack by Rudyard Kipling and over Christmas I had the opportunity to watch the film version of My Boy Jack, starring David Haig and Daniel Radcliffe, which highlights Rudyard Kipling's search for his missing son - eighteen year old Jack Kipling was missing, presumed killed during the Battle of Loos in September, 1915.

John Kipling was born in Sussex 1897, the youngest of the three children born to Rudyard Kipling and his American wife, Caroline Starr Balestier. John, known as Jack, was educated at Wellington College, Berkshire.

Jack was sixteen when war broke out in 1914, and carried along by the fervour of his father who was a staunch supporter of the war, Jack, tried to enlist as soon as he was old enough, but he was unfortunately turned down by both the navy and the army due to his very poor eyesight.

However, Rudyard Kipling was keen for his son to see active service and using his considerable influence, he was able to persuade, Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts, a former Commander-in-Chief of the British Army, and Colonel of the Irish Guards to bypass this disability and Jack was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the 2nd Battalion, Irish Guards on 15 August 1914, having just turned 17.

After his initial training. Jack Kipling was sent to France in August 1914 and was reported as missing in September 1915, during the Battle of Loos. His body was never found and although he is officially listed as buried in St Mary's ADS Cemetery in Haisnes, there is still doubt as to whether this is indeed his final resting place.

Rudyard Kipling never recovered from the lost of his son and following this devastating tragedy his attitude towards the war changed. This poem to his missing son was also a tribute to the many other young men lost during the war -

The Children 

1914-18 

("The Honours of War"—A Diversity of Creatures) 

These were our children who died for our lands: they were dear in our sight. 

We have only the memory left of their home-treasured sayings and laughter. 

The price of our loss shall be paid to our hands, not another’s hereafter. 

Neither the Alien nor Priest shall decide on it. That is our right. 

But who shall return us the children? 

At the hour the Barbarian chose to disclose his pretences, 

And raged against Man, they engaged, on the breasts that they bared for us, 

The first felon-stroke of the sword he had long-time prepared for us— 

Their bodies were all our defence while we wrought our defences. 

They bought us anew with their blood, forbearing to blame us, 

Those hours which we had not made good when the Judgment o’ercame us. 

They believed us and perished for it. Our statecraft, our learning 

Delivered them bound to the Pit and alive to the burning 

Whither they mirthfully hastened as jostling for honour— 

Nor since her birth has our Earth seen such worth loosed upon her. 

Nor was their agony brief, or once only imposed on them. 

The wounded, the war-spent, the sick received no exemption: 

Being cured they returned and endured and achieved our redemption, 

Hopeless themselves of relief, till Death, marveling, closed on them. 

That flesh we had nursed from the first in all cleanness was given 

To corruption unveiled and assailed by the malice of Heaven— 

By the heart-shaking jests of Decay where it lolled in the wires— 

To be blanched or gay-painted by fumes— to be cindered by fires— 

To be senselessly tossed and retossed in stale mutilation 

From crater to crater. For that we shall take expiation. 

But who shall return us our children? 

Kipling's poignant poem My Boy Jack was in fact written following the death of 16 year old sailor Jack Cornwell, but it is also a poignant reminder of the loss of his own boy, Jack.

"HAVE you news of my boy Jack? "

Not this tide.

"When d'you think that he'll come back?"

Not with this wind blowing, and this tide.

"Has any one 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,

Nor any 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.

~****~

Sunday WW1 Remembered...

When I first started this WW1 commemoration back in 2014 I mainly featured poetry.

This month I will share my favourite poems

My Boy Jack 

by

Rudyard Kipling

(1865-1935)

“Have you news of my boy Jack?”

Not this tide.

“When d’you think that he’ll come back?”

Not with this wind blowing, and this tide.

“Has any one 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,

Nor any 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 an English novelist and poet. He wrote My Boy Jack after the loss of his beloved son at the Battle of Loos in 1915.

Kipling is best remembered for his short stories and children's tales.

Listen Here

*~*~*

Review ~ The Jungle Books by Rudyard Kipling

Alma Books

2016

A bit of blurb..

The adventures of Mowgli, the young man raised by wolves in the jungles of Central India, and his friends Baloo the bear, Bagheera the panther and Kaa the python, as they face the arch villain Shere Khan the tiger, have become so popular that they have achieved an almost mythical status throughout the world. They were collected by Kipling in The Jungle Book and its sequel, The Second Jungle Book, which also contain other stories set in India which prominently feature animals, such as the well-known ‘Rikki-Tikki-Tavi’, which describes the struggles of a mongoose against venomous cobras.

Here presented with brand-new illustrations by Ian Beck, these hugely popular tales, inspired by ancient fables and Kipling’s own experiences in India, form a vivid account of the relationship between humans and nature, and will continue to inspire readers young and old.

Age range 12+ to adult...

Here are my thoughts..

It's always a treat when a lovely book like The Jungle Books pops through the letterbox, which then takes me, instantly, back to when I was a child. Back to days of endless sunshine, summer holidays stretching before me and the possibility of sitting in the long grass with a book and a chocolate biscuit. I read The Jungle Books when I was about eleven or twelve, but before that I had often listened to the some of the stories read to me by my mother, or by my teacher at school and I loved the stories so much, that when I was able to buy my own copy, I did.

Of course, we've all seen the Walt Disney version of The Jungle Book which is based on Rudyard Kipling's First and Second Jungle Books and yet, inside, the story is so much more. There are tales of great adventure and derring-do, stories that remind us to be kind to one another and stories which make you smile and which also make you ask questions. 

The Jungle Books were first published in 1894, and have been reissued many times. This new version by Alma Classics is an easy to read paperback, which, contains the first jungle book and also its sequel, which, together with beautifully simple drawings, is a real joy to read. From the very beginning Kipling's rich prose and poetry draws you into the heat of the jungle, to the danger lurking in corners, and to all the myriad sights, sounds,colours and legends of this amazing landscape. 

I especially liked the extra material for young readers which goes into some detail about the author, the books and the characters, along with a wonderful informative glossary.

Best Read With...A bottle of ice cold, fizzy lemonade and a Blue Riband biscuit...

About the Author

Famous for his tales of adventure in British India, Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936) is one of the most popular writers of all time and the first English-speaking recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature.

About the Illustrator

Ian Beck is an author and illustrator known for his beautifully illustrated books which include his young fiction series, 'Tom Trueheart' (translated into over seventeen languages), and numerous picture books including The Teddy Robber and Lost in the Snow. He has also collaborated with authors including Bertie Doherty and Philip Pullman on classic fairytales retellings and continues to write and illustrate picture books and titles for young readers.

Amazon UK

My thanks to Alma Books for my copy of The Jungle Books

~***~

Sunday WW1 Remembered...

The Battle of Jutland was a naval battle fought in the North Sea between the 

British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet.

The battle was fought between the 31 May and 1 June  1916

Fourteen British and eleven German ships were sunk with tremendous loss of life. 

Over 6000 British and 2500 German lives were lost and this marked one of the

Royal Navy's darkest times.

It was the only major battle fought at sea and marked a turning point in WW1.

The Verdict

by 

Rudyard Kipling

Jutland , 1916

Not in the thick of the fight,

Not in the press of the odds,

Do the heroes come to their height,

Or we know the demi-gods.

That stands over till peace.

We can only perceive

Men returned from the seas,

Very grateful for leave.

They grant us sudden days

Snatched from their business of war;

But we are too close to appraise

What manner of men they are.

And, whether their names go down

With age-kept victories,

Or whether they battle and drown

Unreckoned, is hid from our eyes.

They are too near to be great,

But our children shall understand

When and how our fate

Was changed, and by whose hand.

Our children shall measure their worth.

We are content to be blind . . .

But we know that we walk on a new-born earth

With the saviours of mankind.

More information about the centenary commemorations can me found

Jutland 100 

The Royal British Legion

~***~

Sunday WW1 Poem...

The theme for this month's WW1 poems 

is 


Literary Figures 


Those poets who are perhaps better known for their stories

Rudyard Kipling


1865- 1936



Wrote amongst others, The Just So Stories for Little Children, which includes The Jungle Book

and Jaffa's favourite .....The Cat Who Walked by Himself

Gethsemane (1914-1918)

The Garden called Gethsemane   

   In Picardy it was,   

And there the people came to see   

   The English soldiers pass.

We used to pass—we used to pass   

   Or halt, as it might be,

And ship our masks in case of gas   

   Beyond Gethsemane.

The Garden called Gethsemane,   

   It held a pretty lass,

But all the time she talked to me

   I prayed my cup might pass.   

The officer sat on the chair,

   The men lay on the grass,   

And all the time we halted there

   I prayed my cup might pass.

It didn’t pass—it didn’t pass-

   It didn’t pass from me.

I drank it when we met the gas   

   Beyond Gethsemane!





Rudyard Kipling was born in India. He was a journalist, writer and poet.
In 1907 he was awarded the Nobel prize for Literature.
His only son Jack was killed in action in 1915.


~***~