Hardy and WW1
When World War I broke out in August 1914, Hardy in his mid-seventies was deeply shaken, writing that the world seemed to be slipping backward into barbarism. His public response was a mixture of public duty, deep human pity, and profound cynicism toward war.
Despite his underlying pessimism and anti-war sympathies, he supported national efforts, participating in a Whitehall literary battalion and writing patriotic and civic verse like “Men who March Away” (1914) and “A Call to National Service” (1917).
Hardy is widely considered a literary ancestor and precursor to the First World War war poets, deeply influencing writers like Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfred Owen, Edmund Blunden, and Rupert Brooke. Rather than an active soldier in the trenches, Hardy was a civilian observer whose anti-war and humanist verses set the template for modern disillusionment with military conflict.
Thomas Hardy and Siegfried Sassoon shared a close, ten-year friendship characterized by deep literary respect and frequent visits. Sassoon is considered a leading voice on WW1 and his poetry much revered. Sassoon dedicated a volume of verse to Hardy in 1917 and corresponded with him. They first met at Max Gate in November 1918, shortly before the Armistice. Both Hardy and his wife, Florence, were deeply charmed by Sassoon. Alban O’brien will talk about Sassoon and the relationship he shared with the Hardys.
Vera Brittain was an English writer, feminist, socialist, and pacifist best known for her 1933 anti-war memoir, Testament of Youth. She became a nurse during the war, which deeply traumatized her after she lost her fiancé (Roland Leighton), her brother (Edward Brittain), and close friends. She published 29 books—including novels, poetry, and diaries—and became a prominent campaigner for peace and international feminism through groups like the Peace Pledge Union.
The morning will conclude with a dramatisation of letters between Vera Brittain and her Fiancée, Roland Leighton (whilst he was in the trenches) with projected images and evocative songs of the era.
Itinerary
- 10:00 – Chair’s Welcome
- 10:15 – `Hardy & The Military’
- 11.00 – Coffee Break
- 11.15 – Siegfried Sassoon – Alban O’Brien
- 12.15 – WW1 letters between Vera Brittain and her Fiancée, Roland Leighton (whilst he was in the trenches)
- 13.00 – Close
*At 2pm there will be an optional walk following the Poppy Trail around Dorchester, dependent on weather conditions on the day.
