LOOKING FOR RAYMOND
THE SOLDIER-POET OF
REMEMBRANCE
BY
BARRY VAN-ASTEN
‘Have you seen the
rose trees
And the hedgerows
white with may,
In the early morning
breeze
By the Thames down Marlowe way?
Have you seen the
sunset quiver
As it sinks behind the
ridge,
When the shadows on
the river
Softly fall by Cookham Bridge ?
Lilac trees fade out
of sight,
There is magic in the
moon,
Stars come out to
greet the night, -
Night of roses: June,
sweet June.’ (1)
Upon discovering the
poetry of the soldier-poet, Lieutenant Raymond Heywood of the Devonshire
Regiment, I decided to learn more about this lesser-known and elusive writer of
poems of remembrance whose verse celebrates the brave souls that gave their
lives during the Great War and sings of his deep devotion and love for
Morning came –
Out of its golden mist
I heard
Laughter and the
echoed tramp
Of a thousand laughing
lads.
Behind the lonely hill
The sun sank crimson…
through the trees
The night wind softly
stirred
And all was still.
… But I shall hear
When morning comes in
a golden mist,
The echoed song from
the thousand lips
Of those dear laughing
lads.’ (4)
So far there is very
little new knowledge concerning Heywood but we must continue the search – I
found this from The Globe, of May 1919: ‘Mr. Raymond Heywood’s poems of
remembrance, “The Greater Love” (Elkin Mathews. 2s. 6d.), breathe a sweet love
of the homeland “down
Tell me – do the roses
blow
In the lanes down Devon way,
Are the orchards all
aglow
And the hedgerows
bright with May?
Tell me – are the
skies of Devon
Just as blue as blue
can be,
Is there still a peep
in heaven
In the blue of Devon ’s sea.
Yes, my laddie, skies
are blue,
And it helps to ease
the pain,
While my heart is
calling you
Back to Devon and love again.’ (5)
And as another example
this from The Devon and Exeter Gazette which mistakenly (or perhaps not) gives
Heywood’s rank as ‘Captain’ – ‘Captain Raymond Heywood of the Devonshire
Regiment, whose little volume of verses “Roses, Pearls, and Tears,” was noticed
in these columns some short time since, has favoured us with a copy of “The
Greater Love”, poems of remembrance which he has dedicated “To all who have
loved and lost, yet – keeping the love in their hearts – can smile back into
the eyes of God, and understand.” As in his previous volume, the contents
of “The Greater Love” are particularly
meant to appeal to Devon folk, and we are sure they will carry their message of
comfort and consolation to many, re-echoing the sentiments in the hearts of
those who are able to express themselves as Captain Heywood does in “Things I
Love”:-
“The fragrance of a
lilac tree in May,
The crimson of a sunset
o’er the bay,
The peace of twilight
time down Devon way.
The golden radiance of
a harvest moon,
The call to prayer of
village bells at noon ,
The falling petals of
a rose in June.
The heather-perfumed
breeze upon the moor,
The echo of sad waves
upon the shore,
These things I love –
and, ah, a thousand more.”
The publishers are
Messrs Elkin Mathews (Cork-Street,
Unlike many other
soldier-poets with their patriotic bluster, Raymond Heywood has a very subtle,
almost feminine touch to his poetry with an ever present tone of melancholy,
much as one finds in the poetry of A. E. Housman and Thomas Hardy; it is
evident in poems such as ‘Rose Leaves’, from Roses, Pearls, and Tears:
I did not know so soon
would end the day
In which the roses bloomed
– scarce had they found
The sun’s caresses,
when they died away,
And shed their
withered petals on the ground.
I did not know that
when you had to go,
The sunshine with the
roses would depart –
But you’ll come back
to me one day, and so
I’ll keep the
rose-leaves fragrant in my heart. (7)
And the almost
haunting, ‘Down Devon Way’, also from Roses, Pearls, and Tears, which speaks of
the turmoil of change, beginning with the poet accompanied by his lover or
companion and ending in solitude, searching for peace:
It seems that only
yesterday
We listened to the
blackbird’s song.
The roses bloomed down
Devon way,
Our hopes were high
and love was strong;
The joy of living
filled my heart
(Oh, that such joy can
never stay!)
We made a little world
apart,
For hearts are true
down Devon way.
I know that when the
blackbird’s song
In sweetest silence
died away,
The nights grew very
sad and long,
But hearts are loyal
down Devon way,
We lost our little
world apart –
It seemed the joy was
only lent –
But there’s a memory
in my heart
That lingered when the
roses went.
I think that when the
roses blow
Down Devon
way I’ll go again
To some dear, quiet
place I know,
And hear the
blackbird’s sweet refrain:
There, when the
western shadows fall
Around my world at
close of day,
My heart will
understand it all,
And find sweet peace
down Devon way. (8)
Heywood’s Christian
sentiments and sympathy for those men lost to the war and for the loved ones
left to cope with the loss runs throughout his poetry and one can sense the
deep sadness he feels, at times it seems as a ‘motherly love’ for the soldiers
in his care, the ‘doomed youth’ that the war will eradicate physically, in
lines such as ‘My son, / How sweet the day, / Before you went away! / The red,
red roses bloomed, and I was glad. / You filled my mother-heart, dear Tommy
lad.’ The poem continues with deeper tenderness – ‘”For Valour,” / A little
cross, / To compensate my loss; / Crushed are the roses’ petals, crimson red, /
Time does not matter now. My boy is dead.’ The poem ends with the same
‘understanding’ the poet seems to find in ‘
‘O Boy o’ Mine,
beneath the rose –hued skies,
Of other days I see
your face again;
Life only leaves me
tender memories,
And dear dead dreams
that fill my heart with pain.
O boy o’ mine, how
could I let you go, -
All that I held so
dear: Nothing can tell
Of all you were to me
– I only know
That when you went the
evening shadows fell.
O boy o’ mine, the joy
was only lent,
And you have nobly
played a hero’s part,
Thro’ the dark night
to your dear grave is sent
A Mother’s love, from
my poor aching heart.’
[My Boy. Roses, Pearls
and Tears]
Just why the poet
chooses a ‘mother’s role’ is difficult to say but the concern and the regret
and the promise that they shall be remembered remains as a firm testament –
REMEMBRANCE
(“To live in hearts we
love is not to die.”)
A myriad souls that
have the sweetness pressed
From youth and love
and life,
From Flanders ’
fields have gone to seek their rest
Beyond the pain and
strife.
Youth said to Love:
“The soldier’s soul is mine,
‘Twas I who brought
His spirit all the
fire and strength divine,
That nobly fought.”
Love answered: “While
they claim I will confess –
My inspiration gives
Such splendid lives
the noble tenderness
Whereby their memory
lives.” (9)
The strength of this
promise to remember is given in his dedication in ‘Roses, Pearls and Tears’ to
‘The Women of the Empire and those of their splendid Men who have fallen and to
all who have known the discipline of Pain and Sorrow’ –
‘Oh, that it were
within my power to stay the handOf pain and death –
the bitter waste of years;But what is time and
life? – when in God’s better landLove lies beyond our
Roses, Pearls, and Tears.’
The poet has seen the
‘splendid men’ fall in battle; he has known great friendship and great minds
fall to the war machine and the promise to remember them is fulfilled by his
devoting half the proceeds from the volume to the poor ‘women-folk’ left to
grieve. He explains his wishes in a letter to the
We know also that he
served in
‘If I should die
Be my last thoughts of
Devon –
Of early morning
And quiet nights,
To see the woods in
Autumn, the green of fields,
The blue of Summer
skies and bluer sea;
To hear the song of
birds, the rippling streams,
The swish of waves against
the big grey rocks;
To smell the rich
brown earth – the wild flowers
In the lanes – the
ripening fruit…’
And the contemplative
‘The Discipline of Sorrow’ where the poet has ‘seen the silver moonbeams gently
play / o’er Macedonia’s hills at dead of night’ and seen ‘the Eastern stars
play hide and seek / on Doiran’s lovely lake of azure blue’ and can only
conclude that ‘maybe, one day, when Time has eased the pain, / at last I’ll see
/ God’s own good reason for these latter years!’ which was written by Lake
Doiran, Serbia in 1917, so we can see a pattern of movement and we know that
the Devonshire Regiment served in Macedonia, specifically the 10th
Battalion and therefore the poet, Raymond Heywood must inevitably belong to the
10th Devonshire’s. With this in mind I researched the officers of
the Devonshire Regiment for the period of the war; particularly the 10th
Service Battalion but found no officer named Raymond Heywood, I even looked
through the lists of chaplains of various denominations but no-one named
Raymond Heywood. I can only gather that ‘Raymond Heywood’ is a pseudonym, in
fact many poets chose to use a ‘pen-name’ and I am convinced of this; for some
reason the poet wanted to remain anonymous; but he was still a soldier and
served, presumably as an office, in the Devonshire Regiment and certain factors
still remain: 1. he survived the war and his identity may possibly be revealed
through investigating a list of officers from the 10th Devons who
survived the war, and, 2. his love of Devon suggests he was probably born there
or had some deep attachment to the county which may narrow down the search.
PRO PATRIA MORI
The shadows softly
fall where they are sleeping,
The moonbeams dance
Upon their beds, and
they are in God’s keeping –
Somewhere in France .
Upon their graves the
crimson poppies glory,
And cornflowers too,
White lilies to
complete the floral story –
Red, white and blue,
For that they died… no
clarion calls were blended,
No lifted lance
For each small share,
- but just a journey ended –
Somewhere in France . (12)
The 10th
Service Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment was formed at Topsham Barracks in
A list of officers for
the 10th Service Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment given in the
Monthly Army List for December 1914 appears as:
Captains: K. A. Brown.
L. F. [Lewis Frederick]
And for March 1915:
Command: Lt. Col. G. J. [George John] Ellicombe (1859-1946). Majors: F. M. [Francis
Marwood] Hext. R. P. Smith. N. Z. [Norman Zeal] Emerson. Captains: H. R. [Henry
Reginald] Chomondeley (1862-1947). K. A. Brown. A. MacN. Martin. A. Fletcher.
C. K. Martin. Lieutenants: H. G. Wimbush. O. Lovett. J. B. Passmore. C.
Greenslade. G. R. Bennett. B. R. Dunning. H. W. H. Creasy. 2nd
Lieutenants: E. F. Lyons. F. W. Moore. D. H. Bellamy. M. W. A. MacMichael. W.
R. F. Miller. W. T. A. Bazalgette. A. Napier. J. Ost. R. W. Townsend. N.
Greenslade.
The Regiment left
On
In November 1916 the
Battalion consisted of: 2nd in Command: H. R. Cholmondeley.
Captains: K. A. Brown. A. MacN. Martin. L. F. Adams. A. Fletcher. C. K. Martin.
C. Greenslade. Lieutenants: O. Lovett. J. B. Passmore. G. R. Bennett. B. R.
Dunning. A. H. Peck. D. H. Bellamy. E.
F. Lyons. F. W. Moore. W. R. F. Miller. 2nd Lieutenants: W. H.
[William Henry] Hornby. J. Ost. R. W. Townsend. N. Greenslade. W. I. Partridge.
J. N. Herapath. A. Fowle. H. Diggines. H. S. Adams. L. J. Moon. E. H. Taylor.
W. E. A. Hitchcock. G. B. C. Northey. C. D. Webber. H. Goad. J. T. J. Hollom.
On Christmas Day 1916
the men of the 10th Battalion enjoyed a traditional Christmas Dinner
of turkey, roast beef and Christmas pudding and it was during this time that
Heywood would write – ‘In Thessaly’: ‘In Thessaly I see the light / Of twilight
time, when comes the night / With charm and grace, / But somewhere o’er the
Western Sea / A fairer thing I long to see, / One woman’s face.’ (In
A raid was planned for
February 1917: Major:
K. A. Brown. Captains: A. Fletcher (Lt. Canadian Military Forces). C. K.
Martin. C. Greenslade. J. B. Passmore. O. Lovett. E. F. Lieutenants: G. R.
Bennett. B. R. Dunning. D. H. Bellamy. E. F. Lyons. F. W. Moore (Adjutant). W.
R. F. Miller. R. W. Townsend. W. H. Hornby. 2nd Lieutenants: J. Ost.
N. Greenslade. W. I. Partridge. J. N. Herapath. A. Fowle. H. Diggines. H. S.
Adams. E. H. Taylor. W. E. A. Hitchcock. G. B. C. Northey. C. D. Webber. H.
Goad. J. T. J. Hollom. G. E. S. Montagu. S. J. H. Smith. Quarter Master: F. L.
P. Rosini.
On 23rd
April 1917 there was a heavy bombardment and lots of wire cutting for on the
following day, 24th April 1917, another night raid was scheduled,
zero hour being 9.45 p.m. The Devons managed to get through the wire but were
ordered to retreat; this would be known as the first Battle of Doiran.
On 26th
April the Battalion marched eight miles east of Doiran to a new position at Dova
Tepe, a sector on the slopes of the Krusha Balkan hills. The Devons held the
line for the remainder of 1917 until the spring and summer of 1918.
May 1918: Command:
Major K. A. Brown, D.S.O. Captain: H. C. Ponsonby. J. B. Passmore. E. F. Lyons.
B. R. Dunning. R. W. Townsend. Lieutenants: K. C. Nichols. F. W. Charlesworth.
N. Greenslade. H. Goad. J. N. Herapath. A. Fowle. S. Wright-Smith. G. B. C.
Northey. F. W. [Frederick William] Cornell. 2nd Lieutenants: W. E.
A. Hitchcock. R. E. Carpenter. H. [Howard] Mercer (Adjutant). F. W. [Frederick
William] Deacon. R. G. Jefferson. Quarter Master: J. H. Simpson (Hon Lt.).
EVENTIDE AT YPRES
A solemn stillness
fills the air,
The shadows long and
longer grow;
Broad sunbeams lie
across the square,
Where soldiers come
and go;
Round ruined tower
stray swallows glide
And slowly, slowly
sinks the sun
At Ypres
– when the day is done.
No more the shattered
trees resound
With song of many a
happy bird;
But far beyond the
fire-swept ground
The crashing guns are
heard!
And yet sometimes like
whispers sighed
Soft breezes through
those tree-tops run
At Ypres
– when the day is done.
So may the lives so
nobly spent,
When sunset greets
their dying eyes,
Find in their hearts a
sweet content
Instilled by sacrifice.
For many hero-spirits
glide
To realms of rest –
the journey run
At Ypres
– when the day is done.
[Eventide at Ypres . Roses, Pearls and Tears]
On
September 1919:
Majors: K. A. Brown. J. B. Passmore. Captains: A. MacN. Martin. E. F. Lyons. B.
R. Dunning. R. W. Townsend. S. Wright-Smith. F. W. Charlesworth. A. S.
Robinson. Lieutenants: H. Goad. J. N. Herapath. P. G. Whitehouse. G. B. C.
Northey. P. H. Thomson. F. W. Deacon. F. W. Cornell. H. T. Marshall. R. G.
Jefferson. 2nd Lieutenants: C. H. Cosway. H. V. Gibbons. J. H.
Simpson.
BEFORE BATTLE
I heard them sing of
home last night,
A song of Devon they loved so well,
As they were marching
to the fight –
Along the Flanders road to hell…
I scarce can think
‘twas yesterday
Those laughing lads
could laugh and sing,
For now their dear boy
lips are grey,
And Devon
has made her offering.
Their song is dead,
but that sweet strain
Still gathering charms
unknown before,
Will make a music in
my brain,
And haunt my heart for
evermore.
[from The Greater
Love]
The following is a
list of fellow officers of the 10th Battalion whom ‘Heywood’ would
have probably known, men who sadly fell in battle:
Lieutenant (later
Captain) Owen Lovett, born 1895, Fulham, London, son of Charles Joshua Lovett
(Oilman Dealer) and Jane Douglas of 68 Badminton Road, Balham, London. He died
on
Lieutenant (later
Captain) Harry William Hay Creasy, born circa 1896 in Colombo, Ceylon, son of
Harry Creasy and Louise Hay. Educated at St Bees School,
Lieutenant William
Thomas Arnold Bazalgette, born June 1897, Epsom,
Lieutenant (later
Captain) David Humphrey Bellamy, born 1895,
Lieutenant (later
Captain) Francis William Moore, M.C., born c. 1890, son of Richard and Mary Moore,
61 Highbury New Park, Highbury,
‘Beneath the moon,
grief pale, I clasp his hand,
And for a quiet while
I bend above him and his tired smile
Will linger in my
heart until the end…
O God! ‘tis only they
who loved a friend can understand.’
[My Pal. Roses, Pearls
and Tears]
Lieutenant Sidney
Joseph Cottle, born
Lieutenant Michael
William Annesley MacMichael, born 1895, Lee, Ilfracombe, Devon, son of Rev.
William Fisher MacMichael and Mary Elizabeth Fisher of ‘Old House’, Tiverton,
Devon. He also served with 11th Battalion, Essex Regiment (A
Company) and died on 16th September 1916 aged 21; he is buried at La
Neuville British Cemetery,
Lieutenant William
Reginald Francis Miller, born 1897, Wellingborough, Northamptonshire; son of
Hubert William Miller and Amy B. Dulley of 4, The Beacon, Exmouth; he died
between 24th and 25th April 1917 aged 20, and is buried
at Doiran, Greece.
‘I only want to find a
quiet place,
Within a garden, where
a heart is yearning;
I only want to see one
woman’s face,
And find the love-light
in her dear eyes burning.
I only know what joy
‘twill be to feel
That from her side
again I need not roam;
When I come back, at
close of day, I’ll kneel,
And thank my God for
bringing me back home.’
[My Wish. Raymond
Heywood. Malta .
Summer 1917. Roses, Pearls and Tears]
Lieutenant Wilfred
Issell Partridge, born 18th May 1893 in Heavitree, Devon, son of
Richard Issell Partridge (Schoolmaster) and Laura Sarah Jane Mugford of 6 St
John’s Road, Exeter, Devon. Wilfred was educated at Hele’s School and King’s
College,
2nd
Lieutenant Leonard James Moon, born 9th February 1878, Kensington,
London, son of William Moon (solicitor) and Sarah A. Moon. He was educated at
‘He was a man… I
linger where his cross
Shines white among the
shadows, and I know
My very soul is
strengthened by my loss.
My comrade still in
death – I loved him so.’
[A Man’s Man (To …..
killed in action). Roses, Pearls and Tears]
2nd
Lieutenant Edward Stanley Hudson, born
2nd
Lieutenant Sydney John Howard Smith, born 1888, Wandsworth,
2nd
Lieutenant Assheton Biddulph Cadell, born 1894, Tiverton, Devon, son of Nevil
Pottow Cadell and Gertrude Louisa Biddulph of ‘Foxlease’, Camberley, Surrey.
Cadell also served with the 8th Battalion, Queen’s Own (Royal West Kent
Regiment). He died at
‘The moonlight softly
fell upon your bed,
(O God, I scarce can
think that you are dead!)
And all my heart, and
all the dreams I knew
I dreamed I saw a
little cross of white,
A little lonely mound,
so still and grey –
I only heard the
sighing poplars sway.’
[By Sanctuary Wood.
Roses, Pearls and Tears]
2nd
Lieutenant Lionel Frank Vinicombe, born 1887 in Constantinople, son of Charles and Louisa Vinicombe, of
Constantinople (and 36 Cherry Hinton Road, Cambridge). He was educated at
George Watson’s College, Edinburgh (1900-1905) and King’s College,
TO THE DEAD
Ah, how can we forget
you? – you who stood
For right, and brought
us Freedom with your blood –
Saving a nation’s
soul; your heads held high –
Thinking it fine to
fight, and finer still to die
For England ’s
sake!...
Ah, we shall not
forget you, come what may
With the glad dawning
of each new-born day
Remembrance still
shall live from age to age
For you, our best, our
dearest – England ’s
pride,
Who, having died
For all that Justice
stands for, side by side –
Gave up your lives to
God, and paved the way –
That we might come
into our heritage! (13)
Some of the officers who
served with the 10th Devonshire Regiment and survived are listed
below which may provide a clue as to the identity of Raymond Heywood:
Major Kenneth Arundel
Brown, born
Major (later
Lieutenant-Colonel) Francis Marwood Hext, born
Captain Archibald
McNeil Martin, born 1870, Blackheath,
Captain (later
Colonel) Henry Chambre Ponsonby, D.S.O., M.C., born
Captain (later Major)
Ashton Fletcher, born Arthur Guy Ashton Fletcher, M.D., C.M.,
Captain Claude Kennedy
Martin, born 1873, Coorg,
Captain (later Major)
Ernest Frederick Lyons, M.C., born
ANNIVERSARY
Nov 11th 1919
Do we remember all our
splendid men –
Now they are gone and
life has lost its sweetness,
Shall we remember
always – even when
Remembrance pales in
Life’s far-off December –
As we do now in
Summer’s sweet completeness,
Britain – shall we remember?
Oh! Day, too brief,
ere Britain ’s
heroes went,
And Britain ’s
honoured flag with glory covered;
It seemed the peace we
knew was only lent,
And Summer left our
hearts for sad November;
Above our souls the
pain of parting hovered,
Britain – do you remember?
Oh, let our love to
those dear heroes go –
For all this earthly
strife shall end to-morrow,
Strong in their
memory, our souls did know
Not one regret for
War’s expiring ember…
They would not wish us
to have one thought of sorrow,
Britain – while we remember.
Raymond Heywood. [The Devon and Exeter
Gazette. Tuesday 11th
November 1919 . p. 3]
Captain (later Major
and Lieutenant-Colonel) John Burnell Passmore, M.C., born 1894,
The Angelus at close
of day was ringing
In some quiet place
not very far away,
And ‘mid the solitude
I heard you singing
A requiem for the
sadness of the day.
Full of strong life
your little voice I heard
Above so much around
that spoke of death;
Singing when every
other little bird
In that sad wilderness
so little saith.
[To a Robin. Roses,
Pearls and Tears]
Captain Robert Wilfred
Townsend, M.C., M.B.E., born
The minarets gleam
silver white,
A subtle silence fills
the air;
Through the still
watches of the night
The Muezzin chants the
call to prayer.
Around the mosaic
pillars cling
Pale purple-hued
clematis flowers
From shadowed byways
lilies fling
Their fragrance to the
midnight hours.
Like azure wings of
butterflies,
Blue wavelets dance
upon the shore,
Lilting a song that
never dies
That love is love for
ever more.
Above the starlit city
lies
A dream of vague
imaginings,
While night bends down
with whispered sighs
And folds me softly in
her wings.
Captain Bertram
Richard Dunning, born 20th May 1892, Honiton, Devon, son of Alfred
John Dunning (solicitor, died 18th May 1934 aged 54) and Alberta Ann
Giddy, born in South Africa (19th March 1862, Cape Colony, Fort
Beaufort. She died on
MAID O’ DEVON
In France I saw
the roses go –
The blossoms withered
from my sight;
But back in Devon your face aglow
Retains for me the
rosy light.
In France I heard
the gentle breeze
At morning, through
the trees rejoice,
And I shall hear its
melodies
In Devon
– awakened in your voice.
In France , I think
the tender blue
Of Autumn mist at
twilight dies;
But I shall find the
lovely hue
In Devon
– mirrored in your eyes.
To-day the skies of France are
dark,
And Summer’s roses
cannot stay;
But Devon
– and you my dearest heart
Will bring back loves
eternal May.
[Maid O’ Devon . Roses, Pearls and Tears]
Captain Straun
Wright-Smith, born 1893,
Lieutenant Hector
George Wimbush, born 24th May 1893, Barnet, Middlesex, son of Philip
Wimbush (born 1861 London) and Lena Emilie Hawkins (born 1865 Exeter), married
1891, Woburn, Bedfordshire. Hector attended
Lieutenant Gilbert
Battams Cornish Northey, born
‘Once the skies were
blue… very blue,
(Perhaps those happy
days will come again!)
No shadows fell my
way: I only knew
The tender joy of
loving when you came,
Then the skies grew
grey… leaden grey,
We knew the pain of
parting – and your eyes
Shone brightly through
your tears: our little day
Seemed shadowed by the
sadness of the skies.’
[Retrospect. Roses,
Pearls and Tears]
Lieutenant (later Brigadier)
Cyrus Greenslade, C.B.E. born
Lieutenant Norman
Greenslade, M.C., D.F.C., born 1897, Torquay,
Lieutenant George
Rolston Bennett, born 1887, Stoke Damerel,
Lieutenant Herbert Goad,
born 1890,
Lieutenant John Newton
Herapath, born
Lieutenant Kenneth
Cecil Nichols, born 1883, Lewisham, son of Charles Cecil Nichols (Eastern and
Australian merchant) and Frances De la Mare (married 1877 Croydon) [Frances
died in Reigate in 1894]. Kenneth worked as a clerk and served in the Wiltshire
Regiment and 10th Devons. He died in
Lieutenant (later
Captain) Reginald Clarence Weymouth-Wilson, born
Lieutenant (later
Captain) Andrew Fowle, born 1895, Pewsey, Wiltshire, son of landowner, William
Hugh Fowle (1853-1942), B.A. Trinity College, Cambridge 1875, (eldest son of
Thomas Everett Fowle Esq. of Chute Lodge, Hampshire), educated at Rugby. J. P.
Wiltshire, Major 1st Battalion Wiltshire Rifle Volunteers 1879; Lord
of the manor of Chute Forest, a student of Lincoln’s Inn, 22nd
November 1875 (called to the bar 25th June 1879) and Isabel Lucy
Curtis of Everleigh Manor House, married November 1884. In 1911 Andrew is an
Army Student boarding in
Lieutenant (later
Captain) Percy Gilbert Whitehouse, born
Lieutenant (later
Captain) Percival Hamilton Thomson, born 1894 Upton on
Lieutenant Roy
Gladstone Jefferson, born 1885 West Ham, Essex, son of Frederick Charles
Jefferson (house furnisher and warehouseman) and Ann Elizabeth Clingh.
ON PATROL
There were dead men on
the wire
Lying in the bloodied
mire –
Staring wildly at the
skies
With their cold and
sightless eyes –
Stars, grinned down
with hideous faces,
And the moon was
mocking them with grimaces.
[from The Greater
Love]
2nd
Lieutenant James Thomas John Hollom, born 1897, Islington,
2nd
Lieutenant Harold Seymour Adams, born 1891,
2nd
Lieutenant (later Captain) Ernest Henry Taylor, born 1892, Forest Hall,
Northumberland, son of Shemelds Taylor (1847-1901), commercial traveller
(grocery) of Forest Hall, Northumberland and Henrietta Greener, married 1878
(Shemelds later married Evelyn Derrett in 1893). In 1911 Ernest is a jeweller’s
assistant in Powys,
2nd
Lieutenant (later Captain) John Eugene De Mohun Dunster, born 1881 Kensington,
2nd
Lieutenant George Edward Stirling Montagu, born 1874 in
2nd
Lieutenant Charles Henry Cosway, born
2nd
Lieutenant (later Captain) Cyril Donald Webber, born
2nd
Lieutenant William Edwin Arthur Hitchcock, born 1885,
2nd
Lieutenant John Bazet Salusbury Notley, born
2nd
Lieutenant Arthur Donald Skene Catling, born 26th February 1896,
Sculcoates, Yorkshire, son of Charles Brian Catling (Bank Manager) and Florence
Margaret Maria Douthwaithe. Arthur was a journalist who became Head of the Mail
Features Department at Reuters and became Chairman of the London District of
the
To-day my hero-lover
went away;
It was so hard to
part;
I stand alone – the
hours
Are sad and long, -
the flowers
Are drooping, like my
heart.
To-day my hero-lover
went away.
To-day my hero-lover
went away,
He looked so strong,
and now
He’ll tread the soul
that’s red
With life-blood of
God’s dead.
He kissed me on the
brow –
My hero-lover when he
went away.
[A Prayer. Roses,
Pearls and Tears]
or ‘Destiny’ from the
same volume which begins: ‘One wondrous little hour of perfect bliss, / A
million stars set in a sapphire sky, / A little love, a sigh, a little kiss - /
And then, “Good-bye”.’ and ends: ‘Oh that my dream so quickly should depart! /
The skies are grey, in which all stars have set; / A bitter pain, a tear, a
broken heart - / I can’t, I can’t forget.’ There is an erotic element to the
poems which is maybe why Heywood wanted to remain anonymous but they can also
be viewed from a feminine aspect which his readers would identify with.
2nd
2nd Lieutenant
(later Captain) Arthur Hicks Peck, D.S.O., M.C., born
2nd
Lieutenant Harold Diggines, born 12th June 1891, Exeter, Devon, son
of George Diggines (builder, 1853-1908) and Emily Lake. Harold was educated at
Exeter School and the University of London and worked as a clerk. He married
Dorothy M. Burdge (1888-1964) in Camberwell in 1916. He died in
2nd
Lieutenant Geoffrey Denis Lock, M.C., M.B.E., born
2nd
Lieutenant Edward James George Mudge, born
2nd
Lieutenant Charles Frederick C. Featherstonhaugh, born 8th November
1899, Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, son of William Featherstonhaugh
(1869-1939), shoe-maker and Senior Director of Messers C & W
Featherstonhaugh Ltd. Leather manufacturers, and Florence Ellen Perkins
(1870-1951), married 18th April 1892, Irthlingborough,
Northamptonshire. C. F. C. Featherstonhaugh enlisted in 1914 as a signalman in
the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (Bristol Z/6825); served with the 10th
Devonshire Regiment. He married Mildred Rose Newman (1903-1951) in 1930 and
died on 20th January 1981 aged 81 in Irthlingborough,
Northamptonshire.
2nd
Lieutenant Percy Redcliffe Harvey, born 1884,
2nd
Lieutenant (later Captain) Samuel Hugh Duff, M.C., born 1882, Dudley,
Worcestershire, son of Samuel Hugh Duff (1852-1896), chartered accountant
(solicitor) of ‘Duff & Son’, glass and china dealers, 235a Market Place,
Dudley, and Louisa Bond, born 1853 married at Warwick in 1878. In 1911 Samuel
Hugh Duff (born 1882), a solicitor like his father and also a managing director
of Dartmouth’s Palladium Cinema, Hanover Street, was involved in a German spy case.
Samuel met a German named Max Schultz who began visiting the cinema when his
yacht, the ‘Egret’ was moored on the River Dart near the Royal Naval College;
Schultz, who claimed to have a Doctorate in Philosophy, also met Duff at
Plymouth and began asking questions regarding naval affairs in Plymouth and
Dartmouth. Schultz said that he was a correspondent for a German newspaper;
Duff who grew suspicious went to the police who advised him to give Schultz
false information and keep on good terms. Schultz paid Duff £50 a month and on
2nd
Lieutenant (Adjutant) Howard Mercer, born 14th May 1896, Streatham,
Surrey, son of Edward James Mercer, born 1869, Bermondsey, London, bank clerk
and financial agent and Ellen Lissaman King, born 1869, Belfast, Ireland (died
1944, Colchester) married in 1894 in Camberwell. Howard died in
AT STAND DOWN
Above the trench I
heard the night wind sigh,
Across the tattered
sandbags moonbeams lay,
While Flanders stars shone overhead, and I
Alone with thought of
you at close of day.
The cannon’s angry
roar had died away
And left the stillness
of a Summer’s night
For one sweet hour of
peace that would not stay,
And I could rest
before the coming fight.
And then I saw a star
shoot in the West…
I wonder if beyond the
silver sea
It found you somewhere
in its loving quest –
And pressed a kiss
upon your lips from me?
[from The Greater
Love]
Following the end of
the war Heywood rejoiced in the peace and sent sundry verse to various newspapers,
as this from The Devon and Exeter Gazette of July 1919:
PEACE
Peace is here! The
bells are ringing
Through this land of
ours to-day,
While a nation’s voice
is singing
From a heart both glad
and gay;
Through a myriad
streets are blending
Merry shout and hearty
cheer,
Everywhere is joy
unending…
Peace is here!
Peace is here! The
night of sorrow
Is forgotten with our
tears,
There is laughter for
to-morrow –
Joy for all these
latter years;
Banish thoughts of
care and sadness,
Cast away each passing
fear,
There is only room for
gladness…
Peace is here!
Out in Flanders , out in France
Sleep a nation’s hero
dead,
Where the sunbeams
softly dance
On each lowly hero
bed;
Roses bloom where they
are sleeping,
Birds are singing in
the air;
Safe are they within
God’s keeping…
Peace, sweet peace is
there! (25)
It is very unusual for
a poet to suddenly lay down his or her pen and write no more; it is more common
that the poet may turn to prose writing but to abstain completely from writing
is strange. Why was there such silence after 1922? Did Heywood die or did he emigrate?
LATE CHRYSANTHEMUMS
A down my garden path
I see
Chrysanthemums in
bloom;
They blow beside the Devon sea
‘Mid Winter’s twilight
gloom;
Some golden petals are
ablaze,
And some are snowy
white,
That quiver in the
evening haze
Beneath the stars’
pale light.
The wind may sigh ‘mid
silent eaves
For summer that is
dead;
I do not heed the
faded leaves,
Nor miss the roses
red,
For memories of other
days
Are borne upon the
breeze,
While I remember perfumed
sprays
Upon the lilac trees.
The moonlight sheds
its silver beams
Across the sea of Devon ;
My garden path is
filled with dreams
And peace that
breathes of heaven.
What though the year
is growing old,
And sunny hours
depart,
Chrysanthemums of
white and gold
Keep summer in my
heart. (26)
Without further
evidence the identity of Raymond Heywood must remain, like the death of Major
Ernest Frederick Lyons, an open verdict! My intention was to reveal the man
behind the pseudonym, the soldier-poet behind the mystery, but the adventure of
the research has taken me into exploring a little of the history behind the
officers of the 10th Devons which in itself has been rewarding and
although there is no definite conclusion as to Heywood’s identity the task has not
been a thankless one, although it has been often frustrating. Heywood’s
intention to remain anonymous has been a complete success but perhaps a private
letter may turn up in the future linking the poet to an officer of the
Devonshire Regiment, but for now we must honour those who gave so much and
remember the words of the poet, Raymond Heywood, inspired by his ‘love and
tenderness’:
MY ADVOCATE
Oh little book of mine
Indeed ‘twill be my
gain
If some quiet thought
of thine
Has eased the bitter
pain
Of some poor aching
heart,
In this sad world
to-day.
This is thy little
part
To comfort by the way.
I only ask you this,
Oh little book of mine
–
If one has pressed a
kiss
Upon a page of thine,
Then little book,
confess
‘Twas from my inmost
shrine
That love and
tenderness
Inspired these words
of mine!
[from Roses, Pearls,
and Tears]
* I wonder if Heywood
was aware while he was writing ‘Rest and Quietness’ on 10th February
1917, that a soldier in his company, private Francis Thomas Mullins, born 15th
March 1897, Axminster, Devon, was also writing poetry – ‘The Night of the Stunt
on Petit Couranne’ (manuscript poem held at the University of Leeds Special
Collections: GB 206 Liddle Collection. SAL 044). Private Mullins survived the
war and died in
NOTES:
1. Untitled poem by
Raymond Heywood. The Sphere. Number 77.
2. Poems appeared in
the following periodicals: ‘Retrospect’ in Pearson’s Magazine (263). November
1917; ‘
3. The Western Times.
4. The Tatler. (The
Letters of Eve).
5. ‘Tell me, do the
roses blow?’ The Greater Love. 1919. Also The Globe. (Book Gossip).
6. The
7. Rose Leaves. Roses,
Pearls and Tears. Also found in ‘Reynold’s News’.
9. ‘Remembrance’.
Roses, Pearls and Tears. Erskine Macdonald.
10. Princess Christian
is Princess Helena Augusta Victoria (
11. ‘An officer of the
Devon Regt., Lieut. Raymond Heywood, has published, through Erskine Macdonald,
a collection of poems under the title of “Roses, Pearls, and Tears”. The verses
were mostly written in the trenches of France and the East while Lieut. Heywood
was serving with the Devons, and are aptly described as “a treasury of
remembrance to all who have known the sadness and sacrifices of war.” It is
interesting to know that one of
12. ‘Pro Patria Mori’.
The Greater Love. Elkin Mathews.
13. To The Dead.
Lieut. Raymond Heywood,
14. Major’s Fatal Fall
by
15. Probably Gaston
Barthelemy De Chameroy born in
16. Western Wills –
17. Una May Lyons,
born 1887,
18.
19. Obituary. Western
Times.
20. Obituary. Western
Times.
21. Private papers of
Captain Robert Wilfred Townsend, 10th Devons (79th
Brigade, 26th Division), Salonika Campaign 1815-18, almost 300
letters held at the
22. The Western Times.
23. Express and Echo.
24. The Empire’s War
Memorial and a Project for a British Imperial University of Commerce. Ernest H.
Taylor and J. B. Black M.A., B.A. (pamphlet) Macniven & Wallace.
25. Peace. The
26. The
FURTHER
The
The Gardeners of
Poets & Pals of
Lads: Love Poetry of
the Trenches. Martin Taylor. Constable. 1989.
Voices of Silence: The
Alternative Book of First World War Poetry. Vivien Noakes. Sutton. 2006.
English Poetry of the
First World War: A Bibliography. Catherine W. Reilly. George Prior Publishers.
London. 1978.