The European War 1914-1915 Poems (London, 1915)
The one hundred and forty plus poems cover the period from the start of WW1 until May 1915, a surprisingly large number of poems for such a short period of time. Not surprisingly, the volume is dedicated to:
The Soldiers and Sailors
Of
The Allied Forces
Who Are Fighting In The Greatest War
The World Has Ever Known
And To The Memory Of Those Who
Have Fallen
This was the last book of poems published by Hardwicke. He continued to write poetry on the war, publishing many of them in newspapers, but never collected them into a published book. Hardwicke was a prolific war poet, having written poems on wars and battles going back to the early 1880s.
As in his prose writings during the war, Hardwicke made it plain in his poetry that Germany was the aggressor and had to be fought to the bitter end. His stream of poems throughout the war were intended the raise the morale and spirits of the nation. Many of the poems deal with the heroic actions of individuals. In ‘To a German Hero’, he even praises the bravery of a German submariner, a stance not likely to meet with approval by many of his British countrymen. Similar sonnets deal with the bravery of both military personnel and civilians. Two sonnets highlight the deeds of Darwan Ganga Singh and Khudadad Khan, two Indian subjects who were the recipients of the Victoria Cross. As a non-combatant, of course, Hardwicke would have gleaned his source material from the many newspapers that he read.
In ‘At Wordsworth’s Grave’, the last poem in the volume, Hardwicke could not resist a reference to his favourite poet, calling on his spirit to come to the nation’s aid:
Wordsworth! an Empire needs you at this hour,
For now a second tyrant stands confest,
A ruthless wide-world dominating foe;
Oh! turn not, mighty spirit, to your rest,
But bid us forth as happy warriors go
With freedom’s unimaginable power.
Contents
A Prayer for Peace (p. 17)
To Sir Edward Gray (p. 18)
To Great Britain (p. 19)
Night and Morning (p. 21)
To the Kaiser (p. 22)
A Battle Call (p. 23)
The New Evangelists (p. 26)
“Your Country Needs You—Come!” (p. 27)
The Child and the War (p. 29)
A Call to Arms (p. 30)
Sunshine and War (p. 31)
The Ministry of the Hills (p. 32)
A Trumpet Call (p. 33)
On Saint Oswald’s Day (p. 34)
Mountain Calm and Man’s Unrest (p. 36)
A Marching Song (p. 37)
The Lad Who Ran from Home (p. 39)
To the Gallant Gunners of Liege (p. 41)
In a Churchyard at Liege (p. 42)
To General Leman (p. 44)
To the Officer in Command at Aerschott (p. 45)
The Martyrdom of Father Dergent, Aerschott (p. 46)
Off to the War (p. 48)
Louvain (p. 50)
What’s in a Name? (p. 51)
A Cumberland War Song (p. 52)
The Day of Intercession (p. 54)
A Hymn in Time of War (p. 55)
A Vesper Hymn (p. 56)
A Reverie (p. 57)
To the Heroes of Mons (p. 58)
Help from the Stars (p. 60)
The Massacres in the Province of Namur (p. 61)
To the Heroes of the Northern Sea (p. 62)
In Praise of Submarine E4 (p. 63)
The List of Casualties (p. 65)
The Battle of the Bight (p. 66)
To the 9th Lancers (p. 69)
To Captain F. C. Grenfell 9th Lancers (p. 70)
God Save the King! (p. 71)
In Honour of Battery L (p. 72)
How George Wilson Won the Victoria Cross (p. 74)
Rheims Cathedral (p. 78)
Captain Mark Haggard (p. 79)
A Nameless Hero of the Lancashire Fusiliers (p. 80)
The Sorrow of the North Sea (p. 82)
The Bridge-Breakers (p. 83)
A Modern Horatius (p. 85)
In Honour of Lieutenant H. de P. Rennick (p. 87)
In Face of Death (p. 89)
Love the Conqueror (p. 91)
India’ Gift (p. 92)
Michaelmas Day (p. 93)
To Lord Roberts (p. 94)
The Gunners’ Farewell (p. 95)
A French Mother’s Message (p. 96)
A Prisoner at Dunnabeck (p. 97)
What the Sergeant Said (p. 98)
To Max, Burgomaster of Brussels (p. 100)
Belgium (p. 101)
An Incident of the Trenches (p. 102)
Crucified Belgium (p. 104)
Sister Julie (p. 105)
Antwerp (p. 106)
In Praise of Havildar Ganga Singh, V.C. (p. 107)
An Invitation and a Refusal (p. 109)
General Joffre (p. 111)
To the Men of H.M.S. “Hawke” (p. 112)
To Naik Darwan Sing Negi, V.C. (p. 113)
In Trafalgar Square (p. 115)
In Memoriam: Major M. P. Buckle, D.S.O. (p. 116)
To the 4th Battalion Border Regiment: A Farewell (p. 117)
To the 4th Battalion Border Regiment: On their sailing for Burmah, October 29th (p. 118)
Khudadad Khan, V.C. (p. 119)
All Saints’ Day (p. 121)
Field-Marshall Lord Roberts, V.C.: In Memoriam (p. 122)
Lord Roberts (p. 123)
St. Paul’s (p. 124)
Loss of H.M.S. “Bulwark” (p. 125)
A French Hero (p. 126)
To a German Hero (p. 128)
The King in France (p. 129)
A Gallant Rescue (p. 130)
To the Football Player (p. 132)
A Mother’s Last Farewell (p. 133)
At a Soldier’s Grave (p. 134)
To Lieutenant Holbrook and His Gallant Crew of Submarine B 11 (p. 135)
To a City Bereaved (p. 136)
Life Beyond Death (p. 137)
The Turk of West and East (p. 138)
The Chancellor’s Speech in the Reichstag (p. 139)
The Greater Love (p. 140)
The Landing of the Queen of the Belgians (p. 141)
The “Gneisenau” (p. 142)
The German Raid: Scarborough, December 16th (p. 143)
At Whitby Abbey (p. 144)
Mud in Flanders (p. 145)
The Christmas Bells (p. 146)
Christmas Cheer for the Trenches (p. 147)
War and Love (p. 148)
Captain A. Noel Loxley (p. 150)
In a Harvest Field (p. 152)
Tares and Wheat (p. 153)
A Contrast (p. 154)
The Soldier’s Prayer (p. 155)
The Blessing of War (p. 156)
The Grandeur of War (p. 157)
At the Wishing-Gate, Grasmere: New Year’s Day, 1915 (p. 158)
New Year: 1915 (p. 159)
The Day of Intercession (p. 160)
To Paul Sabatier (p. 161)
The Curse of War (p. 163)
The Nation’s Teachers (p. 164)
The “Lion’s” Chase (p. 165)
A Plea for Military Bands (p. 168)
The Return of Spring (p. 169)
To America (p. 171)
Love on the Battle-Field (p. 172)
Honour to the Dead (p. 174)
The Two Springs (p. 175)
Michael O’Leary and How He Won the Victoria Cross (p. 177)
The Blockade (p. 180)
To the Strikers (p. 181)
To the Men on Strike (p. 182)
A Lover’s Lament (p. 183)
A Brave Doctor (p. 184-5)
Springtime and War (p. 186)
Switzerland the Good Samaritan (p. 188)
In Memoriam: 2nd Lieutenant G. B. F. Monk, Royal Warwicks, Near La Bassée, December 18th (p. 189)
How Lieutenant Leach and Sergeant Hogan Won the Victoria Cross (p. 191)
Hope for the Dawn (p. 193)
After a Sermon in St. Margaret’s, Westminster (p. 194)
The King’s Appeal (p. 195)
Good Friday: 1915 (p. 196)
Easter Day: 1915 (p. 197)
Starlight (p. 198)
Helm Crag (p. 199)
To Prussia (p. 200)
In Memory: Of 2nd Lieutenant W. G. C. Gladstone, M.P., April 13th (p. 202)
Take Me Home (p. 204)
The Ever-Living Ones (p. 207)
Love’s Gift (p. 208)
Rupert Brooke (p. 211)
Rhodes-Moorhouse (p. 212)
The Bible of Peace: Dunnabeck (p. 215)
May Time: 1915 (p. 216)
The “Lusitania” (p. 218)
At Wordsworth’s Grave (p. 219)
