Poet
Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Loraine Sassoon, CBE, MC was an English poet, writer and soldier. As one of the leading poets of WWI, his works described the horrors of the trenches and satirised patriotism. Sassoon joined the British Army with the Sussex Yeomanry on 4 August 1914, the day the United Kingdom declared war on Germany, however, he broke his arm whilst riding a horse and was put out of action before he even left the country. On 29 May 1915, Siegfried rejoined the war as a second lieutenant with the 3rd Battalion (special reserve), Royal Welch Fusiliers. Following his brother’s death on 1 November 1915, Siegfried was sent to the 1st Battalion in France. It was here that he met Robert Graves and they became close friends due to their mutual love of poetry. Despite his poetry showing the horrific tragedies of the war, Sassoon was a brave soldier and his period on the Western Front was marked by courage and valour. He was even named ‘Mad Jack’ by his soldiers, for his manic courage. In 1917, Sassoon made a stand against the conduct of war. His poem, ‘Soldier’s Declaration’ landed him in a military psychiatric hospital due to the overwhelming dissent of the piece from the armed forces – it was here where he met Wilfred Owen. He did, however, return to duty. Post war, Sassoon dabbled in politics and became a distinguished prose writer.