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William Noel Hodgson

I lived from 1893-1916. I was from England, and am in the English category.

William Noel Hodgson was a Georgian poet in the style of Rupert Brooke. He volunteered in 1914, and served with the Devonshire Regiment. In September, 1915, during the Battle of Loos, "under heavy enemy fire Hodgson, three other young officers and a hundred men held a captured trench for 36 hours without reinforcements or food. Hodgson was awarded the Military Cross" Marching out of this hell-hole, Hodgson composed the incredibly resilient "Back to Rest." In 1916, Hodgson began writing stories, poems, and essays about the front under the pseudonym "Edward Melbourne." Hodgson was especially fond of telling tales about his resourceful "batman" (his aide). His pieces enjoyed an audience in the leading magazines of the day. As his unit waited to move up to its jumping off position at the Somme Offensive, Hodgson composed his last poem "Before Action." On July 1st, Hodgson's battalion attacked the German trenches south of Mametz. "At the end of the day the bodies of 159 men, including Noel Hodgson were found. The body of Hodgson's batman was lying at his side. The men of the 9th Battalion were buried in their Mansel Copse trench, and a notice above the trench read: "The Devonshires held this trench. The Devonshires hold it still"
July 1st 1916 - the first day of the Battle of the Somme.

My poetry

  • Before Action
    By all the glories of the day,
    And the cool evening's benison,
    24 lines, 1 comment
  • Back to Rest
    A leaping wind from England,
    The skies without a stain,
    24 lines, 1 comment
  • Reverie
    At home they see on Skiddaw
    His royal purple lie,
    20 lines
  • Ave, Mater - atque Vale
    The deathless mother, grey and battle-scarred,
    Lies in the sanctuary of stately trees,
    25 lines
  • The Call
    Ah! We have dwelt in Arcady long time
    With sun and youth eternal round our ways
    33 lines
  • England to her Sons:
    Sons of mine, I hear you thrilling
    To the trumpet call of war,
    16 lines
  • The New Spirit
    When England of the quiet heart
        Flung back the covenant of shame,
    20 lines

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