The death of poet Charles Hamilton Sorley during the First World War cut short the development of one of the most promising literary talents of the era.
In verses such as ‘When You See Millions of the Mouthless Dead’, Sorley unflinchingly communicated the meaningless horrors of war. The poem’s warning, not to glorify those who die on the battlefield, still resonates to this day.
Sorley was born in Aberdeen but lived in the city only until the age of five when his father, a noted moral philosopher, was appointed professor at the University of Cambridge. In 1900, the whole family moved south, where Sorley’s mother, Janet, encouraged their three children to read ballads and write poetry.
At Marlborough School, Sorley fell in love with the landscapes of the Wiltshire Downs. Early poems such as ‘The Song of the Ungirt Runners’ show his passion for hiking and long-distance running.
At the outbreak of war, Sorley was studying in Germany, but he returned to England and joined the Suffolk Regiment as second lieutenant. He was sent to France in May 1915, promoted to captain in August, and on 13 October, during the Battle of Loos in northern France, he was shot and killed.
At school Sorley had been reticent about writing, but with his mother’s encouragement he regularly sent her batches of his poetry. His parents published these works in 1916 and then, following immediate critical acclaim, they published his letters in 1919.
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Scottish Poetry Library: Charles Hamilton Sorley
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