The events are coming thick and fast.
Here, courtesy of the
War Poets Association, is another one: 'Isaac Rosenberg and Bristol', a 120th anniversary celebration on Saturday 23 October. Already booked to speak are Vivien Noakes, Jean Moorcroft-Wilson and Bernard Wynick. The day will also include 'an optional walk to the venue past the birthplace of Isaac Rosenberg'.
It is heartening to read news of the planned Isaac Rosenberg In Bristol Celebration. I first learned of him and his magnificent poetry while researching material for my book, "THE BANTAMS: The Untold Story Of World War One." It features a little-known aspect of Rosenberg's life (and death) as a volunteer infantry soldier who served bravely in front-line trenches on the Western Front.
ReplyDeleteFew of his surviving veterans who I interviewed (in the 1970s) were aware of Rosenberg's reputation as a war poet, but remembered him as a comrade, "an untidy, polite, but painfully reserved man." One elderly ex-comrade of Rosenberg told me, "I remember one morning trying to talk with him. I wanted to show friendship because I sensed he thought he was shunned because he was Jewish. Believe me, we didn't think much about a person's background one way or another. In the trenches, all we wanted to know was if you were a reliable comrade or not." And Rosenberg proved his worth to the bitter end.
-- Sidney Allinson.
http://bantamsoldiers.com