To see any of the poems, click the blue underlined number that appears above the title.

       1.
       In Time of 'The Breaking of Nations' by Thomas Hardy

       2.
       Adlestrop by Edward Thomas

       3.
       Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen

       4.
       Deserter by Winifred M Letts

       5.
       Two poems of regret by Rudyard Kipling

       6.
       Rifleman 47041 by Tom East 

       7.
       My Uncle Charles, 1894-1915 by Tom East 

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This an eclectic mix of Great War poetry. Indeed, only one of the poems, that by Wilfred Owen, could be described as a 'traditional' war poem. It's one of the very best, but if you want to see others there are some links below. Or you could get a book, You know, one of those paper things.

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But I hope you like the selection I've made. Besides Owen's poem, there's one by a representative of the older generation at the outbreak of war, plus the poem that, more than any other, captures the innocence lost in 1914. Then there's a poem by a woman writer - we shouldn't forget that women made up half of the population - and two poems of regret by a writer who began his war with bellicose words, but didn't finish it that way.

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I've even had the temerity to include two poems of my own. You may say, rightly, that I cannot write with any authority about experiences I never had. Well, fortunately for me, my own experiences were at a considerable remove from any hostilities. I want to keep it that way.

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First World War Poetry Digital Archive
The Thomas Hardy Society
The Kipling Society
The Wilfred Owen Association
Edward Thomas Fellowship
The War Poetry Website