W. N. Hodgson
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William Noel Hodgson MC (3 January 1893- 1 July 1916) was an English poet of the First World War. During the war, he published stories and poems under the pen name Edward Melbourne.
He volunteered for the British Army on the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 and served in the 9th Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment. Awarded the Military Cross for holding a captured trench for 36 hours without reinforcements or supplies during the Battle of Loos in September 1915, he started publishing stories and poems in 1916 under the name Edward Melbourne.[1]
He was killed on the first day of the Battle of the Somme when attacking German trenches near Mametz. He is buried in Devonshire Cemetery.
He is best remembered for two poems - The first of these is England to her Sons:
Sons of mine, I hear you thrilling
To the trumpet call of war,
Gird ye then, I give you freely,
As I give your sires before,
All the noblest of the children I in love and anguish bore.
Free in service, wise in justice,
Fearing but dishonours breath;
Steeled to suffer uncomplaining
Loss of failure, pain of death
Strong in faith which sees the issue and in hope that triumpeth.
Go, and may the God of battles
You in his good guidance keep:
And if he wisdom giveth
Unto his beloved sleep
I accept nothing asking, save little space to weep.
[edit] References
- ^ The Overshadowed and The Surprising. Harold B. Lee Library at the Brigham Young University. Retrieved on 2006-11-26.
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