Ceremony at graveside marks the centenary of poet’s death
THE CENTENARY of war poet Wilfred Owen’s death was marked yesterday at his graveside in France by the sounding of a bugle he took from the battlefield.
Elizabeth Owen, the widow of his nephew, Peter, attended the “moving” ceremony in Ors communal cemetery, following a dawn visit to the site of the soldier’s death along the SambreOise canal.
French locals and members of the Wilfred Owen Association gathered during the service to hear The Last Post played on a bugle which the poet took from a dead German soldier during the First World War.
Musician Heather Madeira Ni said she was grateful to have been given the opportunity to play the instrument, which had never been sounded in public before, on such an historic occasion.
She added: “The bugle is such a piece of history and a great chance for me to get to know Owen and his poetry. It’s such an important part of British history.
“The more I learn about Wilfred Owen, the more grateful I am to have this opportunity.”
Owen, who was born inOswestry in Shropshire, was killed at the age of just 25 on November 4, 1918, during the battle to cross the Sambre-Oise canal at Ors, just seven days before peace was declared.
He wrote about the bugle, referring to having got some “loot”, in a letter which he sent to his brother in 1917.
Some of Owen’s poetry, focused on the brutal reality of war, was also recited during yesterday’s service.
His final letter that was sent home was read and wreaths were laid in his memory in a service which Fiona MacDonald, from the Wilfred Owen Association, described as extremely emotional.
She said: “It was really moving. There is just something really special about being here and hearing Owen’s bugle played for the first time in public.”