ASHCROFT ON HIS MOST CHERISHED WAR POEM
before meeting again at the Battle of Le Cateau three days later, and once more at the First Battle of the Marne between September 6 and 10, 1914. Locals who live in Polzeath, Rock, Daymer and other villages close to the spot where For The Fallen was written are not surprised the beauty of this headland inspired a poet to write such memorable lines. Nina Brooke, 28, an artist who specialises in painting aerial images of Cornish coastal scenes, said: “Whether you are a poet or an artist, the beauty of the north Cornwall coast close to Polzeath is incredibly inspirational.” Today a plaque, dedicated in 2003, marks the place where Binyon was apparently sitting when he came up with the words for his poem. Having visited this spot just days ago, I can confirm it is both beautiful and inspirational, particularly in the warm autumn sunshine and with surfers catching huge waves just around the corner.
When interviewed in August 1939, to mark his 70th birthday, Binyon discussed the poem’s background: “I can’t recall the exact date beyond that it was shortly after the retreat [from Mons]. I was sat down, out of doors, on a cliff in Polzeath, Cornwall. The stanza ‘They Shall Grow Not Old’ was written first and dictated the rhythmical movement of the whole poem.”
Binyon was born in Lancaster on August 10, 1869, the son of a clergyman. He studied at St Paul’s, London, and read classics at Trinity College, Oxford, where he won the Newdigate Prize for poetry in 1891. After graduating, he worked at the Department of Printed Books at the British Museum.
In 1915, Binyon volunteered to work as an orderly at a British hospital for French soldiers. He returned in the summer of 1916 and took care of soldiers from the Verdun battlefield. He lost family and friends during the Great War, including his brother-in-law. After the war, he became the Keeper of the Prints and Drawings Department at the British Museum. He continued to write poetry – some penned during the Second World War, including a long poem on the Blitz called The Burning Of The Leaves.
Binyon died on March 10, 1943, aged 73. On November 11, 1985, he was one of 16 Great War poets commemorated on a slate stone unveiled in Westminster Abbey’s Poets’ Corner.
As the words of his best-known poem ring out around the United Kingdom on Remembrance Sunday, I will certainly pause to remember the inspiration for these words which we, as a nation, have used to remember the fallen for more than a century.
Lord Ashcroft KCMG PC is a businessman, philanthropist, author and pollster. For more information on Lord Ashcroft’s work, including his six bravery books and his new defence book White Flag?, visit lordashcroft.com. Follow him on Twitter: @LordAshcroft. For information on his VC and GC collection, visit iwm.org.uk/heroes