Thank You Using Art and Poetry to thank

the First World War Generation

KS2 & 3

Royal & Sun Alliance Memorials

This booklet contains a small number of example themes to help get you started. If you’d like to find out more or develop your own themes, why not contact one of our learning officers who will help you to create your own tailor-made Inspiration Day?

The National Memorial Arboretum is the UK’s year-round centre of Remembrance and home to over 350 thought-provoking memorials representing military and civilian associations, as well as tributes for individuals. It is a national celebration of life lived and a growing tribute that will forever acknowledge hundreds of unique and extraordinary lives.

The Creative Impact of the First World WarThe First World War was a global conflict which changed the world forever. It introduced new approaches to combat, with previously unimaginable weapons and technology; and the Military Service Act, which introduced conscription for the first time and made all of British society face the realities of what many believe to be the first modern war.

The Great War brought about profound changes in the way people saw politics and society, and made people question the purpose of art and literature. Much of the art and poetry that came out of the First World War is a response to the changing face of a world in conflict, reflecting the fears and hopes of all facets of society.

Thank YouThe Royal British Legion is marking the centenary of the end of the First World War by saying “Thank You” to a generation of people who helped shape our world as we know it. As part of The Royal British Legion, the National Memorial Arboretum is proud to be part of this movement.

The Arboretum and The Royal British Legion are working together with Never Such Innocence, a charity whose aim is to ensure young people are inspired, informed and included in centenary activities, to help young people understand the legacies left by a First World War generation, and what experiences they underwent to change our world.

This booklet is designed to help your group use some of the Arboretum’s memorials to learn about the conflict and say “Thank You” to those who lived and worked through the period, both on ‘the front’ and at home. We hope this pack will help to inspire art and literacy lessons in particular and, perhaps, an entry into the Never Such Innocence poetry and art competition which is open to children aged 9-16 (neversuchinnocence.com).

Throughout 2018 the Arboretum will also be marking the centenary of the end of the First World War with a variety of events and activities – details can be found on our website.

A Legacy of RemembranceSince earliest times, people, communities, civilisations and cultures have remembered lives by commemorating or memorialising them. Remembrance is part of our shared heritage. From ancient burial grounds and religious rituals, through to storytelling, war memorials, social media pages and roadside tributes, humans have created many ways of remembering.

famous

historian

Hurlers Stone Circles

- Cornwall England

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“...the Great War has left us

with a rich legacy of writing, art,

music and poetry. This le

gacy

allows us to perceive what life

was like during the perio

d.”

With over 350 memorials, there are hundreds of fascinating stories waiting to be discovered…

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There are a number of poems and lines of verse inscribed on the memorials at the Arboretum. Why not take inspiration, and write your own poem? Here are just a few:

Naval Service Memorial

Crossing the Bar by Alfred, Lord TennysonThis poem, written in 1889, can be found on the edging strip around the Naval Service Memorial. With 13 coloured panels of glass and a bowed figure facing the setting sun, it represents the sacrifice made by those who have served in the Royal Navy and associated services.

The crossing of the bar refers to a naval phrase meaning the passing or death of a sailor. During the First World War over 44,000 sailors lost their lives.

Western Front Association Memorial

For the Fallen by Robert Laurence Binyon and Aftermath by Siegfried SassoonDuring the First World War, the Western Front was a line of British and German trenches facing each other – all the way from the North Sea, across Belgium and France to the Swiss border. Many thousands of men died fighting on this front, but its position hardly changed. The battles fought there have become known for heavy losses. At the Battle of the Somme, more than 19,000 men died on the first day alone.

Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Western Front

Association

Memorial Inscription of Sassoon’s poem

The Western Front Association Memorial is dedicated to 956,703 British Empire men and women who died in the First World War. The stone monument is inscribed with words from Binyon’s poem, ‘For the Fallen’ and Sassoon’s poem, ‘Aftermath’.

Siegfried SassoonSiegfried Sassoon was one of a number of young war poets, once supportive of the war but ultimately horrified and disillusioned by what they came to see as an act of futility. In 1917 he wrote a statement of protest against the war.

“Poetry can take

many forms such

as the sonnet, the

haiku, the limerick

and blank verse.”

Which do you

prefer?

“I have seen and endured the sufferings of the troops

and I can no longer be a party to prolonging these

sufferings for ends which I believe to be evil and

unjust. I am not protesting against the conduct

of the war, but against the political errors and

insincerities for which the fighting men are being

sacrificed. On behalf of those who are suffering now,

I make this protest against the deception which is

being practised upon them; also I believe it may help

to destroy the callous complacency with which the

majority of those at home regard the continuance of

agonies which they do not share and which they have

not enough imagination to realise.”

Siegfried Sassoon

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Moina Michael and the Red PoppyMoina was inspired by In Flanders Fields to write her own additional verses for the poem and to make the poppy a symbol of global Remembrance.

A professor at the University of Georgia, Moina Michael was also a passionate humanitarian. She came across McCrae’s poem In Flanders Fields on 9 November 1918 and acquired all the artificial red poppies she could find and began to sell them.

In 1920, the National American Legion convention adopted her Memorial Poppy as its symbol with the idea that American Legion members and supporters would wear the poppy annually on Armistice Day. It was later adopted in the UK and is still used today as the national symbol of Remembrance. It features as a prominent part of The Royal British Legion’s logo.

McCrae Bench

In Flanders Fields by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae MDWritten in 1915, the poem inspired the use of the poppy as a symbol of Remembrance, which can be seen throughout the Arboretum including The Royal British Legion’s Poppy Memorial.

John Alexander McCrae MD was born on 30 November 1872 in Ontario, Canada. He was in charge of a Field Hospital during the Second Battle of Ypres in 1915. His friend and former student Lt Alexis Helmer was killed in this battle and he was inspired to write the poem In Flanders Fields on 3 May 1915.

He died of pneumonia on 28 January 1918 while commanding No 3 Canadian General Hospital at Boulogne.

John McCrae’s statue

in his home town

Ontario, Canada

The Not Forgotten AssociationThe Not Forgotten Association was founded by Marta Cunningham, to provide ‘comfort, cheer and entertainment’ to injured servicemen. The three-sided memorial stands over seven feet high and is made of solid green polished granite with a perfectly sculptured elephant’s head on top.

The elephant and the sword form the basis of the emblem of the Association. A simple plaque on the ground outlines the role of Miss Marta Cunningham in setting up the Not Forgotten Association and establishing its role. Cunningham devoted the rest of her life to charity, for which she was awarded a CBE in 1929.

The memorial uses the elephant motif as a symbol of long lasting memory. An elephant has a 50 or 60 year lifespan and it is said that it remembers both kindnesses and injuries endured during its lifetime.

Early artistic depictions of the war were highly romanticised and often depicted scenes with biblical and mythical references. As the war progressed artists across Europe developed new styles in reaction to the unprecedented level of death and destruction.These new styles seemed shocking in comparison with the traditional depictions of war such as Blood and Iron by Ernest Butler.

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Approaches to Art

FuturismOriginating from Italy, it emphasised speed, technology, youth and violence, through depictions of machinery and industry. Futurists felt that the war had destroyed all sense in the world.

ExpressionismOriginating in Germany, it influenced poetry and painting, and valued the expression of emotional experience rather than the depiction of physical reality. Expressionists felt that the world had become distorted by the war and that art should reflect this.

VorticismHaving originated in Britain, Vorticism was a Modernist movement in art and poetry. It rejected traditional style landscapes and nudes in favour of geometric forms tending toward abstraction.

Why not examine some of the different artistic movements inspired by or created in reaction to the physical and emotional devastation of the First World War.

Pay special attention to the use of distorted perspective and the distillation of natural shapes into sharp lines and angles. Use this to help develop confidence in your own individual style and start creating your own First World War inspired artwork. Art can be used to tell stories, just like the memorials at the Arboretum.

“European nations began World

War I with a glamorous vision of

war, only to be psychologically

shattered by the realities of the

trenches. The experience changed

the way people referred to the

glamour of battle; they treated it

no longer as a positive quality but

as a dangerous illusion.”

The TankThe very first battle involving tanks took place on the Somme, when approximately 30 tanks attacked German positions between the villages of Flers and Courcelette on Friday 15 September 1916. The Battle of the Somme was one of the largest battles of the First World War, with more than one million casualties.

Scientific and technological advancements before and during the First World War meant that artists and writers were confronted with a new and devastating kind of warfare. Mechanisation enabled both sides to inflict unprecedented damage with little or no understanding of the physical and psychological consequences.

One such weapon was the landship, or tank as it was commonly known. Introduced in September 1916 by British forces, it so startled and terrified the German front line that the German Government planned to lodge a complaint with the International Red Cross Society stating that the tank was contrary to the recognised methods of civilised warfare.

At dawn on 20 November 1917, the first successful tank battle was fought at Cambrai involving some 300 Mark IV tanks. The arrival of the tank signalled the end of trench warfare and established the tank as a dominant factor of battle right up to the present day.

The design of the Royal Tank Regiment Grove reflects these events with a collection of Ash trees, a tree of significance to the Regiment, some of which have been propagated from trees from the battlefield at Cambrai, while inside the circular seat is an oak tree, grown from an acorn from Delville Wood on the Somme.

On the brick plinth is a scale model of a Mark V Heavy Tank which took part in the Battle of Amiens on 8 August 1918; the original may be seen at the Tank Museum at Bovington. In the spring, the Grove bursts into colour with hundreds of daffodils planted in the pattern of tank tracks. On the flagpole flies the Regimental flag of brown, red and green signifying ‘through mud and blood to green fields beyond.’

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Not all people believed that the war was necessary; in fact, people all over the world objected to war for different reasons. These included religious and political beliefs, and conscience.As the war went on, objectors became increasingly vocal with many once ardent supporters, such as Siegfried Sassoon, now unable to continue to give their support.

Private Harry Farr’s Princess Mary Gift

Fund box.

This memorial creates a lot of emotion and it has inspired many poems. Poetry is a good way of expressing your emotions.

Shot at Dawn The Shot at Dawn memorial is located at the eastern end of the Arboretum – as this is the first area to receive the rays of the rising sun at dawn. The memorial commemorates the 309 men executed by their own side during the First World War for various offences – primarily ‘cowardice’ and desertion.

During the First World War, 309 British and Commonwealth soldiers were shot for desertion, cowardice, striking a senior officer, disobeying a lawful order, casting away arms and sleeping at post. Most of them were sentenced after a short trial at which no real opportunity for defence was allowed.

Today, it is recognised that several of them were under age when they volunteered and that many more were suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which was not recognised as a medical condition until 1980. Andy De Comyn’s statue ‘Shot at Dawn’ is modelled on Private Herbert Burden, of the 1st Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers, who was shot at Ypres in 1915, aged just 17.

The names of Herbert Burden and those others who suffered the fate of being shot at dawn are listed on the stakes arranged in the form of a Greek theatre around the statue, symbolising the tragedy that these events signify.

Many of the posts say ‘Age Unknown’ as a lot of young men lied about their age in order to enlist. Some of them had no representation at court-martial as there was no available defending council or they did

not appreciate the need for one. Many visitors ask about the location of the memorial in the Arboretum. It seems appropriate that it should be on the eastern edge where dawn strikes first. The six trees facing the posts represent the firing squad, all aiming for the medallion around the statue’s neck. It must have been very traumatic for them too, having to shoot one of their own. After the 75 year Secrecy Act was lifted, members of the Shot at Dawn Organisation started campaigning for pardons. Janet Booth, who sought a pardon for her grandfather, Private Harry Farr, played a leading role in the campaign which commenced in 1992. Janet’s grandmother had lived with the shame and stigma of her husband being shot for cowardice in 1916. She believed he was wrongly convicted and was actually suffering from ‘shell shock’. Harry Farr’s family took the Ministry of Defence to the High Court and won.

The two benches behind the memorial are dedicated to John Hipkin and George MacIntyre who also played a leading part in the Pardons Campaign. In 2006, a posthumous pardon was granted for Harry and the other men.

A Princess Mary Gift Fund box belonging to Private Harry Farr is displayed in the Landscapes of Life exhibition. These small tins were issued

to all servicemen at Christmas in 1914. It is the family’s only possession to remember him.

Image courtesy of Chris Findon

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Quaker Services MemorialDuring both World Wars, members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) were active in relief work, which was recognised by the award of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1947. The citation covered humanitarian service since the Irish famine a century earlier.

The Friends Ambulance Unit was an independent body led by Quakers and open to people of all denominations, giving conscientious objectors to military service an opportunity to serve in theatres of war. Bronze stars set in the paving of the memorial mark the seventeen lives lost. The Friends Relief Service was the official arm of the Society for the relief of civilian distress. Twelve hundred people, nearly half of them women, from all denominations, served as members.

The circular design of the memorial, which symbolises reconciliation between opponents, invites visitors to rest and contemplate; it also represents the unity and equality which Friends bring to their worship and lives. Quakers recognise the reality of conflict, and have practical experience of the power of love in its resolution.

Royal Army Medical Corps MemorialThis large woodland has red and gold leaved trees individually dedicated to members of the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC), which was formed in 1898. There are memorial plinths at both ends of the avenue and purple leaved trees planted as a tribute to the 29 members who were awarded the Victoria Cross, two of them gaining the award twice (and one George Cross). In the centre stands a magnificent statue by Alan Beattie Herriot depicting a member of the Corps bringing a wounded soldier back from the battlefield. The memorials in the Arboretum are all works of art and help to tell stories through the use of symbolism.

Local HeroWilliam Coltman volunteered for the Army in January 1915. At his own request, for religious reasons, he served as a regimental stretcher bearer, wearing the distinctive red-cross brassard when on active service. In June 1915 Coltman, then aged 24, was sent to France with the 1/6th Territorial Battalion of the North Staffordshire (Prince of Wales) Regiment. His service record was one of outstanding dedication. Over the course of many months of trench duty on the Western Front, Coltman received an exceptional number of awards for gallantry including the Military Medal and bar, and the Victoria Cross, making him the most decorated British Non-Commissioned Officer of the First World War.

His modest plaque and dedicated oak tree can be found near the Staffordshire Regiment Memorial located within the Army Parade zone.

The Stretcher Bearer by Robert Service

My stretcher is one scarlet stain, And as I tries to scrape it clean, I tell you what – I’m sick of pain, For all I’ve heard, for all I’ve seen; Around me is the hellish night, And as the war’s red rim I trace, I wonder if in Heaven’s height Our God don’t turn away his face.

I don’t care whose the crime may be, I hold no brief for kin or clan; I feel no hate, I only see As man destroys his brother man; I wave no flag, I only know As here beside the dead I wait, A million hearts are weighed with woe, A million homes are desolate.

In dripping darkness far and near, All night I’ve sought those woeful ones. Dawn suddens up and still I hear The crimson chorus of the guns. Look, like a ball of blood the sun Hangs o’er the scene of wrath and wrong,“Quick! Stretcher-bearers on the run!”,Oh Prince of Peace! How long, how long?”

© Imperial War Museums (Q_005935)

The Non-Combatant Corps and the Royal Army Medical Corps were military units which supported the war without fighting or the use of weapons.

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Other memorials of interest:II Squadron RAF MemorialThe Christmas Truce MemorialChurch Lads’ and Church Girls’ Brigade Memorial GardenGallipoli MemorialGeneral Post Office Memorial GardenQueen Alexandra’s Royal Naval Nursing Service MemorialRoyal Air Force Association Remembrance GardenThe Royal Artillery GardenWWI Sikh MemorialToc-H MemorialWomen’s Royal Army Corps Memorial

Referenced memorials:Naval Service Memorial Western Front Association MemorialMcCrae BenchThe Poppy MemorialThe Not Forgotten Association MemorialRoyal Tank Regiment GroveShot at Dawn MemorialStaffordshire Regiment MemorialRoyal Army Medical Corps MemorialQuaker Services Memorial

The National Memorial Arboretum is the perfect venue for developing an understanding of Remembrance, memorials and the impact of conflict. We have a full learning programme for visiting groups to enjoy which actively engages visitors of all ages.

Email education@thenma.org.uk or call 01283 245 100 to talk to our team and discuss any further requirements or questions you may have.

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Use the memorials in the Arboretum to inspire your art and poetry work.

Here are some that we recommend you explore.

National Memorial ArboretumPart of The Royal British Legion

Croxall Road, Alrewas, Staffordshire DE13 7AR

www.thenma.org.ukT: 01283 245 100 E: info@thenma.org.uk

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