An author and businessman who has written about the war poet Robert Graves believes Remembrance Sunday is a time to reflect on the end of hostilities of the Great War.
The Armistice, an agreement to end the fighting of the First World War as a prelude to peace negotiations, began at 11am on 11 November 1918.
It later became known as Remembrance Sunday in the UK and Veterans Day in the United States. And it is commemorated every year on 11 November to mark the armistice signed between the Allies and Germany.
Richard Graves, financial director of web design and online marketing firm GWS Media, has written about his late uncle, who fought in the Battle of the Somme in 1916.
Scale of sacrifice
Robert Graves, served with the Royal Welch Fusiliers (RWF), which was the oldest military regiment in Wales and had the distinction of being the most literary regiment in the army.
He was struck by a shell and so badly wounded that the next day he was reported to have died. But he did in fact survive and went on to write about the traumatic experience of war in his autobiography Goodbye to All That.
While his physical injuries healed, the psychological impact lingered. He recounted returning to England and trembling at strong smells, akin to gas, and loud noises.
He experienced ‘shell shock’, which is now better understood as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Richard, who has written a three-volume biography on the life of the poet, said: “Robert was one of the lucky ones. He eventually recovered from his shell shock and went on to have a remarkable literary career as a poet, as the historical novelist of such enduring works as I, Claudius and Count Belisarius, and as the author of The White Goddess.
“But many of the best and the bravest, not only of our fellow-countrymen but also of men drawn from the furthest reaches of what was then the British Empire, died fighting for our freedom.
“The scale of their sacrifice was enormous, as is witnessed by the memorials in every parish in the United Kingdom, and deserves to be commemorated.”
Honour
Graves had a holiday home in Harlech and his poem, Welsh Incident, was inspired during a train trip in the area.
During World War II, Graves’s eldest son, David, would also serve in the RWF. But he did not have the same lucky escape as his father and was shot in action in Burma in 1943. He was just 23 years old.
Richard, who named his eldest son David after the soldier, said: “It is one of the great sadnesses of my life that I never met my first cousin David Graves, who died heroically fighting against the Japanese in March 1943, not long after his 23rd birthday.
“He was not only the bravest of warriors, but he also wrote fine poems and painted exquisite watercolours. Had he lived, he might have achieved much both as a writer and as an artist.”
Richard, who has written about the Swinging Sixties in his latest book, Nicky Samuel: My Life and Loves, believes it is important to recognise the sacrifices made throughout the ages.
He said: “Today, with increasing threats, it is important not to forget that the price of freedom may be death.
“By honouring all those who died for us in the past, we are reminded of this and encouraged to defend ourselves from aggression in the future.”
