(1886-1967) British writer. Siegfried Sassoon was a British officer in World War I. Nicknamed "Mad Jack," Sassoon is known for his anti-war poetry where he expressed some of his horror at the waste and futility of war. Even though he disagreed with the war--with the deaths of so many young soldiers--he received the Military Cross for heroism. Sassoon was also acclaimed for his later prose work. Read more about Sassoon.
Siegfried Sassoon Birth:
Siegfried Sassoon was born on September 8, 1886, at Weirleigh, near Paddock Wood in Kent to a Jewish father, Alfred, and an English mother, Theresa (née Thornycroft). His father had been disinherited for marrying a woman outside the family faith, but his parents divorced when he was five and his father died when he was nine.
Siegfried Sassoon Death:
Siegfried Sassoon died on September 1, 1967.
Siegfried Sassoon Education:
Siegfried Sassoon attended Marlborough College and then Clare College, Cambridge. He didn't earn a degree, but returned instead to his life of hunting, golfing, riding, and living the life of an all-around sportsman.
Siegfried Sassoon at War:
With the onset of war, Siegfried Sassoon enlisted on August 2, 1914. He was a trooper in the Sussex Yeomanry, but he was then commissioned in the Royal Welch Fusiliers. He then served as a second lieutenant in the First and Second Battalions R.W.F.
Siegfried Sassoon Quotes:
"Soldiers are sworn to action; they must win
Some flaming, fatal climax with their lives.
Soldiers are dreamers; when the guns begin
They think of firelit homes, clean beds, and wives."
- "Dreamers"
"Those whispering guns—O Christ, I want to go out
And screech at them to stop—I'm going crazy;
I'm going stark, staring mad because of the guns."
- "Repression of War Experience"
"You are too young to fall asleep for ever;
And when you sleep you remind me of the dead."
- "The Dug-out"
Some flaming, fatal climax with their lives.
Soldiers are dreamers; when the guns begin
They think of firelit homes, clean beds, and wives."
- "Dreamers"
"Those whispering guns—O Christ, I want to go out
And screech at them to stop—I'm going crazy;
I'm going stark, staring mad because of the guns."
- "Repression of War Experience"
"You are too young to fall asleep for ever;
And when you sleep you remind me of the dead."
- "The Dug-out"
"And it's been proved that soldiers don't go mad
Unless they lose control of ugly thoughts
That drive them out to jabber among the trees."
- "Repression of War Experience"
"But the past is just the same,—and War's a bloody game....
Have you forgotten yet? ...
Look down, and swear by the slain of the War that you'll never forget."
- "Aftermath"
Unless they lose control of ugly thoughts
That drive them out to jabber among the trees."
- "Repression of War Experience"
"But the past is just the same,—and War's a bloody game....
Have you forgotten yet? ...
Look down, and swear by the slain of the War that you'll never forget."
- "Aftermath"
Selected Works:
The Old Huntsman (1917)
Counter-Attack (1918)
Satirical Poems (1926)
Memoirs of a Fox-hunting Man (1928)
Memoirs of an Infantry Officer (1930)
Vigils (1935)
Sherston's Progress (1936)
The Memoirs of George Sherston (1937)
The Old Century and Seven More Years (1938)
The Weald of Youth (1942)
Siegfried's Journey (1945)
Sequences (1957)
Counter-Attack (1918)
Satirical Poems (1926)
Memoirs of a Fox-hunting Man (1928)
Memoirs of an Infantry Officer (1930)
Vigils (1935)
Sherston's Progress (1936)
The Memoirs of George Sherston (1937)
The Old Century and Seven More Years (1938)
The Weald of Youth (1942)
Siegfried's Journey (1945)
Sequences (1957)
