Soldiers of the Great War Known Unto God, Cabaret Rouge Cemetery, Souchez, France. © 2013 by John M. Shea
A Soldier of the Great War Known Unto God
"I am writing you this private letter with the greatest possible regret. I must inform you that it is my intention to refuse to perform any further military duties. I am doing this as a protest against the policy of the Government in prolonging the War by failing to state their conditions of peace.I have written a statement of my reasons, of which I enclose a copy. This statement is being circulated. I would have spared you this unpleasantness had it been possible.My only desire is to make things as easy as possible for you in dealing with my case. I will come to Litherland immediately I hear from you if that is your wish.I am fully aware of what I am letting myself in for."
Letter dated July 4, 1917 from Siegfried Sassoon to the Commanding Officer of the Third Royal Welch Fusiliers. Sassoon was a British poet, author, Second Lieutenant in the Royal Welch Fusiliers, and recipient of the Military Cross for gallantry in action. Sassoon had been wounded, shot through the shoulder by a sniper, in an April 16 attack on the village of Fontaine-lès-Croisilles in the Battle of Arras, and was on convalescent leave in England in June. By June 15 Sassoon had concluded that the war begun 'as a war of defence and liberation, [had] become a war of aggression and conquest.'
Siegfried Sassoon Diaries 1915-1918 by Siegfried Sassoon, page 177, copyright © George Sassoon, 1983; Introduction and Notes Rupert Hart-Davis, 1983, publisher: Faber and Faber, publication date: 1983
1917-07-04, 1917, July, Cabaret Rouge Known Unto God
