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[[Category:Real-world]]
[[Category:World War I| ]]

Revision as of 17:49, 6 April 2009

Previous war: Second Anglo-Boer War
Next war: World War II
World War I
Tolkien 1916.jpg
Beginning: July 28, 1914End: June 28, 1919 (peace treaty)
Place: Europe primarily
Outcome: Pyrrhic victory for the Alliance, dramatic change of Europe
Major battles: Battle of the Somme
Combatants
Entente Powers, including
Central Powers
Commanders
Entente Powers
Central Powers
"Who battled have with bloody hands
Through evil times in barren lands,
To whom the voice of guns
Speaks and no longer stuns...
"
Geoffrey Bache Smith, A Spring Harvest

World War I, the "Great War", was fought with J.R.R. Tolkien as a participant, most notably in the Battle of the Somme. It was here that Middle-earth all started: it was during this war that Tolkien first began work on The Book of Lost Tales. While Tolkien has stated the war had little influence on his works and he continued to deny any allegory it is apparent that had Tolkien not been involved in the war, his works would be vastly different.

Participants

Barrovians:

Others

Timeline

See also Timeline of World War I at Wikipedia

1914

1915

  • June 10 - Exams start at Oxford University. Because of the war, only Tolkien and 24 others remain in the entire University. Tolkien passes.[1]
  • June 28 - Tolkien applies at the Oxford recruiting office to join the army.[1]
  • July 15 - Tolkien becomes a second lieutenant, and is appointed to the 13th Service Battalion of the Lancashire Fusilliers.[1]
  • September 25 - The Big Four of the T.C.B.S. - Tolkien, Smith, Wiseman and Gilson - have their last meeting.[1]
  • November 21 - G.B. Smith is shipped to France.[1]

1916

1917

  • January 12 - Tolkien's leave of absence (to recover from his trench fever) ends, but he is far from recovered.[1]
  • January 29 - Tolkien faces a Medical Board in Birmingham, but he is not deemed fit to return to war.[1]
  • February - Tolkien faces his second Medical Board, but is again deemed unfit for duty.[1]
  • February 27 - Tolkien faces his third Medical Board, and again his leave is extended.[1]
  • April 18 - Tolkien and Wiseman, the Great Twin Brethren, meet in Harrogate, and discuss the fate of the Barrovians and the future of the Society.[1]
  • April 19 - Tolkien, in revalidation, is assigned to the Humber Garrison, but is not fit enough.[1]
  • June 1 - Tolkien is considered fit for service again, but he is not reassigned to the Lancashire Fusilliers.[1]
  • June 29 - J.R.R. Tolkien succumbs to gastritis while at Brocton Camp.[1]
  • August 1 - "Tea Cake" Barnsley is killed in Ypres.[1]
  • October 13- Tolkien is found unfit for duty for six months, but able to do a desk job.[1]
  • November – Tolkien moves into 50 St. John's Street.[1]
  • November 16 - The Tolkien's first son, John, is born.[1]

1918

  • October 11 - Tolkien is officially released from Brooklands Hospital, Birmingham.[1]
  • November 11 - The War comes to an end in a cease-fire.[4]

1919

References