World War I

From Tolkien Gateway
Revision as of 12:22, 17 October 2019 by 165.138.141.200 (talk) (→‎1917)
Tolkien in 1916, wearing his British Army uniform.
"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

J.R.R. Tolkien served in the British Army during World War I (or the "Great War"), most notably in the bloody Battle of the Somme. The earliest works of the Legendarium—collected in The Book of Lost Tales Part Two—were began during the conflict. The extent to which the war and Tolkien's experience of it are reflected in his written work is a matter of much interest in Tolkien scholarship.

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]

Ooga booga

ooga booga

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

External links

References