Sunday 1 February 2015

More Female Poets of the First World War


With many thanks to Phil Dawes who sent me the fruits of his latest research this morning:


Mrs. A. L. Holmes (1866 – 1925)

Amy Louisa Holmes, nee Rix was born in  Lambeth.  Amy was the Mother of Private Philip George Holmes who died in France, listed as Died of Wounds - Gas.

Amy married Thomas Weekes Holmes a Master Printsetter. They lived in Cheam, Surrey, UK.  They had four children. Philip was aged twelve in 1911.

Amy wrote "The Great Sacrifice", 1918 in memory of Philip George Holmes of the 2/7 Manchester Regiment who was killed in action on 23rd July 1917 at Petit Synthe, France.


Mrs J.O. Arnold (1860 - 1933)

A.V. Arnold was the pen-name of Adelaide Victoria Arnold 1860 -1933, nee England. Her father, James England, was a Clergyman and Professor of English Literature. They lived on the Wirral Peninsula. Adelaide married John Oliver Arnold in June 1883.  He was a Professor of Metallurgy at Sheffield University College and also crime novelist; the couple had three children. They went to live in Sheffield.  Adelaide died in Kendal in 1933.

Adelaide does not give a job description on any census until 1911, when she lists herself as ‘Writer of Fiction’. 

According to Catherine W. Reilly, Mrs Arnold had a poem published in the WW1 Anthology "War Verse", edited by Frank Foxcroft and published by Crowell, New York in 1918.


M. L. Nott

Published in 1908 with titles like: ‘With the Dagger and the Flowers’, ‘Our Earthly Strongest Power’ and ‘The Roses were too weak to win the Battle’.

I thought this might have been Martha Lucy Nott, a music teacher from Clifton, Bristol and I spent some time on her but later on I found her published name was Mary Lancaster Nott (in addition to M. L. Nott).  She wrote material from 1908 to 1918 – also collected poems together for publishing in anthologies for good causes vis: Relief for War Horses and Comfort for the Troops. She may have had a New Zealand connection, as a New Zealand Private from Dunedin did the drawing for her horse book cover – and she sent the book to the mayor of D. to publicise it.
Reilley lists a Jane Prothero Nott who published "A little book of verse", Erskine Macdonald, 1921.

Many thanks indeed Phil.

The search goes on...