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| Radclyffe Hall, 1918 |
Radclyffe spent time travelling and learning and published five books of poetry between 1906 and 1915, when her collection entitled “The Forgotten Island” was published.
During the First World War, Radclyffe apparently worked with the Red Cross but I cannot find any information about her wartime service.
Although the following poem was published prior to the First World War, I feel it is relevant:
"ON A BATTLE FIELD"
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| Battle of Tanga, 1914 Martin Frost |
Once o'er this hill whereon we stand,
Just you and I, hand clasp'd in hand
Amid the silence, and the space,
A mighty battle rent the air,
With dying curse and choking prayer;
'Mid shot and shell death stalked apace.
Is it conceivable to you —
So much at peace — because we two
Are close together, or to me?
The silent beauty of the noon
Seems like a Heaven-granted boon,
Aglow with tender ecstasy.
A little mist of hazy blue
Is slowly hiding from our view
The city's domes and slender spires,
As thro' a bridal veil the sun
Subdued and shy lights one by one
The virgin clouds with blushing fires.
The wind has fallen; very low
We hear his wings brush past, and know
He creeps away to dream and rest;
How sweet to be alone, to feel
You breathe one longing sigh, and steal
A little closer to my breast.
Is anything worth while but this?
We may not perish for a kiss,
Yet thus it were not hard to die!
War strews the earth with countless dead,
And after all is done and said,
The end is love, and you and I!
https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/49321/pg49321-images.html
Portrait of Radclyffe Hall in 1918 by German-Born British artist Charles Buchel (Karl August Büchel) (1872–1950)
German artist Martin Frost (1875-1928) produced about 260 paintings and sketches of the German experience of The First World War. His paintings showing the realism of combat put him in the forefront of German war artists of WW1. Periodicals at the time heavily promoted Frost's works, bringing to the German public the ordeal of the frontline soldier.
The Battle of Tanga, sometimes also known as the Battle of the Bees, was the unsuccessful attack by the British Indian Expeditionary Force "B" under Major General A. E. Aitken to capture German East Africa (the mainland portion of present-day Tanzania) during the First World War. It was the first major event of the war in Eastern Africa and saw the British defeated by a significantly smaller force of German Askaris and colonial volunteers under Lieutenant Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck. It was the beginning of the East African Campaign of World War I, and is considered one of greatest victories of the Schutztruppe in Africa. The British retreat enabled the Schutztruppe to salvage modern equipment, medical supplies, tents, blankets, food and a number of Maxim machine guns which allowed them to successfully resist the allies for the rest of the war.
