Literary Men in WWI

  This weekend, as we mark Remembrance Sunday, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at some of Britain's famous authors who served in World War One.

 J R R Tolkien - Writer & author of classic works of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy served in the British Infantry on the Western Front as a Second Lieutenant in the Lancashire Fusiliers. He took part in the battle at Thiepval Ridge on the Somme, 1916 before contracting Trench Fever and being invalided out in November of that year.

W E Johns - Magazine editor and author of the famous Biggles adventure series fought at Gallipoli in 1915 as a private in the King’s Own Royal Regiment. The following year he transferred to the Machine-Gun-Corps and was stationed on the Macedonian Front in Greece where he contracted Malaria and had to be hospitalised all before joining the Royal Flying Corps. After numerous near death experiences, he flew DH4s on bombing sorties over German Territory  before his plane was shot down in Sept 1918 and remained in a POW camp until the end of the war.

A.A Milne - Author of classic children's book Winnie the Pooh served with the Royal Warwickshire Regiment on the Western Front.

C S Lewis - Author of the Chronicles of Narnia served in the British Infantry on the Western Front as a Lieutenant in the Somerset Light Infantry and fought at Arras.

Hugh Lofting -  Author of the children’s series of novels- Dr Doolittle served in the Irish Guards and fought on the Western Front before being wounded by a grenade explosion.

Dennis Wheatley - Author of adventure, thriller and occult/horror novels joined the Royal Field Artillery, reaching the rank of Second-Lieutenant whilst seeing action at Flanders, Ypres, Cambrai, St Quentin. At Passchendaele, he was injured by Chlorine gas and was invalided out of the army.

This is just a small section of men from the world of literature who were involved in the conflicts of the First World War.

This is just a small section of those men in the literary world who were involved in the conflicts of World War One. For more fascinating stories and details visit  http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=127110