A year ago I put up a post called Nobody Told Me to Oil My Boots.  The post was a catch-up piece setting out my recent activities. But in the last paragraph I described a programme I had heard in the middle of the night on Radio 4 Extra about Isaac Rosenberg, a working-class poet and artist who joined up in WWI and who was killed in France in 1918. I learnt this morning on Broadcasting House, the Sunday morning R4 news programme, that today marks 100 years since his death. His poetry is powerful and moving. His story is interesting and tragic. I’ve included what I wrote last February below.

Unfortunately the original programme does not appear to be available. But you can listen to more of his story in the Broadcasting House report, about 20 minutes in.

February 2017

I had listened in the night to a lovely half hour programme on R4 Extra. Nobody told me to oil my boots told the story of Isaac Rosenberg, a working-class Jewish lad, son of immigrants, a peace-loving poet and artist from the East End, who felt it was his duty to join up and fight for his country in WWl. He joined a Bantam Regiment (for men who did not reach the required height of 5’3″). His war poetry is often overlooked, when people concentrate on poets like Wilfred Owen – who was advised to oil his boots. At the end, the R4 poet in residence,Daljit Nagra, summed up by talking about the numbers of Jews and Muslims and Hindus who fought and died in WWl for their country. First broadcast several years ago it is a delicate, powerful, heartbreaking story that is well worth listening to for 30 minutes.

Artwork at top of the page by Josie Taylor