By Dr Rob Spence, The Anthem Newsletter Editor.
This year's event was held at a place indelibly associated with Wilfred Owen: Craiglockhart, Edinburgh, where Owen met Sassoon, and where many of his significant poems took shape. The former hospital is now part of the Napier University campus, and home to the association's chair, Professor Gerri Matthews-Smith. As the Director of the Centre for Military Research Education and Public Engagement at Napier, Gerri was in contact with Major-General Tim Hodgetts, until recently Surgeon General of the UK Armed Forces, who gave a talk in which he compared his own experiences of war with that of Owen, and presented some of his own poetic responses to the scenes he had witnessed on the battlefield.
The lecture was presented in hybrid style, with members able to join online. Instead of a formal lecture, Major-General Hodgetts outlined Owen's achievement and presented the audience with some of his own work to react to, and to compare to the canon of Owen's work. The interactive element was successful, eliciting some thoughtful comments both from the audience in the room and online. The presentation made connections between the First World War experiences of Owen and the later conflicts that the Major-General had endured, and this raised some profound questions about the nature of war and suffering. The lecture was well-received, and left the audience with much to reflect on, and, of course, the urge to return once again to Owen's poetry.
Those present in the audience at Craiglockhart were able to visit the permanent exhibition "The War Poets Collection" which contains many items of interest to students of Owen's poetry, and the history of the First World War in general. Of particular significance are the original copies of "The Hydra", the magazine produced by wounded soldiers, including Owen, during their stay at Craiglockhart.
Front image - Craiglockhart, credit: Dr Rob Spence
