#keith douglas

[musicmags]

[thepastisalreadywritten]

Ladies and gentlemen, eighty years ago today, Field Marshal Montgomery – Commander in Chief of the Allied Ground Forces – wrote in his message to all soldiers on the eve of D-Day:

‘To us is given the honour of striking a blow for freedom, which will live in history; and, in the better days that lie ahead, men will speak with pride of our doings’.

Today, we come together to honour those nearly one hundred and sixty thousand British, Commonwealth and Allied troops who, on 5th June 1944, assembled here and along these shores to embark on the mission, which would strike that blow for freedom and be recorded as the greatest amphibious operation in history.

Those who gathered here in Portsmouth would never forget the sight. It was by far the largest military fleet the world has ever known.

Yet all knew that both victory and failure were possible, and none could know their fate.

Aircrew flying overhead, sailors manning warships; or troops in assault craft battering their way through the stormy swell to the shore; whether dropping by parachute, landing in a wooden glider, or taking that terrible leap of faith onto the beaches... all must have questioned whether they would survive and how they would respond when faced with such mortal danger.

The poet Keith Douglas, who was killed in action three days later, wrote of the embarkation:

"Actors waiting in the wings of Europe, we already watch the lights on the stage and listen to the colossal overture begin.

For us entering at the height of the din, it will be hard to hear our thoughts, hard to gauge how much our conduct owes to fear or fury."

At this remove, eight decades later, it is a near impossible task to imagine the emotion of that day:

The pride of being part of so great an enterprise, the anxiety of in some way not coming up to scratch, and the fear of that day being their last.

I recently myself spoke to veterans who, to this day, remember with such heartbreaking clarity the sight of those many soldiers lying on the beach, who drowned before they could even engage in combat.

The stories of courage, resilience and solidarity which we have heard today, and throughout our lives, cannot fail to move us, to inspire us, and to remind us of what we owe to that great wartime generation – now, tragically, dwindling to so few.

It is our privilege to hear their testimony, but our role is not purely passive:

It is our duty to ensure that we, and future generations, do not forget their service and their sacrifice in replacing tyranny with freedom.

Our rights, and the liberty won at such terrible cost, bring with them responsibilities to others in the exercise of that liberty.

The Allied actions of that day ensured the forces of freedom secured, first, a toehold in Normandy, then liberated France, and ultimately, the whole of Europe from the stranglehold of a brutal totalitarianism.

And as we remember, with humility, pride and gratitude, let us never forget that the soldiers who fought in the campaign launched from this place came from thirty nations, from across the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and Allied countries; while elsewhere in Europe, Allied forces continued to make vital progress in their successful Italian campaign; and while halfway around the world, at that same moment, the critical battles of Imphal and Kohima raged on in what was then Burma.

The 1944 Victoria Cross roll of honour includes Sikh, Muslim and Hindu soldiers – a reminder that events that year shaped our world then, and the society we share today.

While it was the frontline troops who faced the greatest personal dangers, the privations and sacrifices of war were endured by so many more.

The Allied victory was a truly collective effort, born of the fortitude and hard work of those who remained on the Home Front, toiling in factories, under our land in the mines, out in the fields, or working in secret – men and women alike.

Their collective industry, ingenuity and commitment helped our soldiers, sailors and airmen to prevail.

So, as we give thanks for all those who gave so much to win the victory, whose fruits we still enjoy to this day, let us, once again, commit ourselves always to remember, cherish and honour those who served that day and to live up to the freedom they died for by balancing rights with civic responsibilities to our country. For we are all, eternally, in their debt.

Source: Royal UK

A speech by The King at the UK's National Commemorative Event in Portsmouth to mark #DDay80

5 June 2024

The King addresses veterans, serving forces and and members of the public at the UK's National Commemorative Event in Portsmouth to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day Landings.

[goneahead]

[whisperthatruns]

How to Kill

Under the parabola of a ball, a child turning into a man, I looked into the air too long. The ball fell in my hand, it sang in the closed fist: Open Open Behold a gift designed to kill.

Now in my dial of glass appears the soldier who is going to die. He smiles, and moves about in ways his mother knows, habits of his. The wires touch his face: I cry NOW. Death, like a familiar, hears

and look, has made a man of dust of a man of flesh. This sorcery I do. Being damned, I am amused to see the centre of love diffused and the wave of love travel into vacancy. How easy it is to make a ghost.

The weightless mosquito touches her tiny shadow on the stone, and with how like, how infinite a lightness, man and shadow meet. They fuse. A shadow is a man when the mosquito death approaches.

Keith Douglas (1920--1944)

[nofatclips-home]

Son of a Prodigal Son by Tora Tora

[uwmspeccoll]

A Sea Bird #Feathursday

This week we present some images from Greg Peterson’s and John Balkwill’s 1991 printing of English poet Keith Douglas’s collection of poems entitled The Sea Bird. It was printed in Lake Tahoe at Peterson’s and Balkwill’s Huckleberry Press in a limited edition of 120 copies with handset Pastonchi type from Harold Berliner’s Typefoundry on Rives Heavyweight White paper. Calligraphy for the titling was done by Laura Sackett, and the images of the Sea Bird (ostensibly a Sea Eagle, but we know of no eagle with markings as described in the poem) is printed from relief plates made from original art by Jennifer Dewey, and hand-colored using a pochoir  process.

Keith Douglas, who was killed during World War II, has been called by Ted Hughes, “one of the most purely gifted poets ever born in England.” The poems in this collection were written during the war and deal with the insights and experiences the poet had during his service as an officer in the British Army. The title poem is a moving, almost mystical meditation on death.

Our copy, another donation from our friend Jerry Buff, is one of 110 copies quarter bound in navy blue cloth and marbled paper over bards. The marbled paper was created by Peggy Skycraft, and the binding work was done at Booklab in Austin, Texas under the direction of Craig Jensen.

View more Feathursday posts.

[dullingthehorns]

Keith Douglas. Time Eating.

a beautiful commentary on the tragedy of time.

[contremineur]

Women of four countries the four phials full of essences of green England, legendary China, cold Europe, Arabic Spain, a finer four poisons for the subtler senses than any in medieval inventories.

Keith Douglas, from To Kristin Yingcheng Olga Milena

Keith Castellain Douglas (24th January 1920 – 9th June 1944) was an English poet noted for his war poetry during the Second World War and his wry memoir of the Western Desert campaign, Alamein to Zem Zem. He was killed in action during the invasion of Normandy.