1 00:00:09,900 --> 00:00:15,713 John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, was born on the 3rd January, 1892. 2 00:00:15,713 --> 00:00:19,009 He and his brother Hilary, experienced a difficult childhood. 3 00:00:19,009 --> 00:00:22,494 When Tolkien was just four, they lost their father, Arthur, 4 00:00:22,494 --> 00:00:24,030 to rheumatic fever. 5 00:00:24,030 --> 00:00:26,950 As a widow with low income, his mother Mabel, 6 00:00:26,950 --> 00:00:30,642 home schooled the brothers and played a vital role in their early education 7 00:00:30,642 --> 00:00:31,827 and development. 8 00:00:32,987 --> 00:00:38,208 Tolkien was a smart young boy, with a fascination and thirst for languages. 9 00:00:39,911 --> 00:00:44,039 Tolkien sat the entrance exam for King Edward's School, Birmingham and passed. 10 00:00:45,209 --> 00:00:49,058 From the Autumn of 1900, for a fee of 12 pounds a year, 11 00:00:49,058 --> 00:00:51,559 Tolkien would be educated in an environment 12 00:00:51,559 --> 00:00:54,505 that would help fulfil his academic potential. 13 00:00:55,485 --> 00:00:58,110 John Garth: Going to King Edward's was vitally important to Tolkien; 14 00:00:58,110 --> 00:01:00,772 he was an exceptionally talented boy. 15 00:01:01,442 --> 00:01:04,756 King Edward's offered him a vast amount of scope 16 00:01:04,756 --> 00:01:09,659 and also the company of other boys who were similarly talented. 17 00:01:10,159 --> 00:01:13,161 Which was probably quite hard for Tolkien to find. 18 00:01:15,431 --> 00:01:19,000 Simon Stacey: Not only did he play rugby but he was a leading light 19 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:23,285 in the debating society and the literary society. 20 00:01:23,285 --> 00:01:25,247 He was the life and soul really, 21 00:01:25,247 --> 00:01:29,725 and he missed the school a great deal, I think, when he finally had to leave. 22 00:01:30,695 --> 00:01:34,059 VO: At the age of just 11, Tolkien and his brother Hilary 23 00:01:34,059 --> 00:01:37,491 lose their mother Mabel to diabetes. 24 00:01:37,491 --> 00:01:40,123 Grief stricken, he plunges himself into school life 25 00:01:40,123 --> 00:01:43,982 more energetically than before. Academically he excels, 26 00:01:43,982 --> 00:01:48,687 but in 1905 meets his intellectual rival, Christopher Wiseman. 27 00:01:50,447 --> 00:01:53,880 John Garth: Tolkien met his greatest friend at King Edward's, 28 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Christopher Wiseman on the rugby pitch. 29 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 A musician, a mathematician; quite different from Tolkien. 30 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 They developed such a strong bond on the rugby field 31 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that they called themselves; "The Great Twin Brethren", 32 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 which was a phrase from "Lays of Ancient Rome" by Lord Macauley. 33 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Simon Stacey: They also were friendly rivals in the school, 34 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 both being very academic boys. Wiseman had a formidable intellect 35 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and he was interested in a lot of the things 36 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that Tolkien was getting interested in; 37 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 languages, I think he was looking at Egyptian and was looking at hieroglyphics. 38 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 John Garth: Tolkien and Wiseman must have helped define each other 39 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 through their teenage years because they would argue; 40 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 they would argue strongly about all their beliefs in life. 41 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Simon Stacey: Wiseman was a very talented musician; 42 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Tolkien was supposed to be tone deaf but that didn't stop them getting on! 43 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 VO: Tolkien also befriends, son of the headmaster, Rob Gilson. 44 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Tolkien, Wiseman and Gilson, form a strong bond 45 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 which will last throughout their school years and beyond. 46 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Outside of King Edward's, Tolkien's life is about to change, yet again. 47 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 John Garth: Tolkien was living in lodgings with his brother, Hilary, 48 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and when he was 16 he met fellow lodger, Edith Bratt, who was 19 at the time. 49 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And she was a beautiful young girl; talented pianist and also an orphan. 50 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And the two of them bonded on their shared sadnesses 51 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but also on their hopes and dreams. 52 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The difficulty for Ronald, as she called him, and Edith, 53 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 was that he was a Roman Catholic and she was an Anglican. 54 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 VO: Tolkien's Guardian, Father Francis Morgan, a Catholic Priest, 55 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 feels this is major divide; and also believes that Edith will distract Tolkien 56 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 from his attempts to get into Oxford University. 57 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 John Garth: Father Francis Morgan, forbade them from seeing each other, 58 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 or even from communicating. 59 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 He was thrown back upon his friendships at King Edward's 60 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and it was this final phase of his time here, that he began to flourish 61 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and make the place his own; he and his friends ruled the roost. 62 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 VO: Making the most of his final year at King Edward's 63 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and the friendships he has formed, 64 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Tolkien and his peers create an informal society. 65 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 These young intellectuals gather in the school library 66 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and do what they are forbidden to do: brew tea. 67 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Outside of school hours, they meet in a cafe at Barrow's Stores in Birmingham 68 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and so, self-mockingly, they call themselves the "Tea Club and Barrovean Society" 69 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 or the TCBS for short. 70 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (nostalgic music) 71 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 John Garth: The core of the TCBS was probably 72 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Tolkien and Wiseman and the others 73 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 gravitated around them. There was Robert 74 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Quilter Gilson, the son of the headmaster 75 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 here; Rob was a cultured and sociable chap, 76 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 he was perhaps the social glue of the group; 77 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 he would welcome anyone and find common 78 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 cause with them. A gentle artistic fellow 79 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 who loved to sketch. 80 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Simon Stacey: He was a gifted artist and 81 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 had ambitions to be an architect. 82 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 There was a late arrival, Geoffrey Bache Smith, 83 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 who was fascinated by mythology, Celtic 84 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 mythology; so this gave him common ground 85 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 with Tolkien; it was another of Tolkien's 86 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 passions. 87 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Simon Stacey: Smith was quite an accomplished 88 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and advanced poet who recommended contemporary 89 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 poetry to Tolkien. When he started writing 90 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 poetry, Tolkien was to a certain extent, 91 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 inspired by Smith and the wider group. 92 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And that was really the beginnings of 93 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Tolkien as a writer. 94 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 John Garth: From the beginnings which were 95 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 mostly about fun, later on, during the war years, 96 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 this developed into a fellowship from which 97 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 each of them drew tremendous strength and 98 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 comfort. 99 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 VO: Later that year, Tolkien's time at 100 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 King Edward's comes to an end and he begins 101 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 his first term at Oxford, having successfully 102 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 gained entrance. 103 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 On the eve of his 21st birthday, and his 104 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 independence from Father Francis Morgan, 105 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Tolkien writes to Edith and less than a 106 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 week later, they are re-united. 107 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Edith is engaged to marry another man, 108 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but despite almost certain ridicule, 109 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 she agrees to break the engagement to be 110 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 with her Ronald. 111 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Over the next few months, a growing sense of 112 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 trouble brews across Europe and on the 28th 113 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of June, 1914, everything changes. 114 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (gun shot sound) 115 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (solemn music) 116 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Gavrillo Princip is arrested for the 117 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. 118 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 A diplomatic crisis ensues and within weeks, 119 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Europe's major powers are at war. 120 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Germany invades Belgium and Britain declares 121 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 war on Germany. Parliament issues a call 122 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to arms from the British public. 123 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Paul Golightly: There isn't a rush to the 124 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 colours straight away. It becomes much more 125 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 obvious that people are willing to join 126 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 up when atrocity stories start to emerge, 127 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 then you get a much more concerted rush 128 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to join. 129 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 John Garth: There was an air of excitement 130 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 about the war, there was a naive sense that 131 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 this would allow young men to fulfil their 132 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 potential in a way that wasn't possible in 133 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 peace time. There was a tremendous sense 134 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of patriotism and a sense of duty towards 135 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 whatever England, or Britain, stood for. 136 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Paul Golightly: They are attracted to the 137 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 idea of a settling of accounts with the Germans, 138 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 or at least some of them will be. On the 139 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 whole, they thought they were going to give 140 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the Germans a bloody nose. 141 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 John Garth: "The Germans has been dastardly" 142 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and needed to dealt with and shown their place. 143 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Paul Golightly: Men join up out of economic 144 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 necessity and you'll find that in any war. 145 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Life is not very exciting and the romance 146 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and colour of joining the army and being 147 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 part of something very big indeed, I'm sure 148 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 has some allure. 149 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (solemn music) And they see things 150 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in rather romantic ways, which of course is 151 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 doomed to fail; we all know what the First 152 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 World War turns into. It's not a war of 153 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 movement, of dash and élan; it's not cavalry 154 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 charges and distant trumpets; I'm afraid 155 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 it's the pitter-patter of machine gun fire 156 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and the crump of artillery that's going to 157 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 dominate. 158 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So they, I think, have expectations about what 159 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the war will be like, and I think their main 160 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 emotion was, will it be over before I can 161 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 get to France. 162 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 John Garth: Tolkien, who's reading covered 163 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 ancient heroic literature, that is surprisingly 164 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 frank about what happens in war, went into 165 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the war much more open-eyed. He described 166 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 himself as a "young man with too much 167 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 imagination" and so he did not relish battle 168 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in any sense. 169 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Paul Golightly: And I think that applies 170 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to, not just men like Tolkien who fought in it, 171 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but also the politicians and generals who 172 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 directed it; I think a lot of people 173 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 understood that this war could be terrible. 174 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Simon Stacey: What you get in the letters 175 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 between Gilson, Tolkien and Wiseman and 176 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 then in Smith's poetry, is a serious 177 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 determination to do their duty and that they 178 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 should be prepared to give their lives. 179 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 A realistic appreciation that this is a dark time 180 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and that they've got to come through it. 181 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 VO: G.B. Smith and Rob Gilson both join 182 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the army in 1914, Tolkien's brother, Hilary, 183 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 signs up as a bugler and Christopher Wiseman 184 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 joins the navy. Tolkien however, faces a 185 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 dilemma. 186 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Simon Stacey: Tolkien was in a difficult 187 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 position when war broke out; he had a year 188 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of his degree at Oxford to run and Tolkien 189 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 needed a degree badly because he wanted to 190 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 pursue an academic career; he didn't have 191 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 any money in his family unlike Gilson and 192 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 therefore, having committed three years to 193 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the degree it was very important that he 194 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 completed it. So he discovered a scheme 195 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 whereby he could undergo some training 196 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in the Officer Training Core whilst 197 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 completing his degree, which he did triumphantly 198 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 with a first at Oxford. 199 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 VO: He follows good friend, G.B.Smith, into 200 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the Lancashire Fusiliers in the hope of being 201 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 posted to the same battalion. 202 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 John Garth: Tolkien was looking for something 203 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in the army through which he could use his 204 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 particular talents, and his particular talents 205 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 were languages and writing systems; he was 206 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 fascinated by codes and so forth. So it was 207 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 only natural that he would train up as a 208 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 signaller. 209 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Paul Golightly: It would have meant that 210 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Tolkien was exposed to the technology 211 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 available at the time and it must have 212 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 interested him; so the use of the radio, the 213 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 use of signals, of semaphore. 214 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Simon Stacey: He learnt morse code, 215 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 he learnt how to use signalling lamps, field 216 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 telephones; which of course went on largely 217 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to be ineffective or not to work. 218 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 John Garth: He became Battalion Signalling 219 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Officer for his Battalion. Tolkien had to 220 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 oversee the communications of a Battalion 221 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of between 600 and 1,000 men depending on 222 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 manpower at the time. 223 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Paul Golightly: His basic job of course 224 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 was to act as a link between the various 225 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 layers of command, and that he would be 226 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 responsible for incoming orders and making sure 227 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that the right people got those and of course 228 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 he'd be responsible for telling command further 229 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 up the line about the situation on his sector. 230 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 John Garth: So he was an absolute lynch pin 231 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in a war which depended absolutely on how 232 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 much information you had about your enemies 233 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 position. 234 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 VO: In March of 1916 as his training nears 235 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 its completion, both Tolkien and Edith 236 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 become aware that he will soon be sent to 237 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the Front. They marry and just over two 238 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 months later, Tolkien is shipped off to France. 239 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The two of them part, not knowing if they 240 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 will ever see each other again. 241 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (Loud battle sounds, Guns Firing, Shouting) 242 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (ominous music) 243 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 VO: When Tolkien arrives at the Front, the 244 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 War has been raging for almost two years. 245 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The cost of the War is clear; 246 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the countryside is scarred and the casualties 247 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 high. 248 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 After a virtual stalemate of trench warfare 249 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 throughout 1915, and with a new wave of 250 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 thousands of freshly trained recruits, it is 251 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 clear the Big Push is imminent. 252 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (marching feet) 253 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Tolkien's Battalion remains in reserve, but 254 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 he fears for the lives of his old school 255 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 friends who are at the Front. 256 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Within a month of his arrival in France 257 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the Allies launch the Somme Offensive. 258 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 At 7.30am, on Saturday 1st of July, 259 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the troops in the British Frontline, 260 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 go over the top. 261 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (whistle sound echoes) 262 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 On the first day of the Offensive alone, 263 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 20,000 men are killed, 35,000 are wounded 264 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and over 2,000 are reported missing. 265 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Paul Golightly: The first casualty was 266 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the plan. It started to fall apart very 267 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 rapidly. Tragically for the men caught out 268 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in the open, it was a death sentence. 1 in 5 269 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 men who went into combat on the 1st of July 270 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 was killed. 271 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 John Garth: It was the most disastrous day 272 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in the history of the British Army, and 273 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 a tragedy for the entire country. There were 274 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 villages that had lost all their young men. 275 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Paul Golightly: It's marked as a loss of 276 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 innocence, that the 20,000 that were killed 277 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 represent a turning point in British 278 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 consciousness and the relationship perhaps 279 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 between those who make decisions and those 280 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 who are forced to carry them out. 281 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (soft piano music) 282 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 VO: Among the many men that are lost on that 283 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 day, is dear friend and TCBS member, 284 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Robert Gilson. 285 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 John Garth: He led his Platoon over the top 286 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 took charge of his Company, but was shot 287 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in the middle of No Man's Land. 288 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Paul Golightly: He was in the fourth wave. 289 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 He saw the first wave go in and fail, 290 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the second wave go in and fail, 291 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the third wave go in and fail. 292 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And he, as a part of the fourth wave, had 293 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to go in; and they still went. And that 294 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I think is the most poignant and probably 295 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the most tragic thing about the 1st of July 296 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 1916. That this generation, had so much faith 297 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in their superiors, probably had so much 298 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 commitment to their fellows that they were 299 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 prepared to go, even though it meant certain 300 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 death. 301 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 John Garth: Tolkien heard about this 302 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 after his first action on the Somme a couple 303 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of weeks later; and he was devastated. 304 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It shook him to the foundations of his 305 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 beliefs. He had, as all of the members of 306 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the TCBS had, built up their group as a 307 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 fellowship, with ideas and a spirit that had 308 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 something to give to the World. In which 309 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 all four of them were vital parts, and now 310 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 one of them was dead. So what did that mean 311 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 about their overall purpose? And also his 312 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 purpose. 313 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Simon Stacey: Geoffrey Smith wrote him a 314 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 letter in which, clearly Smith experiences 315 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 feelings of devastation and a sense that the 316 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 fellowship had been broken. Rob would never 317 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 become an architect, he would never fulfil 318 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 his part in whatever they dreamed of. 319 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 John Garthm: And I think it took him quite 320 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 some time to recover from that. The other 321 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 two members, Wiseman and Smith, were 322 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 determined to persuade him that, no, the TCBS 323 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 purpose continued and I think eventually 324 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Tolkien took heart from that. 325 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 VO: Tolkien writes to Rob's father, Headmaster 326 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 at King Edward's school to offer his 327 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 condolences. The TCBS lost a bright young 328 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 man, a talented artist and most painfully 329 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of all; a dear friend. 330 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Tolkien's war has well and truly started and 331 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 over the coming months he is subject to the 332 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 many hardships of trench warfare. 333 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 John Garth: He spent his time in and out 334 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of the trenches. Battalions would be rotated 335 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 from the Frontline to the reserve trenches 336 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to rest, as they laughably called it, but 337 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 it wasn't really rest, it was training. 338 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Tolkien talked about the universal weariness 339 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of all this war. But during this period he 340 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 was involved in three attacks, he was 341 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 very fortunate not to have to go through the 342 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 first day of the Somme; he was a few miles 343 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 back from the Frontline at that time. 344 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 His Battalion moved forward for a second 345 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 wave of attacks, they were launched against a 346 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 village called Ovillers; which had been the 347 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 German Frontline. One of the first things that 348 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 he encountered was, complete chaos in the 349 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 battlefield communications system. It was very 350 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 primitive. It was only partly built; damaged 351 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 by the fortunes of battle. He had signallers 352 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 going across No Man's Land carrying flares 353 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to say, we have arrived. Further flares - 354 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 "we have taken prisoners", they carried 355 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 pigeons; pigeons were about the most reliable 356 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 method of communication. One of Tolkien's 357 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 signallers won a military medal for managing 358 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to get his pigeons across No Man's Land and 359 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 do the job correctly. 360 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 VO: The attack is a success and many 361 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 prisoners are captured. Of all the combat 362 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Tolkien encounters, one of the most significant 363 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 battles is also one of his last; an attack 364 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 on Regina Trench. 365 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 John Garth: This was in October, by which 366 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 time the battlefield had been reduced to mud. 367 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The attack had been delayed by heavy rain 368 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but on October 21st there was a cold snap 369 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 so the ground was frozen hard and the 370 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 attack was able to go ahead. 371 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (Deep boom. Loud Artillery Fire) 372 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (Gunfire, bullets zipping by) 373 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (solemn music) 374 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 John Garth: He saw violent death, he also 375 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 saw and felt extreme terror. 376 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 He never, as far as we know, described at 377 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 length what trench warfare was like but he 378 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 summed it up in two words, in one of his 379 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 letters, and this was; "animal horror". 380 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It would reduce you from humanity and 381 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 turn you into a retched beast desperate only 382 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 to cower and survive. And it's very 383 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 interesting if you look in The Lord of The Rings 384 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 whenever the characters are in situations of 385 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 extreme fear, they're always described as 386 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 stooping and stupefied, un-manned by terror. 387 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Paul Golightly: A lot of British trenches 388 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 were deliberately uncomfortable because 389 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the Generals wanted the men to believe 390 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that they were only temporary, that they 391 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 would be advancing beyond this, that this 392 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 wasn't their home. 393 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 VO: Out on the Western Front, Tolkien feels 394 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 isolated from home and letters to, and from, 395 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Edith are a lifeline. For reasons of 396 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 strategic importance Tolkien is forbidden 397 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 from sharing his location in his letters, so 398 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 he devises a code of dots to keep Edith 399 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 informed of where he is. 400 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 John Garth: He simply found the letters 401 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of the alphabet within what he wrote to her 402 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and put a dot above the relevant ones to 403 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 spell out the name of the place where he was 404 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 currently located. And Edith kept a map 405 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 on her wall and pins to show where he was 406 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 at that time. 407 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 VO: After the successful attack on Regina 408 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Trench, the Battalion is withdrawn from the 409 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 front and paraded in front of the top brass. 410 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Tolkien however, falls ill. 411 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 John Garth: It was trench fever. And this 412 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 was a louse born disease due to the unhygienic 413 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 conditions in the trenches. 414 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Paul Golightly: It spread through contact 415 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 with lice and it symptoms aren't very pleasant 416 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It gives you a headache, you can have stomach 417 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 cramps, you can have pain in you joints 418 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and in your bones, you can get lesions on 419 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 your skin; it's not fatal but it can become 420 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 very debilitating. So debilitating you can't 421 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 be an effective soldier. Tolkien got a very 422 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 bad case, so bad that he had to be invalided 423 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 "back to Blighty" as they put it. 424 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And in fact it was the end of his war. 425 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 John Garth: It saved Tolkien's life, it took 426 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 him out of the battlefield and back to Britain. 427 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 He was shipped home to Birmingham, to 428 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The First Southern General Hospital as it 429 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 was called at the time, which was actually set 430 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 up in the grounds of Birmingham University. 431 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And it was there that Tolkien was re-united 432 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 with his wife, Edith and where he began 433 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 writing the first stories of Middle-Earth. 434 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 His re-union with Edith was deeply emotional 435 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and was an inspiration for various pieces of 436 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 writing in his mythology, notably the 437 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 story of Luthien and Beren; which features 438 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in the Silmarillion and is mentioned in 439 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The Lord of The Rings. A love story between 440 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 a mortal man and an immortal elf. 441 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (Gentle Piano Music) 442 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 VO: However, Tolkien's respite is short lived. 443 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Shortly after returning to Birmingham, Tolkien 444 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 learns from Christopher Wiseman, that 445 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 good friend G.B.Smith has been killed. 446 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 John Garth: The Battle of the Somme was 447 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 over, and Smith had been organising a 448 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 football match for his men about four miles 449 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 behind the Frontline, when a stray shell 450 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 exploded near him. 451 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 He was hit by shrapnel and developed what 452 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 they called Gas Gangrene, which killed 453 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 him within a few days. Early in 1916, while 454 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Tolkien was still in training, he had a letter 455 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 G.B.Smith, who by that time was in the trenches 456 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in France. 457 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 VO: Smith was about to go out on Night Patrol. 458 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The officer who had led the patrol the night before 459 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 had been captured and most likely killed. 460 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 John Garth: It was about the most dangerous 461 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 activity that you could do on the Western Front 462 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and Smith was about to go into it and he took 463 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the opportunity to write to Tolkien, and 464 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 tell him; "I'm about to go out on Night Patrol, 465 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I am a wild and wholehearted admirer of 466 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 what you've written and what you will write" 467 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 He told Tolkien, "you I'm sure are chosen, 468 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and you must publish." 469 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Smith was essentially the first Middle-Earth 470 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 fan. 471 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Simon Stacey: Smith says in the letter that 472 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 death couldn't put an end to the TCBS, to 473 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the "immortal four" as he put it, that Tolkien 474 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 may say the things that he had wanted to 475 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 say, long after he is there to say them. 476 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 That's very moving because Tolkien, although 477 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 very much his own individual artistic self, 478 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I think did see his later career as an 479 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 attempt to fulfil the artistic dreams that 480 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 they'd shared. 481 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 John Garth: He was able to gather his strength 482 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and perhaps see Smith as an ideal to be lived up to. 483 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 VO: In the summer of 1918, Tolkien and 484 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Wiseman gather some of Smith's poems and 485 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 have them published in a small volume, 486 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 entitled; "A Spring Harvest". 487 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Tolkien's war is over, but the impact of his 488 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 experiences will stay with him forever, and 489 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 will even feature in his future writings. 490 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 John Garth: The whole experience of the War 491 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 had an ongoing affect on much of Tolkien's 492 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 mythology. As soon as Tolkien returned from 493 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the Somme he started writing a story called, 494 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 "The Fall of Gondolin" which was the first 495 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 element of his mythology that dealt with battle. 496 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And the fascinating thing about it is that the 497 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 attacking forces use things that are termed 498 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 by Tolkien, "dragons" or "beasts" or "monsters" 499 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 but they're described as metallic and rolling 500 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and they spout fire and some of them have 501 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 troops inside them, and it's pretty clear that 502 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 this is a kind of mythologising of the Tank. 503 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Which was Britains secret weapon, which 504 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 had just been launched on the Somme while 505 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Tolkien was there. 506 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The Lord of The Rings focusses on a fellowship, 507 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 they're separated on different battlefronts, 508 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 much like the TCBS were. 509 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Simon Stacey: It's almost unimaginable that, 510 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in writing of the breaking of the fellowship, 511 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in The Lord of The Rings, that Tolkien wouldn't 512 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 have been influenced by his own loss during 513 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the First World War and the breaking of the 514 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 TCBS fellowship. 515 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 There is a late letter in which he mentions 516 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that the dead marshes, through which Frodo, 517 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Sam and Gollum travel, owe something to 518 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 northern France, in the area of the Somme 519 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 where he fought. 520 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 John Garth: Frodo and Sam are very much 521 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the equivalent of an officer and his batman; his 522 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 servant. And Tolkien actually said that, "my 523 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Sam Gamgee is inspired by the Privates and 524 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Batmen I knew in the First World War". 525 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Frodo represents really, the feelings of a young 526 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 man like Tolkien himself, thrown into a war 527 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 unwillingly and having to shoulder a terrible 528 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 burden; a burden of duty. You can see that 529 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Frodo develops symptoms of what we would now 530 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 call Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or 531 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 War Trauma, or what they called then, 532 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Shell Shock. He becomes withdrawn from 533 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the World, increasingly enclosed within himself 534 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 he says he can't remember what grass was like, 535 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 what sunlight was like. 536 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 When the war is over in The Lord of The Rings, 537 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Frodo does not strut his stuff as a hero, 538 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 he is visibly traumatised by the whole 539 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 experience. This was very true of many of the 540 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 soldiers who returned from the Western 541 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Front, unable to talk about the experiences 542 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 that had affected them so deeply. 543 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 (retrospective piano music) 544 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Paul Golightly: The generation that fights 545 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the First World War, should be called courageous. 546 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Simon Stacey: The sacrifice of that generation 547 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 was extraordinary. 548 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 John Garth: It was a tragic loss not only for 549 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 families, for friends, but for civilisation as 550 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 a whole. It shook long-held beliefs and 551 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 assumptions in honour and glory. 552 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Simon Stacey: It is the first thorough 553 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 going war of the machines. So many 554 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 thousands and ultimately millions of men 555 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 could be wiped out, could be destroyed without 556 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 necessarily facing their individual enemy. 557 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Paul Golightly: These men don't have 558 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the privilege of dying one at a time, they die 559 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 on mass; and it's those numbers that I think 560 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 traumatise us so much. That's why we have 561 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the memorials at Thiepval and Menin Gate; 562 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 where it's just one long list of names. 563 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 These bodies have simply disappeared, and 564 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 they're all separate lives but they've all 565 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 vanished at once. 566 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 John Garth: When you read the King Edward's 567 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 School Chronicle, as I have to research 568 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Tolkien's life here, you get to know the boys 569 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 with whom he grew up and you see their 570 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 achievements, you see what they were learning, 571 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 you see how wonderfully intelligent, potentially 572 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 creative and brilliant they were. And then 573 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the First World War; and you see that they're 574 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 heading for this. 575 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Paul Golightly: These young men, with their 576 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 whole lives in front of them, have, yes it's 577 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 a phrase that we all know, have been cut off 578 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 in their prime. They were full of potential, 579 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 full of life, full of vigour, full of plans, 580 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 full of ambition; wanting to do all kinds of 581 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 things with their professional lives and 582 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 their personal lives, and denied that opportunity. 583 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 John Garth: When you look at the fortunes 584 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of war, it's quite astonishing that Tolkien 585 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 survived and went on to produce the great 586 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 works of literature that he did; works that 587 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 have shaped our culture. And one does 588 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 wonder how many others didn't survive, 589 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 what potential was locked inside them that 590 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 they never had time to bring out of themselves. 591 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 So there is an uncountable loss there. 592 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Simon Stacey: G.B.Smith gives a brief glimpse 593 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 of a young life snuffed out and only very 594 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 incompletely communicating its dreams. 595 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Paul Golightly: This is a generation that did 596 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 not talk about the way it felt. So in that 597 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 sense I think the psychological affect was 598 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 long lasting. A number of veterans surived 599 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the war only to find that they couldn't survive 600 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the peace. 601 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 VO: In the chapel at King Edward's School, 602 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 eight brass plaques hold the names of 603 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 245 Old Edwardians who lost their lives during 604 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the First World War. Tolkien and his TCBS 605 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 friends, are just four of almost 606 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 fifteen hundred Old Edwardians who answered 607 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 their country's call and fought in The Great War, 608 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 and each of their stories is worth telling. 609 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Paul Golightly: The graveyards that you can 610 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 walk around in northern France now have become 611 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 almost 21st century cathedrals; where some 612 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 really important questions need to be ask about 613 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the nature of war and the nature of 614 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 sacrifice, and in the First World War's case, 615 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 the scale of that sacrifice. Whether any war 616 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 could be worth that.