HisTroy

Remembering The War For younger generations, the Great War has now become a part of the ‘heritage’ industry. Now virtually no one can remember the catastrophe that fractured the pattern of European civilisation and whose echoes continue to shape our world. As we go about the inadequately formulaic deeds of remembrance, we still cannot grasp its magnitude. Our minds which are able to master the vastness of the universe or grasp the infinitesimal of the sub-molecular, are quite lost when it comes to placing some order on the abysmal events of Picardy and Passchendaele. The scars of the Great War remain together with its memorials and interest in them continues to grow, although in recent years, the culture of those visiting has begun to change. The model of memory moves with each year that passes, as the events recede further into the past and the survivors from the lottery of active service have gently faded away. So the war becomes an element in the stream of history to be viewed, not as an event within living consciousness, but as a component on the syllabus, or the basis of tourist appeal. Tours of the Battlefield are big business and this is reflected in the changing nature of museums, from the battlefield orientated, personal, object orientated version to the interpretative design with high tech presentations, the ‘Peace’ museum, the ‘Memorial’ museum. Nowadays our sympathies lie more easily with the celebration of peace, than with the commemoration of sacrifice in war. Alongside this has developed the dubious recent interpretation of remembrance evident in the annual flaunting of poppies on television presenters’ clothes, ‘Remembrance Events’ on Twitter, and through newspaper campaigns to make footballers wear embroidered poppies on their shirts. The all-consuming appetite for public demonstrations of emotion threatens to turn the act of remembrance into a symbol of conformity, a moral command, a type of national celebration of emotion. The confident assertion of ‘Their Name Liveth For Evermore’ jars against the lingering fear of ‘Lest We Forget’, described by J.B. Priestley in the 1930s as ‘the same old muddle, reaching down to the very grave, the mouldering bones’. As we embark upon four years of centenary commemoration of the events of the Great War. I wonder whether it will clarify or further confuse our feelings about the ‘Great War’? Nothing about these men is available to us from our own lives. The physical reality of what they went through, and the mentality which enabled them to endure it, are beyond the captivity of our imaginations. The prevalent characteristics of that generation – unquestioning obedience, personal self-discipline and an unwavering sense of duty – are as extinct today as housemaids in service and gentlemen’s gentlemen.

Even the actual figures most of us can still recall from the war – the anti-war poets Graves, Sassoon and Owen – are unrepresentative of their time and their peers. It is the poignancy, pity and waste of war about which Wilfred Owen wrote so movingly in poems that shaped the attitude to the war of many educated since the 1960s as a conflict created, conducted and continued by the inflexibility and obstinacy of old men, ignorant of the destructive power of technology, insensitive to the suffering of thousands and inflexible in the light of experience. ‘Lions led by donkeys’, ‘the Old Lie’, ‘The Great Game’. As Richard Holmes wrote, ‘Blackadder’s aphorisms become fact….A well-turned line of script can sometimes carry more weight than all the scholarly footnotes in the world.’ It is the emotions of the war and its sufferings which deeply affect us, rather than the rational arguments of the historians. They will argue the merits of the Great War for the next hundred years and beyond, well after the politicians have moved on to more fertile territory in their search for electoral advantage. The soldiers, who were, in most cases, neither heroic, nor glorious, but ordinary human beings like ourselves, would not have welcomed the polarization of the historical debate which has occurred, still less its politicisation. Wars have no ‘survivors’ only veterans. No participant is undamaged by the experience of conflict. We have let ourselves become too mesmerised by ideas, theories and interpretations at the cost of contemplating the reality and experience of the participants and their sacrifice. ‘Sacrifice’, of course, has become a deeply unfashionable concept in a culture that is so powerfully driven by a "me first" philosophy. By contrast, the security our ancestors bequeathed us in their sense of community is fractured and fragile. The choices we make whether in our personal lives, our working lives or as citizens, all have a moral dimension. Remembrance is not just an exercise in communal commemoration of the dead; it is also an exercise in community. Perhaps the most poignant of all the personal inscriptions on the 11,954 headstones in Tyne Cot cemetery, the largest of the Commonwealth War Graves, near Ypres, is that chosen by the grieving parents of 26 year old 2nd Lieutenant Arthur Conway Young of the

Royal Irish Fusiliers killed in action on 16th August 1917. ‘Sacrificed to the fallacy that war can end war’. In these words is encapsulated the real purpose of remembrance. It is a lesson still to be learnt by politicians and public alike. It is not enough for us to promise to remember for one day a year, in order to forget with a clear conscience for the other three hundred and sixty four. Familiar rituals need not always be dulled by their repetition. History is always being made new by the passage of time. It comes around and around. That is part of how we remember, and why we must.

Mr Andrew Chicken

Heroes in War

The definition of a hero varies from generation to generation. In the Classical world you became a hero through military prowess, courage and (eventually) through dying in a way considered honourable by the masses. Today our heroes are more varied, we have literary heroes, sporting heroes and heroes the media tell us should be admired. But are the Kardashians deserving of our praise? How do we define a hero today and does our definition belittle the achievements of those who have gone before us? The Oxford Dictionary defines a hero as a person “who is admired for their courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities”. Today we appear to have a great number of celebrity heroes who are venerated and do not fulfil these qualities. Justin Bieber is neither courageous, accomplished nor noble and yet thousands of teens profess themselves ‘beliebers’ and devote their time to admiring his ‘music’.

In the world of Homer and Virgil being a hero was a job to be taken seriously. Mythological figures such as Hector and Achilles lived and died by the Heroic Code, leaving their families behind so they could achieve Kleos (honour). At times their actions seem foreign to us. In this modern world the contemporary person has little interaction with the blood and brutality of war, so the gory deaths described in The Iliad fall short of the ideas of righteousness which we feel all soldiers must surely obey. These Epic Poems of Ancient writers are remembered to the common man through media representation and appear as sycophantic testaments to war. In reality the message of Homer and Virgil is much more complicated. Rather than extolling the virtue of war Homer tells a story of “the rage of Achilles”. It is this rage which costs Achilles his best friend, in Patroclus, and this rage which eventually causes his death. Those of us who have read The Iliad will be accustomed to the vignettes describing the futile deaths of young men leaving behind their parents, wives and children all for the sake of “decorum”. The question to be posed is this: is there heroism in abandoning those who rely on them and are we correct to continue to see this as heroism today?

How often do we hear of the atrocities committed by British military abroad? Whilst the vices of the ‘other’ are exaggerated and published in books, newspapers and magazines, our own troops are esteemed by us as Heroes. More than that, Heroes above reproach. The Obituaries of the honoured fallen are littered with praise of their heroism and no mention of the people they killed. People who differ from us only by location. As controversial a point as it is, it must be stated that to the foreign power, British troops are invaders who kill civilians and introduce death to their villages and towns. It is essential to accept that a percentage of the public are against the actions of British Soldiers abroad and it is important that society contemplates further whether we should award medals of honour and victory to those who accept pay for killing. The concept of War to create Peace is one we esteem and we force our notions of integrity upon our soldiers abroad and at home. Wilfred Owen had it right when he stated “The old lie; Dulce et Decorum est/ Pro patria mori”. Today we make the youths of our generation see those who fall in Iraq, or Afghanistan or whichever country we have chosen to deploy our troops to, as heroes and, whilst we cannot detract from their sacrifice, we must consider whether this is the message we want to be our legacy. British involvement with foreign powers costs lives, and if we continue to herald soldiers as faultless heroes we will find that future generations will risk their lives as our siblings, cousins and friends have. There exists a middle-ground. An area between isolationism and outright war. It is in this middle-ground that we find the True Heroes of this era. Those who stand up and speak for their beliefs instead of fighting for them. The likes of Martin Luther King and Gandhi can be placed in this bracket. I will not say that we fail to acknowledge the contribution of pacifists to society because it would be patently untrue. But what we do fail to do is to follow in their footsteps. We preach to our fellows of their contribution to society. Memorise their words to impress our friends. Tattoo their slogans onto our skin and then we declare ourselves to be following in their wake. But rather than merely regurgitating the genius of what’s passed, we need to create our own genius, our own slogans and our own way to produce a society in which peace is not created through arms but

through words. Through a person “who is admired for their courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities” stepping forward and preventing the creation of Heroes whose role in life is to hand out death. Leah Allcock

Owen and Sassoon The horrors of the First World War seem unimaginable and yet imagine them we do. In the mind’s eye, we picture mud-drenched trenches, scuttling rats, incessant shelling and the dismal green sea brought on by a gas attack. We can imagine, in part, because of the power of the written word. The war poets still haunt us today. We are likelier to know the names of the war poets than the names of the politicians and leaders who sent those soldier poets to war. Is this the case of any other human conflict? Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sas-soon are the first names that come to mind perhaps. One of Carole Ann Duffy’s early poems as Poet Laureate is ‘Last Post’, an elegy on the then recent deaths of Henry Alling-ham and Harry Patch, the last remaining British combatants who had first-hand experience of those trenches. How does Duffy choose to begin this po-em? She relies on lines from Wilfred Owen’s ‘Strange Meeting’:

In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, He plunges at me, guttering, choking drowning, Wilfred Owen’s poetry is devastatingly direct. It is popular with students because it makes

immediate sense and memorably so and has that all-important thing: a message. Consider ‘Dulce et decorum’, which attacks ‘The old Lie’ that it is sweet and fit to die for one’s country. The imagery is simple, stark, effective: ‘Bent double, like beggars under sacks/Knock-kneed, coughing like hags … haunting flares … Men marched asleep … Drunk with fatigue … tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind … Gas! GAS! Quick, boys! An ecstasy of fumbling … someone still was yelling … like a man in fire or lime … As under a green sea, I saw him drowning …’ I could go on, but do not need to. As you read these lines, it is all coming back to you. It is as

familiar as Shakespeare. We keep on returning to Owen’s poetry for a reason. Following Charles Hamilton Sorley’s lead, Owen chose to ‘Say not soft things as other men have said.’ When the war broke out, Owen was teaching English in Bordeaux. Feeling uneasy about his own non-involvement, he enlisted in 1915, saying, ‘I don’t imagine that the German War will be affect-ed by my joining in, but I know my own future Peace will be.’ He was to have a torrid time of it that year, ending up with trench fever and concussion. He was sent to Craiglockhart War Hospital, Edinburgh, where he was to meet Siegfried Sas-soon. Their first meeting was rather subdued. Owen was uncertain, nervous, stuttering. This was in part due to shell shock; he was also shy and uncertain what to say. He was reluctant to admit to the Sassoon that he himself wrote poetry. Sassoon was older by seven years and had the experience and assurance that comes from a public school education. He had been to Marlborough and then Clare College, Cambridge, and had enjoyed upper class pursuits such as fox hunting and golf. Owen had gone to a local technical school in Shrewsbury, but was then unable to afford to take up a place at the University of London without a scholarship. Sassoon’s first volume, e Old Huntsman, published 8 May 1917, had met with some success, praised by prominent and in․uential writers of the day. Virginia Wool praised it in The Times Literary Supplement; Thomas Hardy wrote to the Sassoon personally; Arnold Bennett liked its ‘don’t care a damness’.

In fact, it wasn’t shell shock from which Sassoon was suffering at Craiglockhart, although his superior officers agreed to have him signed off as such. Rather, he was sick with impotent rage at the injustice and the pointlessness of the war. For this reason, many wanted him out of the way. He had thrown the ribbon of his Military Cross into the River

Mersey – or so was the rumour. It turned up in an attic seven years ago. Though initially ignored, his was a dangerous voice. It is a wonderful twist of fate that at Craiglockhart Sassoon was to meet and mentor Wilfred Owen. The lesser poet was to have a beneficial effect on the younger’s verse, encouraging him to pare it down, making it all the rawer. Sassoon urged Owen to ‘sweat your guts out writing poetry’. Sassoon’s poetry has an anger all its own; he is the searing satirist. Known as ‘Mad Jack’, owing to his bravery in battle, Sassoon initially wished to keep his misgivings about the war to himself. He believed in setting his men the right example. One of his early mutterings of discontent, ‘Base Details’, begins: If I were fierce, and bald, and short of breath, I’d live with scarlet Majors at the Base.’ It ends: And when the war is done and youth stone dead, I’d toddle safely home and die – in bed. ‘Does it Matter?’ is another of his bitterly ironic poems. It opens: Does it matter? – losing your legs? For people will always be kind, And you need not show that you mind When the others come in after hunting To gobble their muffins and eggs. The conversational tone only heightens the angry implication that it matters – very much so, as the world, able-bodied and mobile, carries on without you. Sassoon is best remembered for his open letter which was read out in the House of Commons on 30 July 1917 and then printed in The Times the following day. His criticism is strident and clear:

I am making this statement as an act of wilful defiance of military authority, because I believe that the War is being deliberately prolonged by those who have the power to end it. I am a soldier, convinced that I am acting on behalf of soldiers. I believe, that this War, on which I entered as a war of defence and liberation, has now become a war of aggression and conquest.

Cast (in order of appearance): Ajax - Craig Bowie Odysseus - Luke Berry Athene - Liza Vul Tecmessa - Anna Madden Philoctetes - Tom O’Mahony Neoptolemus - Jeremy Dunn Chorus - Leah Allcock Emily Daniels Maisie Eastwick Ellie Gowrie Jennifer Muellenbach Ashni Patel The production features the following music: “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” by The Jimi Hendrix Experience “Le Tombeau De Couperin” by Maurice Ravel “Lay Me Down”, “Only Remembered”, “Haven” and “Spring 1919” all by Coope, Boyes and Simpson “Severn Meadow”, “By a Bierside” and “In Flanders” all by Ivor Gurney

Crew: Director - Mr Alastair Thorley Producer - Amber Reece-Greenhalgh Costumes - Mrs Zoe Vernon Thea Hudson Jennifer Muellenbach Meghan Myers Singing Coach - Mrs Jo Matthews Props and Set - Mr Dave Matthews Set Construction - Mr Steve Markham Mrs Janet Perkins Leah Allcock Set Artwork - Jennifer Muellenbach Short Film - Christian Anderson Choral Odes - Lisa Font Katie Goodwin Stage Manager - Amber Reece-Greenhalgh Lighting - Richard Almond Adam Musa Oliver Nolan Sound - Luke Adshead Lewis Higgins Will Noakes Make-up - Emily Banks Maisie Eastwick Thea Hudson Emily Thomas Front Of House - Mr John Bird Mr Pete Urwin Dr Emanuela Zanda

Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon provide the lens through which to imagine ‘the horror and pity’. Their words encapsulated the sea-change in prevailing attitudes to war. It is hard to imagine – that word again – the jubilation and jingoism that led 750,000 volunteers to enlist in the first eight weeks of war. That was unprecedented and it was not to be repeated. By 1917, war was no longer to be seen as ‘the game, the biggest that’s played’, as depicted by Jessie Pope’s famous poem. Some historians, perhaps with some justification, feel that the success of the later war poets has skewed our understanding of the First World War. Four or five brilliant and famous poems depict lions led by donkeys. We remember, because of their poetic power, the mud, the madness and the misery rather than the glory and ultimate victory. In an intended preface to his war poems, Owen puts it better:

This book is not about heroes. English poetry is not yet fit to speak of them. Nor is it about deed, or lands, nor anything about glory, honour, might, majesty, dominion, or power, except War. Above all I am concerned with Poetry. My subject is War, and the pity of War. The Poetry is in the pity.

It is not about who won and who lost; all suffered. The centenary of the first year of the First World War is a time for solemn reflection, not nationalism or even national celebration. The

debate about how best to remember continues today, with the Education Secretary ruffling feathers with his recent comments. It is incontestably the case, however, that the best war poetry of the time was protest poetry. Afterword:

After Craiglockhart, Owen was keen to get back and lead his men. He did not write poetry and proclaim a pacifist line in order to avoid the war. Wilfred Owen was killed, aged twenty-five, on 4 November, just one week before the armistice. Only four of his poems were published in his lifetime; Yeats infamously omitted him from the 1936 Oxford Book of Modern Verse, arguing that ‘passive suflering is not a subject for poetry’. Sassoon lived on to follow Labour politics and edit Owen’s poetry and The Daily Herald newspaper. He died in 1967, aged eighty.

Mr Ben Masters

Notes accompanying the exhibition Art Following the remembrance service in November, second year pupils were ask to consider who their ‘War Heroes’ were. They researched a range of possibilities including immediate family members, current stories in the media and famous figures in history. The brief provoked a huge range of responses which help raise awareness that war is not just something that has happened in the past, but something that is affecting a huge number of people somewhere in the world on a daily basis. To further support their research a war poem was chosen and illustrated. For their final design, each pupil developed their own individual piece using the information and imagery collected. The final pieces are a range of shapes, sizes and formats. Some have chosen to collage

or add text whilst others have focused on watercolour and biro as the main media used. The final collective is hopefully representative of the rich and diverse world we live in and has allowed each individual pupil to convey their own personal message on the theme of ‘War Heroes’. The set of GCSE work by Dan Mossman was produced for his exam in response to the Art and Words question. Using current media alongside a visit to the Museum of Science and Industry, Dan combined text from media coverage with imagery of war aircrafts to produce a variety of mixed media pieces supported by lino prints.

Miss Becci Upton

I have submitted three pieces for this exhibition. The work that you can see here is a reflection on the events going on in Syria and especially the refugees that have been affected. The reason I have chosen to do my subject of Syria is because I wanted to express to people, in another medium, the effects of this revolution. I wanted my work to make the viewer truly understand and sympathise with the refugees that have

lost everything due to this uprising. I am Syrian and what is going on over there affects me. In my opinion my most powerful piece, which really does make you think, shows a man who has broken his leg and is fighting his way through the atrocious conditions in the ‘Zaatri’ Refugee camp in Jordan on crutches. I want people to understand what has happened to these innocent children and people, and to understand that there are 4,000,000 people who have been internally displaced. Forced to leave

their homes because they were either destroyed or made inhabitable due to the dangerous conditions, these people have lost everything. I hope when you read this and look at my pieces this makes you truly acknowledge what is going on in Syria and hopefully encourages you to help.

Faisal Tayan

This is a piece from my A-Level coursework which I created in the hope of inducing feelings of despair for both past wars and the inevitable wars we will have to suffer in the future. My work this year has focused on the fall of governments and the thought processes inside peoples’ heads during times of revolt. I feel that this piece is the climax of my body of work, and that it shows the intricacy of machinery and components next to the machine itself. This successfully acts as a metaphor to the individual thoughts of people involved in wars, next to the war as a whole.

Dan Thorburn

History Pupils in 3T traced the story of Private Reg Wilkes, from his volunteering for a Pals’ Battalion to his experiences in the trenches and in the Battle of the Somme. Using his letters, diaries and original source material, they imagined what his hopes and expectations would be before leaving for the war and what he would be feeling having experienced his first Christmas in the trenches.

Mr Stuart Moore Pupils in the 3rd Year have looked at the causes of the war and the realities of life in the trenches.

Mr James Russell Pupils in the 3rd Year have researched the Pals Battalions which were local to here and also were important at the start of the war.

Dr Stephen Smith Textiles This year three AS Textiles pupils have responded to Mr Thorley’s challenge to design costumes for the chorus. Their brief was to design garments that represent some aspect of war. Thea Hudson has focused on silhouettes inspired by Dior’s ‘New Look’ in his 1947 collection which demonstrated how fashion often changes radically after war due to post war optimism. This was also seen in the 1920’s after WW1. The feminine shapes are in stark contrast to her surface pattern designs which are inspired by images from The Blitz for one dress and evacuees and their labels for the other. Meghan Myers has designed and made two dresses inspired by the phrase ‘War Torn’. Her dresses both use camouflage and distressed fabric and she has incorporated the use of handwritten and embroidered words and quotes relating to war. Jennifer Muellenbach focused on the Kuwait conflict and the Iraq war. Her designs have been influenced by the importance of oil in these conflicts, in particular the burning of the oilfields and the impact on wildlife. She has used a range of very effective techniques including laser cutting leatherette shapes for Ashni’s tunic.

Mrs Zoe Vernon

Classics The Lower Sixth Classics set has been looking for passages from Homer’s Iliad relating to war and its consequences on family and friends. They have selected images to accompany these quotes.

Dr Emanuela Zanda

Modern Languages Response to the theme of war in the film Pan’s Labyrinth (U6th Spanish) and the novel Un Sac de Billes (L6th French) Child soldiers (3rd and 4th Year German) War poetry written by U6th German pupils A description of the Kindertransport experience (4th Year French) Interpretations of the word ‘war’ (4th Year French) Phrases and slogans from the world wars (3rd Year German) - We took the British war slogan & aimed to use modal verbs to express in German, not a translation, but what the slogan was actually trying to advise us to do. Personal responses to quotations about war by famous German thinkers / writers (4th Year German)

Miss Sylvia Gibson

Junior School History Years 5 and 6 from the Junior School have studied the weapons of war. We started off by looking at the reasons for war and held a debate as to whether or not war is ever Just. Following on from that pupils chose a period of history and researched weapons used at that time. Here are their findings.

Mr Malcolm Johnson

Food Technology Recipes were selected from the cookery book, “We’ll Eat Again’ by Marguerite Patten and then pupils attended a workshop to make these and to test them out. Some of the dishes are on display.

Mrs Ruth Groves

English Pupils were inspired by the verse of the war poets to write their own poems commenting on the realities and effects of warfare.

Mr Ben Masters Life Studies This term in Life Studies we have been studying ‘Conflict in the 20th/21st Century’. The primary focus of our exhibition this year is based on ‘War’. We have not focused on the act of fighting or killing, but more on the impact on civilians’ lives. Through various discussions and activities we have come to our own conclusions about the atrocities that have taken place in history. The images and stories of war feature in the newspapers and news bulletins daily. War is an inconceivable notion that the younger generations of today simply disagree with. The power of the internet is a tool that has broken down some barriers and enabled us to find out the truth about the different conflicts that have taken place and are still taking place today. First Year Our First Year exhibition is taking things back to basics. We have asked the pupils to think about their personal beliefs and values. We have been talking about Britain as a multicultural society. The question which has been examined is “Is Britain as tolerant as it likes to believe?” Society has made it very uncomfortable for children to ask questions about race and religion. We use our lessons and projects as learning tools and platforms to discuss our cultural differences. These projects are a way to express who they are and show that every individual is different. The words ‘politically correct’ have discouraged young people from celebrating who they are. In order to avoid conflict we must communicate and celebrate our diversity. We hope you enjoy viewing the ‘Values’ projects! Second Year During our lessons we have had the opportunity to listen to Dr Peter Kurer speak about his experience during WWII. We have also had a SKYPE lesson to Darryl Taylor who is currently working in a Syrian refugee camp in Beirut. Also, some pupils have spoken via video link to an ex child soldier who was involved in the Sierra Leone civil war. We have exposed our pupils to these three individuals to learn from their story. We have been encouraging the pupils to become active citizens and to cross reference everything they hear through the media. Our exhibition looks at how war has an impact on their lives. They have looked at a variety of quotes and had to write their interpretation of what that particular quote means to them. When you read through the quotes I would encourage you to remember that these pupils are 12 and 13 years old. They make some valid references and I am confident that these individuals are the future leaders of this country. Final Thoughts As a department we feel it is an essential part of the pupil’s education to have the ability to discuss world issues in a neutral environment. If you or someone you know has a ‘story’ or can aid in the pupils’ education, please do not hesitate to contact me at ehegartnera@stockportgrammar.co.uk. Thank you for viewing our exhibition.

Mr Alex Ehegartner

Synopsis HisTroy is based on Ajax (c.450-430BC) and Philoctetes (409BC). Both plays were written by the Athenian dramatist Sophocles. Ajax has come to the Trojan war to fight with the Greek army under Agamemnon and Menelaus. Following the death of Achilles, shot with an arrow in the heel by the Trojan Paris, the leaders of the army decided to award Achilles’ armour to the next best warrior. They chose Odysseus. This decision has sent Ajax into a rage at the perceived injustice and slight to his honour. Philoctetes came to Troy with the rest of the Greek army armed with the bow of the hero Heracles. Unfortunately he was then bitten on the foot by a snake. The wound began to fester and the smell pervaded the entire camp. On the orders of the leaders of the Greek army, Agamemnon and Menelaus, Philoctetes was taken to the deserted island of Lemnos by Odysseus and abandoned there. Both Ajax and Philoctetes deal with the misery of war and have been used to help soldiers returning from the Middle East to deal with the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder. Soldiers have been able to identify not only with the misery and disillusionment of the protagonists but also with the effect of their detachment on those around them. The First World War was the first conflict in which “shellshock” was recognised, by some, as a condition to be treated. The “soldier poets”, Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen, both received treatment for “shellshock” at Craiglockhart War Hospital in Edinburgh in 1917. Sassoon, Owen and, through Sophocles, Ajax and Philoctetes each talk about their bitter experiences of war. A comparison between the four men seemed an interesting way in which to tie the two Greek tragedies to the First World War in the centenary year of the beginning of the “war to end all wars”. So, in HisTroy, Craig and Tom play Ajax and Philoctetes, but also Sassoon and Owen; the play is set on Troy and Lemnos but also at Craiglockhart. Each man responds to his Troy.

The script I have used for HisTroy is based on the Penguin Classics translation by David Raeburn. I have included excerpts from the poems written by Sassoon and Owen during their stay at Craiglockhart.

I would like to thank the many staff and pupils who have contributed to both the play and the accompanying exhibition on War. Mr Dave Matthews and Mrs Zoe Vernon, both loyal stalwarts of the Classics Play for many years, have again created the set and costumes. Mrs Jo Matthews has had Wednesday morning rehearsals with the singers for many weeks now. The maintenance, caretaking and ICT support staff have again turned the Hallam Hall into a theatre.

Despite the busy and involved nature of all at SGS, it is always easy to recruit help and generate interest. This is one of the features which makes the school a special and inspiring place in which to work.

Mr Alastair Thorley