Eric Thirkell Cooper (18861960) was a British soldier and

war poet A war poet is a poet who participates in a war and writes about their experiences, or a non-combatant who writes poems about war. While the term is applied especially to those who served during the First World War, the term can be applied to a p ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Cooper was born in 1886 in Beckenham, Kent. He served with the

Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881. The regiment served in many wars ...

, reaching the rank of

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. He published two collections of poems: ''Soliloquies of a Subaltern Somewhere in France'' (1915) and ''Tommies of the Line, and Other Poems'' (1918). In 1916, the English composer

John Ireland John Benjamin Ireland (January 30, 1914 – March 21, 1992) was a Canadian actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in ''All the King's Men'' (1949), making him the first Vancouver-born actor to receive an Oscar nomina ...

(18791962) published settings of three poems from ''Soliloquies of a Subaltern'' for voice and piano: "Blind" and "The Cost" in a set called Two Songs; and, separately, "Lines to a Garrison Churchyard", under the title "A Garrison Churchyard". In the same year, the English composer

Cyril Scott Cyril Meir Scott (27 September 1879 – 31 December 1970) was an English composer, writer, poet, and occultist. He created around four hundred musical compositions including piano, violin, cello concertos, symphonies, and operas. He also wrot ...

(18791970) also published a setting of that last poem, under the title "Garrison Churchyard".

References

1886 births 1960 deaths British World War I poets 20th-century male writers Royal Fusiliers officers People from Beckenham {{UK-poet-stub