Felix Lloyd Powell (23 May 1878 – 10 February 1942) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

Staff Sergeant Staff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. History of title In origin, certain senior sergeants were assigned to administrative, superv ...

most famous for writing the music for

marching song A march, as a musical genre, is a piece of music with a strong regular rhythm which in origin was expressly written for marching to and most frequently performed by a military band. In mood, marches range from the moving death march in Wagner's ...

" Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag and Smile, Smile, Smile", in 1915, 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 ...

. The words were written by his brother

George Henry Powell George Henry Powell (27 April 1880 – 3 December 1951) was a Welsh songwriter who, under the pseudonym George Asaf, wrote the lyrics of the marching song " Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit-Bag" in 1915.George Asaf.Pack Up Your Troubles in ...

(under the pseudonym George Asaf), and the song was entered into a competition for "best morale-building song". It won first prize and was noted as "perhaps the most optimistic song ever written". Powell later wrote a musical play, ''Rubicund Castle'', which was staged at the Pavilion Theatre in

Peacehaven Peacehaven is a town and civil parish in the Lewes district of East Sussex, England. It is located above the chalk cliffs of the South Downs approximately six miles () east of Brighton city centre, on the A259 road. Its site coincides with th ...

. When a West End producer bought it he drastically altered it, leaving only the music unchanged, and renamed it ''Primrose Times''. This version went unstaged after the latter was arrested and convicted for fraud.Article on Peacehaven. Powell committed suicide during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

in 1942, aged 63. Wearing the uniform of the Peacehaven

Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting w ...

, he shot himself in the heart while on guard duty, using his own rifle.

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* * 1878 births 1942 suicides Welsh military personnel British military personnel who committed suicide English composers People from St Asaph Suicides by firearm in England British Home Guard soldiers British military personnel killed in World War II {{UK-composer-stub