William Robert Hamilton (–12 October 1917) was a Scottish

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

and

First World War 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 ...

soldier. He was born in

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; sco, Dumfries; from gd, Dùn Phris ) is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth about by road from the ...

, Scotland. He emigrated to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

where a portion of his education was at the

South African College The South African College was an educational institution in Cape Town, South Africa, which developed into the University of Cape Town (UCT) and the South African College Schools (SACS). History The process that would lead to the formation of t ...

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

. He was killed on the Western Front in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

in 1917 and is remembered on the

Tyne Cot Tyne Cot Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery and Memorial to the Missing is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) burial ground for the dead of the First World War in the Ypres Salient on the Western Front. It is the largest cemetery for Common ...

Memorial, at the Tyne Cot British Cemetery and Memorial, at

Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality co ...

in Flanders, Belgium. The reference to him reads:

Publications

* William Hamilton. ''Modern Poems''. Oxford: B. H. Blackwell, 1917. 011648.eee.17 British Library * William Hamilton. ''Moths and Fairies'': A Play. 1912. Poem by William Hamilton: The Song of an Exile I have seen the Cliffs of Dover
And the White Horse on the Hill;
I have walked the lanes, a rover;
I have dreamed beside the rill:
I have known the fields awaking
To the gentle touch of Spring;
The joy of morning breaking,
And the peace your twilights bring. ''But I long for a sight of the pines, and the blue shadows under;
For the sweet-smelling gums, and the throbbing of African air;
For the sun and the sand, and the sound of the surf's ceaseless thunder,
The height, and the breadth and the depth, and the nakedness there.'' I have visited your cities
Where the unregenerate dwell;
I have trilled the ploughman's ditties
To the mill-wheel and the well.
I have heard the poised lark singing
To the blue of summer skies;
The whirr of pheasants winging,
And the crash when grouse arise. ''But I sigh for the heat of the veld, and the cool-flowing river;
For the crack of the trek-whip, the shimmer of dust-laden noon:
For the day sudden dying; the croak of the frogs, and the shiver
Of tropical night, and the stars, and the low-hanging moon.'' I have listen'd in the gloaming
To your poets' tales of old;
I know, when I am roaming,
That I walk on hallowed mould.
I have lived and fought among you
And I trow your hearts are steel;
That the nations who deride you
Shall, like dogs, be brought to heel. ''But I pine for the roar of the lion on the edge of the clearing;
For the rustle of grass snake; the birds' flashing wing on the heath;
For the sun-shrivelled peaks of the mountains to blue heaven rearing;
The limitless outlook, the space, and the freedom beneath.'' Source Original text: William Hamilton, ''Modern Poems'' (Oxford: B. H. Blackwell, 1917): 50–51. 011648.eee.17 British Library First publication date: 1917 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, William British Army personnel of World War I Coldstream Guards officers 20th-century Scottish poets British military personnel killed in World War I People from Dumfries Scottish World War I poets 20th-century British male writers Scottish male poets Year of birth uncertain 1917 deaths 1890s births