Eric Thirkell Cooper (1886–1960) was a British soldier and

war poet War poetry is poetry on the topic of war. While the term is applied especially to works of the First World War, the term can be applied to poetry about any war, including Homer's ''Iliad'', from around the 8th century BC as well as poetry of th ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Cooper was born in 1886 in

Beckenham Beckenham () is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. Prior to 1965, it was part of Kent. It is situated north of Elmers End and Eden Park, east of Penge, south of Lower Sydenham and Bellingham, and west ...

, 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 war ...

, reaching the rank of

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

. 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-American actor and film director. Born in Vancouver, British Columbia and raised in New York City, he came to prominence with film audiences for his supporting roles i ...

(1879–1962) 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 ...

(1879–1970) 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 British male writers Royal Fusiliers officers People from Beckenham {{UK-poet-stub