If I should die, think only this of me:
That there's some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England...
Thus wrote Rupert Brooke, the famed English war poet, in 1914 in his iconic sonnet, "The Soldier," envisaging his own death on the field of battle in World War I.
As the world this year commemorates the centenary of the start of WWI, the Great War to end all wars, these 'corners of a foreign field' still shine brightly green, recalling Brooke's small green island hundreds or thousands of miles away.
Poem inscribed on Brooke's gravestone
Some are vast, commensurate with the enormity of the battles they commemorate, such as the Battle of the Somme in France in 1916 when some 1,200,000 British, French and German soldiers are estimated to have been killed in just 141 days for the gain of a few miles of land.
The British suffered 60,000 casualties on the first day alone, at least a third of them killed. The Somme region now hosts over 410 Commonwealth cemeteries, including the Thiepval Memorial to the 72,191 missing British and South African troops.
At the other end of the scale is the small Greek island of Skyros in the Aegean Sea with its single grave, where Brooke found that foreign field he immortalized in his poem.
Brooke's solitary grave in an olive grove
There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware...
Here, in a grey-green grove of olive trees, in a desolate valley of stones and boulders, in the arid southern half of the island, anything but 'England's green and pleasant land,' a solitary arched sarcophagus surrounded by four low stone pillars and green railings contains the poet's remains, the famous poem engraved on his gravestone.
About 80 miles to the northeast lies the Greek island of Limnos, operational base for the ill-starred nine-month Gallipoli campaign of 1915, when Commonwealth forces lost more than 36,000 men, many of them Australians.
View over Moudros Bay on the island of Limnos
Just a mile or so inland from wide Moudros Bay, on a field as green as the playing fields of Eton, East Moudros Cemetery holds the remains of 886 Commonwealth dead in neat rows on mowed lawns beneath a cenotaph and a large cross.
East Moudros cemetery
A silver plaque carries their nationalities: 672 United Kingdom, 98 Australia, 47 New Zealand, 4 Newfoundland (then a separate British colony), 63 India, two others. Although India lost more than New Zealand and Newfoundland combined, apparent racism puts it lower in the list.
In all, Greece holds 35 cemeteries and memorials for both world wars, ranging from one with nearly 3,000 graves to this single isolated tomb on Skyros.
More rows in Moudros cemetery
And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given...
Ironically Brooke did not die in battle as he envisaged in his poem. He was on his way by boat to the Gallipoli campaign, and no doubt Limnos, with the British Mediterranean Expeditionary Force when he was bitten by a mosquito. The bite became infected, sepsis set in, and he died on a French hospital ship in a bay off Skyros.
"The Soldier" -- ironically felled not by an enemy's barrage willingly accepted on the field of battle, but by a tiny insect's sting, an olive grove now holding that corner of a foreign field that is for ever England.
'This Corner of a Foreign Field'
Today, a few tourists make their way to Skyros' southern end to visit the grave, but many more meet Brooke on a bluff in the buff in Skyros town, in the island's greener North, where he presides, totally naked, over a square named in his memory.
Rupert Brooke square in Skyros town
The statue was erected in 1931, much to the consternation of the more conservative and appropriately attired among the island burghers. Its only accoutrement is a scroll in its right hand, doubtless of poems.
Brooke's statue in Skyros town
Inscribed in Greek and French 'To Rupert Brook, 1887-1915, to Immortal Poetry,' it is apparently meant to represent the ideal of a poet rather than a physical likeness of Brooke, evidently based on a Greek model chosen by sculptor Michael Tombros.
On this particular day, a horde of ancient Greek tourists, many more hens than cocks among them, are anything but scandalized. They're gathered in front, clucking away busily as they pose for group and individual photos under the poetic genitals.
Greek tourists pose in front of Brooke's statue
On a wall opposite somebody has sprayed a Star of David and a skull with a scribbled Greek inscription. A young Greek lady translates: 'Underwear to buy; I will imagine you without clothes.' So, it's not an anti-Semitic rant, just some overheated latter-day Paris wishing his Helen would reprise the pose of yon nude Rupert.
Graffiti in Rupert Brooke square
By the same author: Swimming With Fidel: The Toils Of An Accidental Journalist, available on Kindle, with free excerpts here, and in print version on Amazon in the U.S here.
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Support HuffPostAlready contributed? Log in to hide these messages.