Arthur Newberry Choyce was born in
Hugglescote, Leicestershire, UK in 1893.
His parents were Benjamin Choyce, a carpenter, and his wife Mary Ann
Choyce, nee Newberry. The Leicestershire
village in which the family lived was near Coalville, about ten miles from
Loughborough.
At the outbreak of war, Arthur joined
the Leicestershire Regiment as a Second Lieutenant. He was sent to the Western Front where he saw
action during the Somme Offensive in 1916.
Wounded on 15th June 1917,
Arthur sheltered for twenty hours in a shell hole before being rescued and sent
for treatment.
When he had recovered sufficiently he
was sent to America on a speaking tour, reciting his poems to great acclaim,
encouraging Americans to join in the fight.
After the war, Arthur continued writing
and publishing his work. He became
headmaster of Snibston village Primary School in Coalville, Leicestershire. Arthur died in 1937 in Ashby-de-la-Zouche.
Arthur’s WW1 poetry collections
were: "Crimson Stains: poems of war
and love" published in 1917 by Erskine Macdonald, London;
"Memory: poems of war and
love" published in New York by John Lane in 1918. Which you can find
here: https://archive.org/details/memorypoemsofwar00choy and
“Songs while wandering” (John Lane, New
York, 1919), written in America and dedicated to England
Arthur also had some poems published in
the WW1 Anthology "Soldier Poets: more songs of the fighting men"
edited by Galloway Kyle and published by Erskine Macdonald in 1917.
Arthur wrote a poem while crossing the
Atlantic in April 1918 but it does not reflect the dangers of such a
journey. Tad Fitch and Michael Poirier
have written a book that describes in details the perils of crossing the Atlantic
– “Into the Danger Zone”. For a review
please see http://fascinatingfactsofww1.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/book-review-into-danger-zone-sea.html
Atlantic Crossing
The little song that you sing to me
Seems part of the sea’s own melody(We are alone, just you and I).
It is late … you wanted to see the moon.
Have you heard that we come to harbour soon?
(How swiftly the stars and the sea slip by!).
Churned in the wonderful waves below
Clusters of phosphorous fishes glow,(How swiftly the stars and the sea slip by!)
And we who have just a remaining day
Are silently staring our dreams away…
(We are alone, just you and I).
Alone, alone, just you and I …
My soul! … how the stars and the sea
slip by!
Sources:
Catherine W. Reilly "English Poetry
of the First World War A Bibliography" (St. Martin's Press, New York,
1978)http://www.westernparkgazette.co.uk/latest?newsNumber=1738
https://charnwoodpoetryarchive.wordpress.com/2014/10/07/charnwoods-forgotten-war-poet/#more-71
