Geoffrey was born on 27th November 1889. Educated at Haileybury School, Hertfordshire before going on to study law at Oxford University, Geoffrey was commissioned into the Royal Fusiliers during the First World War. He became a Lieutenant and served on the Western Front. After the war he qualified as a lawyer and became a Master of the Bench at the Inner Temple in London. He died in 1973.
Geoffrey had poems published in five WW1 anthologies.
"Without Shedding of Blood . . ."
GOD gave us England from of old,
But we held light the gift He gave;
Our royal birthright we have sold,
And now the land we lost for gold
Only our blood can save.
Not till thousands have been slain
Shall the green wood be green again;
Not till men shall fall and bleed
Can brown ale taste like ale indeed.
Blood and blood must yet be shed
To make the roses red.
For minds made vile, and blind with greed,
For sins that spread from sire to son;
For loss of honour, loss of creed,
There yet remains one cure indeed —
And there remains but one.
Malvern men must die and kill
That wind may blow on Malvern Hill;
Devonshire blood must fall like dew
That Devon's bays may yet be blue;
London must spill out lives like wine
That London's lights may shine.
Lord, for the years of ease and vice,
For hearts unmanned and souls decayed,
Thou hast required a sacrifice—
A bitter and a bloody price—
And lo! the price is paid.
We have given all things that were ours,
So that our weeds might yet be flowers;
We have covered half the earth with gore
That our houses might be homes once more
The sword Thou hast demanded, Lord:
And, now, behold the sword!
