With grateful thanks to Dr. Connie Ruzich* for reminding
me that I had not yet written a post for this poet
Educated in Britain, James attended Winchester College in Hampshire as a boarder, before going on to study at New College, Oxford University. He had poems published in "Isis", "The Idler", and "Pall Mall Magazine"
At the outbreak of the First World War, James joined the army, serving as a Captain in the British Royal Army Service Corps, attached to the 15th Indian Division from 1914-1919. He published two volumes of war poems – “The Temple of Janus” in 1917 and “Mesopotamia” in 1919.
An extract from “The Forest of the Dead 1919” by James Griffyth Fairfax
There are strange trees in that pale field
Of barren soil and bitter yield:
They stand without the city walls;
Their nakedness is unconcealed.
Cross after cross, mound after mound,
And no flowers blossom but are bound
The dying and the dead, in the wreaths
Sad crowns for kings of Underground.
You can read the rest of the poem on the All Poetry website
https://allpoetry.com/James-Griffyth-Fairfax
* Read two more poems by James on Dr. Connie Ruzich’s wonderful website Behind their Lines :
https://behindtheirlines.blogspot.com/2018/07/memories-of-mesopotamia.html
More information here on Discover War Poets Website:
https://warpoets.org.uk/worldwar1/poets-and-poetry/james-griffyth-fairfax/
And this is an extremely interesting article with a great deal of information:
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/366746/pdf
Additional sources: Find my Past and
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/366746/pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairfax_family
https://allpoetry.com/James-Griffyth-Fairfax
https://warpoets.org.uk/worldwar1/poets-and-poetry/james-griffyth-fairfax/
Photograph of James by Mary Laffan and copyright National Library of Australia.
