Julian Grenfell

The Honourable Julian Henry Francis Grenfell DSO (30 March 1888 – 26 May 1915), was a British soldier and poet of World War I.

Early life
Julian Grenfell was born at 4 St James's Square, London, the eldest son of William Grenfell, later Baron Desborough, and Ethel Priscilla Fane, daughter of Julian Fane. He was educated at Eton where he was good friends with Denys Finch Hatton, and latterly with Patrick Shaw-Stewart. From Eton he went up to Balliol College, Oxford, where he bullied Philip Sassoon by cracking a stock whip within inches of his head.

Military service
Grenfell joined the army in 1910, and was awarded a Distinguished Service Order in 1914. In 13 May 1915 as a Captain in the Royal Dragoons Julian stood talking with other officers, a shell landed a few yards from them, and a splinter of the shell hit him in the head. He was taken to a hospital in Boulogne where he died of his wounds 13 days later with his mother, father and sister at his bedside. He was 27 years old and was buried at the Boulogne Eastern Cemetery. The day after his death, together with news of his death, his most famous poem 'Into Battle' was published for the first time, in The Times.

In a letter that was written in October 1914, Grenfell wrote "I adore war. It is like a big picnic but without the objectivelessness of a picnic. I have never been more well or more happy." This letter became infamous when its publication sparked a backlash of arguments that it was naive and that it strengthened propaganda in the media, which had led to thousands of young men signing up to the British Army, under false pretenses.

Grenfell perhaps represented the last generation of young men for whom war was considered mainly to bring glory rather than suffering. Scholars have argued that had he lived, Grenfell might well have become disillusioned like his fellow war poets Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen. The latter referred ironically to how young warriors' "wounds in unmentionable places" reduced their romantic warrior status in the eyes of young women.

Julian's younger brother Gerald William (Billy) Grenfell was killed in action on 30 July 1915 within a mile of where Julian had been wounded.

Commemoration
On 11 November 1985, Grenfell was among 16 Great War poets commemorated on a slate stone unveiled in Westminster Abbey's Poet's Corner. The inscription on the stone was written by a fellow Great War poet, Wilfred Owen. It reads: "My subject is War, and the pity of War. The Poetry is in the pity."

Honours and awards

 * 1 January 1915 - Lieutenant The Honourable Julian Henry Francis Grenfell, 1st (Royal) Dragoons is appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order in recognition of service with the Expeditionary Force - On 17 November he succeeded in reaching a point behind the enemy's trenches and making an excellent reconnaissance, furnishing early information of a pending attack by the enemy.