Siegfried Sassoon
| Siegfried Sassoon | |
|---|---|
.jpg)
Siegfried Sassoon (May 1915)
by George Charles Beresford |
|
| Born | Siegfried Loraine Sassoon 8 September 1886 Matfield, Kent, England |
| Died | 1 September 1967 (aged 80) Heytesbury, Wiltshire, England |
| Occupation | Soldier, Poet, Diarist, Memoirist, Journalist |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | Clare College, Cambridge |
| Period | Early 20th century |
| Genre | Poetry, Fiction, biography |
| Notable works | The Complete Memoirs of George Sherston |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom
|
| Service/branch |
 British Army
|
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit |
Sussex Yeomanry Royal Welch Fusiliers |
| Battles/wars | First World War |
| Awards | Military Cross |
Siegfried Loraine Sassoon, CBE, MC (8 September 1886 – 1 September 1967) was an English poet, writer, and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World War. His poetry both described the horrors of the trenches, and satirised the patriotic pretensions of those who, in Sassoon's view, were responsible for a jingoism-fuelled war. Sassoon became a focal point for dissent within the armed forces when he made a lone protest against the continuation of the war in his "Soldier's Declaration" of 1917, culminating in his admission to a military psychiatric hospital; this resulted in his forming a relationship with Wilfred Owen, who was greatly influenced by him. Sassoon later won acclaim for his prose work, notably his three-volume fictionalised autobiography, collectively known as the "Sherston trilogy".
Siegfried Sassoon was born and grew up in the neo-gothic mansion named "Weirleigh" (after its builder, Harrison Weir), in Matfield, Kent, to a Jewish father and an Anglo-Catholic mother. His father, Alfred Ezra Sassoon (1861–1895), son of Sassoon David Sassoon, was a member of the wealthy Baghdadi Jewish Sassoon merchant family. For marrying outside the faith, Alfred was disinherited. Siegfried's mother, Theresa, belonged to the Thornycroft family, sculptors responsible for many of the best-known statues in London—her brother was Sir Hamo Thornycroft. There was no German ancestry in Siegfried's family; his mother named him Siegfried because of her love of Wagner's operas. His middle name, Loraine, was the surname of a clergyman with whom she was friendly.
...
Wikipedia