Sassoon, Siegfried Loraine, 1886-1967 (poet and author)
Dates
- Existence: 1886 - 1967
Biography
Poet and writer Siegfried Loraine Sassoon was born on 8 September 1886 at Weirleigh, near Matfield in Kent. His mother, Georgiana Theresa Thornycroft, was from a prominent family of sculptors and artists, while his father, Alfred Ezra Sassoon, came from a wealthy Jewish merchant family. His father left home when he was seven and died soon after, so Siegfried and his brothers, Michael and Hamo, were raised solely by their mother.
Educated at Marlborough College (1902-4), Sassoon read law at Clare College, Cambridge (1905-6) but left before taking a degree, choosing instead to live the life of a country gentleman, fox-hunting, cricketing, playing golf, and reading and writing poetry. His early poems were printed privately and distributed chiefly among family and friends.
It was the onset of the Great War that propelled Sassoon from a life of relative idleness and luxury into his role as soldier-poet and vitriolic critic of the War. In 1914, Sassoon enlisted as a trooper in the Sussex Yeomanry. The following year, he was commissioned in the Royal Welch Fusiliers and sent to France, where his bravery earned him the nickname 'Mad Jack'. In June 1916 he was awarded the Military Cross for gallantry in action. In April 1917, however, he was wounded in the shoulder, and while recuperating in England wrote his 'Soldier's Declaration', a statement in protest against the continuation of the War, calling for a negotiated peace. Sensitive to the needless suffering of his men, affected by the deaths of close friend, David Thomas, and of his younger brother Hamo (killed at Gallipoli in November 1915), and enraged with a sense that the conflict was being needlessly prolonged by those who had the power to end it, Sassoon had become increasingly disillusioned with the politics of the War. His protest statement was read out in the House of Commons and printed in 'The Times' in July 1917. Sassoon expected a court-martial; instead, due partly to the intervention of his friend Robert Graves, he was declared to be suffering from 'shellshock' and sent to Craiglockhart Military Hospital in Edinburgh. There he met the poet Wilfred Owen and became his friend and mentor. He also formed a friendship with psychologist and anthropologist William H. R. Rivers, who eventually helped persuade Sassoon to return to the front. In February 1918 he was posted to Palestine, but was sent back to France in May where he received a head wound which ended his direct involvement in the War.
During his time at the front, Sassoon wrote many of the war poems which were to establish his reputation as a poet. Caustic, bitter, moving and compassionate, his poems reflected the savage reality of war. These were published in a series of volumes entitled 'The Old Huntsman and Other Poems' (1917), 'Counter-Attack and Other Poems' (1918), 'Picture Show' (1919), and 'War Poems' (1919).
Throughout his life Sassoon continued to write and publish poetry. He also kept copious diaries, many of which later formed the basis of his prose work: the Sherston novels, a thinly veiled autobiographical trilogy based around the fictitious character George Sherston, beginning with 'Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man' (1928), and a second trilogy of true autobiography, beginning with 'The Old Century and Seven More Years' (1938). In 1948 he also published 'Meredith', his biography of the novelist and poet George Meredith. He remains best known, however, as a war poet.
Sassoon married Hester Gatty in 1933 and purchased Heytesbury House in Wiltshire. His marriage followed a series of homosexual relationships, most notably with artist Gabriel Atkin and socialite Stephen Tennant. His only son George was born in 1936, and his marriage dissolved a few years later. In 1957 Sassoon converted to Catholicism. He died in 1967 at the age of eighty.
In his lifetime Sassoon was honoured with a number of awards. In 1928 he received the Hawthornden Prize and the James Tait Black Prize for his book 'Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man'. In 1951 he was appointed CBE, while in 1957 he was awarded the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry. He received honorary degrees from the Universities of Liverpool (1931) and Oxford (1965), and was made an honorary fellow of Clare College, Cambridge in 1953. He is among sixteen Great War Poets commemorated in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey.
Found in 87 Collections and/or Records:
from Siegfried Sassoon, Heytesbury House, Wiltshire, 28 Jun 1939
Hassall died intestate. His working papers were taken to the Royal Society of Literature by his assistant Gillian Paterson, who arranged and (presumably) listed them. They were bought by CUL from Bloomsbury Book Auctions in 1992. They were housed in paper box files 1 25 and cartons A D, as listed. They have now been re boxed, in 28 boxes and one packet, which has involved some reorganisation of the material and hence some rearrangement and re numbering of the original list.
from Siegfried Sassoon, Heytesbury House, Wiltshire, 14 Jul 1939
Hassall died intestate. His working papers were taken to the Royal Society of Literature by his assistant Gillian Paterson, who arranged and (presumably) listed them. They were bought by CUL from Bloomsbury Book Auctions in 1992. They were housed in paper box files 1 25 and cartons A D, as listed. They have now been re boxed, in 28 boxes and one packet, which has involved some reorganisation of the material and hence some rearrangement and re numbering of the original list.
from Siegfried Sassoon, Heytesbury House, Wiltshire, 2 Mar 1940
Hassall died intestate. His working papers were taken to the Royal Society of Literature by his assistant Gillian Paterson, who arranged and (presumably) listed them. They were bought by CUL from Bloomsbury Book Auctions in 1992. They were housed in paper box files 1 25 and cartons A D, as listed. They have now been re boxed, in 28 boxes and one packet, which has involved some reorganisation of the material and hence some rearrangement and re numbering of the original list.
from Siegfried Sassoon, Heytesbury House, Wiltshire, 31 Dec 1940
Hassall died intestate. His working papers were taken to the Royal Society of Literature by his assistant Gillian Paterson, who arranged and (presumably) listed them. They were bought by CUL from Bloomsbury Book Auctions in 1992. They were housed in paper box files 1 25 and cartons A D, as listed. They have now been re boxed, in 28 boxes and one packet, which has involved some reorganisation of the material and hence some rearrangement and re numbering of the original list.
from Siegfried Sassoon, Heytesbury House, Wiltshire, 28 Mar 1942
Hassall died intestate. His working papers were taken to the Royal Society of Literature by his assistant Gillian Paterson, who arranged and (presumably) listed them. They were bought by CUL from Bloomsbury Book Auctions in 1992. They were housed in paper box files 1 25 and cartons A D, as listed. They have now been re boxed, in 28 boxes and one packet, which has involved some reorganisation of the material and hence some rearrangement and re numbering of the original list.
from Siegfried Sassoon, Heytesbury House, Wiltshire, 4 Apr 1942
Hassall died intestate. His working papers were taken to the Royal Society of Literature by his assistant Gillian Paterson, who arranged and (presumably) listed them. They were bought by CUL from Bloomsbury Book Auctions in 1992. They were housed in paper box files 1 25 and cartons A D, as listed. They have now been re boxed, in 28 boxes and one packet, which has involved some reorganisation of the material and hence some rearrangement and re numbering of the original list.
from Siegfried Sassoon, Heytesbury House, Wiltshire, 1947 (circa)
Hassall died intestate. His working papers were taken to the Royal Society of Literature by his assistant Gillian Paterson, who arranged and (presumably) listed them. They were bought by CUL from Bloomsbury Book Auctions in 1992. They were housed in paper box files 1 25 and cartons A D, as listed. They have now been re boxed, in 28 boxes and one packet, which has involved some reorganisation of the material and hence some rearrangement and re numbering of the original list.
from Siegfried Sassoon, Heytesbury House, Wiltshire, 6 Apr 1949
Hassall died intestate. His working papers were taken to the Royal Society of Literature by his assistant Gillian Paterson, who arranged and (presumably) listed them. They were bought by CUL from Bloomsbury Book Auctions in 1992. They were housed in paper box files 1 25 and cartons A D, as listed. They have now been re boxed, in 28 boxes and one packet, which has involved some reorganisation of the material and hence some rearrangement and re numbering of the original list.
from Siegfried Sassoon, Heytesbury House, Wiltshire, 14 May 1949
Hassall died intestate. His working papers were taken to the Royal Society of Literature by his assistant Gillian Paterson, who arranged and (presumably) listed them. They were bought by CUL from Bloomsbury Book Auctions in 1992. They were housed in paper box files 1 25 and cartons A D, as listed. They have now been re boxed, in 28 boxes and one packet, which has involved some reorganisation of the material and hence some rearrangement and re numbering of the original list.
from Siegfried Sassoon, Heytesbury House, Wiltshire, 7 Jun 1949
Hassall died intestate. His working papers were taken to the Royal Society of Literature by his assistant Gillian Paterson, who arranged and (presumably) listed them. They were bought by CUL from Bloomsbury Book Auctions in 1992. They were housed in paper box files 1 25 and cartons A D, as listed. They have now been re boxed, in 28 boxes and one packet, which has involved some reorganisation of the material and hence some rearrangement and re numbering of the original list.
from Siegfried Sassoon, Heytesbury House, Wiltshire, 12 Jul 1949
Hassall died intestate. His working papers were taken to the Royal Society of Literature by his assistant Gillian Paterson, who arranged and (presumably) listed them. They were bought by CUL from Bloomsbury Book Auctions in 1992. They were housed in paper box files 1 25 and cartons A D, as listed. They have now been re boxed, in 28 boxes and one packet, which has involved some reorganisation of the material and hence some rearrangement and re numbering of the original list.
from Siegfried Sassoon, Heytesbury House, Wiltshire, 23 Jun 1951
Hassall died intestate. His working papers were taken to the Royal Society of Literature by his assistant Gillian Paterson, who arranged and (presumably) listed them. They were bought by CUL from Bloomsbury Book Auctions in 1992. They were housed in paper box files 1 25 and cartons A D, as listed. They have now been re boxed, in 28 boxes and one packet, which has involved some reorganisation of the material and hence some rearrangement and re numbering of the original list.
From Siegfried Sassoon [of Clare College, Cambridge, Poet and Author], 1915-1918 (Circa)
S/58-S/77b are poems written in Sassoon's hand unless otherwise stated. References are to Rupert Hart-Davis's edition of the 'War Poems of Siegfried Sassoon', London, Faber and Faber, 1983.
Hart-Davis, Rupert; Marske-in-Swaledale, Richmond, Yorkshire; letters, 13 Oct. 1971-1 July 1974
Letters addressed to Gilles David in response to enquiries made in the course of researching a thesis on Siegfried Sassoon
Holograph typescript of Sassoon's poems 'The Tasking', June 1954
Letter from his mother, Theresa Sassoon, 1927 (date inferred; marked 'Sunday')
Concerning Rachel Beer's illness.
Letter from Sassoon (Heytesbury House) to 'Rolf', 1 May 1949
Criticising Manning as a disciple of Eliot and enclosing the copy of 'Beyond the Terminus' he had received from Manning, adding annotations on page 25 (see MS Add.9877/2/5/1).
Letter from Siegfried Sassoon, 24 Jan. 1955
Letter from Siegfried Sassoon comforting his mother following the death of Hamo, Nov. 1915-Dec. 1915 (date is inferred; marked 'Friday')
Sassoon writes that she must be brave and that he longed to be with her.
Letter from Siegfried Sassoon concerning the death of Hamo, Nov. 1915-Dec. 1915 (date is inferred; marked 'Friday')
A brief letter stating that he was too upset to write but that they must keep their chins up.
Letter from Siegfried Sassoon to Bryce Beaumont, with poem 'Theme & variations', 22 Jan. 1935
Sends facetious verse 'Theme & variations' for 'The Lady Clare' magazine; published in 'The Lady Clare', Spring 1935, p. 53
Letter from Siegfried Sassoon to D. G. A. Low, 8 August 1946
Autograph. With an envelope addressed to Low by Sassoon, and a photographic print of the entrance to Heytesbury House.
Letter of David Garnett to Siegfried Sassoon, 26 Apr. 1929
Photocopy.
Letter of Siegfried Sassoon to Sydney Giffard, 1946-2010
Includes letter from Sydney Giffard to John Wells (Archivist, Cambridge University Library), explaining the context of Sassoon's letter.
Letter of Stephenson Harwood & Tatham, solicitors, to Hester and George Sassoon, 12 Feb. 1965
Concerning Siegfried Sassoon's financial affairs.
Additional filters:
- ARCHON code (for CUL materials)
- Archives and MSS Dept. (GBR/0012) 84
- Type
- Archival Object 61
- Collection 26
- Subject
- Poetry 7
- First World War (1914-1918) 2
- Biography 1
- British literature 1
- Caricatures 1
- Cartoons 1
- Cricket 1
- Dream interpretation 1
- Illustrated books 1
- Illustrations 1
- Literature publishing 1
- Poems 1
- Prose 1
- Psychoanalysis 1
- Religious poetry 1
- Roman Catholicism 1
- Satire 1 + ∧ less