Edmund Charles Blunden (November 1, 1896 - January 20, 1974), although not one of the top trio of English World War I writers, was an important and influential poet, author and critic. November 1 is the 305th day of the year (306th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 60 days remaining. ... 1896 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... January 20 is the 20th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1974 is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ... World War I was primarily a European conflict with many facets: immense human sacrifice, stalemate trench warfare, and the use of new, devastating weapons - tanks, aircraft, machineguns, and poison gas. ...

Born in London, Blunden was educated at Christ's Hospital, a famous public school in Sussex, and later at Queen's College, Oxford. In 1915, he was commissioned as an officer into the Royal Sussex Regiment, and served with them right up to the end of the war, taking part in the actions at Ypres and the Somme, and winning the Military Cross in the process. His own account of his sometimes traumatic experiences was published, in 1928, under the title Undertones of War. Edmund Blunden File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The clock tower of the Palace of Westminster, which contains Big Ben London is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England. ... Christs Hospitals buildings in London in 1770. ... Sussex is a traditional county in southern England, divided for administrative purposes into West Sussex and East Sussex and the city of Brighton and Hove. ... The Queens College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. ... The Bellfry of Ypres Ypres (French, generally used in English;1 Ieper official name in the local Dutch) is a municipality located in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium, and in the Flemish province of West Flanders. ... Somme is a French département, named after the Somme River, located in the north of France. ... Military Cross The Military Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army, and formerly also to officers of the armies of other Commonwealth countries, for distinguished and meritorious services in battle. ... 1928 was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

It was after the war that Blunden began his long-standing friendship with Siegfried Sassoon, who came from the same part of England and whose interests in country pursuits he shared. In 1922, Blunden was awarded the prestigious Hawthornden Prize for Poetry. Although he wrote war poems, he avoided the graphic edge that characterises the work of Sassoon or Wilfred Owen, and his memoirs of war service, though beautifully written, have been argued to have lacked the immediacy of those of Sassoon or Robert Graves. Siegfried Sassoon, 1916 Sir Siegfried Loraine Sassoon (September 8, 1886 – September 1, 1967) was an English poet and author. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population - Total (mid-2004) - Density Ranked 1st UK 50. ... 1922 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Wilfred Owen Wilfred Edward Salter Owen, MC (March 18, 1893 – November 4, 1918) was an English poet. ... Portrait of Robert Graves (circa 1974) by Rab Shiell Robert von Ranke Graves (July 24, 1895–December 7, 1985) was an English scholar, best remembered for his work as a poet and novelist. ...

In 1924 Blunden was invited to teach in Tokyo, and the years 1924-27 were one of two periods he spent working in Japan and the Far East. In 1931, he became a Fellow of Merton College, Oxford, where he remained until 1944. After that he was a Cultural Adviser in Tokyo. In 1967-68, after a period as Professor of English Literature in Hong Kong, he returned to Oxford as Professor of Poetry. The modern skyline of Tokyo is highly decentralized. ... College name The House of Scholars of Merton Named after Walter de Merton Established 1264 Sister College Peterhouse Warden Prof Dame Jessica Rawson JCR President Alan Strickland Undergraduates 315 Graduates 157 Homepage Merton College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. ... The modern skyline of Tokyo is highly decentralized. ... Oxford is a city and local government district in Oxfordshire, England, with a population of 134,248 (2001 census). ... The chair of Professor of Poetry at the University of Oxford is an unusual, high-profile academic appointment, now normally held for five years. ...

External links

• http://www.1914-18.co.uk/blunden/
• http://www.edmundblunden.org/