0:00:10.055,0:00:12.795 John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, 0:00:12.922,0:00:15.368 was born on the 3rd January, 1892. 0:00:16.441,0:00:18.129 He and his brother Hilary, experienced 0:00:18.177,0:00:20.420 a difficult childhood; when Tolkien was 0:00:20.420,0:00:22.178 just four, they lost their father, Arthur, 0:00:22.182,0:00:24.420 to rheumatic fever. 0:00:24.574,0:00:26.001 As a widow with low income, his mother 0:00:26.103,0:00:28.805 Mabel, home school the brothers and played 0:00:28.805,0:00:31.576 a vital role in their early education and 0:00:31.576,0:00:33.255 development. 0:00:33.420,0:00:34.797 Tolkien was a smart young boy, with a 0:00:35.450,0:00:37.721 fascination and thirst for languages. 0:00:40.230,0:00:41.918 Tolkien sat the entrance exam for King 0:00:41.918,0:00:44.529 Edward's School, Birmingham and passed. 0:00:44.926,0:00:46.823 From the Autumn of 1900, for a fee of 0:00:46.981,0:00:49.040 12 pounds a year, Tolkien would be 0:00:49.186,0:00:52.336 educated in an environment that would help 0:00:52.474,0:00:54.179 fulfil his academic potential. 0:00:55.704,0:00:57.113 [John Garth] Going to King Edward's was vitally 0:00:57.250,0:00:59.448 important to Tolkien; he was an 0:00:59.448,0:01:02.111 exceptionally talented boy. King Edward's 0:01:02.111,0:01:05.306 offered him a vast amount of scope and also 0:01:05.306,0:01:07.498 the company of other boys who were 0:01:08.032,0:01:09.507 similarly talented. 0:01:10.562,0:01:12.163 Which was probably quite hard for Tolkien 0:01:12.429,0:01:13.581 to find. 0:01:15.777,0:01:17.343 [Simon Stacey] Not only did he play rugby but 0:01:17.499,0:01:20.749 he was a leading light in the debating society 0:01:20.865,0:01:23.952 and the literary society; he was the life and 0:01:24.141,0:01:27.567 soul really and he missed the school a 0:01:27.672,0:01:29.199 great deal, I think, when he finally had 0:01:29.199,0:01:30.359 to leave. 0:01:30.594,0:01:33.231 [VO] At the age of just 11, Tolkien and his 0:01:33.363,0:01:35.443 brother Hilary, lose their mother, Mabel, 0:01:35.595,0:01:38.647 to diabetes. Grief stricken, he plunges 0:01:38.806,0:01:41.097 himself into school life more energetically 0:01:41.264,0:01:44.505 than before. Academically he excels, but 0:01:44.664,0:01:47.386 in 1905, meets his intellectual rival, 0:01:47.508,0:01:49.065 Christopher Wiseman. 0:01:50.822,0:01:53.082 [John Garth] Tolkien met his greatest friend 0:01:53.082,0:01:54.954 at King Edward's, Christopher Wiseman on 0:01:54.954,0:01:58.916 the rugby pitch. A musician, a mathematician; 0:01:59.067,0:02:00.293 quite different from Tolkien. 0:02:01.597,0:02:03.161 They developed such a strong bond on the rugby 0:02:03.293,0:02:04.842 field that they called themselves; 0:02:04.950,0:02:06.734 "The Great Twin Brethren", which was a phrase 0:02:06.734,0:02:09.375 from "Lays of Ancient Rome" by Lord 0:02:09.502,0:02:10.315 Macauley. 0:02:11.284,0:02:13.448 [Simon Stacey] They also were friendly rivals 0:02:13.631,0:02:15.105 in the school, both being very academic 0:02:15.231,0:02:17.328 boys. Wiseman had a formidable intellect 0:02:17.470,0:02:19.120 and he was interested in a lot of the things 0:02:19.269,0:02:20.785 that Tolkien was getting interested in; 0:02:21.035,0:02:23.765 languages, I think he was looking at 0:02:23.928,0:02:26.639 Egyptian and was looking at hieroglyphics. 0:02:26.796,0:02:28.519 [John Garth] Tolkien and Wiseman must have 0:02:28.644,0:02:29.977 helped define each other through their 0:02:30.079,0:02:31.618 teenage years because they would argue; 0:02:31.780,0:02:33.248 they would argue strongly about all their 0:02:33.303,0:02:34.569 beliefs in life. 0:02:35.471,0:02:36.658 [Simon Stacey] Wiseman was a very talented 0:02:36.999,0:02:39.580 musician; Tolkien was supposed to be tone 0:02:39.715,0:02:41.382 deaf but that didn't stop them getting on! 0:02:42.904,0:02:44.654 [VO] Tolkien also befriends, son of the 0:02:44.933,0:02:46.652 headmaster, Rob Gilson. Tolkien, Wiseman 0:02:46.871,0:02:50.778 and Gilson, form a strong bond which will 0:02:50.886,0:02:53.680 last throughout their school years and beyond. 0:02:56.108,0:02:58.147 Outside of King Edward's, Tolkien's life is 0:02:58.250,0:03:00.146 about to change, yet again. 0:03:01.610,0:03:03.018 [John Garth] Tolkien was living in lodgings 0:03:03.165,0:03:05.031 with his brother, Hilary, and when he was 16 0:03:05.145,0:03:09.971 he met fellow lodger, Edith Bratt, who was 19 0:03:10.129,0:03:13.260 at the time. And she was a beautiful young 0:03:13.416,0:03:17.630 girl; talented pianist and also an orphan. 0:03:17.799,0:03:20.419 And the two of them bonded on their shared 0:03:20.419,0:03:23.108 sadnesses but also on their hopes and dreams. 0:03:23.867,0:03:27.721 The difficulty for Ronald, as she called him, 0:03:28.166,0:03:30.897 and Edith, was that he was a Roman Catholic 0:03:31.024,0:03:33.209 and she was an Anglican. 0:03:34.089,0:03:36.189 [VO] Tolkien's Guardian, Father Francis Morgan, 0:03:36.337,0:03:38.217 a Catholic Priest, feels this is major 0:03:38.346,0:03:40.969 divide; and also believes that Edith will 0:03:41.091,0:03:42.988 distract Tolkien from his attempts to get 0:03:43.106,0:03:44.549 into Oxford University. 0:03:45.712,0:03:47.687 [John Garth] Father Francis Morgan, forbade 0:03:47.832,0:03:49.727 them from seeing each other, or even from 0:03:49.860,0:03:53.037 communicating. He was thrown back upon his 0:03:53.174,0:03:55.916 friendships at King Edward's and it was 0:03:56.050,0:03:58.502 this final phase of his time here, that he 0:03:58.943,0:04:03.472 began to flourish and make the place his 0:04:03.599,0:04:06.689 own; he and his friends ruled the roost. 0:04:07.936,0:04:09.629 [VO] Making the most of his final year at 0:04:09.794,0:04:11.476 King Edward's and the friendships he has 0:04:11.590,0:04:13.866 formed, Tolkien and his peers create an 0:04:14.033,0:04:16.213 informal society. 0:04:19.780,0:04:21.787 These young intellectuals gather in the school 0:04:21.935,0:04:24.150 library and do what they are forbidden to do: 0:04:24.298,0:04:28.073 brew tea. Outside of school hours, they meet 0:04:28.200,0:04:30.362 in a cafe at Barrow's Stores in Birmingham 0:04:30.521,0:04:33.651 and so, self-mockingly, they call themselves 0:04:33.820,0:04:36.410 the "Tea Club and Barrovean Society" 0:04:36.483,0:04:38.597 or the TCBS for short. 0:04:38.662,0:04:39.680 (nostalgic music) 0:04:39.971,0:04:41.667 [John Garth] The core of the TCBS was probably 0:04:41.799,0:04:43.860 Tolkien and Wiseman and the others 0:04:43.977,0:04:47.731 gravitated around them. There was Robert 0:04:47.872,0:04:49.743 Quilter Gilson, the son of the headmaster 0:04:49.845,0:04:53.797 here; Rob was a cultured and sociable chap, 0:04:53.929,0:04:56.343 he was perhaps the social glue of the group; 0:04:56.529,0:04:59.488 he would welcome anyone and find common 0:04:59.590,0:05:02.610 cause with them. A gentle artistic fellow 0:05:02.760,0:05:04.656 who loved to sketch. 0:05:05.448,0:05:08.549 [Simon Stacey] He was a gifted artist and 0:05:08.689,0:05:10.230 had ambitions to be an architect. 0:05:10.826,0:05:13.855 There was a late arrival, Geoffrey Bache Smith, 0:05:13.989,0:05:19.116 who was fascinated by mythology, Celtic 0:05:19.116,0:05:21.232 mythology; so this gave him common ground 0:05:21.232,0:05:22.891 with Tolkien; it was another of Tolkien's 0:05:22.891,0:05:23.523 passions. 0:05:23.742,0:05:25.308 [Simon Stacey] Smith was quite an accomplished 0:05:25.465,0:05:28.509 and advanced poet who recommended contemporary 0:05:28.667,0:05:31.513 poetry to Tolkien. When he started writing 0:05:31.641,0:05:34.037 poetry, Tolkien was to a certain extent, 0:05:34.185,0:05:37.227 inspired by Smith and the wider group. 0:05:37.329,0:05:39.659 And that was really the beginnings of 0:05:39.789,0:05:41.195 Tolkien as a writer. 0:05:41.367,0:05:43.538 [John Garth] From the beginnings which were 0:05:43.671,0:05:47.296 mostly about fun, later on, during the war years, 0:05:47.414,0:05:50.819 this developed into a fellowship from which 0:05:50.967,0:05:53.574 each of them drew tremendous strength and 0:05:53.676,0:05:54.476 comfort. 0:05:55.465,0:05:57.722 [VO] Later that year, Tolkien's time at 0:05:57.859,0:05:59.927 King Edward's comes to an end and he begins 0:06:00.063,0:06:02.115 his first term at Oxford, having successfully 0:06:02.209,0:06:03.707 gained entrance. 0:06:05.916,0:06:08.362 On the eve of his 21st birthday, and his 0:06:08.488,0:06:10.298 independence from Father Francis Morgan, 0:06:10.432,0:06:13.000 Tolkien writes to Edith and less than a 0:06:13.089,0:06:16.040 week later, they are re-united. 0:06:16.128,0:06:18.048 Edith is engaged to marry another man, 0:06:18.048,0:06:19.820 but despite almost certain ridicule, 0:06:19.820,0:06:22.363 she agrees to break the engagement to be 0:06:22.373,0:06:23.673 with her Ronald. 0:06:24.891,0:06:26.775 Over the next few months, a growing sense of 0:06:26.879,0:06:28.635 trouble brews across Europe and on the 28th 0:06:28.635,0:06:34.066 of June, 1914, everything changes. 0:06:35.421,0:06:37.647 (gun shot sound) 0:06:38.680,0:06:40.279 (solemn music) 0:06:40.779,0:06:42.590 Gavrillo Princip is arrested for the 0:06:42.766,0:06:45.182 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. 0:06:45.319,0:06:50.048 A diplomatic crisis ensues and within weeks, 0:06:50.241,0:06:52.863 Europe's major powers are at war. 0:06:54.558,0:06:57.318 Germany invades Belgium and Britain declares 0:06:57.453,0:07:00.837 war on Germany. Parliament issues a call 0:07:00.987,0:07:02.704 to arms from the British public. 0:07:04.087,0:07:04.994 [Paul Golightly] There isn't a rush to the 0:07:05.151,0:07:08.130 colours straight away. It becomes much more 0:07:08.248,0:07:09.555 obvious that people are willing to join 0:07:09.665,0:07:12.128 up when atrocity stories start to emerge, 0:07:12.728,0:07:14.962 then you get a much more concerted rush 0:07:15.111,0:07:15.861 to join. 0:07:16.459,0:07:17.664 [John Garth] There was an air of excitement 0:07:17.796,0:07:20.473 about the war, there was a naive sense that 0:07:20.633,0:07:23.085 this would allow young men to fulfil their 0:07:23.188,0:07:25.350 potential in a way that wasn't possible in 0:07:25.503,0:07:27.637 peace time. There was a tremendous sense 0:07:27.796,0:07:30.331 of patriotism and a sense of duty towards 0:07:30.467,0:07:33.195 whatever England, or Britain, stood for. 0:07:34.287,0:07:35.790 [Paul Golightly] They are attracted to the 0:07:35.943,0:07:37.909 idea of a settling of accounts with the Germans, 0:07:38.064,0:07:39.651 or at least some of them will be. On the 0:07:39.812,0:07:41.331 whole, they thought they were going to give 0:07:41.461,0:07:42.599 the Germans a bloody nose. 0:07:43.267,0:07:44.830 [John Garth] "The Germans has been dastardly" 0:07:44.989,0:07:48.480 and needed to dealt with and shown their place. 0:07:49.298,0:07:50.247 [Paul Golightly] Men join up out of economic 0:07:50.402,0:07:52.865 necessity and you'll find that in any war. 0:07:53.850,0:07:57.324 Life is not very exciting and the romance 0:07:57.475,0:08:00.422 and colour of joining the army and being 0:08:00.569,0:08:03.118 part of something very big indeed, I'm sure 0:08:03.285,0:08:04.474 has some allure. 0:08:05.340,0:08:06.674 (solemn music) And they see things 0:08:06.808,0:08:09.030 in rather romantic ways, which of course is 0:08:09.181,0:08:11.608 doomed to fail; we all know what the First 0:08:11.775,0:08:14.431 World War turns into. It's not a war of 0:08:14.620,0:08:16.840 movement, of dash and élan; it's not cavalry 0:08:16.996,0:08:20.376 charges and distant trumpets; I'm afraid 0:08:20.510,0:08:22.768 it's the pitter-patter of machine gun fire 0:08:22.935,0:08:24.916 and the crump of artillery that's going to 0:08:25.031,0:08:25.711 dominate. 0:08:29.879,0:08:31.696 So they, I think, have expectations about what 0:08:31.851,0:08:33.663 the war will be like, and I think their main 0:08:33.780,0:08:36.137 emotion was, will it be over before I can 0:08:36.278,0:08:37.219 get to France. 0:08:39.335,0:08:41.652 [John Garth] Tolkien, who's reading covered 0:08:41.803,0:08:46.154 ancient heroic literature, that is surprisingly 0:08:46.325,0:08:50.708 frank about what happens in war, went into 0:08:50.851,0:08:55.232 the war much more open-eyed. He described 0:08:55.364,0:08:57.052 himself as a "young man with too much 0:08:57.165,0:09:00.229 imagination" and so he did not relish battle 0:09:00.366,0:09:01.182 in any sense. 0:09:01.970,0:09:02.984 [Paul Golightly] And I think that applies 0:09:03.140,0:09:05.298 to, not just men like Tolkien who fought in it, 0:09:05.431,0:09:07.996 but also the politicians and generals who 0:09:08.110,0:09:10.197 directed it; I think a lot of people 0:09:10.348,0:09:12.311 understood that this war could be terrible. 0:09:13.580,0:09:15.333 [Simon Stacey] What you get in the letters 0:09:15.660,0:09:18.070 between Gilson, Tolkien and Wiseman and 0:09:18.163,0:09:20.934 then in Smith's poetry, is a serious 0:09:21.093,0:09:25.328 determination to do their duty and that they 0:09:25.445,0:09:27.126 should be prepared to give their lives. 0:09:27.937,0:09:30.642 A realistic appreciation that this is a dark time 0:09:30.788,0:09:33.049 and that they've got to come through it. 0:09:34.948,0:09:37.047 [VO] G.B. Smith and Rob Gilson both join 0:09:37.174,0:09:40.466 the army in 1914, Tolkien's brother, Hilary, 0:09:40.592,0:09:43.542 signs up as a bugler and Christopher Wiseman 0:09:43.667,0:09:48.372 joins the navy. Tolkien however, faces a 0:09:48.463,0:09:49.555 dilemma. 0:09:50.990,0:09:52.553 [Simon Stacey] Tolkien was in a difficult 0:09:52.657,0:09:54.901 position when war broke out; he had a year 0:09:55.049,0:09:57.704 of his degree at Oxford to run and Tolkien 0:09:57.860,0:10:00.684 needed a degree badly because he wanted to 0:10:00.818,0:10:03.516 pursue an academic career; he didn't have 0:10:03.636,0:10:07.830 any money in his family unlike Gilson and 0:10:07.967,0:10:11.559 therefore, having committed three years to 0:10:11.715,0:10:13.405 the degree it was very important that he 0:10:13.543,0:10:16.049 completed it. So he discovered a scheme 0:10:16.208,0:10:18.929 whereby he could undergo some training 0:10:19.056,0:10:21.183 in the Officer Training Core whilst 0:10:21.359,0:10:23.515 completing his degree, which he did triumphantly 0:10:23.667,0:10:25.450 with a first at Oxford. 0:10:26.382,0:10:28.104 [VO] He follows good friend, G.B.Smith, into 0:10:28.227,0:10:30.924 the Lancashire Fusiliers in the hope of being 0:10:31.066,0:10:32.472 posted to the same battalion. 0:10:34.089,0:10:35.246 [John Garth] Tolkien was looking for something 0:10:35.400,0:10:38.595 in the army through which he could use his 0:10:38.729,0:10:40.387 particular talents, and his particular talents 0:10:40.560,0:10:43.570 were languages and writing systems; he was 0:10:43.705,0:10:45.763 fascinated by codes and so forth. So it was 0:10:45.853,0:10:49.070 only natural that he would train up as a 0:10:49.213,0:10:50.117 signaller. 0:10:50.367,0:10:51.462 [Paul Golightly] It would have meant that 0:10:51.611,0:10:53.280 Tolkien was exposed to the technology 0:10:53.404,0:10:55.346 available at the time and it must have 0:10:55.469,0:10:58.999 interested him; so the use of the radio, the 0:10:59.140,0:11:02.398 use of signals, of semaphore. 0:11:03.256,0:11:05.032 [Simon Stacey] He learnt morse code, 0:11:05.155,0:11:07.864 he learnt how to use signalling lamps, field 0:11:08.016,0:11:10.286 telephones; which of course went on largely 0:11:10.401,0:11:12.643 to be ineffective or not to work. 0:11:13.175,0:11:14.448 [John Garth] He became Battalion Signalling 0:11:14.572,0:11:18.328 Officer for his Battalion. Tolkien had to 0:11:18.465,0:11:20.771 oversee the communications of a Battalion 0:11:20.898,0:11:23.575 of between 600 and 1,000 men depending on 0:11:23.710,0:11:25.854 manpower at the time. 0:11:26.612,0:11:27.614 [Paul Golightly] His basic job of course 0:11:27.767,0:11:30.010 was to act as a link between the various 0:11:30.161,0:11:32.690 layers of command, and that he would be 0:11:32.849,0:11:35.626 responsible for incoming orders and making sure 0:11:35.802,0:11:37.293 that the right people got those and of course 0:11:37.481,0:11:40.619 he'd be responsible for telling command further 0:11:40.781,0:11:43.368 up the line about the situation on his sector. 0:11:43.773,0:11:45.633 [John Garth] So he was an absolute lynch pin 0:11:45.784,0:11:49.215 in a war which depended absolutely on how 0:11:49.324,0:11:51.521 much information you had about your enemies 0:11:51.675,0:11:52.342 position. 0:11:53.217,0:11:55.139 [VO] In March of 1916 as his training nears 0:11:55.266,0:11:57.627 its completion, both Tolkien and Edith 0:11:57.770,0:11:59.854 become aware that he will soon be sent to 0:12:00.009,0:12:03.555 the Front. They marry and just over two 0:12:03.712,0:12:06.193 months later, Tolkien is shipped off to France. 0:12:07.076,0:12:09.617 The two of them part, not knowing if they 0:12:09.716,0:12:11.421 will ever see each other again. 0:12:20.449,0:12:36.420 (Loud battle sounds, Guns Firing, Shouting) 0:12:37.207,0:12:39.754 (ominous music) 0:12:40.196,0:12:41.978 [VO] When Tolkien arrives at the Front, the 0:12:42.089,0:12:44.177 War has been raging for almost two years. 0:12:45.038,0:12:46.217 The cost of the War is clear; 0:12:46.334,0:12:49.156 the countryside is scarred and the casualties 0:12:49.293,0:12:50.556 high. 0:12:51.910,0:12:53.352 After a virtual stalemate of trench warfare 0:12:53.496,0:12:57.354 throughout 1915, and with a new wave of 0:12:57.509,0:13:00.259 thousands of freshly trained recruits, it is 0:13:00.406,0:13:02.613 clear the Big Push is imminent. 0:13:03.273,0:13:04.693 (marching feet) 0:13:05.137,0:13:07.497 Tolkien's Battalion remains in reserve, but 0:13:07.601,0:13:09.513 he fears for the lives of his old school 0:13:09.639,0:13:10.963 friends who are at the Front. 0:13:13.132,0:13:14.915 Within a month of his arrival in France 0:13:15.030,0:13:17.107 the Allies launch the Somme Offensive. 0:13:18.548,0:13:21.988 At 7.30am, on Saturday 1st of July, 0:13:22.135,0:13:24.011 the troops in the British Frontline, 0:13:24.149,0:13:25.698 go over the top. 0:13:26.583,0:13:30.435 (whistle sound echoes) 0:13:45.886,0:13:47.953 On the first day of the Offensive alone, 0:13:48.331,0:13:51.998 20,000 men are killed, 35,000 are wounded 0:13:52.368,0:13:55.121 and over 2,000 are reported missing. 0:13:58.751,0:14:00.630 [Paul Golightly] The first casualty was 0:14:00.834,0:14:03.496 the plan. It started to fall apart very 0:14:03.624,0:14:06.480 rapidly. Tragically for the men caught out 0:14:06.583,0:14:09.104 in the open, it was a death sentence. 1 in 5 0:14:09.227,0:14:11.596 men who went into combat on the 1st of July 0:14:11.743,0:14:12.868 was killed. 0:14:14.210,0:14:15.943 [John Garth] It was the most disastrous day 0:14:16.098,0:14:19.390 in the history of the British Army, and 0:14:19.767,0:14:23.847 a tragedy for the entire country. There were 0:14:23.959,0:14:27.523 villages that had lost all their young men. 0:14:29.537,0:14:30.858 [Paul Golightly] It's marked as a loss of 0:14:30.940,0:14:34.855 innocence, that the 20,000 that were killed 0:14:34.991,0:14:37.657 represent a turning point in British 0:14:37.769,0:14:40.520 consciousness and the relationship perhaps 0:14:40.672,0:14:42.949 between those who make decisions and those 0:14:43.070,0:14:44.765 who are forced to carry them out. 0:14:50.716,0:14:52.399 (soft piano music) 0:14:53.895,0:14:55.458 [VO] Among the many men that are lost on that 0:14:55.595,0:15:00.128 day, is dear friend and TCBS member, 0:15:00.444,0:15:02.285 Robert Gilson. 0:15:03.795,0:15:06.110 [John Garth] He led his Platoon over the top 0:15:06.231,0:15:10.774 took charge of his Company, but was shot 0:15:10.941,0:15:13.112 in the middle of No Man's Land. 0:15:16.871,0:15:18.717 [Paul Golightly] He was in the fourth wave. 0:15:19.301,0:15:21.157 He saw the first wave go in and fail, 0:15:22.093,0:15:24.346 the second wave go in and fail, 0:15:24.627,0:15:26.585 the third wave go in and fail. 0:15:28.358,0:15:30.840 And he, as a part of the fourth wave, had 0:15:30.975,0:15:34.684 to go in; and they still went. And that 0:15:34.828,0:15:37.041 I think is the most poignant and probably 0:15:37.181,0:15:39.151 the most tragic thing about the 1st of July 0:15:39.282,0:15:45.127 1916. That this generation, had so much faith 0:15:45.254,0:15:48.139 in their superiors, probably had so much 0:15:48.275,0:15:50.503 commitment to their fellows that they were 0:15:50.654,0:15:52.554 prepared to go, even though it meant certain 0:15:52.905,0:15:53.407 death. 0:15:57.633,0:15:58.983 [John Garth] Tolkien heard about this 0:15:59.130,0:16:02.014 after his first action on the Somme a couple 0:16:02.135,0:16:05.045 of weeks later; and he was devastated. 0:16:06.110,0:16:07.819 It shook him to the foundations of his 0:16:07.977,0:16:11.084 beliefs. He had, as all of the members of 0:16:11.222,0:16:14.631 the TCBS had, built up their group as a 0:16:14.779,0:16:19.192 fellowship, with ideas and a spirit that had 0:16:19.347,0:16:22.126 something to give to the World. In which 0:16:22.285,0:16:26.210 all four of them were vital parts, and now 0:16:26.369,0:16:28.090 one of them was dead. So what did that mean 0:16:28.227,0:16:30.847 about their overall purpose? And also his 0:16:31.006,0:16:32.169 purpose. 0:16:33.063,0:16:34.352 [Simon Stacey] Geoffrey Smith wrote him a 0:16:34.462,0:16:39.199 letter in which, clearly Smith experiences 0:16:39.326,0:16:42.861 feelings of devastation and a sense that the 0:16:42.999,0:16:47.644 fellowship had been broken. Rob would never 0:16:47.772,0:16:51.539 become an architect, he would never fulfil 0:16:51.683,0:16:55.217 his part in whatever they dreamed of. 0:16:56.563,0:16:57.440 [John Garth] And I think it took him quite 0:16:57.593,0:17:02.065 some time to recover from that. The other 0:17:02.235,0:17:04.959 two members, Wiseman and Smith, were 0:17:05.044,0:17:08.004 determined to persuade him that, no, the TCBS 0:17:08.167,0:17:10.373 purpose continued and I think eventually 0:17:10.531,0:17:12.423 Tolkien took heart from that. 0:17:14.051,0:17:16.247 [VO] Tolkien writes to Rob's father, Headmaster 0:17:16.373,0:17:19.865 at King Edward's school to offer his 0:17:19.973,0:17:23.113 condolences. The TCBS lost a bright young 0:17:23.251,0:17:25.965 man, a talented artist and most painfully 0:17:26.101,0:17:29.420 of all; a dear friend. 0:17:33.954,0:17:36.757 Tolkien's war has well and truly started and 0:17:36.865,0:17:38.565 over the coming months he is subject to the 0:17:38.696,0:17:40.633 many hardships of trench warfare. 0:17:41.745,0:17:43.843 [John Garth] He spent his time in and out 0:17:43.978,0:17:47.022 of the trenches. Battalions would be rotated 0:17:47.185,0:17:50.445 from the Frontline to the reserve trenches 0:17:50.588,0:17:54.119 to rest, as they laughably called it, but 0:17:54.275,0:17:56.046 it wasn't really rest, it was training. 0:17:56.764,0:17:58.417 Tolkien talked about the universal weariness 0:17:58.583,0:18:01.731 of all this war. But during this period he 0:18:01.851,0:18:04.537 was involved in three attacks, he was 0:18:04.663,0:18:07.384 very fortunate not to have to go through the 0:18:07.495,0:18:09.805 first day of the Somme; he was a few miles 0:18:09.963,0:18:11.866 back from the Frontline at that time. 0:18:12.694,0:18:14.073 His Battalion moved forward for a second 0:18:14.216,0:18:16.183 wave of attacks, they were launched against a 0:18:16.318,0:18:18.527 village called Ovier; which had been the 0:18:18.648,0:18:21.600 German Frontline. One of the first things that 0:18:21.727,0:18:24.547 he encountered was, complete chaos in the 0:18:24.680,0:18:27.634 battlefield communications system. It was very 0:18:27.811,0:18:31.253 primitive. It was only partly built; damaged 0:18:31.365,0:18:34.264 by the fortunes of battle. He had signallers 0:18:34.389,0:18:38.518 going across No Man's Land carrying flares 0:18:38.656,0:18:42.046 to say, we have arrived. Further flares - 0:18:42.169,0:18:44.079 "we have taken prisoners", they carried 0:18:44.217,0:18:46.445 pigeons; pigeons were about the most reliable 0:18:46.602,0:18:49.046 method of communication. One of Tolkien's 0:18:49.718,0:18:52.542 signallers won a military medal for managing 0:18:52.669,0:18:56.035 to get his pigeons across No Man's Land and 0:18:56.167,0:18:57.488 do the job correctly. 0:18:58.309,0:18:59.748 [VO] The attack is a success and many 0:18:59.892,0:19:02.332 prisoners are captured. Of all the combat 0:19:02.483,0:19:05.214 Tolkien encounters, one of the most significant 0:19:05.358,0:19:08.298 battles is also one of his last; an attack 0:19:08.462,0:19:10.554 on Regina Trench. 0:19:11.441,0:19:12.824 [John Garth] This was in October, by which 0:19:12.985,0:19:15.065 time the battlefield had been reduced to mud. 0:19:15.242,0:19:19.093 The attack had been delayed by heavy rain 0:19:19.174,0:19:22.225 but on October 21st there was a cold snap 0:19:22.336,0:19:25.434 so the ground was frozen hard and the 0:19:25.502,0:19:26.999 attack was able to go ahead. 0:19:27.740,0:19:33.542 (Deep boom. Loud Artillery Fire) 0:19:33.980,0:19:41.671 (Gunfire, bullets zipping by) 0:19:42.176,0:19:46.730 (solemn music) 0:19:48.029,0:19:51.630 [John Garth] He saw violent death, he also 0:19:51.755,0:19:54.286 saw and felt extreme terror. 0:19:56.907,0:19:59.571 He never, as far as we know, described at 0:19:59.738,0:20:03.559 length what trench warfare was like but he 0:20:03.714,0:20:05.583 summed it up in two words, in one of his 0:20:05.744,0:20:08.045 letters, and this was; "animal horror". 0:20:09.871,0:20:13.378 It would reduce you from humanity and 0:20:13.524,0:20:16.785 turn you into a retched beast desperate only 0:20:16.935,0:20:20.156 to cower and survive. And it's very 0:20:20.282,0:20:22.198 interesting if you look in The Lord of The Rings 0:20:22.287,0:20:25.104 whenever the characters are in situations of 0:20:25.278,0:20:27.465 extreme fear, they're always described as 0:20:27.594,0:20:34.634 stooping and stupefied, un-manned by terror. 0:20:36.021,0:20:37.240 [Paul Golightly] A lot of British trenches 0:20:37.389,0:20:39.072 were deliberately uncomfortable because 0:20:39.214,0:20:41.046 the Generals wanted the men to believe 0:20:41.194,0:20:42.796 that they were only temporary, that they 0:20:42.942,0:20:44.603 would be advancing beyond this, that this 0:20:44.763,0:20:46.116 wasn't their home. 0:20:48.237,0:20:50.174 [VO] Out on the Western Front, Tolkien feels 0:20:50.325,0:20:53.008 isolated from home and letters to, and from, 0:20:53.125,0:20:56.328 Edith are a lifeline. For reasons of 0:20:56.446,0:20:58.723 strategic importance Tolkien is forbidden 0:20:58.842,0:21:02.169 from sharing his location in his letters, so 0:21:02.282,0:21:04.558 he devises a code of dots to keep Edith 0:21:04.708,0:21:06.400 informed of where he is. 0:21:07.433,0:21:08.843 [John Garth] He simply found the letters 0:21:08.948,0:21:12.189 of the alphabet within what he wrote to her 0:21:12.331,0:21:14.410 and put a dot above the relevant ones to 0:21:14.546,0:21:16.704 spell out the name of the place where he was 0:21:16.841,0:21:20.964 currently located. And Edith kept a map 0:21:21.121,0:21:24.119 on her wall and pins to show where he was 0:21:24.291,0:21:25.690 at that time. 0:21:28.160,0:21:30.134 [VO] After the successful attack on Regina 0:21:30.306,0:21:32.221 Trench, the Battalion is withdrawn from the 0:21:32.393,0:21:34.915 front and paraded in front of the top brass. 0:21:35.594,0:21:37.996 Tolkien however, falls ill. 0:21:38.801,0:21:40.361 [John Garth] It was trench fever. And this 0:21:40.495,0:21:43.649 was a louse born disease due to the unhygienic 0:21:43.764,0:21:44.935 conditions in the trenches. 0:21:45.167,0:21:47.018 [Paul Golightly] It spread through contact 0:21:47.168,0:21:50.229 with lice and it symptoms aren't very pleasant 0:21:50.344,0:21:53.596 It gives you a headache, you can have stomach 0:21:53.726,0:21:56.375 cramps, you can have pain in you joints 0:21:56.528,0:21:59.155 and in your bones, you can get lesions on 0:21:59.439,0:22:02.494 your skin; it's not fatal but it can become 0:22:02.629,0:22:04.877 very debilitating. So debilitating you can't 0:22:05.003,0:22:08.283 be an effective soldier. Tolkien got a very 0:22:08.395,0:22:10.524 bad case, so bad that he had to be invalided 0:22:10.700,0:22:12.695 "back to Blighty" as they put it. 0:22:13.222,0:22:14.705 And in fact it was the end of his war. 0:22:14.994,0:22:16.483 [John Garth] It saved Tolkien's life, it took 0:22:16.585,0:22:20.072 him out of the battlefield and back to Britain. 0:22:20.426,0:22:23.469 He was shipped home to Birmingham, to 0:22:23.604,0:22:25.626 The First Southern General Hospital as it 0:22:25.732,0:22:27.734 was called at the time, which was actually set 0:22:27.864,0:22:29.803 up in the grounds of Birmingham University. 0:22:30.605,0:22:33.302 And it was there that Tolkien was re-united 0:22:33.427,0:22:36.919 with his wife, Edith and where he began 0:22:37.058,0:22:40.189 writing the first stories of Middle-Earth. 0:22:41.513,0:22:44.015 His re-union with Edith was deeply emotional 0:22:44.122,0:22:47.559 and was an inspiration for various pieces of 0:22:47.681,0:22:49.677 writing in his mythology, notably the 0:22:49.826,0:22:53.001 story of Luthien and Beren; which features 0:22:53.146,0:22:54.886 in the Silmarillion and is mentioned in 0:22:54.999,0:22:57.193 The Lord of The Rings. A love story between 0:22:57.310,0:23:00.740 a mortal man and an immortal elf. 0:23:01.600,0:23:03.075 (Gentle Piano Music) 0:23:03.766,0:23:05.932 [VO] However, Tolkien's respite is short lived. 0:23:06.096,0:23:08.879 Shortly after returning to Birmingham, Tolkien 0:23:09.022,0:23:10.673 learns from Christopher Wiseman, that 0:23:10.836,0:23:14.153 good friend G.B.Smith has been killed. 0:23:18.533,0:23:19.692 [John Garth] The Battle of the Somme was 0:23:19.811,0:23:22.977 over, and Smith had been organising a 0:23:23.137,0:23:25.739 football match for his men about four miles 0:23:25.890,0:23:28.551 behind the Frontline, when a stray shell 0:23:28.707,0:23:30.142 exploded near him. 0:23:31.955,0:23:35.619 He was hit by shrapnel and developed what 0:23:35.758,0:23:38.115 they called Gas Gangrene, which killed 0:23:38.265,0:23:41.919 him within a few days. Early in 1916, while 0:23:42.047,0:23:44.143 Tolkien was still in training, he had a letter 0:23:44.299,0:23:47.513 G.B.Smith, who by that time was in the trenches 0:23:47.643,0:23:49.827 in France. 0:23:49.968,0:23:52.284 [VO] Smith was about to go out on Night Patrol. 0:23:52.397,0:23:54.320 The officer who had led the patrol the night before 0:23:54.444,0:23:57.087 had been captured and most likely killed. 0:23:58.615,0:23:59.931 [John Garth] It was about the most dangerous 0:24:00.067,0:24:02.699 activity that you could do on the Western Front 0:24:02.833,0:24:04.627 and Smith was about to go into it and he took 0:24:04.761,0:24:07.749 the opportunity to write to Tolkien, and 0:24:07.945,0:24:14.303 tell him; "I'm about to go out on Night Patrol, 0:24:14.415,0:24:19.085 I am a wild and wholehearted admirer of 0:24:19.191,0:24:22.145 what you've written and what you will write" 0:24:23.269,0:24:25.180 He told Tolkien, "you I'm sure are chosen, 0:24:25.344,0:24:30.424 and you must publish." 0:24:33.835,0:24:35.558 Smith was essentially the first Middle-Earth 0:24:35.698,0:24:36.603 fan. 0:24:38.176,0:24:39.868 [Simon Stacey] Smith says in the letter that 0:24:40.002,0:24:44.884 death couldn't put an end to the TCBS, to 0:24:44.996,0:24:48.502 the "immortal four" as he put it, that Tolkien 0:24:48.632,0:24:53.153 may say the things that he had wanted to 0:24:53.280,0:24:56.178 say, long after he is there to say them. 0:24:56.328,0:25:00.932 That's very moving because Tolkien, although 0:25:01.067,0:25:05.170 very much his own individual artistic self, 0:25:05.341,0:25:08.662 I think did see his later career as an 0:25:08.820,0:25:11.296 attempt to fulfil the artistic dreams that 0:25:11.433,0:25:12.961 they'd shared. 0:25:13.838,0:25:16.634 [John Garth] He was able to gather his strength 0:25:16.796,0:25:24.389 and perhaps see Smith as an ideal to be lived up to. 0:25:25.592,0:25:27.912 [VO] In the summer of 1918, Tolkien and 0:25:28.073,0:25:30.649 Wiseman gather some of Smith's poems and 0:25:30.802,0:25:32.743 have them published in a small volume, 0:25:32.881,0:25:36.295 entitled; "A Spring Harvest". 0:25:38.272,0:25:40.497 Tolkien's war is over, but the impact of his 0:25:40.601,0:25:43.427 experiences will stay with him forever, and 0:25:43.557,0:25:46.053 will even feature in his future writings. 0:25:46.626,0:25:48.256 [John Garth] The whole experience of the War 0:25:48.389,0:25:51.840 had an ongoing affect on much of Tolkien's 0:25:51.956,0:25:54.548 mythology. As soon as Tolkien returned from 0:25:54.666,0:25:56.115 the Somme he started writing a story called, 0:25:56.239,0:25:58.529 "The Fall of Gondolin" which was the first 0:25:58.680,0:26:01.302 element of his mythology that dealt with battle. 0:26:02.687,0:26:04.725 And the fascinating thing about it is that the 0:26:04.866,0:26:08.235 attacking forces use things that are termed 0:26:08.349,0:26:10.596 by Tolkien, "dragons" or "beasts" or "monsters" 0:26:10.684,0:26:13.957 but they're described as metallic and rolling 0:26:14.531,0:26:16.612 and they spout fire and some of them have 0:26:16.737,0:26:18.855 troops inside them, and it's pretty clear that 0:26:18.986,0:26:22.377 this is a kind of mythologising of the Tank. 0:26:22.681,0:26:24.565 Which was Britains secret weapon, which 0:26:24.706,0:26:26.428 had just been launched on the Somme while 0:26:26.536,0:26:27.420 Tolkien was there. 0:26:28.375,0:26:31.304 The Lord of The Rings focusses on a fellowship, 0:26:31.416,0:26:33.682 they're separated on different battlefronts, 0:26:33.812,0:26:35.548 much like the TCBS were. 0:26:35.986,0:26:37.052 [Simon Stacey] It's almost unimaginable that, 0:26:37.222,0:26:39.743 in writing of the breaking of the fellowship, 0:26:39.880,0:26:42.275 in The Lord of The Rings, that Tolkien wouldn't 0:26:42.422,0:26:45.798 have been influenced by his own loss during 0:26:45.935,0:26:47.745 the First World War and the breaking of the 0:26:47.892,0:26:49.480 TCBS fellowship. 0:26:50.538,0:26:53.043 There is a late letter in which he mentions 0:26:53.177,0:26:55.729 that the dead marshes, through which Frodo, 0:26:55.859,0:26:59.685 Sam and Gollum travel, owe something to 0:26:59.877,0:27:02.105 northern France, in the area of the Somme 0:27:02.234,0:27:03.520 where he fought. 0:27:04.241,0:27:06.321 [John Garth] Frodo and Sam are very much 0:27:06.470,0:27:10.152 the equivalent of an officer and his batman; his 0:27:10.251,0:27:13.144 servant. And Tolkien actually said that, "my 0:27:13.261,0:27:17.857 Sam Gamgee is inspired by the Privates and 0:27:17.968,0:27:21.246 Batmen I knew in the First World War". 0:27:22.040,0:27:25.523 Frodo represents really, the feelings of a young 0:27:25.659,0:27:28.215 man like Tolkien himself, thrown into a war 0:27:28.307,0:27:30.715 unwillingly and having to shoulder a terrible 0:27:30.853,0:27:34.541 burden; a burden of duty. You can see that 0:27:34.604,0:27:40.118 Frodo develops symptoms of what we would now 0:27:40.264,0:27:42.931 call Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or 0:27:43.080,0:27:45.202 War Trauma, or what they called then, 0:27:45.351,0:27:48.310 Shell Shock. He becomes withdrawn from 0:27:48.462,0:27:51.722 the World, increasingly enclosed within himself 0:27:51.832,0:27:55.583 he says he can't remember what grass was like, 0:27:55.714,0:27:57.118 what sunlight was like. 0:27:58.059,0:28:00.250 When the war is over in The Lord of The Rings, 0:28:00.400,0:28:03.514 Frodo does not strut his stuff as a hero, 0:28:03.669,0:28:05.760 he is visibly traumatised by the whole 0:28:05.888,0:28:09.371 experience. This was very true of many of the 0:28:09.516,0:28:11.653 soldiers who returned from the Western 0:28:11.811,0:28:14.819 Front, unable to talk about the experiences 0:28:14.960,0:28:17.845 that had affected them so deeply. 0:28:18.689,0:28:20.494 (retrospective piano music) 0:28:23.457,0:28:24.441 [Paul Golightly] The generation that fights 0:28:24.571,0:28:27.339 the First World War, should be called courageous. 0:28:28.516,0:28:30.066 [Simon Stacey] The sacrifice of that generation 0:28:30.209,0:28:31.808 was extraordinary. 0:28:32.685,0:28:35.169 [John Garth] It was a tragic loss not only for 0:28:35.303,0:28:38.766 families, for friends, but for civilisation as 0:28:38.903,0:28:45.844 a whole. It shook long-held beliefs and 0:28:45.993,0:28:48.614 assumptions in honour and glory. 0:28:48.748,0:28:51.478 [Simon Stacey] It is the first thorough 0:28:51.614,0:28:56.488 going war of the machines. So many 0:28:56.636,0:28:59.459 thousands and ultimately millions of men 0:28:59.620,0:29:03.541 could be wiped out, could be destroyed without 0:29:03.722,0:29:06.869 necessarily facing their individual enemy. 0:29:07.359,0:29:08.352 [Paul Golightly] These men don't have 0:29:08.531,0:29:11.584 the privilege of dying one at a time, they die 0:29:11.772,0:29:15.634 on mass; and it's those numbers that I think 0:29:15.808,0:29:17.524 traumatise us so much. That's why we have 0:29:17.614,0:29:20.921 the memorials at Thiepval and Menin Gate; 0:29:21.297,0:29:23.840 where it's just one long list of names. 0:29:24.796,0:29:27.102 These bodies have simply disappeared, and 0:29:27.200,0:29:28.758 they're all separate lives but they've all 0:29:28.891,0:29:30.461 vanished at once. 0:29:31.899,0:29:33.527 [John Garth] When you read the King Edward's 0:29:33.641,0:29:37.848 School Chronicle, as I have to research 0:29:37.998,0:29:42.892 Tolkien's life here, you get to know the boys 0:29:43.029,0:29:45.511 with whom he grew up and you see their 0:29:45.627,0:29:47.654 achievements, you see what they were learning, 0:29:47.790,0:29:50.609 you see how wonderfully intelligent, potentially 0:29:50.773,0:29:54.781 creative and brilliant they were. And then 0:29:54.937,0:29:57.161 the First World War; and you see that they're 0:29:57.311,0:29:58.382 heading for this. 0:29:59.899,0:30:01.208 [Paul Golightly] These young men, with their 0:30:01.356,0:30:03.868 whole lives in front of them, have, yes it's 0:30:03.997,0:30:06.183 a phrase that we all know, have been cut off 0:30:06.321,0:30:08.486 in their prime. They were full of potential, 0:30:08.767,0:30:10.768 full of life, full of vigour, full of plans, 0:30:10.881,0:30:13.020 full of ambition; wanting to do all kinds of 0:30:13.146,0:30:14.854 things with their professional lives and 0:30:14.999,0:30:17.124 their personal lives, and denied that opportunity. 0:30:17.996,0:30:19.115 [John Garth] When you look at the fortunes 0:30:19.271,0:30:21.005 of war, it's quite astonishing that Tolkien 0:30:21.164,0:30:23.914 survived and went on to produce the great 0:30:24.059,0:30:26.657 works of literature that he did; works that 0:30:26.807,0:30:28.637 have shaped our culture. And one does 0:30:28.786,0:30:32.680 wonder how many others didn't survive, 0:30:32.814,0:30:35.103 what potential was locked inside them that 0:30:35.290,0:30:38.036 they never had time to bring out of themselves. 0:30:39.234,0:30:42.774 So there is an uncountable loss there. 0:30:45.106,0:30:47.607 [Simon Stacey] G.B.Smith gives a brief glimpse 0:30:47.773,0:30:52.796 of a young life snuffed out and only very 0:30:52.940,0:30:56.778 incompletely communicating its dreams. 0:30:58.176,0:30:59.273 [Paul Golightly] This is a generation that did 0:30:59.421,0:31:01.755 not talk about the way it felt. So in that 0:31:01.911,0:31:04.449 sense I think the psychological affect was 0:31:04.584,0:31:07.589 long lasting. A number of veterans surived 0:31:07.735,0:31:10.361 the war only to find that they couldn't survive 0:31:10.474,0:31:11.977 the peace. 0:31:12.765,0:31:14.807 [VO] In the chapel at King Edward's School, 0:31:14.970,0:31:17.079 eight brass plaques hold the names of 0:31:17.231,0:31:21.307 245 Old Edwardians who lost their lives during 0:31:21.434,0:31:24.881 the First World War. Tolkien and his TCBS 0:31:25.026,0:31:27.079 friends, are just four of almost 0:31:27.221,0:31:29.562 fifteen hundred Old Edwardians who answered 0:31:29.689,0:31:32.810 their country's call and fought in The Great War, 0:31:33.659,0:31:36.454 and each of their stories is worth telling. 0:31:37.810,0:31:38.905 [Paul Golightly] The graveyards that you can 0:31:39.026,0:31:41.907 walk around in northern France now have become 0:31:42.069,0:31:45.585 almost 21st century cathedrals; where some 0:31:45.742,0:31:48.026 really important questions need to be ask about 0:31:48.194,0:31:50.512 the nature of war and the nature of 0:31:50.669,0:31:56.710 sacrifice, and in the First World War's case, 0:31:56.848,0:32:01.005 the scale of that sacrifice. Whether any war 0:32:01.195,0:32:03.954 could be worth that.