{"id":31750,"date":"2023-03-15T15:08:07","date_gmt":"2023-03-15T15:08:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thehighlandersmuseum.com\/?p=31750"},"modified":"2023-03-15T15:08:07","modified_gmt":"2023-03-15T15:08:07","slug":"to-the-very-lights-poem-from-the-archive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thehighlandersmuseum.com\/?p=31750","title":{"rendered":"To The Very Lights – Poem from the Archive"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ next_background_color=”#ffffff” _builder_version=”4.9.7″ background_color=”#1C3377″ custom_padding=”11px|0px|33px|0px|false|false” bottom_divider_style=”arrow2″ bottom_divider_height=”32px” saved_tabs=”all” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.7″ custom_padding=”||9px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.10.6″ text_font=”||||||||” text_text_color=”#FFFFFF” header_font=”Barlow Semi Condensed|||on|||||” header_text_align=”center” header_text_color=”#ffffff” header_font_size=”50px” header_line_height=”1.2em” header_2_font=”||||||||” header_2_text_color=”#FFFFFF” header_2_font_size=”27px” header_2_letter_spacing=”2px” header_2_line_height=”1.2em” header_3_font=”|||on|||||” header_3_text_align=”center” header_3_text_color=”#ffffff” header_3_font_size=”27px” header_3_letter_spacing=”2px” header_3_line_height=”1.7em” text_orientation=”center” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

To The Very Lights<\/h1>\n

A poem by Zem Zem<\/h3>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.9.7″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”30px||18px|||” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.10.6″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#e5e5e5″ custom_padding=”0px||36px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.7″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text quote_border_color=”#b89632″ _builder_version=”4.10.6″ _module_preset=”default” text_line_height=”2em” link_text_color=”#b89632″ header_3_font=”|||on|||||” header_3_font_size=”27px” header_3_letter_spacing=”2px” header_3_line_height=”1.2em” background_color=”#FFFFFF” custom_margin=”||16px|||” custom_padding=”22px||17px|||” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” text_font_size=”16px” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

Zem Zem Anthology #3<\/h3>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the regular tasks of a Pioneer battalion was to construct and repair the miles of trenches that linked various trench systems running parallel to the front line. These narrow communication trenches enabled troops from rear areas to get to the front without exposing themselves to artillery or sniper fire. With the German front line often occupying the high ground and spotter aircraft active during the day, trench construction was best done under the cover of darkness. The 9th Seaforth\u2019s war diary entry for 23rd-29th January 1916 records a typical week\u2019s work:<\/p>\n

\n

“A.Coy. Engaged in revetting and wiring work in communication trenches. 1 Platoon in dug-outs at Moated Farm reclaiming Lone Farm Avenue. B.Coy. 2 Platoons working by day and 2 Platoons by night repairing communication trenches. C.Coy. working at Div(ision) Grenade school. D.Coy engaged by night draining front line trenches.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

To help plan the work, a so-called Moonlight Chart was used to determine the number of hours available to carry out any clandestine operations during a new moon, or nights of better visibility for trench construction when the moon was full. In the total absence of any light from the ruined towns and villages, both sides used flares to illuminate and catch out each other\u2019s night-time activities.<\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.thehighlandersmuseum.com\/newversion\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/A-WWI-trench-Moonlight-Chart-from-1918-1.jpg” alt=”A WWI trench Moonlight Chart from 1918 ” title_text=”A WWI trench Moonlight Chart from 1918 ” show_in_lightbox=”on” align=”center” force_fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.10.6″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-20px||49px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.10.6″ _module_preset=”default” text_line_height=”2em” link_text_color=”#b89632″ header_3_font=”|||on|||||” header_3_font_size=”27px” header_3_letter_spacing=”2px” header_3_line_height=”1.2em” custom_padding=”22px||17px|||” global_colors_info=”{}” quote_border_color=”#b89632″ background_color=”#e5e5e5″ custom_margin=”||16px|||” text_font_size=”16px” text_orientation=”center” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

To the Very Lights<\/span><\/h3>\n

(from the communication trench)<\/h3>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

In blackest night I walk the trench,<\/span>
<\/span>My feet the slippery duck boards tread,<\/span>
<\/span>When all at once a flood of light<\/span>
<\/span>A brilliant radiance overhead.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The wooden path on which I walk,<\/span>
<\/span>Stretches in front a glistening way,<\/span>
<\/span>With all its cross rungs standing out<\/span>
<\/span>As clear as in the light of day.<\/span> <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The rat that prowls about the trench<\/span>
<\/span>Discovered by the pallid flare<\/span>
<\/span>A dusky scudding form runs back,<\/span>
<\/span>To shelter in his secret lair.<\/span><\/p>\n

The chalky walls on either side<\/span>
<\/span>Emerging from the womb of night,<\/span>
<\/span>Appear like drifts of moonlit snow<\/span>
<\/span>Illumined by the silvery light.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Seen from the fields, the Very lights<\/span>
<\/span>Spring out of the horizon\u2019s rim,<\/span>
<\/span>First up they shoot, then slowly sail<\/span>
<\/span>And bathe in light the landscape dim.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Each ruined farm, each blasted tree,<\/span>
<\/span>Each withered stalk of wood and grass,<\/span>
<\/span>And inky silhouette stands out<\/span>
<\/span>While high in air the meteors pass.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The ration cart, the water tanks,<\/span>
<\/span>Stand out revealed as clear as day,<\/span>
<\/span>Lit or eclipsed alternately,<\/span>
<\/span>As shine or fades th\u2019 inconstant ray.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For miles along the sinuous line,<\/span>
<\/span>In radiant curves ascend the air,<\/span>
<\/span>A thousand brilliant Very lights<\/span>
<\/span>An earthly constellation there.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And shooting sparks behind they fall,<\/span>
<\/span>To blaze upon the ground below,<\/span>
<\/span>Then die, and night\u2019s mysterious pall<\/span>
<\/span>Descends again on friend and foe.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And in the darkling trench again,<\/span>
<\/span>I slide and slip upon the floor,<\/span>
<\/span>Until the next bright Very light<\/span>
<\/span>Assists my stumbling feet once more.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Zem Zem (undated)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.9.7″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”||-3px|||” custom_padding=”0px||0px|||” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.10.6″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”|auto|1px|auto||” custom_padding=”2px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.10.6″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.thehighlandersmuseum.com\/newversion\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/IWM-Q6419.jpg” alt=”Lights in the sky whilst working on barbed wire fencing – courtesy of the Imperial War Museum” title_text=”Lights in the sky whilst working on barbed wire fencing – courtesy of the Imperial War Museum” show_in_lightbox=”on” align=”center” force_fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.10.6″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-20px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.10.6″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”5px||2px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.10.6″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”4px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.10.6″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.10.6″ _module_preset=”default” text_line_height=”2em” link_text_color=”#b89632″ header_3_font=”|||on|||||” header_3_font_size=”27px” header_3_letter_spacing=”2px” header_3_line_height=”1.2em” custom_margin=”||16px|||” custom_padding=”22px||38px|||” global_colors_info=”{}” quote_border_color=”#b89632″ background_color=”#FFFFFF” text_font_size=”16px”]<\/p>\n

The Illustrated War News, a wartime subsidiary publication of the Illustrated London News, carried a regular \u2018How It Works\u2019 feature and the December 1915 edition covered War Illuminations, describing the various pyrotechnics used to light up the battlefield. One method was the star shell, fired from a field gun and filled with up to eight cartridges that burned brightly as they fell towards the ground. A single shot version, fired from a hand-held pistol, used a burning piece of magnesium suspended from a small parachute to provide near instant light as it slowly drifted towards the ground. The British called these flare guns Very Lights, after the inventor Edward Wilson Very, an American Naval Officer, although most were supplied by the pistol manufacturer Webley and Scott.<\/p>\n

In a letter to the Bellshill Speaker, printed in July 1915, Drummer Michael Tracey explained the dangers posed by star shells: \u201cAs the 9th Seaforths are a pioneer battalion, we have to run some great risks\u2026 As soon as the star shells go up we have got to get down and lie flat, so as not to be seen by the enemy, as sometimes they send over a hail of bullets trying to cop us, but we are too quick for them\u201d.<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.thehighlandersmuseum.com\/newversion\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/The-Illustrated-War-News.jpg” alt=”Courtesy of The Illustrated War News” title_text=”Courtesy of The Illustrated War News” show_in_lightbox=”on” align=”center” force_fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.10.6″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”10px|||||” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.thehighlandersmuseum.com\/newversion\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/IWM-Q33350.jpg” alt=”Flares in the night sky – courtesy of the Imperial War Museum” title_text=”Flares in the night sky – courtesy of the Imperial War Museum” show_in_lightbox=”on” align=”center” force_fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.10.6″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”10px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.10.6″ _module_preset=”default” text_line_height=”2em” link_text_color=”#b89632″ header_3_font=”|||on|||||” header_3_font_size=”27px” header_3_letter_spacing=”2px” header_3_line_height=”1.2em” custom_margin=”||16px|||” custom_padding=”22px||17px|||” global_colors_info=”{}” quote_border_color=”#b89632″ background_color=”#FFFFFF” text_font_size=”16px” text_orientation=”center” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

A popular song with the soldiers, sung to the tune of \u2018When Irish Eyes are Smiling\u2019, highlighted the dangers in slightly coarser language:<\/p>\n

When Very lights are shining,
Sure they’re like the morning light
And when the guns begin to thunder
You can hear the angel’s shite.
Then the Maxims start to chatter
And trench mortars send a few,
And when Very lights are shining
‘Tis time for a rum issue.
When Very lights are shining
Sure ’tis like the morning dew,
And when shells begin a bursting
It makes you think your times come too.
And when you start advancing
Five nines and gas comes through,
Sure when Very lights are shining
‘Tis rum or lead for you.<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.thehighlandersmuseum.com\/newversion\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/To-the-Very-Lights-1.jpg” alt=”To the Very Lights – Zem Zem” title_text=”To the Very Lights – Zem Zem” show_in_lightbox=”on” align=”center” force_fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.10.6″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.10.6″ _module_preset=”default” text_line_height=”2em” link_text_color=”#b89632″ header_3_font=”|||on|||||” header_3_font_size=”27px” header_3_letter_spacing=”2px” header_3_line_height=”1.2em” custom_margin=”||16px|||” custom_padding=”22px||17px|||” global_colors_info=”{}” quote_border_color=”#b89632″ background_color=”#FFFFFF” text_font_size=”16px”]<\/p>\n

Very lights featured in other published references. A staff correspondent of the United Press, reporting from the trenches, noted the wry humour of the British Tommy: \u201cAt one circular cluster of dugouts was a sign reading \u2018Piccadilly Circus\u2019… \u2018Tourists welcome\u2019 said another. \u2018Very lights, three pennies\u2019 read another\u201d. Bruce Bairnsfather, a prominent humourist and cartoonist of the time, regularly drew the arc of a Very light to indicate night-time in his \u2018Fragments from France\u2019 series of cartoons published weekly in The Bystander magazine during the war.<\/p>\n

Zem Zem\u2019s poem \u2018to the Very lights\u2019, written from the view point of a communication trench, is a new addition to the genre and perfectly describes the paradox between the serene beauty of a flare arcing into the night sky and the mud, detritus, and destruction lit up below.<\/p>\n

By Craig Durham, Volunteer at The Highlanders’ Museum (Queen’s Own Highlanders Collection)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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The third poem of our Zem Zem anthology describes how the 9th Seaforth\u2019s Medical Officer navigated his way around the trenches at night. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31756,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"2880","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thehighlandersmuseum.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thehighlandersmuseum.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thehighlandersmuseum.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thehighlandersmuseum.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thehighlandersmuseum.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31750"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thehighlandersmuseum.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31750\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thehighlandersmuseum.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thehighlandersmuseum.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thehighlandersmuseum.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thehighlandersmuseum.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}