"Dulce et decorum est pro Patria mori."

A noble sentiment, taken from a poem by Horace, and one which was taken as a veritable truth by virtually every man, woman and child in the early years of twentieth century Britain.

The memories of Britain's last conflict, the Boer War, had faded. Victoria's reign was over and a more frivolous society began to emerge under the reign of Edward VII, and continued when George V succeeded him in 1910. The country was at peace and life was good.

Wilfred Edward Salter Owen was born in Oswestry, Shropshire in March 1893. Shortly after his birth, the family fortunes took a downward turn, on the death of his maternal grandfather, Edward Shaw, who had been Mayor of Oswestry. After his death, Shaw was discovered to have been bankrupt, and the Owen family, who had been living in his house, were forced...