The Fear, Hill Born and Victory – Poems by Wilfrid Wilson Gibson

Wilfrid Wilson Gibson was born in 1878 in Hexham.  Wilfrid attended local schools, and later said that he wrote his first poem aged 10, about a school bully. He was close to his older sister, Elizabeth, who was also a poet. In 1901, he won a competition to have one of his poems on the base of the fountain in Hexham Market Square.

Wilfrid left Hexham for London in 1912. He lived above the famous “The Poetry Bookshop” and met a group of poets, including Wilfred Owen and Rupert Brooke. During the First World War, Wilfrid tried to join the army on a number of occasions. He was rejected as physically unfit until late 1917 when he enlisted as a Private. Wilfrid did not serve abroad and was not involved in any fighting. However, much of his war poetry is written from the point of view of a soldier in the trenches.

Wilfrid’s book of poetry “Friends”, published 1916, was dedicated to Rupert Brooke (died 1915).  The dedication to “Friends” reads:

He’s gone
I do not understand.
I only know
That as he turned to go
And waved his hand
In his young eyes a sudden glory shone:
And I was dazzled by a sunset glow,
And he was gone.

These are three of the poems that he wrote during the First World War, they are part of his “Battle” collection (see British Library link below). “Battle” was an influence on Wilfred Owen who read Wilfrid Wilson Gibson’s poetry while he was being treated for shell shock.

Hill Born

In the poem “Hill Born” the last line mentions “Windy Gile”. This is actually Windy Gyle, a mountain in the Cheviots, Northumberland. Like many poems written by soldiers, there is a sense of yearning for England (although Wilfred never left!). He contrasts the lowland mud of the trenches with the clean winds blowing on a high hill in Northumberland.