Spice of life: Lord Wavell, a viceroy with the heart of a poet

Hindustan Times

26-05-2025

For many in India, Lord Wavell shall be remembered as one of the last long-serving viceroys, having served at the helm from 1943-47 and as a man who held onto his colonial mindset till the very end, alienating not only Indian politicians but also his masters sitting in London. It would be apt to remember Field Marshal Archibald Percival Wavell this May, as the month brought him both his birth (May 5, 1883) as well as his death (May 24, 1950).
Lord Wavell might not have been a success in the political office of viceroy but he was a great military man and what may surprise many, an even more successful writer and poet, having authored six books.
Lord Wavell had a passion for poetry since childhood. He could memorise long poems with ease. He was often showed off by his parents to relatives and friends to recite reams of poetry. Apart from fighting the Boer War, two World Wars, attaining the highest rank of Field Marshal, earning an earldom and serving as viceroy of India, he was known to devote a lot of time to his duties as president of the Poetry Society, the Royal Society of Literature, the Kipling Society and Browning Society.
His military aide, Peter Fleming (travel writer and brother of Ian Fleming, the man who created the character of James Bond), once asked him to compile his favourite poems for publishing. Initially hesitant, Lord Wavell took on the task and compiled the volume of 255 poems almost totally from memory. The result was Other Men's Flowers, published in 1944.
Priced at 10 shillings and six pence, the book sold out immediately and remains in print even today.The Times commended his book and welcomed him as 'the latest recruit to the ranks of anthologists'.
To mend fences with Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru who was incarcerated in Ahmednagar Fort, he sent an inscribed copy of his book along with a personal letter. Pandit Nehru was delighted and described the book as 'a good one'.
He dedicated this book to his son, who shared his love for poetry. Unfortunately, the poetry-loving son died a brave soldier battling the Mau Mau in Kenya after having lost his left arm in the Second World War. After four years of war when he visited the Madonna of the Cherries, he wrote a sonnet to all things beautiful that help us forget the dreariness of war. 'For all the loveliness, the warmth, that light, / Blessed Madonna, I go back to fight,' wrote Lord Wavell as the last lines of his sonnet (Page510, Other Men's Flowers), emphasising the fact that sometimes war has to be fought to safeguard the beautiful things in life. [e-mail]
The writer is a Chandigarh-based freelance contributor.