For the Fallen

"For the Fallen" is a poem written by Laurence Binyon. It was first published in The Times in September 1914. It was also published in Binyon's book "The Winnowing Fan : Poems On The Great War" by Elkin Mathews, London, 1914.

Over time, the third and fourth stanzas of the poem (usually now just the fourth) have been claimed as a tribute to all casualties of war, regardless of state. This selection of the poem is often taken as an ode that is often recited at Remembrance Day and ANZAC Day services, and is what the term "Ode of Remembrance" usually refers to.

Background

Laurence Binyon (10 August 1869 – 10 March 1943), a British poet, was described as having a "sober" response to the outbreak of World War I, in contrast to the euphoria many others felt (although he signed the "Author's Declaration" that defended British involvement in the war, appearing in The New York Times on 18 September with 54 other British authors—including Thomas Hardy, Arthur Conan Doyle, and H.G. Wells).

A week after the war began in 1914, Binyon published his first war poem, "The Fourth of August" in The Times.

Writing

On 23 August, in Britain's opening action of World War I on the Western Front, the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) suffered a loss at the Battle of Mons and the subsequent lengthy retreat. The extent of fighting to follow was not revealed as casualties were comparable to past European wars. "For the Fallen" was specifically composed in honour of the casualties of the BEF, written immediately following the retreat from the Battle of Mons.