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The former MP for Herefordshire and a county vicar together created one of the best known musical tributes to the men and women who died in World War One.

In 1917, Sir John Stanhope-Arkright of Kinsham Court had retired due to ill health and he offered his services to Lord Derby, who was Minster of War. He moved around the county supporting the 'cause' and wrote the words for a hymn as a requiem to the fallen.

O' Valiant Hearts - the Supreme Sacrifice was first published by the Hereford Times on 21 July 1917, followed by The Times on 4 August. It was put to music by the vicar of Colwall, Dr Charles Harris and sung in Westminster Abbey, Hereford Cathedral and as a parade around the streets of Hereford in August 1917 to mark the third anniversary of the outbreak of the war.

King George V was said to be "deeply moved" by the hymn and it was later sung at the burial of the Unknown Soldier in Westminster Abbey, at the consecration of the Menin Gate and the unveiling of the memorial of Vimy Ridge.

The hymn reflects the way that remembrance in WW1 was seeped in religious imagery and symbolism. After WW2 the hymn was seen as controversial by some as it created a parallel between the death of Christ and the deaths of soldiers. Some churches excluded the fifth verse or chose not to sing it but it is still performed across the world today as the requiem to the fallen.

Location: Kinsham Court, Herefordshire LD8 2HR
Image shows the Hereford Times first publication of the hymn.
Photograph courtesy of Hereford Times

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