大象传媒

The lost photos of a soldier who inspired First World War poets Siegfried Sassoon and Robert Graves have been uncovered by his old school.

Unseen pictures of the 20-year-old soldier immortalised by his best friends were found by staff at his old school, Christ College, Brecon in South Wales. They show the doomed face of youth 鈥� as schoolboy David Cuthbert-Thomas sits carefree just months before the outbreak of World War One which would claim his life. They include him as young man in cricket, hockey and rugby teams.

David Cuthbert-Thomas fought in the trenches alongside the celebrated poets Sasoon and Graves and his death affected them more than any of their comrades.

Sassoon鈥檚 poems reference Thomas as a cricketer, including in his poem 鈥楾he Subaltern鈥� which was published just a week before Thomas was killed by a sniper鈥檚 bullet in No Man's Land, repairing barbed wire lines near Fricourt, on the night of 18 March 1916. His great friend Sassoon wrote the next day: 鈥淭onight I saw his shrouded form laid in the earth 鈥� Robert Graves beside me with his white whimsical face twisted and grieving".

鈥淥nce we could not hear the solemn words for the noise of a machine-gun along the line; and when all was finished a canister fell a hundred yards away and burst with a crash."

鈥淪o Tommy left us, a gentle soldier, perfect and without stain. And so he will remain in my heart, fresh and happy and brave.鈥�

Graves said Thomas's death angered Sassoon so much he went out looking for Germans to kill.

In his celebrated war novel Goodbye To All That, he wrote: 鈥淚 felt David鈥檚 death worse than any other since I had been in France, but it did not anger me as it did Siegfried."

鈥淗e was acting transport-officer and every evening now, when he came up with the rations, went out on patrol looking for Germans to kill. I just felt empty and lost.鈥�

Thomas appeared throughout both poets鈥� memoirs and Graves wrote about him in his poems Goliath and David and Not Dead.

Location: Christ College, Brecon LD3 8AF
Image: David Cuthbert Thomas (right) with war poet Siegfried Sassoon

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