Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending was written in 1914. For many its gentle lyricism seems to capture the tranquility of the languid days of the summer before the war.
On the day war broke out the composer was in Margate where naval ships were on exercise. A small boy, observing him making notes in what looked like code, reported him to the police and he was arrested.
On New Year’s Eve 1914, at the age of 42, Vaughan Williams enlisted as a private in the Royal Army Medical Corps. Not seeking a commission as an officer, he took the lowly position of orderly. Contemporaries recorded that he was not well suited to military life. Ungainly in khaki, his cap was never straight, his cap-badge was often askew, and he needed help with his puttees. He also suffered from flat feet.
In 1915 he returned to Dorking when his unit of the RAMC was billeted in the town for several months of training.
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