Vera Brittain & Testament of Youth

"Violets from Plug Street wood,
Sweet, I send you from oversea.
(It is strange they should be blue,
Blue, when his soaked blood was red,
For they grew around his head:
It is strange they should be blue.)
Violets from Plug Street Wood,
Think what they have meant to me—
Life and hope and love and you.
(And you did not see them grow,
where his mangled body lay,
Hiding horror from the day;
Sweetest it was better so)
Violets from oversea,
To your dear, far, forgetting land,
These I send in memory,
Knowing you will understand".^[6]

above is a poem written by Roland Leighton for Vera.
He was her fiance who was killed during the war.

The poem is showcased in the film of her book Testament of Youth. There has been so much written and produced about "The Great War" since the 100th anniversary of its beginning, in August 1914.

I am forever stunned by how each item recounting the horrors, and the ordinariness of much of those times moves me and shakes me to my boots. I sobbed and sobbed while watching the film.

I recommend watching it on a bright sunny day with a close friend. It is sure to, move you and you will need help in setting your mind at ease.
Vera lost her fiance, her brother and their good friend Victor. She became a well known pacifist and campaigner for no more war.

The film is wonderfully acted and worthy of the praise it has received.