Laurence Binyon

Binyon was an English poet, art scholar, and dramatist who dedicated much of his career to the British Museum. Today, he is primarily known for one poem, "For the Fallen," but during his lifetime, he was also recognized as a prominent Western authority on East Asian art.

Binyon penned this poem in September 1914, just weeks after Britain joined the First World War. He was inspired by the cliffs at Polzeath in Cornwall, before the true extent of the casualties became clear. The quickness with which he wrote it makes the poem's lasting impact even more impressive.

The fourth stanza is the most familiar: *"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: / Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. / At the going down of the sun and in the morning / We will remember them."* The final line — "We will remember them" — is recited at Remembrance ceremonies throughout the Commonwealth each year.

The Royal British Legion embraced the poem early on, making it a key part of Remembrance traditions throughout the Commonwealth. Its language strikes a solemn tone without sounding preachy, and the fourth stanza functions like a vow—precisely what a public act of remembrance requires.

No. He was 45 when the war started, too old to join the military. However, he did volunteer as a medical orderly on the Western Front, allowing him to see the human cost of the war up close instead of from a distance.

He had a parallel career as an art historian and curator at the British Museum from 1893 to 1933. His serious scholarship on Japanese and Chinese painting was influential, helping Western audiences appreciate East Asian art during a time when very few in Britain could do so.

He wrote plays, translations (including a version of Dante's *Divine Comedy*), and a substantial amount of poetry, but not much of it remains in print or in readers' minds. "For the Fallen" completely overshadows his other works, making his wider output mainly relevant to specialists and literary historians.