Poems of First World War soldier from Cumbria celebrated in new book

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Poems by a Cumbrian soldier killed in action in the First World War have been saved and are being celebrated in a new book.

Nowell Oxland was just 24 when he died at Gallipoli in 1915, days before his poem was published in The Times.

Oxland was the son of a Cumbrian vicar and grew up around Alston Moor.

A collection of 18 poems and seven stories have now been unearthed by Cockermouth author Zoe Gilbert.

They are being celebrated in a new book called 'Chasing the Phantom', written by Zoe and military historian Stephen Cooper.

Zoe Gilbert (Image: Tom Kay)

Zoe, who works who works for the National Trust and Visit England, was carrying out research in 2017 ahead of an exhibition to mark the anniversary of the end of the Great War, when she came across Nowell's name while looking for Cumbrian authors.

Before leaving Liverpool, Nowell entrusted his poetry to Amy Hawthorne.

His final poem, written on his way to war, was anonymously published in The Times after he died at Gallipoli in August 1915.

The poem, which he had titled 'Farewell', was renamed 'Outward Bound' by the newspaper.

Amy Hawthorne later published a small collection of Nowell's work, one surviving copy of which was tracked down by Zoe to the British Library.

'Chasing the Phantom' is described by Zoe as a book of three parts: a collection of Nowell's poems and short stories, a biography on Nowell by Stephen Cooper, and 'Chasing Amy', which follows Zoe's quest to track down Nowell's last work through Amy Hawthorne.

Stephen Cooper (Image: Submitted)

Zoe said: "Some questions have been answered, but there are some answers till out there.

"I hope we'll be able to find out more by bringing the mystery to a wider audience.

"It would be amazing if an original archive of Nowell's poems could be found, I'm sure there are a few copies of Amy's small collection still out there in the word.

"It's been a great project to recover his lost work, Nowell was very much a Cumbrian writer and we can see that in his work."

'Cumberland', transcription by Amy Hawthorn (Image: Provost and Fellows of Worcester College)

'Chasing the Phantom' is available now to buy online and in several independent bookshops.

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