Category Archives: The Angels of Mons

St. George, the Angel of Mons and Arthur Machen

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This writer, Arthur Machen,  known now to few is, more than anyone else, the “cause” of the legend of the Angel of Mons. There are many in Mons who claim that angels really did intercede in the battle of Mons. However, the facts as I, and the one other expert I know of on the subject, David Clarke (The Angel of Mons), are that the legend had its origin in a story that appeared in the newspaper, the Evening Standard. “The Bowmen”, by Arthur Machen, tells a story that came to be thought of as an account of angels stepping in to save an army from defeat. He does not name a time, a place, or who the combatants were. Word of mouth and other means led it to be thought of as a truthful account of what happened at Mons.

In a later time, Orson Wells and the Mercury Theater’s presentation of the War of the Worlds had a similar effect, though the response by the public and the repudiation of the truth of that event were immediate.

In fact, the legend of the Angel of Mons encouraged the British people, believing as they did, that God and the angels were on their side. More about Machen next week. My apologies to him. Do you know about Arthur Machen? There is a web site called Friends of Arthur Machen. Let us talk about him and his writings.

St. George, the Angel of Mons and a New Cover

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I realized that the cover I had selected for St. George, the Angel of Mons led in the wrong direction. So, as luck would have it, I found a picture from a book, The Chariot of God, (1915) that depicted one of the central scenes in my novel. I have a license to use the picture from the Mary Evans Picture Library in London. The picture was done by Charles Pearce, a well-known illustrator. Here is the new cover. Please let me know what you think. There is a second picture he did that corresponds to another stage in the battle. Go on-line to see it.St.George-cover

William Butler Yeats and St. George, the Angel of Mons

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Often, when beginning a book, especially an historical novel, an author has in mind hoping to have certain characters play a prominent role. Last week I wrote about the way I was able to insert Sir Arthur Conan Doyle into the novel. This week it is the poet William Butler Yeats. My first encounter with Yeats’ poetry was in a survey of modern British literature. I “discovered” a meaning beyond the poem’s surface when I studied, on my own, his poem “Leda and the Swan.” Then I took a graduate course in Yeats with the scholar Leonard Unger and did my Ph.D. dissertation under his direction in a facet of Yeats’ poetry and thought. So I dearly hoped to find a way to include him in the mystical novel, St. George, the Angel of Mons. It was my good fortune to find a connection between Yeats and the novel’s events. Yeats was for many years the leader of a branch of a mystical order, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. The actual origin of the legend of the Angel of Mon came about, not from the battlefield, but from a story written by Arthur Machen, a well-known writer of the time. As luck would have it, Machen was (at an earlier time) a member of the Order of the Golden Dawn. By juggling the chronology, making him a member at the time of the novel, I was able to involve Yeats in the story. When the book comes out you will discover a fantastic voyage between realms of reality that Yeats takes, an exciting, poetic, mystical read.

Question: If you read Yeats, what do you most appreciate about his poetry? Which of his poems do you best recall? Where do you rate his poetry among all the poets you have read?

Are you familiar with the lesser-known writer Arthur Machen? What is your view of his work? If you do not know his work, I think you will find it of interest, especially the story directly related to St. George, the Angel of Mons, The Bowmen and Other Legends of War. The work has recently been reprinted and is available on Amazon.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and St. George, the Angel of Mons

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I want to introduce some of the historical figures who play a prominent role in the novel.

Though many know of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s  Sherlock Holmes stories and characters, few know of his importance in the world of spiritualism. In fact, the two interests seem to be at odds with one another. The Holmes stories giving evidence of an author who is skilled in reason and the material world. Spiritualism, the belief that the soul survives bodily death, represents a view that goes far beyond the material.

Many Conan Doyle biographies recount a crucial event in his life that represents a turning point. The event is directly connected to the battle at Mons, Belgium on 23 August, 1914, the very battle at which the angel St. George and his horde of angel warriors fight for the British. I picked the salient at Nimy Bridge as the location for my soldier-characters. As it happened, Conan Doyle’s brother in-law, Captain Malcolm Leckie, was in fact the medical officer for the company they belong to.

The facts: Captain Leckie was struck by shrapnel at the battle and died six days later. That day, 29 August, Leckie died of his wounds. That night at the Doyle home, a friend was practicing “automatic writing.” She wrote a message from Captain Leckie in which he reported that he was now “on the other side”, meaning that he was dead in body though alive in soul or spirit. At that time no one in the Doyle family knew of the death. This revelation profoundly changed Doyle’s life.

Thus, I discovered that Conan Doyle was perfectly suited to be a major character in St. George, the Angel of Mons. Conan Doyle appears in several chapters. (While most of the events in the novel take place in Belgium and France, several take place in England.)

Have you encountered this facet of Conan Doyle’s life? What do you suppose the effect of the event I described had on his beliefs, writing, and lecturing? Can you foresee how the novel will tie the message he received to the Angel of Mons? What genre of story-telling would you place such a tale in? I am eager to hear (read) from you.

Note: I prefer the word “glob” to “blog”. Using the same letters, my choice is for the word that describes a group of ideas, a glob.

 

A Preview of “St. George and the Angels of Mons” through the book’s epigraphs

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I have selected two epigraphs (quotations that introduce the book, setting the reader’s mind in the right direction) that will appear at the beginning of the book. One if from a most important book about the causes of the war, and its first month, “The Guns of August”, by Barbara Tuchman.

That was the Battle of Mons. As the opening British engagement of what was to become the Great War, it became endowed in retrospect with every quality of greatness and was given a place in the British pantheon equal to the battles of Hastings and Agincourt. Legends like that of the Angels of Mons settled upon it.

 The second passage appeared in a magazine that dealt with occult subjects only a few months after the war began.

Long after the war is over, and the facts of it have been recorded in histories, one of the most widely known events will be the appearance of St. George and angel-warriors fighting in defence (sic) of the British during the retreat from Mons. We say ‘know’ because posterity will ‘know’ that the guardian Saint came down. People ‘know’ it already. The papers are full of it and testimony pours in from all sides.

Harold Bigbie, “On the Side of the Angels”, 1915.

These should give you a hint of where the Angels of Mons stand in the history of the war. The novel is based on this legend.

 

Mons 1914: The BEF’s Tactical Triumph (Campaign)

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This is the third glob I am writing about source material for people to read and study in connection with the forthcoming novel, St. George and the Angels of Mons. David Lomas’ book Mons 1914: The BEF’s Tactical Triumph (Campaign) by David Lomas and Ed Dovey (Sep 15, 1997). The book presents briefly the background of the war, the key generals on the British and German, and French armies. There are clear maps, descriptions of weaponry, and, most importantly, a description of the day’s battle. The second part of the book describes the battle two days later at Le Cateau in France. Mr. Lomas’ book is factual and clear.

In my novel, St. George and the Angels of Mons, angels join the fight at Mon, the Forest of Mormal, and  at Le Cateau. The novel will be published in May.

Mr. Lomas’ book might be considered a guide to the novel. You will see where the novel is true to the facts and where it deviates.

The next set of globs will introduce historical characters who appear in the novel. Stay tuned.

Gentlemen, We Will Stand and Fight

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I highly recommend reading @Tonybird  #GentlemenWewillStandandFight #ww1 military history. #lecateau #angelofmons #ww1centenary


In writing my upcoming book, St. George and the Angels of Mons I’ve read some great military histories of the opening days of World War I. Tony Bird’s Gentlemen, We will Stand and Fight is one of the best. In the First World War’s opening days British success at Mons, Belgium and two days later at Le Cateau, France were vitally important.  Tony Bird’s  book details the day’s battle at the battle of Le Cateau. I highly recommend it.

At Mons (23 August, 1914)–the first battle between the British and Germans in World War I–the British were heavily outnumbered. At Le Cateau (26 August) the British were even more greatly disadvantaged. If the fighting have gone badly at Mons or at Le Cateau nothing of consequence would then stand between the German Army and Paris. In military history, the two battles, and the separation of BEF’s I and II Corps at the Foret de Mormal were strategically of great importance. Mr. Bird’s book gives a detailed account of the fighting at Le Cateau.
In my novel, St. George and the Angels of Mons, angels join the fight at Mon, the Forest of Mormal, and  at Le Cateau. The novel will be published in May.

David Clarke’s book, The Angel of Mons Recommended

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Amazon has a section called If You Like as a way to recommend related books. In that spirit I strongly recommend David Clarke’s The Angel of Mons: Phantom Soldiers and Ghostly Guardians. If you are interested in my novel, St. George and The Angels of Mons. #theangelofmons Dr. Clarke’s book is the authoritative source of information about what really happened regarding the Angel of Mons. Phyllis Campbell and Arthur Machen are the primary sources for what developed as the World War I legend of the Angel of Mons. Clarke treats their writings (properly) as the origins of the legend appear in Clarke’s book. Naturally, the two characters inhabit the novel, though I slightly mangle history for the sake of plot. At the same time, I drew on history to make the events, outlandish as they are in the novel, make sense.

The Angels of Mons Coming Soon to a Book for You to Read

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Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Brother In-Law Captain (RAMC) Malcolm Leckie, and the Angels of Mons

In this glob I will introduce some of the characters in one major chapter of The Angels of Mons, soon to be published.

As is the case in most historical novels, some of the events in The Angels of Mons really took place. I summarize one extraordinary event. Most of the novel takes place on battlefields in Belgium and France.

While I was creating the story it occurred to me that the psychical, occult, and esoteric societies in England would have an interest in angels joining the war on the side of the British Expeditionary Force. Naturally, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, spiritualist and charter member of the British Psychical Society, came to mind. Little did I think that there would be a direct connection between Doyle and the supernatural events the book presents.

To find out more on your own, Google Captain Malcolm Leckie and Miss Lily Loder-Symmons. All the major Doyle biographies describe the events. Check one out of your library or (if you are lucky) get it as an e-book. Look up the names in the index and be amazed.St. George Jerred Metz

Next week I will describe the events of the night of August 29, 1914 that took place at the Doyle home, Windlesham. Stay tuned and be ready to be amazed.