100 years on, poet’s "bloodless death" mystery solved

The famed "bloodless death" of a landmark British poet in the Great War has been investigated by experts from the Humanities and Sciences a century after his death, in a new project undertaken at Cardiff University. Biographical and critical works about Edward Thomas (1878 - 1917) often refer to his "bloodless death", a story that emerged following his death aged just 39 at the Battle of Arras on Easter Monday in 1917. Letters from Thomas' widow Helen claim that his body was left without obvious injury. But letters, held in Cardiff University's archive, sent to Helen from Thomas' fellow officers contradict this view, reporting that he was killed by a direct hit from a shell. Despite the contradictory evidence, Thomas' "Bloodless death" has continued to inform perspectives on his life and work. With access to Cardiff University's Special Collections and Archives - home to the majority of Thomas' writing - Dr Carrie Smith of the University's School of English, Communication and Philosophy set out to understand this mythology further, by examining the poet's extensive archive, both its texts and its material objects. In Thomas' personal effects, Dr Smith discovered a potentially significant letter, believed to be among the items found on Thomas' person when he was killed.