This from the University of Bristol Theatre collection
"
MM/7/2/1
Written Correspondence - From Edmund Blunden (The Times Literary
Supplement) to Lady Legge concerning a poem entitled ' Incident in Hyde Park,
1803', mentioning Captain Macnamara and his commemoration in Fiji, Including
two copies of the poem
Written Document 26/05/1953
So it must exist (somewhere!)
Patrick Morriss
Chair, Friends of the Cromford Canal
----- Original Message -----
From: BARRY HOLLAND
To: canals list
Sent: Monday, May 21, 2007 12:53 PM
Subject: [canals-list] Dog fight [totally off-topic if you don't want to open
it]
I *know* I've asked this question of you knowledgable lot before. The item
below [from Wikipedia] could almost have been written by me [but it wasn't]
however, my sentiments are akin to the writer. Was it Beeky that came up with
the author of the poem? Does anyone know where I could find a written copy?
Barry
Nb soooooofrustrating
incident in hyde park
This was the title of a poem I studied for GCE O level in the early sixties.I
can't remember the name of the anthology,but it contained poems by people like
Yeats,Auden,and Chesterton,so it's unlikely that the author was completely
unheard of.The poem described an actual C19 event which was well recorded at
the time.Two young officers(one Army,one Navy)argued while walking their dogs
in Hyde Park,London.The men were named Montgomery and McNamara,and the poem
relates how the argument led to a duel and a death.The general feeling of the
poem was the folly of human aggression and I can remember vast chunks of it,but
not the author's name.I've sought help from various internet sources,but nobody
seems to believe that the poem ever existed.How can a poem that was considered
good enough to be studied at national examination standard have disappeared so
completely forty years later?Was the author somehow discredited?I was only a
teenager,but I found it very powerful. Some lines:
If your dog fight my dog,I warn you,I knock your dog down. Knock my dog
down,and by God you'll go sprawling....later,the trial of the surviving
duellist is described(a springtide of Admirals,almost Neptune in person),the
two dogs"stretched at home in the firelight",and the poem ends with the words
"and Honour rides on".Please,somebody,end my torment and remember this poem. By
the way,the examining body was the Oxford Examinations Board,which no longer
exists,and yes,I have tried libraries! -The preceding unsigned comment was
added by 86.13.211.218 (talk) 21:22, 26 April 2007 (UTC).
Edmund Blunden --HJMG 21:59, 26 April 2007 (UTC)
Also, according to this the real person was James MacNamara: "James MacNamara
(1768 - 1826) from County Clare was in the British navy where he saw much
service up to the Peace of Amiens. In a duel provoked by a fight between two
dogs, he killed his opponent and, in 1803, was tried for murder. At his trial,
Nelson, Hood and other distinguished officers testified to his character and
service, so that he was acquitted. In 1814 he was appointed an admiral." Adam
Bishop 22:32, 26 April 2007 (UTC)
Seems like an actually worthwhile "Did You Know" article is lurking in there.
Geogre 10:42, 27 April 2007 (UTC)
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