[The Campaign in Mesopotamia, British Army, First World War.] Duplicated Typescript, apparently contemporary, of satirical poem by British soldier [by ‘A Tommy’] titled ‘Alphabet of Mesopotamia’.

This poem is said to be an earlier work by ‘A Tommy’, the pseudonymous author of the collection ‘If I Goes West’, published in London by Harrap in 1918. WorldCat has no entries to support a second claim: that the present poem was published in 1917, with the subtitle ‘Verses written by a “Tommy” who has fought, suffered and triumphed in Mesopotamia, and is still on active service there’. While there is no indication that the poem has ever been published in its entirety, extracts from it appeared in ‘The Bystander’, 27 November 1916; and ‘The Near East’, 6 July 1917; the latter, headed ‘An Alphabet from Mesopotamia’, being preceded by the following: ‘A member of our Fighting Forces in Mesopotamia has composed some verses, which he entitles “ The Alphabet of Mesopotamia.” Through the kindness of a correspondent we are allowed to reproduce here some specimens’. There may also be a reference in Catherine W. Reilly’s 1978 bibliography ‘English Poetry of the First World War’. Duplicated typescript titled ‘ALPHABET OF MESOPOTAMIA.’ 2pp, foolscap 8vo. Text complete on two leaves of air mail paper, glued together. Apparently contemporary, and with the look of an item that has been handed around the mess room. Twenty-six four-line stanzas: one for each letter of the alphabet, apart from a joint stanza for S and T, and ending with an ‘ENVOI’. The first stanza reads: ‘ “A” Was an apple that grew so they say | In the Garden of Eden down Qurnah way | Till Eve came along and ate it one day | And got thrown out of Mesopotamia.’ The poem includes the following stanzas: ‘ “F” Stands for Fritz who flies in the sky | To bring down the brute we’ve many a try | But the shells that we shoot seem to all pass him by | And fall --- on Mesopotamia.’, ‘ “J” Is the jam with the label that lies | And states that in Paris it won the first prize | But out here we use it for catching the flies | That swarm in Mesopotamia.’, ‘ “U” Is the Lake we call Umm-el-Brahm | And guards our flanks from all possible karm [sic] | And waters Gorringe’s Barley Farm | In the middle of Mesopotamia.’, ‘ “V” Is the Victory we won at Dujailah | I heard of it first from a friend who’s a sailor | Who read it in Reuter’s on board a mahela | On the Tigris in Mesopotamia.’, ‘ “W” Stands for the wonder and pain | With which we regard the infirm and insane | Old Indian Generals who guide the campaign | Which we’re waging in Mesopotamia.’, ‘ “Y” Is the yearning we feel every day | For a passage to Basra and thence to Bombay | If we get there we’ll see that we stay right away | From this wilderness - Mesopotamia.’