Eva Dobell facts for kids
Eva Dobell (born 1876, died 1963) was a talented British poet, nurse, and editor. She is most famous for her poems about the impact of World War I and her poems about her home region.
Who Was Eva Dobell?
Eva Dobell was born on January 30, 1876, in Gloucestershire, England. She was the youngest of three children. Her uncle was the well-known Victorian poet Sydney Dobell.
During World War I, Eva volunteered as a nurse with the Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD). This group helped nurses and doctors care for soldiers. Her experiences seeing wounded soldiers deeply affected her. These experiences inspired her to write powerful poems. She also helped boost morale by writing letters to prisoners of war.
Eva Dobell never married. She passed away on September 3, 1963, at the age of 87.
Eva Dobell's Poetry
While Eva Dobell also wrote poems about her home county of Gloucestershire, she is best known for her poems from the war. These poems describe the experiences of wounded soldiers and the difficult times they faced.
One of her famous poems is "Night Duty." This poem is often mentioned as an example of how female poets and nurses shared their unique view of the war. Their experiences were different from those of male poets like Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon. A writer named John Oxenham once said that women poets offered a "vision of war seen from the inside."
Another very popular poem by Eva Dobell is "Pluck." You can find this poem on many websites dedicated to World War I. "Pluck" has also appeared in poetry books and was even turned into a song.
After the war, Eva Dobell continued to write. She published several books of poetry and even edited a book of poems by another writer, Lady Margaret Sackville.