If J.R.R. Tolkien took terrible inspiration from his experiences during World War I, there’s one day, in particular, that’s worth looking at alone: July 1, 1916. The battle of the Somme was, says The New York Times, the deadliest day in Britain’s military history, and by the time it was over, 19,240 soldiers were dead. Tolkien was there with the 11th Lancashire Fusiliers and was acting as a communications officer — a job that made them particularly vulnerable. The offensive dragged on and on, and in between combat and enemy fire, he started putting together his stories of Middle Earth — including the most horrible place of all, the Dead Marshes.
It’s right up there with Mordor itself, and as Frodo, Sam, and Gollum cross through the greasy, muddy, mucky, marshes, Frodo looks into the water and sees them: “They lie in all the pools, pale faces, deep deep under the darkwater. I saw them: grim faces and evil, noble faces and sad. Many faces proud and fair, and weeds in their silver hair. But all foul, all rotting, all dead.” Gollum agrees: “All dead, all rotten. … There was a great battle long ago…”
The Somme offensive wouldn’t end for another five months, and when it did, 1.5 million dead lay along the French river. Among them were several of Tolkien’s close friends, and it’s a question that has to be asked: In his mind’s eye, did Tolkien see Ralph Payton and Robert Gilson among the Dead Marsh’s faces?
