PRIVATE MILTON RAY
LONDON REGIMENT ROYAL FUSILIERS
6TH MAY 1918 AGE 35
BURIED: DAINVILLE BRITISH CEMETERY, FRANCE
The War Graves Commission make a particular point of telling the stone carver that the 'e' at the end of Bronte should have two dots over it. Unfortunately the database I'm using doesn't allow for them.
Private Milton Ray's inscription comes from a short poem by Emily Bronte (1818-1848), The Old Stoic.
Riches I hold in light esteem,
And Love I laugh to scorn;
And lust of fame was but a dream,
That vanished with the morn:
And if I pray, the only prayer
That moves my lips for me
Is, "Leave the heart that now I bear,
And give me liberty!"
Yes, as my swift days near their goal:
'Tis all that I implore;
In life and death a chainless soul,
With courage to endure.
Milton Ray's brother Valentine signed for his inscription, did he choose it? Who is it asking for the courage to endure - Milton, the soldier, or his widowed mother, Fanny? Surely Fanny who wants the courage to endure the rest of her life before she is set free in death.