_Letters of Harold Chapin_
_An American Who Died for England at Loos, on September 26, 1915_
The story of Harold Chapin's life and death is a glorious page in the
annals of the Great War. This brilliant, young dramatist was born
in Brooklyn in 1888. His mother is an actress and when the boy was
seven years old, he made his first appearance on the stage in the
Memorial Theater, Stratford-on-Avon, England, where his mother was
engaged to play during a Shakespeare festival. From this youthful
beginning, he developed into an actor, producer, and dramatist of
great ability, gaining a reputation on both continents. When war was
declared on August 4th, 1914, Harold Chapin found that "he could not
act, he could not write" he could think only of the war and the world
bowed in tragedy. Finally, on September 2, 1914, he enlisted in the
R. A. M. C. The artist and dreamer became an enthusiastic soldier.
While fighting at the battle of Loos, he was killed on Sunday,
September 26, 1915. He was only 29 years of age but "he had lived
worthily and he died gloriously." The letters which Harold Chapin
wrote to his mother, his wife, and his little son have been published
in this country in book form by the _John Lane Company_, under the
title "Soldier and Dramatist." They form a notable contribution to
the war's literature. Several of the letters are here reprinted
by permission of the publishers from the hundred or more in the
published collection: Copyright 1916.
[9] I--STORY OF HOW HAROLD CHAPIN DIED
_The following letter from Mr. Richard Capell one of Harold Chapin's
comrades, was the first intimation Mrs. Chapin received of her
husband's death. It was, of course, written hurriedly and under trying
conditions, but it gives so touching and dramatic an account of Harold
Chapin's last days, that it is felt that it must be included in this
book exactly as it was received._
October 3rd, 1915.