All a poet can do today is warn.

This is a British silver crown from Queen Victoria's reign. It is redolent of the confidence and jingoism of the age.

The coin was minted in 1893, the year of birth of the First World War poet Wilfred Owen. His poetry about the war in the trenches still shocks and terrifies.

On 21 October 1915, Owen enlisted in the Artists' Rifles Officers' Training Corps. He was killed in action on 4 November 1918 during the crossing of the Sambre-Oise Canal, exactly one week (almost to the hour) before the signing of the Armistice and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant the day after his death. His mother received the telegram informing her of his death on Armistice Day, as the church bells were ringing out in celebration.

"All a poet can do today is warn. That is why the truest poets must be truthful."
Wilfred Owen