My query is quite simple so please forgive me if I missed any previous comments, observations or interpretation on the wording "Tell them because our fathers lied".
Though I should have known better, for years I thought this phrase just referred to the popular historical criticism relating to the dead millions who were never told the truth that they would not need training for the trenches as they would be part of a war of attrition and merely cannon fodder.
Is it possible, on another level, that Kipling is referring to 'lies' he himself may have created to get around the army health exam and/or (I hate to say ), that he may have mistakenly harboured fears and remorse that he (subconsciously) made every effort to get John into the action in order not to appear to the public to have discarded his own basic principles of supporting the cause and making a sacrifice for King, Country and Empire
I can not imagine what complex residual feelings would have remained unresolved following such tragic circumstances or how it would certainly have affected his future work and everyday life .
Kind Regards
Tony Hanley
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