Robert W. Service

Rhymes of a Red Cross Man Robert W. Service

Robert William Service (1874-1958) was a poet and writer, often called "the Bard of the Yukon," is best known for his humorous tales in verse "The Shooting of Dan McGrew" and "The Cremation of Sam McGee," from his first book, Songs of a Sourdough. When World War I broke out, Service tried and failed to enlist, covered the war briefly for the Toronto Star, then worked as a stretcher bearer and ambulance driver with the American Red Cross. While convalescing in Paris, he wrote a new book of mainly war poetry, Rhymes of a Red Cross Man, dedicated to the memory of Service's "brother, Lieutenant Albert Service, Canadian Infantry, Killed in Action, France, August 1916."