After writing her first poem to commemorate the death of her son in First World War, Anna Peel Durie published several volumes of verse and prose.
Entry revised by Linnea McNally
Anna Peel Durie was best known as a war poet. She was born in Thornhill, Upper Canada, but her father moved the family to New Orleans, where he edited a newspaper and then became a businessman. Anna and her sister spent their winters on a southern estate and summers in Toronto and Thornhill where their uncle had a farm. In the wake of the Civil War and the capitulation of New Orleans, the Peel family travelled to Europe where Anna studied French, German, art, and music, and where they were confronted by the Franco-Prussian war and the Paris commune.
After her marriage in 1880 to the much older Lieutenant Colonel William Smith Durie (c1813-1885), Anna settled permanently in Toronto. She was widowed in 1885 and despite troubled finances, she ensured that her son and daughter attended the best schools in Toronto. Her first poem, a lament for the death of her son in First World War, was written to mark his grave. Durie subsequently became a regular contributor to various periodicals, including
For a more detailed biography, see her entry in the
John Alexander Peel was a newspaper editor and later a successful businessman. He emigrated to Canada from County Armagh, Ireland.
Frances Burgess emigrated to Canada from County Armagh, Ireland. In 1873, she became ill while travelling and died aboard ship; she was buried in Queenstown (now Cobh), Ireland.
William Smith Durie was an officer in the British military and deputy-adjutant-general of Toronto. In 1880, he married Anna Burgess Peel (1856-1933), who was 43 years his junior. They had two children together: William Arthur (1881-1917) and Helen Frances (b. 1883). William retired the same year as his marriage, and died only a few years later.
Broadcasting (poetry)
Volunteer, Red Cross
Some census reports record Anna's birthplace as "U.S."
When the Duries' son William died in 1917, his body was first interred in France; eight years later, his remains were among the very few to be repatriated to Canadian soil. As the cemetery landlord was resistant to the event, Anna participated in a type of grave-robbery of her own son: she hired help to have the body removed at night, and reburied an empty coffin. Decades later, the story became the subject of