Owen was awarded the Military Cross for serving in the war with distinction. He wrote poetry from an early age. Most of his poetry at first was inspired by religion. He then became increasingly disapproving of the role of the church in society. In 1913 he went to France to be thought English there until 1915. Owen made the difficult decision to enlist in the army and fight in world war one (1914- 1918). He entered the war in October 1915 and fought as an officer in the battle of the Somme in 1916 but was hospitalised for shell shock in May 1917. In the hospital he met Siegfried Sassoon, a poet and novelist whose