A PATRIOTIC poem written by Sherlock Holmes's creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in aid of soldiers wounded in the First World War is expected to fetch thousands of pounds at auction next week.
The poem, titled Ypres, was written on October 10, 1915 when the Scots writer was 56, and it formed his contribution to The Queen's Gift Book, for Christmas 1915.
Conan Doyle's eldest son, Kingsley, was badly wounded on the first day of the Battle of the Somme in July 1916 before being struck down by the Spanish influenza epidemic in 1918, aged 26.
The rare signed manuscript will be sold by Bonhams next Wednesday, when it is estimated to fetch £5000-£8000.
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