Euphemism "Gone West"

[Pips]

The English are experts at understating the more horrid sides of war. Thee are many classic espressions used to cover a pilots death, eg Bought The Farm, Caught A Packet, Gone West. I'm familiar with the origins that allude to both boght the farm and caught a packet, but Gone West escapes me.

Anyone know the origins for this quaint English expression?

And why Gone West, whose territory was in Allied hands? Why not Gone East? At least that way someone would definitely be out of sight.

[1Mark66]

G'day Cobby

On the ANU's Faculty of Arts site they have an AIF slang dictionary. It attributes the term to pioneering origins in the US or Australia ("He's gone west" - meaning gone far away, out of our reach). A good site this -

http://www.anu.edu.au/andc/res/aehist/wwi/index.php

Cheers

Mark66

I have to disagree with the Australian answer as I just read in the link above. The origin of the expression is pretty easy. In the early part of the century Archaeology and Egyptology were very much 'in vogue' so to speak, In egyptian mythology the dead go west across the nile to the afterlife after passing judgement, as the western desert was not generally inhabited in ancient times it was presumed to be the land of the dead. Many early RFC types we aristocrats, Etonians, 'Oxbridge' types for whom this expression would have been the perfect educated euphamism to employ. Especially as many would not have been long out of school.

[Doc]

There was a whole string on this not too long back. See http://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/sh...ight=gone+west

Bottom line: The phrase in this context is a lot older than the "Egyptian Revival" of the last century or two. Doc

[Roadhog]

Ah lads, In the days of ancient Egypt and at the time of the Trojan War, it was widely believed across the Aegean that heaven or the land of the blessed lay to the west with the setting sun. Thus at the days end of battle all of the slain warriors' spirits traveled to the west with Osiris or Apollo for their eternal rest. VR Roadhog "Memento mori."

[TonyWilliams]

Originally Posted by Roadhog

Ah lads, In the days of ancient Egypt and at the time of the Trojan War, it was widely believed across the Aegean that heaven or the land of the blessed lay to the west with the setting sun. Thus at the days end of battle all of the slain warriors' spirits traveled to the west with Osiris or Apollo for their eternal rest. VR Roadhog "Memento mori."

Yup, Tolkien picked up on that one.

I rather like the later RAF phrase for someone who had crashed: "Newton got him".

Tony Williams: Military gun and ammunition website and discussion forum

The term as used by the British in WW1 referred to any British military personnel that was either wounded or was killed and was able to be sent to there rear area's, and the direction to do that as indicated on any compass is WEST! I found that information in, I believe, WW1 Aero magazine a while back!

Happy Landings,

PIET

p.s. - as for the original origin of the term, I haven't the slightest idea.

[Boom]

Ah, all the classical allusions. Suggest it may have been simpler. Injured or dead a downed pilot began his journey to olde Blighty in a westerly direction.

cheers, Boom

[duckman]

Speaking of which, was "blighty" (or variations) common in the RFC/RAF? I've seen any number of ground troops using it, but I don't recall seeing it used by a pilot.

Anyone?

[Pips]

Well, what seemed to be a simple question has resulted in two quite divergent views.

So what is the verdict? Does the phrase 'Gone West' have it's groundings in classical literature, or is it something so prosaic as heading to the Rear (as in physcially West)?