Famous Alumni

Born in 1887 in Rugby, Warwickshire, Rupert Brooke had a short life. W B Yeats once described him as "The handsomest young man in England" and he is best known as a British war poet. He became a Fellow of King's College Cambridge and travelled extensively between 1912 and 1913, writing travel letters for the Westminster Gazette. He was recognised as a very promising new poet and was at the height of fame when he died aged twenty-seven. He was on his way to Gallipoli but contracted pneumonia from an infected mosquite bite. Most notable Sonnets include "The Old Vicarage", "The Soldier" and "The Great Lover". Brooke's visits to the Chilterns inspired him to write a poem of the same name and here are a couple of my favourite verses...

Your hands, my dear, adorable,
Your lips of tenderness
Oh, I've loved you faithfully and well,
Three years, or a bit less.
It wasn't a success.

And I shall find some girl perhaps,
And a better one than you,
With eyes as wise, but kindlier,
With lips as soft, but true.
And I daresay she will do.