Robert Ernest Vernède (1875 – 9 April 1917) was an English poet and writer, now remembered as a

war poet War poetry is poetry on the topic of war. While the term is applied especially to works of the First World War, the term can be applied to poetry about any war, including Homer's ''Iliad'', from around the 8th century BC as well as poetry of th ...

. He was born in London, and educated at St Paul's School (where he was a friend of

G. K. Chesterton Gilbert Keith Chesterton (29 May 1874 – 14 June 1936) was an English author, philosopher, Christian apologist, journalist and magazine editor, and literary and art critic. Chesterton created the fictional priest-detective Father Brow ...

and E. C. Bentley), and at

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its foun ...

. After graduating, he wrote novels and short stories. He enlisted with the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

as a second lieutenant in the 3rd Batt.

Rifle Brigade The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

in 1914, at the start of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, although over the maximum age of service. He served in France, where he was wounded in 1916 in the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

. He was received at Somerville Hospital in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. He returned to the front, but died after being wounded by machine gun fire while leading an advance at

Havrincourt Havrincourt () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in Hauts-de-France in France. The inhabitants are called ''Havrincourtois''. Situation The village lies about 14 kilometres south-west of Cambrai near the Havrincourt service area on ...

. He was buried at Le Bucquiere Communal Cemetery Extension. Chesterton wrote an appreciation of Vernède for the school magazine, describing his death as "so heavy a loss for those of us who loved him" and called it "an addition or completion to that shining company of poets whose patriotism turned them into soldiers, and gave them a life and death more worthy of legend". His ''War Poems, And Other Verses'' was published in 1917 by William Heinemann.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vernede, R.E. 1875 births 1917 deaths People educated at St Paul's School, London Alumni of St John's College, Oxford 20th-century English poets 20th-century English novelists British Army personnel of World War I British military personnel killed in World War I English World War I poets Rifle Brigade officers English male poets English male novelists 20th-century English male writers

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