R. E. (Robert Ernest) Vernède

Robert Ernest Vernède was born in 1875 in London and was educated at St Paul's School and St John's College, Oxford. Before the First World War, he built a literary career as a novelist, short-story writer, essayist, and poet.

When war began in 1914, Vernède enlisted even though he was older than many new officers, serving as a second lieutenant in the Rifle Brigade. He was wounded during the Battle of the Somme in 1916, returned to service, and was killed in action in 1917.

His reputation now rests especially on his war writing, which is often noted for its quiet thoughtfulness rather than grand rhetoric. Because he wrote both before and during the war, his work offers a striking view of a literary life interrupted by history.