Lunchtime Speaker- Keith Tatlock

Presentation by Keith Tatlock stating Rupert Brooke demonstrated early promise as a poet and athlete. He attended King’s College, Cambridge, and thrived socially and intellectually, forming connections with the Bloomsbury Group and leading the Fabian Society.

Brooke’s life was marred by personal struggles, including a breakdown in 1912, which led to travels in North America and the Pacific. His experiences were documented in letters commissioned by the Westminster Gazette. With the outbreak of World War I, he joined the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve. His poetry gained fame early in 1915 with works like “The Soldier,” immortalized as a poignant reflection on sacrifice.

Tragically, Brooke fell ill from a mosquito bite that led to sepsis during the Dardanelles Campaign preparations. He passed away on the Greek island of Skyros in 1915 at age 27. His tomb there is maintained by the Anglo-Hellenic Society, and his legacy endures through memorials and his collection, 1914 & Other Poems, which saw widespread acclaim posthumously. Despite his untimely death, Brooke remains a haunting figure symbolizing the youth lost to war.