Rupert Brooke

British poet who became famous for his sonnets and poems. Brooke's works included "1914" and "Collected Poems," 1915, which included the poems "Great Lover" and "A Memoir."

He joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve as a sub-lieutenant on the outbreak of war in August 1914. While he was encamped at Port Said in early April 1915, the climate weakened him considerably. Shortly later, a swollen lip, probably from the bite of a mosquito, developed into a general septicemia. By 22 April 1915, he was comatose on board the Grantully Castle, a troop ship lying off the Greek island of Skyros, with inflammation on the right side of his face and neck. In late afternoon, the was hoisted into a picket boat and transferred to a French hospital ship. He became a symbol of gifted youth destroyed by war when he died of blood poisoning on 23 April 1915, 4:46 PM.