Richard Spender
Richard Spender | |
---|---|
Born | Hereford, England | 21 June 1921
Died | 28 March 1943 Sedjenane, Tunisia | (aged 21)
Buried | Tabarka Ras Rajel War Cemetery, Tunisia |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ | British Army |
Years of service | 1941–1943 |
Rank | Captain |
Service number | 184635 |
Unit | 2nd Parachute Battalion |
Battles/wars | Second World War, Operation Torch |
Richard Willian Osborne Spender, also known as Dicky Spender,[1] was a British poet and solider in the British Army during The Second World War. He was killed in action at the Battle of Sedjenane whilst leading a charge against a German machine gun position. He was recognised as a poet during his life and has been celebrated posthumously.[2]
Early Life
Spencer was born in Hereford, the youngest of four children, and son of Frank Osborne Spender and Elizabeth Ann Spender, of Letchworth. His family briefly lived in London before moving to Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire where Spencer attended King Edward VI School from 1930 to 1940, where he was Captain of School.[3] He was accepted to read Modern History at St Catherine's College, Oxford, but instead decided to enlist in the British Army.[4]
Poetry
By the time of his death at age 21, Spender was already a well regarded and published poet, his poems appearing in publications including The Times Literary Supplement, The Observer, Punch, Country Life, and John O' London's Weekly.
He was described once by the Daily Telegraph as the Rupert Brooke of the Second World War, and three collections of his poetry were published as books by Sidgwick and Jackson.[5]
Legacy
Because of his connection to King Edward VI School in Stratford, when the house system at the school was reformed into four houses in 2000, it was decided that one should be named after Spender, with the colour purple.
Opened in 2017, a £2.2 million building housing the new school library as well as English and Computer science departments was named in his honour.[6]
References
- ^ "Para Data".
- ^ "War Poets Biography".
- ^ "History of the House system" (PDF).
- ^ "Commonwealth War Graves Commission".
- ^ "Poetry of Dicky Spender".
- ^ Hughes, Ian (6 November 2017). "KES honours former head boys to mark completion of £2.2 million building project". Retrieved 18 July 2024.