Roland Leighton was a British poet and soldier. Educated at Uppingham School he became a close friend of Vera Brittain’s brother, Edward. On the outbreak of the First World War he enlisted as a second lieutenant in the 4th Norfolks. Following several attempts to be sent to the Front he received a commission in the 7th Worcestershire Regiment and was posted to France in early 1915. He became engaged to Vera Brittain in August 1915. He died of wounds on 23 December 1915 after being shot by a sniper.<\/p>\n
The photograph of Roland Leighton is from The First World War Poetry Digital Archive, University of Oxford (www.oucs.ox.ac.uk\/ww1lit<\/a>); \u00a9 The Literary Executors for the Vera Brittain Estate, 1970 and The Vera Brittain Fonds, McMaster University Library.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Roland Leighton was a British poet and soldier. Educated at Uppingham School he became a close friend of Vera Brittain’s brother, Edward. On the outbreak of the First World War he enlisted as a second lieutenant in the 4th Norfolks. Following several attempts to be sent to the Front he received a commission in the Continue Reading »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":1018,"parent":35,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"template-poet-bio.php","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\t\nRoland Leighton’s Poems<\/h3>\n