Roland Leighton facts for kids

Roland Aubrey Leighton (born March 27, 1895 – died December 23, 1915) was a British poet and soldier. He became well-known after his fiancée, Vera Brittain, wrote about him in her famous book, Testament of Youth.

Life and Times

His Family and Early Life

Roland's parents, Robert Leighton and Marie Connor, were both writers. His mother, Marie, wrote popular adventure books, including Convict 99. She also wrote stories for the Daily Mail newspaper. His father was the first literary editor of the Daily Mail and wrote adventure books for boys.

Roland grew up first in London, then in a large house in Lowestoft by the beach. He was a very smart student at Uppingham School. He won many awards for his studies in classical subjects like Latin and Greek. He dreamed of becoming the editor of a national newspaper someday.

School Days and Friends

At school, Roland wasn't friends with everyone. Some thought he was a bit cold or proud. But he became very close with Edward Brittain, whose sister was Vera Brittain. He also befriended Victor Richardson. Roland's mother called these three friends "the three musketeers."

Roland was part of the school's military training group. After Uppingham, he earned a scholarship to study at Merton College, Oxford. While at school, he also developed a love for reading and writing his own poetry.

Meeting Vera Brittain

Roland first met Vera Brittain, Edward's sister, in 1913 when he visited Edward at Uppingham. He was 19. Roland started to use his poetry to show his growing feelings for Vera. However, their relationship was soon changed by war.

Joining the War

When World War I started in 1914, Roland felt very strongly about joining the fight. He believed in patriotism, honor, and duty. He first tried to join the Royal Navy but was turned down because he couldn't see well. The Royal Artillery and the Army Service Corps also rejected him for the same reason.

After this, he got a doctor's note that didn't mention his eyesight. This helped him become a second lieutenant in the 4th Battalion of the Royal Norfolk Regiment in October 1914. From then on, Roland could only see Vera for short visits when he was on leave.

He was promoted to a lieutenant in the Worcestershire Regiment in March 1915. Roland served with this regiment in France and fought in battles near Ypres in Belgium. Vera Brittain became his fiancée in August 1915.

Life at the Front and His Death

Roland's letters show that he quickly became unhappy with the war. He described it as "a mere trade." In late 1915, while at the front, he changed his religion from the Church of England to Roman Catholicism. His family and Vera did not know about this until after his death. His funeral followed Catholic traditions.

In December 1915, Roland was shot by a sniper. He was checking the wire in front of a trench in France, under bright moonlight. He was badly hurt in his stomach and spine. He had emergency surgery but died from his wounds on December 23, 1915. He was only 20 years old.

He was buried in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery at Louvencourt, France. Vera Brittain's biographer, Mark Bostridge, said that Roland's grave is often covered with violets. This is a tribute to a poem Roland wrote for Vera:

Violets from Plug Street wood,
Sweet, I send you oversea.
(It is strange they should be blue,
Blue, when his soaked blood was red,
For they grew around his head:
It is strange they should be blue.)
Violets from Plug Street Wood,
Think what they have meant to me—
Life and hope and love and you.
(And you did not see them grow,
where his mangled body lay,
Hiding horror from the day;
Sweetest it was better so)
Violets from oversea,
To your dear, far, forgetting land,
These I send in memory,
Knowing you will understand.

Roland's last poem, called "Hedauville," was found in his clothes after he died. Vera Brittain found the poem unsettling. It seemed as if Roland might have been predicting his own death. It also seemed to suggest a different future for Vera, with a new love.

Hedauville. Nov 1915.

The sunshine on the long white road
That ribboned down the hill,
The velvet clematis that clung
Around your window sill,
Are waiting for you still.

Again the shadowed pool shall break,
In dimples round your feet,
And when the thrush sings in your wood,
Unknowing you may meet
Another stranger, sweet.

And if he is not quite as old
As the boy you used to know,
And less proud too, and worthier,
You may not let him go.
(And daisies are truer than passion flowers)
It will be better so.

His Legacy

Vera Brittain wrote several poems about Roland's life. These were published in her books Verses of a V.A.D. (1918) and Because You Died. She later made him and her brother Edward famous in her well-known memoir, Testament of Youth.

Many of Roland's letters are in Letters from a Lost Generation. This book is a collection of Vera's wartime letters. Vera's diaries, Chronicle of Youth, also include entries about Roland and their relationship. His mother wrote a memoir about him called Boy of My Heart in 1916.

Roland is remembered on war memorials at Uppingham School and at Merton College, Oxford. He is also remembered with Edward Brittain and Victor Richardson on the war memorial at St Barnabas Church, Hove.

Roland's younger brother, Evelyn, joined the Royal Navy and became a captain. He helped with the evacuation of Dunkirk in 1940. His sister, Clare Leighton, became a talented artist known for her woodcuts.

Roland in Popular Culture

Roland Leighton's story has been told in several TV shows and films:

• In the 1979 TV show Testament of Youth, Peter Woodward played Roland.
• Rupert Graves played him in a 1998 radio show.
• Christian Brassington played him in a 2008 BBC documentary.
• In the 2014 film Testament of Youth, Kit Harington played Roland.

The 1998 song "A Life (1895–1915)" by Mark Hollis was inspired by Roland's life and death. Hollis said the song was about the hopes people had at the start of the 20th century, the strong patriotism at the beginning of the war, and the sadness that came right after.