Rupert Brooke

The short life of Rupert Brooke, who died as a soldier on the Greek island of Skyros at the age of 27, has been written of and catalogued many times so I'll not delve too deeply into his works and life in these pages. I will, however, pass on what I've been told of his association with The Pink and Lily...

It was by purely by chance (some would say it was good luck!) that the young Rupert first happened upon the Pink on a summers' day whilst walking in one of his favourite locations, the Chilterns. After his initial visit to the pub he became quite the 'regular' and often enlisted the help of a companion to share the hospitality on offer at his new found 'secret watering hole'! It was on one of these occasions that he brought along his good friend Jacques Raverat, also a young man in his 20's and already an artist of some note. During a typically merry and warm-hearted lunch Rupert, with a little help from Jacques, decided to immortalise the pub in verse and so wrote:

Never came there to the Pink
Two men such as we, I think
Never came there to Lily
Two men quite so rich and silly

The verse continues about life and their own good fortunes and then comes to an end with the lines:

Were ever two so fierce and strong
Who drank so deep and laughed so long
So proudly meek, so humbly proud
Who walked so far, and sang so loud?

It seems the atmosphere, the beer and the company had been of wonderful effect. After their lunch at the Pink the two friends set off to their next destination but with possibly a hint of melancholy in their mood. A note and a package were left at the side of the road nearby. The note read:

Two men left this bread and cake
For whomsoever finds to take
He and they will soon be dead
Pray for them that left this bread

Rupert Brooke 1887-1915
Jacques Raverat 1885-1925