Alec de Candole was born on January 26 1897 in Cheltenham, the son of a clergyman.
He was educated at Marlborough College, which he left in April 1916 to enlist in the army.
He was commissioned in the 4th Wiltshire Regiment and on April 1917 he was sent to Flanders. He was wounded in October of that year and, during his recovery at home, he wrote "The Faith of a Sulbaltern: Essays on Religion and Life."
He returned to Belgium in July 1918 and joined the 49th Company, Machine Gun Corps at Ypres.
On 4 September the Battalion Diary recorded that Alec de Candole was killed in a bombing raid on Bonningues - aged 21.
Two days before his death, he wrote this final poem:
WHEN THE LAST LONG TREK IS OVER
When the last long trek is over,
And the last long trench filled in,
I’ll take a boat to Dover,
Away from all the din;
I’ll take a trip to Mendip,
I’ll see the Wiltshire downs,
And all my soul I’ll then dip
In peace no trouble drowns.
Away from noise of battle,
Away from bombs and shells,
I’ll lie where browse the cattle,
Or pluck the purple bells.
I’ll lie among the heather,
And watch the distant plain,
Through all the summer weather,
Nor go to fight again.
Alec de Candole
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