Richard Aldington was a British poet and novelist associated with the Imagist movement. He served in the British army during World War I and was wounded on the Western Front. His novel "Death of a Hero" was a response to the war and praised as one of the best novels about that conflict. However, Aldington later attacked T.E. Lawrence as a liar in a book, which damaged Lawrence's reputation though the claims were later proven false. Aldington's reputation never fully recovered after this personal attack on Lawrence.

1. Richard Aldington

3. Aldington was born in Portsmouth and
educated at Dover College and the
University of London

4. His poetry was associated with the Imagist
group, and his work forms almost one
third of the Imagists' inaugural anthology
"Des Imagistes"

5. He joined the
army in 1916, was
commissioned in
the Royal Sussexs
in 1917 and was
wounded on the
Western Fron

6. "Death of a Hero", published in 1929 was
his literary response to the
war, commended by Lawrence Durrell as
'the best war novel of the epoch'.

7. More importantly, he attacked
Lawrence as a liar and a charlatan,
claims which have colored Lawrence's
reputation since the publication of
Aldington's book, but which were
proven to be largely baseless once all
the confidential government files
concerning Lawrence's career had been
released, proving the accuracy of
Lawrence's own account.

8. Aldington's reputation has never fully
recovered from what later (and with
justification) came to be seen as a
venomous personal attack upon
Lawrence's reputation. Many believe
that Aldington's suffering in the
bloodbath of Europe during World War I
caused him to resent Lawrence's
reputation, gained in the more minor
Middle Eastern arena.

9. Aldington died in
France on July 27,
1962, shortly after
being honoured
and feted in
Moscow on the
occasion of his
seventieth birthday