To commemorate the beginning of the First World War, two flower beds in the Lower Gardens will pay tribute to the poet Rupert Brooke, whose work was heavily influenced by his frequent visits to the town in the 1900s and 1910s.

The beds will be planted on 1 August, in memory of all gardeners who lost their lives in the First and Second World Wars.

However, its wild flowers are indigenous to Greece where Brooke is buried. The memorial garden will be named after the famous soldier in order to remind us of a talented man who had many links to Bournemouth.

On the outside wall of an unremarkable house in Richmond Park, a plaque is inscribed with the words ‘Here Rupert Brooke (1888-1915) Discovered Poetry’.

He paid many visits to two of his aunts who lived here.

The impact of the town on his writing is evident in the poem ‘Seaside’, where Brooke evokes imagery of ‘the old unquiet ocean’ and ‘curves and glimmers outward to the unknown.’

Brooke was best known for his idealistic war sonnets, in which he effectively advocated a peace, such as ‘The Soldier’ and ‘The Dead’. He came to public attention in 1915 when The Times literary Supplement quoted two of his sonnets on 11 March.

Brooke's most famous collection of poetry, 1914 & other Poems, was first published in May 1915.

Brooke died on 23 April 2015, having developed sepsis from an infected mosquito bite while sailing with the British Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. He was 27 years old.

The memorial garden will be removed on 31 October.