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Our readers have often been amused by reading contributions from the pen of " Saki." We much regret that that pleasure will no more be theirs; for news has just reached this country that he was killed in one of the Somme battles on November 14. " Saki " was really Hector Hugh Munro, whose father was Colonel C. A. Munro, of the Bengal Staff Corps, and his mother daughter of Admiral Samuel Mercer. Educated at Bedford Grammar School, young Munro had had experiences with the Burmah Police before he took to writing. He had, however, always expressed a desire to see what real war was like, so that when the present war broke out he at once "joined up" as a ranker—he objected to the responsibility of being an officer—was trained as a private at the White City. and was serving as lance-sergeant in the Royal Fusiliers at the time of his death. He was never very strong, and shortly before the action in which he took part for the last time, at Beaumont Hamel, he had been discharged from the Canadian hospital at Rouen, having recovered from malaria.
As our readers are well aware, " Saki "—a pen name adopted, by the way, from Nagasaki - wrote much of his best work for our columns. He also wrote a good deal for the " Bystander," and for the " Morning Post." Being a fine linguist, he represented the " Morning Post " as special correspondent in Russia, France, and Serbia, at different times before the war broke out.
Amongst " Saki's" most notable writings were his " Westminster Alice", which was illustrated by Sir Francis Gould, " Reginald in Russia", " The Unbearable Bassington", the "Chronicles of Clovis", and " Beasts and Super- Beasts". He had also written, in a more serious vein, a History of Russia. So recently as October 14. an article from his pen entitled, " Birds on the Western Front", appeared in the "Saturday Westminster".

Saki lived at Broadgate Villa, Pilton,. Follow this link for his life story in this archive:

http://vimp.thepiltonstory.org/picture/Blue-Plaque-for-Hector-Munro-alia...

Thanks to the Westminster Gazette for this obituary.