Roger d'Este Burford (1904–1981) was an English poet, novelist and screenwriter. He also wrote crime fiction as Roger East. He was the son of Samuel Francis Burford (b. 1857, Desborough - d. 1935 Watford) an analytical chemist, and Clara d'Este Burford (née d'Este Emery, b. 1865, Market Harborough - d. 1935, Leicester). He had an elder brother, Francis Emery Buford (1898-1918), who was killed in action whilst a 2nd Lt. in the 1st. Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment, and sister Marjorie Clara Burford (b. 1899). WRITING CAREER Burford was a diplomat in Moscow during World War II.