[2] In 1853 he entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See, being offered the position of Secretary to the Papal Emissary to the United States.

Established in 1854, at the time of the Crimean War, Aldershot Garrison was the first permanent training camp for the British Army.

After six years, he was posted to Bermuda and ministered with care and courage to those suffering from an outbreak of Yellow Fever.

[2] When his term of service expired Monsignor Vertue volunteered to stay as he had become acclimatised to the local conditions and was less likely to fall ill than a new appointee.

A memorial chapel dedicated to Our Lady Immaculate and St Edmund of Abingdon, patrons of the Diocese of Portsmouth, was created at the east end of the north aisle in memory of him in the Cathedral of St John the Evangelist in Portsmouth.