ONCE IN AN AGE OF INNOCENCE
Once in an age of innocence
When the maids were chaste
The body was a temple of love
On which great value was placed
Now the age of innocence is dead
Virtue is sacrificed in haste
Bodies are desecrated at will
And displayed without disgrace
THE FEAST DAY OF SAINT BRIGIT
The feast day of Saint Brigit
Is an Irish National Day
When the Irish people
Celebrate Saint Brigit's Day
ONE SECRET TO A HAPPY LIFE # 1
One secret to a happy life
Is this, more or less
Take every opportunity to
Mind your own business.
HE WANDERED THE STREETS
He wandered the streets
Clothed in tattered rags
And shod in scruffy boots
That didn’t keep out the rain
So he turned to crime
To fill his hollow belly
And then Victorian justice
Clothed him in a ball and chain
FRIENDSHIP TIP
Don’t let a little dispute
Injure a great friendship
Swallow your pride
And quickly make up
THE FEAST DAY OF SAINT ANDREW
The feast day of Saint Andrew
Is Scotland’s National Day
When the Scottish people
Celebrate Saint Andrew's Day
ONE SECRET TO A HAPPY LIFE # 2
One secret to a happy life
Is this and nothing more
Once a year, go somewhere
You’ve never been before.
THE PAINTER AND HIS MODEL
The painter and his model
Were smitten from the very start
And every stroke of his brush
Said “I love you with all my art”
NOT EVEN GOD
Their arrogant confidence
Was unshrinkable
In fact they considered it
To be unthinkable
For the RMS Titanic
Not to be unsinkable
THE FEAST DAY OF SAINT DAVID
The feast day of Saint David
Is Wales’s National Day
When the Welsh people
Celebrate Saint David's Day
ONE SECRET TO A HAPPY LIFE # 3
One secret to a happy life
Is simply this in my view
If you make a lot of money,
And good fortune smiles on you
Use it to use help others
That is wealth's true value
AN ARTIST SHOULD BE ADMIRED
An artist should be admired
Treasured and inspired
And encouraged to create
Art to which we can relate
AFTER SIX LONG YEARS OF BATTLE
After six long years of battle,
Triumph came to the side of light
When the scourge of hostility ended
And Victory in Europe Day began
With joyous revelling and dancing
A new life for the country began
Then as Victory night passed,
And daylight broke through,
The peace dawned anew
THE FEAST DAY OF SAINT COLUMBA
The feast day of Saint Columba
Is an Irish National Day
When the Irish people
Celebrate Saint Columba's Day
LIEUTENANT GENERAL SIR LESLIE JAMES MORSHEAD KCB, KBE, CMG, DSO, ED (18 September 1889 – 26 September 1959)
Australian schoolmaster
Of Cornish stock
Turned reluctant soldier to be
A veteran of the Great War,
Galipoli, Messines, Passchendaele,
Villers-Bretonneux, and Amiens.
After the armistice he was
A peace time businessman
Remaining active in part-time Militia.
Until the Second World War,
When he led the Australian and British troops
At the Siege of Tobruk
And at the Second Battle of El Alamein,
Achieving decisive victories
Over Rommel's Afrika Korps
A strict and demanding officer,
His soldiers affectionately nicknamed him
“Ming the Merciless”,
Later simply “Ming”
After Flash Gordon’s nemesis
He was a remarkable leader
When ordered to hold Tobruk
For 8 weeks and held for 7 months
And it is widely regarded to be the point
That Britain won the war
THE FEAST DAY OF SAINT GEORGE
The feast day of Saint George
Is England’s National Day
When the English people
Celebrate Saint George's Day
ONE OF THE KEYS TO THE SONG OF LIFE
One of the keys to the song of life
Is one of the simple things that please
Such as saying “bless you”
When you hear someone sneeze
WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES IN LIFE
We all make mistakes in life
But the first step is to admit it
When you realize you've made one
Take immediate steps to correct it
LIVE A FULL AND SATISFYING LIFE
Live a full and satisfying life
Make your mark and don’t regret it
But measure your success by what
You had to give up in order to get it
Showing posts with label War. Show all posts
Showing posts with label War. Show all posts
Wednesday 2 August 2017
Monday 2 March 2015
All This And World War Too
PUT DOWN YOUR PEN
Put down your pen, write no more
Names on the honour roll
The count id done, praise God
Listen well as the peace bells toll
At last the bloodshed is at an end
Let’s lose no more friends or foes
HUMPH
On Victory in Europe Day
On the eighth of May 1945
Amidst the happy throng
Outside Buck House
He was joyfully playing
“Roll out the Barrel”
On his trumpet
Whilst being perambulated
In a wheelbarrow
And that was how
Lt Humphrey Lyttelton
Inadvertently gave his
First ever performance
On the BBC
Which survives to this day
On the BBC news reels
HEROINES OF THE SPECIAL OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE - ODETTE SANSOM HALLOWES GC, MBE
She was French born
But served as an agent for the SOE
In April 1943 “Lise”
Was betrayed to the Germans
Along with her future husband
Peter Churchill
And The SD interrogated them at
84 Avenue Foch, their HQ in Paris
Though tortured with red hot pokers
They kept to their cover story
That he was both her husband
And Winston Churchill’s nephew
Which seemed to do the trick
With confirmation from London
But she was condemned to death in June 1943
But was transferred to Germany
To be imprisoned at Ravensbrück
The Churchill’s nephew story stuck
And when the allies got close
The Camp commandant Fritz Suhren
Drove Sansom to the allied lines
To surrender to the Americans
Hoping to save his own neck
Which didn’t work
Odette testified in 1946
At the Hamburg Ravensbrück Trials
And he was hanged in 1950
Odette was subsequently awarded
A British George Cross, an MBE and
A French Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur
THANK GOD FOR LITTLE BELGIUM
Thank God for little Belgium
Bravely holding off the Hun
Mounting a strong defence
So no easy victory was won
Gaining time for their allies
And maddening the Hun
A high price had to be paid
By Belgian mother and son
It was called the rape of Belgium
When the fighting was done
LT HUMPHREY LYTTELTON OF THE BRIGADE OF GUARDS
When he landed on the beach at Salerno
The unsuspecting enemy were met
By a signals officer, with a pistol
In one hand and in the other his trumpet
HEROINES OF THE SPECIAL OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE - NOOR INAYAT KHAN GC
She was Russian born
But died as an agent for the SOE
In October 1943 “Madelaine”
Was betrayed to the Germans
And the SD Interrogated her at
84 Avenue Foch
Their HQ in Paris
Though she had the face of an angel
She fought her captors so fiercely
They were scared of her,
And treated her as extremely dangerous
After many escape attempts
She was transferred to Germany
After almost a year in captivity
She was taken to Dachau
Along with three other agents
And in the early morning hours
Of 13th September 1944,
They were shot in the back of the head
Their bodies then immediately
Burned in the crematorium.
As far as the British were concerned
She was only missing
And she was mentioned in despatches
It wasn’t until 1949
When she was posthumously awarded
A British George Cross and
A French Croix de Guerre with Silver Star.
OLD SOLDIERS WEARIED WITH AGE
Old soldiers wearied with age
Marching with faltering stride
Carry themselves with dignity
And wear the uniform with pride
AFTER WAR WAS DECLARED
The bombing began
Cities were struck
With vengeance
Night after night
Shattering explosions of death
Shaking the ground
Delivering deadly destruction
Buildings fell to the ground.
Stones and bricks
Turned to shrapnel
As architecture was rent asunder
Death meted out indiscriminately
On the innocents
The mighty Luftwaffe
Had declared war on civilians
Theatres and churches
Schools and homes
Pubs and shops
All fell victim
Little was spared
In those terrible raids
Many British Cities
Still bear the scars
HEROINES OF THE SPECIAL OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE - DENISE MADELEINE BLOCH
She was French born
But died as an agent for the SOE
In June 1944 “Ambroise”
She was captured by the Germans
After lengthy interrogation
She was transferred to Germany
To be imprisoned at Ravensbrück
Along with two other agents
And in the early morning hours
In February 1945,
They were shot in the back of the head
Their bodies then immediately
Burned in the crematorium.
She was posthumously awarded
A Kings Commendation for Brave Conduct
And a French Croix de Guerre with bronze star
A French Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur
And the Médaille de la Résistance
DESPERATE YEARS WHEN DAYS WERE DARK
Desperate years when days were dark
Some darker when sirens were sounding
When the scared fled to their shelters
While their Cities took a pounding
THE WHISTLES BLEW
The whistles blew
And over the top
Went the company
Moving as one
Through the smoke
And strewn before us
Broken and bloody
In the Flanders mud
Lay the fallen,
Comrades all
Lifeless and cold
But on we walked
Each of us knowing
We might join them soon
HEROINES OF THE SPECIAL OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE - LILIAN VERA ROLFE MBE
She was French born
But died as an agent for the SOE
In July 1944 “Nadine”
She was captured by the Germans
And transported to Fresnes Prison in Paris,
Where she was interrogated repeatedly
And brutally tortured until August
She was then transferred to Germany
To be imprisoned at Ravensbrück
Along with two other agents
And in the early morning hours
In February 1945,
They were shot in the back of the head
Their bodies then immediately
Burned in the crematorium.
She was posthumously awarded
A French Croix de Guerre with palm, an MBE
And was mentioned her in despatches
ON THE HOME-FRONT
On the home-front
Brave men and women
Gave their all
Granddad was a special
Mum was a WRAC
Her sister was on the land
Great Uncle Bill
Was in the home guard
Uncle Fred was in the ARP
Not everyone did their bit
But the majority rolled up their sleeves
Some did more than others
But everyone was under fire
BLOOD SWEPT LANDS
What a stunning and fitting tribute
Well met at the Bloody Tower
A Poppy Sea, marking the toll
Levied at the eleventh hour
Ceramic Poppies, flower and stem
Placed so we will remember them
HEROINES OF THE SPECIAL OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE - VIOLETTE REINE ELIZABETH SZABO, GC
She was French born
But died as an agent for the SOE
In June 1944 while on a mission
She was captured by the Germans
And the SD Interrogated her at Limoges
Then transferred her to 84 Avenue Foch
Their HQ in Paris
But with the Allies closing in
She was transferred to Germany
To be imprisoned at Ravensbrück
Along with two other agents
And In the early morning hours
In February 1945,
They were shot in the back of the head
Their bodies then immediately
Burned in the crematorium.
She was posthumously awarded
A British George Cross and
A French Croix de Guerre with bronze star
And the Médaille de la Résistance
HAVING WON THE WAR
Having won the war we struggled in peace
We lived those post war days austerely
But truly believed it was for the best
Despite feeling the rationing severely
But out children charged on into the sixties
And lived the decade too cavalierly
Put down your pen, write no more
Names on the honour roll
The count id done, praise God
Listen well as the peace bells toll
At last the bloodshed is at an end
Let’s lose no more friends or foes
HUMPH
On Victory in Europe Day
On the eighth of May 1945
Amidst the happy throng
Outside Buck House
He was joyfully playing
“Roll out the Barrel”
On his trumpet
Whilst being perambulated
In a wheelbarrow
And that was how
Lt Humphrey Lyttelton
Inadvertently gave his
First ever performance
On the BBC
Which survives to this day
On the BBC news reels
HEROINES OF THE SPECIAL OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE - ODETTE SANSOM HALLOWES GC, MBE
She was French born
But served as an agent for the SOE
In April 1943 “Lise”
Was betrayed to the Germans
Along with her future husband
Peter Churchill
And The SD interrogated them at
84 Avenue Foch, their HQ in Paris
Though tortured with red hot pokers
They kept to their cover story
That he was both her husband
And Winston Churchill’s nephew
Which seemed to do the trick
With confirmation from London
But she was condemned to death in June 1943
But was transferred to Germany
To be imprisoned at Ravensbrück
The Churchill’s nephew story stuck
And when the allies got close
The Camp commandant Fritz Suhren
Drove Sansom to the allied lines
To surrender to the Americans
Hoping to save his own neck
Which didn’t work
Odette testified in 1946
At the Hamburg Ravensbrück Trials
And he was hanged in 1950
Odette was subsequently awarded
A British George Cross, an MBE and
A French Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur
THANK GOD FOR LITTLE BELGIUM
Thank God for little Belgium
Bravely holding off the Hun
Mounting a strong defence
So no easy victory was won
Gaining time for their allies
And maddening the Hun
A high price had to be paid
By Belgian mother and son
It was called the rape of Belgium
When the fighting was done
LT HUMPHREY LYTTELTON OF THE BRIGADE OF GUARDS
When he landed on the beach at Salerno
The unsuspecting enemy were met
By a signals officer, with a pistol
In one hand and in the other his trumpet
HEROINES OF THE SPECIAL OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE - NOOR INAYAT KHAN GC
She was Russian born
But died as an agent for the SOE
In October 1943 “Madelaine”
Was betrayed to the Germans
And the SD Interrogated her at
84 Avenue Foch
Their HQ in Paris
Though she had the face of an angel
She fought her captors so fiercely
They were scared of her,
And treated her as extremely dangerous
After many escape attempts
She was transferred to Germany
After almost a year in captivity
She was taken to Dachau
Along with three other agents
And in the early morning hours
Of 13th September 1944,
They were shot in the back of the head
Their bodies then immediately
Burned in the crematorium.
As far as the British were concerned
She was only missing
And she was mentioned in despatches
It wasn’t until 1949
When she was posthumously awarded
A British George Cross and
A French Croix de Guerre with Silver Star.
OLD SOLDIERS WEARIED WITH AGE
Old soldiers wearied with age
Marching with faltering stride
Carry themselves with dignity
And wear the uniform with pride
AFTER WAR WAS DECLARED
The bombing began
Cities were struck
With vengeance
Night after night
Shattering explosions of death
Shaking the ground
Delivering deadly destruction
Buildings fell to the ground.
Stones and bricks
Turned to shrapnel
As architecture was rent asunder
Death meted out indiscriminately
On the innocents
The mighty Luftwaffe
Had declared war on civilians
Theatres and churches
Schools and homes
Pubs and shops
All fell victim
Little was spared
In those terrible raids
Many British Cities
Still bear the scars
HEROINES OF THE SPECIAL OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE - DENISE MADELEINE BLOCH
She was French born
But died as an agent for the SOE
In June 1944 “Ambroise”
She was captured by the Germans
After lengthy interrogation
She was transferred to Germany
To be imprisoned at Ravensbrück
Along with two other agents
And in the early morning hours
In February 1945,
They were shot in the back of the head
Their bodies then immediately
Burned in the crematorium.
She was posthumously awarded
A Kings Commendation for Brave Conduct
And a French Croix de Guerre with bronze star
A French Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur
And the Médaille de la Résistance
DESPERATE YEARS WHEN DAYS WERE DARK
Desperate years when days were dark
Some darker when sirens were sounding
When the scared fled to their shelters
While their Cities took a pounding
THE WHISTLES BLEW
The whistles blew
And over the top
Went the company
Moving as one
Through the smoke
And strewn before us
Broken and bloody
In the Flanders mud
Lay the fallen,
Comrades all
Lifeless and cold
But on we walked
Each of us knowing
We might join them soon
HEROINES OF THE SPECIAL OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE - LILIAN VERA ROLFE MBE
She was French born
But died as an agent for the SOE
In July 1944 “Nadine”
She was captured by the Germans
And transported to Fresnes Prison in Paris,
Where she was interrogated repeatedly
And brutally tortured until August
She was then transferred to Germany
To be imprisoned at Ravensbrück
Along with two other agents
And in the early morning hours
In February 1945,
They were shot in the back of the head
Their bodies then immediately
Burned in the crematorium.
She was posthumously awarded
A French Croix de Guerre with palm, an MBE
And was mentioned her in despatches
ON THE HOME-FRONT
On the home-front
Brave men and women
Gave their all
Granddad was a special
Mum was a WRAC
Her sister was on the land
Great Uncle Bill
Was in the home guard
Uncle Fred was in the ARP
Not everyone did their bit
But the majority rolled up their sleeves
Some did more than others
But everyone was under fire
BLOOD SWEPT LANDS
What a stunning and fitting tribute
Well met at the Bloody Tower
A Poppy Sea, marking the toll
Levied at the eleventh hour
Ceramic Poppies, flower and stem
Placed so we will remember them
HEROINES OF THE SPECIAL OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE - VIOLETTE REINE ELIZABETH SZABO, GC
She was French born
But died as an agent for the SOE
In June 1944 while on a mission
She was captured by the Germans
And the SD Interrogated her at Limoges
Then transferred her to 84 Avenue Foch
Their HQ in Paris
But with the Allies closing in
She was transferred to Germany
To be imprisoned at Ravensbrück
Along with two other agents
And In the early morning hours
In February 1945,
They were shot in the back of the head
Their bodies then immediately
Burned in the crematorium.
She was posthumously awarded
A British George Cross and
A French Croix de Guerre with bronze star
And the Médaille de la Résistance
HAVING WON THE WAR
Having won the war we struggled in peace
We lived those post war days austerely
But truly believed it was for the best
Despite feeling the rationing severely
But out children charged on into the sixties
And lived the decade too cavalierly
Thursday 4 September 2014
Facets Of War
THE OLD SOLDIER
I don’t bitch and moan
About growing old
To me it’s a privilege
One which was denied to so many
My fallen pals
And the countless foe
Those who never left
The bloody field
Or succumbed to their wounds
Never to return
To a sweethearts arms
Or to sit beside the home fire
So I bare the pains of age
With stoicism
And thank all that’s holy
For my long life
And the fruits of longevity
And keep the memory
In my heart for all the fallen youth
Until I re-join them
INTO THE LANDING CRAFT
As he climbed
Into the landing craft
He was afraid
But not of death
Or of injury
But of fear itself
A paralysing fear
Rendering him inert
Leaving him unable
To do his duty
But above all else
His greatest fear
Was that he would
Let down his lads
PACIFISM IS A NOBLE IDEAL
Pacifism is a noble ideal
A heartfelt principle
Yet when the foul poison
Of the Nazi doctrines
Leached into the world
An internal struggle began
Was the cause to defeat fascism
Greater than pacifist principles
Many took the position
War was the lesser of two evils
But not a decision taken lightly
I don’t bitch and moan
About growing old
To me it’s a privilege
One which was denied to so many
My fallen pals
And the countless foe
Those who never left
The bloody field
Or succumbed to their wounds
Never to return
To a sweethearts arms
Or to sit beside the home fire
So I bare the pains of age
With stoicism
And thank all that’s holy
For my long life
And the fruits of longevity
And keep the memory
In my heart for all the fallen youth
Until I re-join them
INTO THE LANDING CRAFT
As he climbed
Into the landing craft
He was afraid
But not of death
Or of injury
But of fear itself
A paralysing fear
Rendering him inert
Leaving him unable
To do his duty
But above all else
His greatest fear
Was that he would
Let down his lads
PACIFISM IS A NOBLE IDEAL
Pacifism is a noble ideal
A heartfelt principle
Yet when the foul poison
Of the Nazi doctrines
Leached into the world
An internal struggle began
Was the cause to defeat fascism
Greater than pacifist principles
Many took the position
War was the lesser of two evils
But not a decision taken lightly
Friday 23 May 2014
A Mixed Bag of Poems
AT THE ELEVENTH HOUR
At the eleventh hour
On the eleventh day
Of the eleventh month
We heard the generals say
You can go home now lads
To the land you’ve defended
Thank God one and all
That the madness has ended
MICHAELMAS DAISY
Lovely Miss Aster,
My flower girl Maisie
My natural beauty
I love her like crazy
My own precious
Michaelmas Daisy
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD
Happy birthday dad
See, we did remember
Because you are so dear
Just like every year
We will never forget
We just wish and wish
You were still here
Just like every year
So we wish you
A happy birthday
And wipe away a tear
Just like every year
Harold Curtis 19/6/1922 – 8/5/1978
DANCING PIXIES IN THE GREEN
Dancing pixies in the green
And sparkling water sprites
Oft heard but never seen
Bathing in the morning light
DEATH IN THE SHADOWS
Death in the shadows
Grim reaper take flight
Don’t let me be the one
You’re coming for tonight
PEBBLES SMOOTH
Pebbles smooth,
Like crude glass
Smoothed by nature
Time and tide
Its patterned form
Marbled in style
Sits comfortably
In the fingers
To be skimmed
Back to the ocean
I HEAR A SINGING CHILD
I hear a singing child
Innocently engrossed
In childish play
Singing sweetly
To her audience of dolls
Safely oblivious
In her enchanted world
Would that it could
Always be that way
DEAR OSCAR
He was witty
Blessed with a fine mind
A bel esprit
And was the clever kind
MICHAELMAS DAY
Feast of the Archangels
As the autumn equinox nears
Michaelmas marks the turning
Of the husbandman's year
29th September
THE SCULPTOR CREATES
The sculptor creates
With skilful hands
The beauteous article
An artistic gift
Its concept borrowed
From his dreams
And his subconscious mind
To infuse in his design
And create a work of art
DREDGING IS NO SILVER BULLET
Dredging is no silver bullet
Is the word coming from their ranks
But at least it would be something
To prevent rivers bursting their banks
While the environment agency
Just blindly keep on firing blanks
SLAVERY WAS BORN OF EMPIRE
Slavery was born of Empire
But not a European one
Slavery existed for centuries
In fact thousands of years
Way before Europe rose to the fore
Even the Romans came late to the party
Following in Greece’s footsteps
Peoples were enslaved
From around the globe
Where there were trade routes
There was slaving
Arabs traded slaves bought
From African tribesmen
Muslims enslaved slavs
Turks enslaved Ukrainians
Mongols reached into the heart of Europe
And took slaves by the thousand
White Europeans became involved
Black enslaved black
White has enslaved white
I don’t know if it will ever end
I certainly hope so
But what I do know is
That the British didn’t invent it
ORIGINAL FAIRY TALES
Original Fairy Tales
Were not devised
To scare children
And inform them
That monsters existed
Children already knew
There were monsters
What Fairy Tales did
Was to teach children
That monsters
Could be beaten
NAZISM WAS LIKE A CANCER
Nazism was like a cancer
Spread across the continent
And when Hitler was defeated
It was not a cure, for the cancer
Was merely in remission
At the eleventh hour
On the eleventh day
Of the eleventh month
We heard the generals say
You can go home now lads
To the land you’ve defended
Thank God one and all
That the madness has ended
MICHAELMAS DAISY
Lovely Miss Aster,
My flower girl Maisie
My natural beauty
I love her like crazy
My own precious
Michaelmas Daisy
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD
Happy birthday dad
See, we did remember
Because you are so dear
Just like every year
We will never forget
We just wish and wish
You were still here
Just like every year
So we wish you
A happy birthday
And wipe away a tear
Just like every year
Harold Curtis 19/6/1922 – 8/5/1978
DANCING PIXIES IN THE GREEN
Dancing pixies in the green
And sparkling water sprites
Oft heard but never seen
Bathing in the morning light
DEATH IN THE SHADOWS
Death in the shadows
Grim reaper take flight
Don’t let me be the one
You’re coming for tonight
PEBBLES SMOOTH
Pebbles smooth,
Like crude glass
Smoothed by nature
Time and tide
Its patterned form
Marbled in style
Sits comfortably
In the fingers
To be skimmed
Back to the ocean
I HEAR A SINGING CHILD
I hear a singing child
Innocently engrossed
In childish play
Singing sweetly
To her audience of dolls
Safely oblivious
In her enchanted world
Would that it could
Always be that way
DEAR OSCAR
He was witty
Blessed with a fine mind
A bel esprit
And was the clever kind
MICHAELMAS DAY
Feast of the Archangels
As the autumn equinox nears
Michaelmas marks the turning
Of the husbandman's year
29th September
THE SCULPTOR CREATES
The sculptor creates
With skilful hands
The beauteous article
An artistic gift
Its concept borrowed
From his dreams
And his subconscious mind
To infuse in his design
And create a work of art
DREDGING IS NO SILVER BULLET
Dredging is no silver bullet
Is the word coming from their ranks
But at least it would be something
To prevent rivers bursting their banks
While the environment agency
Just blindly keep on firing blanks
SLAVERY WAS BORN OF EMPIRE
Slavery was born of Empire
But not a European one
Slavery existed for centuries
In fact thousands of years
Way before Europe rose to the fore
Even the Romans came late to the party
Following in Greece’s footsteps
Peoples were enslaved
From around the globe
Where there were trade routes
There was slaving
Arabs traded slaves bought
From African tribesmen
Muslims enslaved slavs
Turks enslaved Ukrainians
Mongols reached into the heart of Europe
And took slaves by the thousand
White Europeans became involved
Black enslaved black
White has enslaved white
I don’t know if it will ever end
I certainly hope so
But what I do know is
That the British didn’t invent it
ORIGINAL FAIRY TALES
Original Fairy Tales
Were not devised
To scare children
And inform them
That monsters existed
Children already knew
There were monsters
What Fairy Tales did
Was to teach children
That monsters
Could be beaten
NAZISM WAS LIKE A CANCER
Nazism was like a cancer
Spread across the continent
And when Hitler was defeated
It was not a cure, for the cancer
Was merely in remission
Tuesday 18 March 2014
War ans Warriors
IT’LL BE OVER BY CHRISTMAS
August 4th 1914
The world goes mad
And the Great War Begins
The war to end all wars
“It’ll be over by Christmas”
So they promised
Instead there followed
Four years of death
AIR COMMODORE FERDINAND MAURICE FELIX WEST VC CBE MC
(19 JANUARY 1896 – 8 JULY 1988)
In an Armstrong Whitworth FK 8
West set off at dawn,
Along with his observer,
To search for the enemy
Through a hole in the mist
They spotted their concentration
Avoiding severe ground fire,
Almost immediately
They came under attack
From seven German fighters
West was hit in the leg,
And his radio was destroyed
Skilfully they fought them off
Unable to make home base
West landed behind Allied lines
But despite his injuries
And being in excruciating agony
He insisted on giving his report
Before receiving treatment
And he lost his leg
DON’T PRAY TO YOUR GOD
Don’t pray to your God
When another war begins
Because he doesn’t like war
And he doesn’t care who wins
ROYAL FLYING CORPS - WINGS OVER FRANCE # 4
With the RFC he flew
Over where the ill wind blew
Defending the skies from the Hun
Flying where battle was done
Hazardous sorties over the front
Avoiding enemies on the hunt
Air Commodore Ferdinand Maurice Felix West VC CBE MC (19 JANUARY 1896 – 8 JULY 1988)
DON’T PRAY TO YOUR GOD
Don’t pray to your God
When another war begins
Because he doesn’t like war
And he doesn’t care who wins
ROYAL NAVAL AIR SERVICE - WINGS OVER THE DARDANELLES
1915 in the RNAS he flew
When Ferrijik Junction came into view
He and Gilbert Smylie were sent
And Into action they both went
Under heavy fire Smylie went down
In marsh land outside of town
He set fire to his stricken machine
And quickly set to flee the Scene
Then davies with skill and Gallantry
Landed in sight of the enemy
Rescued his comrade Smylie
And returned him to safety
Vice Admiral Richard Bell Davies VC CB DSO AFC (19 May 1886 – 26 February 1966)
THE SOLDIER STOOD
The soldier stood
And faced the grave
Before the dawn
To salute the brave
VICE ADMIRAL RICHARD BELL DAVIES VC CB DSO AFC
(19 MAY 1886 – 26 FEBRUARY 1966)
Valiantly he fought
Against Germans
And the Turks alike
A young man,
In the prime of life
Diced with death
Not taken by the bullet
Or by the bomb
He fought with gallantry
And abject bravery
THE WORLD HAS BECOME A BLEAKER PLACE
The world has become a bleaker place
And it will never be a safe world again
Death can be delivered unseen from above
I wish I could uninvent the Aeroplane
ROYAL FLYING CORPS - WINGS OVER FRANCE # 5
Valiantly he fought
Against Balloons
And the patrols alike
A young man,
In the prime of life
Fought against
Superior numbers
Above the Forêt de Mormal
Despite horrific injuries
He won the day
And landed safely
Lt Colonel William George "Billy" Barker VC, DSO & Bar, MC & Two Bars (3 November 1894 – 12 March 1930)
LT COLONEL WILLIAM GEORGE "BILLY" BARKER VC, DSO & BAR, MC & TWO BARS
(3 NOVEMBER 1894 – 12 MARCH 1930)
1918 with the RFC he flew
Leaving behind the land he knew
To fly against the superior Hun
When he was nearly undone
Above the Forêt de Mormal
15 against one mere mortal
Barkers Snipe downed three
But he was wounded severely
He got the Snipe down on the floor
But it was the end of Barkers war
ROYAL FLYING CORPS - WINGS OVER FRANCE # 6
Valiantly he fought
Against kite balloons
And the patrols alike
A young man,
In the prime of life
In two short months
In 1918
He wreaked havoc
On the enemy
He died in 1921
In an ironic death
Not taken by the bullet
Or by the bomb
But in a training accident
Flying a Sopwith Snipe
Preparing for an air show
At RAF Hendon
Captain Andrew (Anthony) Frederick Weatherby Beauchamp-Proctor, VC, DSO, MC and bar, DFC (4 September 1894 – 21 June 1921)
THE WORLD HAS BECOME A BLEAKER PLACE
The world has become a bleaker place
And it will never be a safe world again
Death can be delivered unseen from above
I wish I could uninvent the Aeroplane
CAPTAIN ANDREW (ANTHONY) FREDERICK WEATHERBY BEAUCHAMP-PROCTOR, VC, DSO, MC AND BAR, DFC
(4 SEPTEMBER 1894 – 21 JUNE 1921)
1918 with the RFC he flew
Leaving behind the land he knew
To fly against the superior Hun
When victory after victory he won
Between 8 August 1918,
And 8 October 1918
Twenty-six decisive victories
Against determined enemies
Despite suffering a bad injury
He managed to land safely
THE SOLDIER STOOD
The soldier stood
And faced the grave
Before the dawn
To salute the brave
FLEET AIR ARM - WINGS OVER THE CHANNEL
Valiantly he fought
In an outdated kite
Against Battleships
And modern planes alike
A young man,
In the prime of life
Fighting Superior forces
He led his squadron
From the front
Attacking the Scharnhorst,
The Gneisenau
And Prinz Eugen
But were all shot
From the skies
Lieutenant Commander Eugene Kingsmill Esmonde VC DSO (1 March 1909 – 12 February 1942)
LORD KITCHENER SAID IN HIS FRUSTRATION
Lord Kitchener said in his frustration
Of the indiscreet Politicians and their lives
When you tell one of their number a secret
They went home and told their wives
With the exception of David Lloyd George
Who went home and told everybody’s wives
LIEUTENANT COMMANDER EUGENE KINGSMILL ESMONDE VC DSO
(1 MARCH 1909 – 12 FEBRUARY 1942)
1942 with the Fleet Air Arm he flew
Leaving behind the land he knew
To fly against the superior Hun
When he and his squadron were undone
Against the German Krieg’s Marine
The pride of the German Navy
And against that determined enemy
His squadron fell into the sea
August 4th 1914
The world goes mad
And the Great War Begins
The war to end all wars
“It’ll be over by Christmas”
So they promised
Instead there followed
Four years of death
AIR COMMODORE FERDINAND MAURICE FELIX WEST VC CBE MC
(19 JANUARY 1896 – 8 JULY 1988)
In an Armstrong Whitworth FK 8
West set off at dawn,
Along with his observer,
To search for the enemy
Through a hole in the mist
They spotted their concentration
Avoiding severe ground fire,
Almost immediately
They came under attack
From seven German fighters
West was hit in the leg,
And his radio was destroyed
Skilfully they fought them off
Unable to make home base
West landed behind Allied lines
But despite his injuries
And being in excruciating agony
He insisted on giving his report
Before receiving treatment
And he lost his leg
DON’T PRAY TO YOUR GOD
Don’t pray to your God
When another war begins
Because he doesn’t like war
And he doesn’t care who wins
ROYAL FLYING CORPS - WINGS OVER FRANCE # 4
With the RFC he flew
Over where the ill wind blew
Defending the skies from the Hun
Flying where battle was done
Hazardous sorties over the front
Avoiding enemies on the hunt
Air Commodore Ferdinand Maurice Felix West VC CBE MC (19 JANUARY 1896 – 8 JULY 1988)
DON’T PRAY TO YOUR GOD
Don’t pray to your God
When another war begins
Because he doesn’t like war
And he doesn’t care who wins
ROYAL NAVAL AIR SERVICE - WINGS OVER THE DARDANELLES
1915 in the RNAS he flew
When Ferrijik Junction came into view
He and Gilbert Smylie were sent
And Into action they both went
Under heavy fire Smylie went down
In marsh land outside of town
He set fire to his stricken machine
And quickly set to flee the Scene
Then davies with skill and Gallantry
Landed in sight of the enemy
Rescued his comrade Smylie
And returned him to safety
Vice Admiral Richard Bell Davies VC CB DSO AFC (19 May 1886 – 26 February 1966)
THE SOLDIER STOOD
The soldier stood
And faced the grave
Before the dawn
To salute the brave
VICE ADMIRAL RICHARD BELL DAVIES VC CB DSO AFC
(19 MAY 1886 – 26 FEBRUARY 1966)
Valiantly he fought
Against Germans
And the Turks alike
A young man,
In the prime of life
Diced with death
Not taken by the bullet
Or by the bomb
He fought with gallantry
And abject bravery
THE WORLD HAS BECOME A BLEAKER PLACE
The world has become a bleaker place
And it will never be a safe world again
Death can be delivered unseen from above
I wish I could uninvent the Aeroplane
ROYAL FLYING CORPS - WINGS OVER FRANCE # 5
Valiantly he fought
Against Balloons
And the patrols alike
A young man,
In the prime of life
Fought against
Superior numbers
Above the Forêt de Mormal
Despite horrific injuries
He won the day
And landed safely
Lt Colonel William George "Billy" Barker VC, DSO & Bar, MC & Two Bars (3 November 1894 – 12 March 1930)
LT COLONEL WILLIAM GEORGE "BILLY" BARKER VC, DSO & BAR, MC & TWO BARS
(3 NOVEMBER 1894 – 12 MARCH 1930)
1918 with the RFC he flew
Leaving behind the land he knew
To fly against the superior Hun
When he was nearly undone
Above the Forêt de Mormal
15 against one mere mortal
Barkers Snipe downed three
But he was wounded severely
He got the Snipe down on the floor
But it was the end of Barkers war
ROYAL FLYING CORPS - WINGS OVER FRANCE # 6
Valiantly he fought
Against kite balloons
And the patrols alike
A young man,
In the prime of life
In two short months
In 1918
He wreaked havoc
On the enemy
He died in 1921
In an ironic death
Not taken by the bullet
Or by the bomb
But in a training accident
Flying a Sopwith Snipe
Preparing for an air show
At RAF Hendon
Captain Andrew (Anthony) Frederick Weatherby Beauchamp-Proctor, VC, DSO, MC and bar, DFC (4 September 1894 – 21 June 1921)
THE WORLD HAS BECOME A BLEAKER PLACE
The world has become a bleaker place
And it will never be a safe world again
Death can be delivered unseen from above
I wish I could uninvent the Aeroplane
CAPTAIN ANDREW (ANTHONY) FREDERICK WEATHERBY BEAUCHAMP-PROCTOR, VC, DSO, MC AND BAR, DFC
(4 SEPTEMBER 1894 – 21 JUNE 1921)
1918 with the RFC he flew
Leaving behind the land he knew
To fly against the superior Hun
When victory after victory he won
Between 8 August 1918,
And 8 October 1918
Twenty-six decisive victories
Against determined enemies
Despite suffering a bad injury
He managed to land safely
THE SOLDIER STOOD
The soldier stood
And faced the grave
Before the dawn
To salute the brave
FLEET AIR ARM - WINGS OVER THE CHANNEL
Valiantly he fought
In an outdated kite
Against Battleships
And modern planes alike
A young man,
In the prime of life
Fighting Superior forces
He led his squadron
From the front
Attacking the Scharnhorst,
The Gneisenau
And Prinz Eugen
But were all shot
From the skies
Lieutenant Commander Eugene Kingsmill Esmonde VC DSO (1 March 1909 – 12 February 1942)
LORD KITCHENER SAID IN HIS FRUSTRATION
Lord Kitchener said in his frustration
Of the indiscreet Politicians and their lives
When you tell one of their number a secret
They went home and told their wives
With the exception of David Lloyd George
Who went home and told everybody’s wives
LIEUTENANT COMMANDER EUGENE KINGSMILL ESMONDE VC DSO
(1 MARCH 1909 – 12 FEBRUARY 1942)
1942 with the Fleet Air Arm he flew
Leaving behind the land he knew
To fly against the superior Hun
When he and his squadron were undone
Against the German Krieg’s Marine
The pride of the German Navy
And against that determined enemy
His squadron fell into the sea
Friday 10 January 2014
It Happened At Sea
MARY KEZIA ROBERTS
Mary Kezia Roberts
Was a remarkable woman
If for no other reason
Then she sailed, as a stewardess,
Aboard Titanic, and survived
And two years later
Was aboard the HMHS Rohilla
When she was wrecked
And she survived again
HMHS ROHILLA
On 30 October 1914
The hospital ship Rohilla
Sailed southerly through
The stormy North Sea
Bound from Leith to Dunkirk
To bring allied wounded home
Around 4:00 a.m.
On that fateful morn
With the high seas
And storm force winds
Battering the ship
She struck Whitby Rock,
On the Saltwick reef
South of Whitby town.
It was wartime
No landmarks were visible
As blackouts were observed
And aids to navigation
Were nonexistent
Although only 600 yards
From the safety of shore
The fiercely blowing gale
Hampered rescue attempts
But the RNLI persevered
And more than half aboard
The stricken ship were saved
RNLI – THE WRECK OF THE ROHILLA
When the Rohilla
Struck Whitby rock
On the Saltwick reef
In October 1914
The storm was so bad
The life boat
Could not be launched
From Whitby harbour
So the rescuers grittily
Manhandled the lifeboat
Over an eight-foot seawall
And treacherous rocks
So it could be launched
From the beach
On the first attempt
They rescued seventeen
On the second
Another eighteen
But in the second attempt
The lifeboat was damaged
Too badly to make a third
IN THE TEETH OF A GALE
As the savage seas
Pounded the stricken ship
Helpless onlookers watched
From the lonely beach
As nature won out
Ropes attached to Rockets
Were shot from the cliff top
But in the howling gale
Each fell short
HMS BIRKENHEAD
HMS Birkenhead began life
As a steam frigate
One of the first iron-hulled vessels
Built for the Royal Navy
But she was quickly converted
And was commissioned as a troopship
It was as such on 26 February 1852
While transporting troops to Algoa Bay,
She was wrecked at Danger Point
Near to Gansbaai
100 miles from Cape Town,
With insufficient serviceable lifeboats
For all the passengers.
This gave rise to the most disciplined
Act of self-sacrifice ever witnessed
Described in verse by Rudyard Kipling
As the "Birkenhead drill"
Where the soldiers famously stood firm,
In serried ranks and allowed
The women and children
To safely board the boats
The courage and chivalry
Of the noble soldiers
In the face of certain death
Gave rise to the now accepted practice
When abandoning ship
Of “Women and children first”
And 550 men perished in the sea
EAST INDIAMAN ARNISTON
The Arniston was an East Indiaman
But had been requisitioned as a troopship
She was sailing from Ceylon to England
To repatriate soldiers wounded in the Kandyan Wars
When during a storm near Cape Agulhas, South Africa
She was wrecked at Waenhuiskrans on 30 May 1815
With only six surviving of the 378 aboard
L&ASNC ROYAL CHARTER
The steamship Royal Charter
Was returning to Liverpool
In late October 1859
Laden with gold
And Nuevo riche prospectors
From the Australian goldfields.
It was recommended to
Thomas Taylor, Captain
To put into Holyhead harbour
To wait out the storm
But having thus far
Made good time from Melbourne
He wanted to press on to Liverpool
As she rounded Anglesey’s
North-western tip
The barometer dropped
The squall quickly grew
And reached Storm force 10
On the Beaufort scale
The Royal Charter tried,
Off Point Lynas,
To pick up the Liverpool pilot
To guide them to safety
But the wind had risen
To Hurricane force 12
And was driving her
Towards the Anglesey coast
The Captain dropped anchor
But within two hours
Both anchor chains had snapped
And on 26 October 1859
The steam clipper Royal Charter
Broke up on the rocks near Moelfre
Despite the heroic efforts
From the people of Anglesey
Less than 40 survived
From the 450 passengers and crew
THE ROYAL CHARTER STORM
The Royal Charter storm
Which blew up out of the Irish Sea
Takes its name from one ship
Out of the 133 ships
Sunk on the 25 and 26 October 1859
With a further 80 damaged
And a death toll of 800
CAPTAIN’S AWARD
In the aftermath
Of the sinking
Of HMHS Rohilla
In 1914
Amidst all the plaudits
Medals and awards
For heroism and gallantry
Was Captain Neilson,
Awarded the RSPCA’s
Bronze Medal
For his efforts to rescue
The ship's cat
Mary Kezia Roberts
Was a remarkable woman
If for no other reason
Then she sailed, as a stewardess,
Aboard Titanic, and survived
And two years later
Was aboard the HMHS Rohilla
When she was wrecked
And she survived again
HMHS ROHILLA
On 30 October 1914
The hospital ship Rohilla
Sailed southerly through
The stormy North Sea
Bound from Leith to Dunkirk
To bring allied wounded home
Around 4:00 a.m.
On that fateful morn
With the high seas
And storm force winds
Battering the ship
She struck Whitby Rock,
On the Saltwick reef
South of Whitby town.
It was wartime
No landmarks were visible
As blackouts were observed
And aids to navigation
Were nonexistent
Although only 600 yards
From the safety of shore
The fiercely blowing gale
Hampered rescue attempts
But the RNLI persevered
And more than half aboard
The stricken ship were saved
RNLI – THE WRECK OF THE ROHILLA
When the Rohilla
Struck Whitby rock
On the Saltwick reef
In October 1914
The storm was so bad
The life boat
Could not be launched
From Whitby harbour
So the rescuers grittily
Manhandled the lifeboat
Over an eight-foot seawall
And treacherous rocks
So it could be launched
From the beach
On the first attempt
They rescued seventeen
On the second
Another eighteen
But in the second attempt
The lifeboat was damaged
Too badly to make a third
IN THE TEETH OF A GALE
As the savage seas
Pounded the stricken ship
Helpless onlookers watched
From the lonely beach
As nature won out
Ropes attached to Rockets
Were shot from the cliff top
But in the howling gale
Each fell short
HMS BIRKENHEAD
HMS Birkenhead began life
As a steam frigate
One of the first iron-hulled vessels
Built for the Royal Navy
But she was quickly converted
And was commissioned as a troopship
It was as such on 26 February 1852
While transporting troops to Algoa Bay,
She was wrecked at Danger Point
Near to Gansbaai
100 miles from Cape Town,
With insufficient serviceable lifeboats
For all the passengers.
This gave rise to the most disciplined
Act of self-sacrifice ever witnessed
Described in verse by Rudyard Kipling
As the "Birkenhead drill"
Where the soldiers famously stood firm,
In serried ranks and allowed
The women and children
To safely board the boats
The courage and chivalry
Of the noble soldiers
In the face of certain death
Gave rise to the now accepted practice
When abandoning ship
Of “Women and children first”
And 550 men perished in the sea
EAST INDIAMAN ARNISTON
The Arniston was an East Indiaman
But had been requisitioned as a troopship
She was sailing from Ceylon to England
To repatriate soldiers wounded in the Kandyan Wars
When during a storm near Cape Agulhas, South Africa
She was wrecked at Waenhuiskrans on 30 May 1815
With only six surviving of the 378 aboard
L&ASNC ROYAL CHARTER
The steamship Royal Charter
Was returning to Liverpool
In late October 1859
Laden with gold
And Nuevo riche prospectors
From the Australian goldfields.
It was recommended to
Thomas Taylor, Captain
To put into Holyhead harbour
To wait out the storm
But having thus far
Made good time from Melbourne
He wanted to press on to Liverpool
As she rounded Anglesey’s
North-western tip
The barometer dropped
The squall quickly grew
And reached Storm force 10
On the Beaufort scale
The Royal Charter tried,
Off Point Lynas,
To pick up the Liverpool pilot
To guide them to safety
But the wind had risen
To Hurricane force 12
And was driving her
Towards the Anglesey coast
The Captain dropped anchor
But within two hours
Both anchor chains had snapped
And on 26 October 1859
The steam clipper Royal Charter
Broke up on the rocks near Moelfre
Despite the heroic efforts
From the people of Anglesey
Less than 40 survived
From the 450 passengers and crew
THE ROYAL CHARTER STORM
The Royal Charter storm
Which blew up out of the Irish Sea
Takes its name from one ship
Out of the 133 ships
Sunk on the 25 and 26 October 1859
With a further 80 damaged
And a death toll of 800
CAPTAIN’S AWARD
In the aftermath
Of the sinking
Of HMHS Rohilla
In 1914
Amidst all the plaudits
Medals and awards
For heroism and gallantry
Was Captain Neilson,
Awarded the RSPCA’s
Bronze Medal
For his efforts to rescue
The ship's cat
Monday 4 November 2013
The Winds Of War
BLUE DANUBE
It was called Blue Danube, which
Doesn’t sound menacing at all
So innocuous for the first operational
Weapon in Britain’s nuclear arsenal
HMS IOLAIRE
On New Year’s Eve 1918
The Iolaire carried sailors
Veterans of the Great War
Back home to the island of Lewis
But as they approached Stornoway
As the New Year dawned
She struck "The Beasts of Holm"
And sank in the darkness
205 souls perished in the depths
They survived the horrors of war
Only to drown in the waters of home
RED COATS
The bayonets gleaming
In the sun
The piper’s pipe
The drummers drum
Red Coats forming
Up the square
The sound of battle
Everywhere
Though far outnumbered
In the field
They do not waver
They do not yield
The men
From borough and shire
The thin red line
Of the empire
PAST THE CENOTAPH THEY MARCH
Past the cenotaph they march
After Big Bens doleful chime
The proud veterans on parade
Years beyond their prime
But even with walking sticks
They still keep perfect time
THE FLOWERED FIELDS OF FLANDERS
The flowered fields of Flanders
Where met many a gallant enlistee
War visited its hell upon the earth
Turning them to a muddy bloody sea
SO SILENT WENT THE GUNS OF HELL
So silent went the guns of hell
No longer dispensing shot and shell
So we emerge from where we dwell
In answer to the armistice bell
WHETHER THEY MAY WIN OR LOOSE
Whether they may win or loose
Or whether they think its right
Our soldiers don’t get to choose
Which wars that they fight
THE RED ARMY
The Red Army
Rose from the ashes
Like a phoenix
Rising up from
The brink of defeat
To repel the invader
Pushing the Nazi scourge
Back to Hitler’s backyard
To end one war
And begin another
Colder one
RED BEARD
It was called Red Beard, which
Doesn’t sound menacing at all
So innocuous for the first tactical
Weapon in Britain’s nuclear arsenal
THE RAF SEEK OUT THERE TARGETS
The RAF seek out there targets
On recognisance missions
Brave young men
Flying beyond enemy lines
Armed with nothing more than cameras
They make pass after pass
Taking shot after shot
Before returning home
With their precious load
When the photo interpreters
Of Medmenham
Enhance the images
With their stereoscope’s
To create a 3D picture
For detailed analysis
By the boffins
Who identify a target
For more brave young men
To bomb the sites
Of the vengeance weapons
It was called Blue Danube, which
Doesn’t sound menacing at all
So innocuous for the first operational
Weapon in Britain’s nuclear arsenal
HMS IOLAIRE
On New Year’s Eve 1918
The Iolaire carried sailors
Veterans of the Great War
Back home to the island of Lewis
But as they approached Stornoway
As the New Year dawned
She struck "The Beasts of Holm"
And sank in the darkness
205 souls perished in the depths
They survived the horrors of war
Only to drown in the waters of home
RED COATS
The bayonets gleaming
In the sun
The piper’s pipe
The drummers drum
Red Coats forming
Up the square
The sound of battle
Everywhere
Though far outnumbered
In the field
They do not waver
They do not yield
The men
From borough and shire
The thin red line
Of the empire
PAST THE CENOTAPH THEY MARCH
Past the cenotaph they march
After Big Bens doleful chime
The proud veterans on parade
Years beyond their prime
But even with walking sticks
They still keep perfect time
THE FLOWERED FIELDS OF FLANDERS
The flowered fields of Flanders
Where met many a gallant enlistee
War visited its hell upon the earth
Turning them to a muddy bloody sea
SO SILENT WENT THE GUNS OF HELL
So silent went the guns of hell
No longer dispensing shot and shell
So we emerge from where we dwell
In answer to the armistice bell
WHETHER THEY MAY WIN OR LOOSE
Whether they may win or loose
Or whether they think its right
Our soldiers don’t get to choose
Which wars that they fight
THE RED ARMY
The Red Army
Rose from the ashes
Like a phoenix
Rising up from
The brink of defeat
To repel the invader
Pushing the Nazi scourge
Back to Hitler’s backyard
To end one war
And begin another
Colder one
RED BEARD
It was called Red Beard, which
Doesn’t sound menacing at all
So innocuous for the first tactical
Weapon in Britain’s nuclear arsenal
THE RAF SEEK OUT THERE TARGETS
The RAF seek out there targets
On recognisance missions
Brave young men
Flying beyond enemy lines
Armed with nothing more than cameras
They make pass after pass
Taking shot after shot
Before returning home
With their precious load
When the photo interpreters
Of Medmenham
Enhance the images
With their stereoscope’s
To create a 3D picture
For detailed analysis
By the boffins
Who identify a target
For more brave young men
To bomb the sites
Of the vengeance weapons
Classic Aircraft
THE SUPERMARINE SPITFIRE
Brainchild of R. J. Mitchell
The Spitfire was designed
As a short-range,
High-performance
Interceptor aircraft
The Supermarine Spitfire
Was the perfect flying machine
With its elliptical wings
And Rolls-Royce Merlin engine
It was fast and manoeuvrable
Which helped it dominate the skies
During the Battle of Britain
THE HAWKER HURRICANE
The Hawker Hurricane
Always overshadowed by the Spitfire
Whether as an interceptor-fighter
Or a fighter-bomber
Yet during the Battle of Britain
It shouldered a greater proportion
Of the burden against the Luftwaffe.
THE HAWKER SEA HURRICANE
The Sea Hurricanes
Were carrier based
Catapult-launched
Convoy escorts,
Known as "Hurricats"
THE HAWKER TYPHOON
The Hawker Typhoon
Single-seat fighter-bomber
Known affectionately as the Tiffy
Began life a medium
And high altitude interceptor
But with its Typhoon speed
It found its niche as
A low-altitude interceptor
But when ground attack rockets
Were added to its armoury.
The Typhoon earned a reputation
As the RAF’s
Most successful ground-attack aircraft.
THE DE HAVILLAND MOSQUITO
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito
Was a British multi-role combat aircraft
"The Wooden Wonder"
Known more affectionately
As the "Mossie" to its crews
Was the most versatile
British aircraft
Of the Second World War
THE AVRO LANCASTER
The Avro Lancaster
Was a four-engine British
Second World War heavy bomber
An iconic plane of the RAF
It first saw active service
With Bomber Command in 1942
Where it soon overshadowed
Its close contemporaries
The Handley Page Halifax
And the Short Stirling
It was affectionately known
As The "Lanc"
Perhaps best remembered
For Operation Chastise
Or the dam busters raid
Where it delivered
Barnes Wallis’s "Bouncing bomb"
With devastating effect
It was on to carry
The earthquake boms
Tallboy and Grand Slam
Used on V2 installations
THE AVRO LINCOLN
The Avro Type 694,
Was a four-engine
British heavy bomber
That never saw active service
In the Second World War
It was originally designated
As the Lancaster Mk IV
But were renamed
As the Avro Lincoln,
Though it became operational
Too late for World War Two
It saw plenty of action
In subsequent conflicts
Until the Jet age retired them
THE VICKERS WELLINGTON
The Vickers Wellington
Was a British twin-engine
Long range medium bomber
Known as “the Wimpy”
Designed originally
For daylight operations
It was widely used
As a night bomber
In the early years
Of World War 2.
Before being displaced
As the bomber of choice
By the large four-engined
Heavy bombers like the Lancaster
But the Wellington
Took on a new roll
As an anti-submarine aircraft
It was the only British bomber
To remain in production
For the duration of the war
And was first-line equipment
From beginning to end
THE VICKERS WELLESLEY
The Vickers Wellesley
Was a British light bomber
That was all but obsolete
By the time the war came
It was totally unsuited
To the European air war
Of the Second World War
But the Wellesley found a purpose
In the desert theatres
Of East Africa, Egypt
And the Middle East
THE HANDLEY PAGE HALIFAX
The Handley Page Halifax
Was a British four-engine
Second World War heavy bomber
Where it was soon overshadowed
By the Avro Lancaster,
But the Halifax remained in service
Until the end of the war
THE HANDLEY PAGE HASTINGS
The Handley Page
H.P.67 Hastings
Was a British troop-carrier
And freight transporter
The largest transport plane
In the world in its time
THE WESTLAND LYSANDER
The Westland Lysander
Was a British army
Co-operation and liaison aircraft
Which came into service
Prior to the Second World War
But when it became obsolete
In the army co-operation role,
Its exceptional characteristics
Came into their own
The Lysander’s short-field capability
Made it a natural
For clandestine missions
Being able to land on small
Unprepared airstrips
Deep behind enemy lines
To place or recover agents,
Particularly in occupied France
THE SHORT STIRLING
The Short Stirling
Was the very first British
Four-engine heavy bomber
The RAF had in the World War 2
It first entered service in 1941
And had a very brief career
As an operational bomber
Quickly being surpassed
By the Halifax and the Lancaster
Relegating the Stirling
To second line role
But it still had a significant
Contribution to make
First as a glider tug
And then as a resupply aircraft
During the allied invasion
Of Europe in 1944-1945
THE AVRO ANSON
The Avro Anson
Was a British twin-engine
Multi-role aircraft
Used by the RAF
Before, during, and after
The Second World War
It was originally the Avro 652
And was designed as an airliner
But was quickly redeveloped.
For a marine reconnaissance role
Though was soon rendered obsolete
As an operational entity
It was saved from the scrap heap
And became a multi-engine
Air crew trainer
And remained in production
Until 1952
THE AVRO SHACKLETON
The Avro Shackleton
Was a long-range British
Maritime patrol aircraft
Which came into service
With the RAF in 1951
It was a distant cousin
Of the legendary Lancaster
Which evolved first
Into the Lincoln
And then into the Shackleton
Its speciality was
Anti-submarine warfare
Then airborne early warning
And search and rescue
It was finally retired in 1990
THE AVRO LANCASTRIAN
The Avro 691 Lancastrian
Was a mail transport
And passenger aircraft
Used by Canada and Britain
In the 1940s and 1950s
The Lancastrian was basically
A modified Lancaster bomber
And delivered people and mail
As efficiently as death
THE AVRO MANCHESTER
The Avro 679 Manchester
Was a British heavy bomber
Of the Second World War
But it was an operational failure
Due to its underpowered
And unreliable twin-engines
However it lead directly
To the successful four-engined
Avro Lancaster, which became
The most successful
British bomber of the war
THE BRISTOL BEAUFIGHTER
The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter,
Affectionately known as the Beau,
Was a British long-range fighter
A successful reworking
Into a heavy fighter
Of the Beaufort torpedo bomber design
Beaufighter is a portmanteau
Of "Beaufort" and "fighter"
But unlike the Beaufort,
The Beaufighter had a long career
And served in almost all theatres
Of the Second World War,
Firstly as a night fighter,
Then as a fighter bomber,
Eventually even replacing
The Beaufort as a torpedo bomber
THE BRISTOL BEAUFORT
The Bristol Beaufort
Was a British twin-engine
Torpedo bomber
Which saw service
With RAF Coastal Command
And then the Fleet Air Arm
Of Royal Navy
They were versatile and not
Used exclusively as torpedo bombers,
They were also utilized with great effect
As conventional bombers and mine-layers
However despite distinguishing themselves
In the Mediterranean
And in the defence of Malta
Their day in the sun
Was over all too soon
They were relegated to a trainer
Until the war ended
THE AVRO YORK
The Avro York
Was a British transport plane
And was yet another Avro aircraft
Derived from the legendary
Lancaster heavy bomber,
Which was used in military
And civilian roles
Between 1943 and 1964
THE BRISTOL BLENHEIM
The Bristol Blenheim
Was a Second World War
British light bomber
It had an all-metal stressed-skin
Retractable landing gear
Powered gun turret
And variable pitch propellers
State of the art at the time
And cutting edge for the RAF
But in truth it was no match
For the German Messerschmitt Bf 109
So its time as a front line
Combat aircraft were short lived
THE SHORT EMPIRE
The Short Empire
Was a medium range
Four engine monoplane flying boat
Carrying passengers and mail
Between Britain and the British colonies
THE SHORT SUNDERLAND FLYING BOAT
The Short S.25 Sunderland
Was a British flying boat
And Royal Air Force patrol bomber
In the Battle of the Atlantic
Hunting German U-boats
But it was capable of more
Humanitarian missions
And took part in the Berlin airlift
THE SHORT SANDRINGHAM
The Short S.25 Sandringham
Was a medium range
British civilian flying boat
Converted from Shorts Sunderland
And replaced the Short Empire
Carrying passengers and mail
Between Britain and the British colonies
THE LOCKHEED LIGHTNING
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning
Was a World War II
American fighter aircraft
With distinctive twin booms
And one central nacelle,
Housing the cockpit
The P38 was nicknamed
The "fork-tailed devil"
By Luftwaffe Pilots
It was the very definition
Of versatility in fact it had it all
And was in the thick of it
From Pearl Harbour
To Victory over Japan Day
THE AVRO VULCAN
The Avro Vulcan
Was an RAF
Delta Wing strategic bomber
And was the backbone of the Uks
Airborne nuclear deterrent
During a long period
Of the Cold War
It carried no defensive weaponry
So had to rely on its high-speed
And high-altitude flight
To evade interception
Until the advent
Of Electronic countermeasures
And although it spent
Much of its career
Armed with nuclear weapons
The Vulcan was still capable
Of performing conventional
Bombing missions
A fact underlined
Very effectively in 1982
When it was used in
Operation Black Buck
During the Falklands War
THE ENGLISH ELECTRIC LIGHTNING
The English Electric Lightning
Was a supersonic jet fighter
From the days of the Cold War
Noted for its great speed
The only all-British Mach 2 fighter
And the first in the world
Capable of Supercruise
Renowned for its interceptor capabilities
The Lightning was the best of the best
THE WACO HADRIAN
The Waco CG-4A
Was the most widely used
Troop/cargo military glider
Of World War II
Named the Hadrian
THE LOCKHEED HERCULES
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules
Is a four-engine turboprop
Military transport aircraft
An uncomplicated work horse
Take-offs and landings
Can be made on any unprepared ground
And its uses are too numerous to mention
In fact it would be easier to list
What the Hercules can’t do
THE GENERAL AIRCRAFT HAMILCAR
The General Aircraft
GAL. 49 Hamilcar
Was a large British military glider
Produced during World War II
Commissioned at the behest
Of the then Prime Minister
Winston Churchill
In order to transport
Airborne assault troops
And heavy cargo into battle,
When completed
The Hamilcar was capable
Of transporting heavy equipment
In support of airborne troops.
The glider could transport
A single light tank
Or two Universal Carriers.
Hamilcars were only used
On three occasions,
But only in support
Of British airborne forces.
They first saw action in June 1944
Transporting anti-tank guns
Assorted armoured Vehicles
And Tetrarch light tanks
Into Normandy during Operation Tonga
They were used in a similar way
During Operation Market-Garden
And finally in March 1945
During Operation Varsity
When they landed in Germany
THE GENERAL AIRCRAFT HOTSPUR
The General Aircraft
GAL.48 Hotspur
Was a military glider
Commissioned at the behest
Of the then Prime Minister
Winston Churchill
In order to transport
Airborne assault troops into battle
The Hotspur was the result
But its tactical limitations
Meant it was only used for training
THE AIRSPEED HORSA
The Airspeed AS.51 Horsa
Was a British World War II
Troop-carrying glider
Used for air assault by British
And allied armed forces
Like other British gliders
Of the Second World War,
Gliders were named
After military figures
Whose name began with H,
So it was named after Horsa,
The legendary 5th century
Jutish Conqueror of southern Britain.
But on D-Day 1944
The Horsa showed
It was not a conqueror
But a liberator of Europe
THE HAWKER SIDDELEY HARRIER
The Hawker Siddeley Harrier
Is more popularly known
As the "Harrier Jump Jet"
And was the first operational
Vertical take-off aircraft
Its unique abilities
Made it easier to disperse
An attack squadron
Away from vulnerable sir fields
The Harrier is quite simply
The most remarkable
Aircraft ever made
THE SLINGSBY HENGIST
The Slingsby Hengist
Was a British military glider
Like other British gliders
Of the Second World War,
Gliders were named
After military figures
Whose name began with H,
So it was named after Hengist,
The legendary 5th century
Jutish Conqueror of southern Britain.
But on D-Day 1944
The Hengist showed
It was not a conqueror
But a liberator of Europe
THE DOUGLAS DAKOTA
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain
Or as the RAF preferred the Dakota
Was a military transport aircraft
A successful development
From the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner
A valuable asset to the Allies
During World War II
And like the Hercules
The Dakota’s uses
Were too numerous to mention
And it would be easier to list
What the Dakota can’t do
THE BRITISH AEROSPACE SEA HARRIER
The British Aerospace Sea Harrier
Was developed directly
From the Hawker Sidderley Harrier
And was used by the Royal Navy
Operating them from
Invincible-class aircraft carriers
Informally known as the "Shar"
The Sea Harrier
Served in the Falklands War,
Both Gulf Wars and the Balkans
Brainchild of R. J. Mitchell
The Spitfire was designed
As a short-range,
High-performance
Interceptor aircraft
The Supermarine Spitfire
Was the perfect flying machine
With its elliptical wings
And Rolls-Royce Merlin engine
It was fast and manoeuvrable
Which helped it dominate the skies
During the Battle of Britain
THE HAWKER HURRICANE
The Hawker Hurricane
Always overshadowed by the Spitfire
Whether as an interceptor-fighter
Or a fighter-bomber
Yet during the Battle of Britain
It shouldered a greater proportion
Of the burden against the Luftwaffe.
THE HAWKER SEA HURRICANE
The Sea Hurricanes
Were carrier based
Catapult-launched
Convoy escorts,
Known as "Hurricats"
THE HAWKER TYPHOON
The Hawker Typhoon
Single-seat fighter-bomber
Known affectionately as the Tiffy
Began life a medium
And high altitude interceptor
But with its Typhoon speed
It found its niche as
A low-altitude interceptor
But when ground attack rockets
Were added to its armoury.
The Typhoon earned a reputation
As the RAF’s
Most successful ground-attack aircraft.
THE DE HAVILLAND MOSQUITO
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito
Was a British multi-role combat aircraft
"The Wooden Wonder"
Known more affectionately
As the "Mossie" to its crews
Was the most versatile
British aircraft
Of the Second World War
THE AVRO LANCASTER
The Avro Lancaster
Was a four-engine British
Second World War heavy bomber
An iconic plane of the RAF
It first saw active service
With Bomber Command in 1942
Where it soon overshadowed
Its close contemporaries
The Handley Page Halifax
And the Short Stirling
It was affectionately known
As The "Lanc"
Perhaps best remembered
For Operation Chastise
Or the dam busters raid
Where it delivered
Barnes Wallis’s "Bouncing bomb"
With devastating effect
It was on to carry
The earthquake boms
Tallboy and Grand Slam
Used on V2 installations
THE AVRO LINCOLN
The Avro Type 694,
Was a four-engine
British heavy bomber
That never saw active service
In the Second World War
It was originally designated
As the Lancaster Mk IV
But were renamed
As the Avro Lincoln,
Though it became operational
Too late for World War Two
It saw plenty of action
In subsequent conflicts
Until the Jet age retired them
THE VICKERS WELLINGTON
The Vickers Wellington
Was a British twin-engine
Long range medium bomber
Known as “the Wimpy”
Designed originally
For daylight operations
It was widely used
As a night bomber
In the early years
Of World War 2.
Before being displaced
As the bomber of choice
By the large four-engined
Heavy bombers like the Lancaster
But the Wellington
Took on a new roll
As an anti-submarine aircraft
It was the only British bomber
To remain in production
For the duration of the war
And was first-line equipment
From beginning to end
THE VICKERS WELLESLEY
The Vickers Wellesley
Was a British light bomber
That was all but obsolete
By the time the war came
It was totally unsuited
To the European air war
Of the Second World War
But the Wellesley found a purpose
In the desert theatres
Of East Africa, Egypt
And the Middle East
THE HANDLEY PAGE HALIFAX
The Handley Page Halifax
Was a British four-engine
Second World War heavy bomber
Where it was soon overshadowed
By the Avro Lancaster,
But the Halifax remained in service
Until the end of the war
THE HANDLEY PAGE HASTINGS
The Handley Page
H.P.67 Hastings
Was a British troop-carrier
And freight transporter
The largest transport plane
In the world in its time
THE WESTLAND LYSANDER
The Westland Lysander
Was a British army
Co-operation and liaison aircraft
Which came into service
Prior to the Second World War
But when it became obsolete
In the army co-operation role,
Its exceptional characteristics
Came into their own
The Lysander’s short-field capability
Made it a natural
For clandestine missions
Being able to land on small
Unprepared airstrips
Deep behind enemy lines
To place or recover agents,
Particularly in occupied France
THE SHORT STIRLING
The Short Stirling
Was the very first British
Four-engine heavy bomber
The RAF had in the World War 2
It first entered service in 1941
And had a very brief career
As an operational bomber
Quickly being surpassed
By the Halifax and the Lancaster
Relegating the Stirling
To second line role
But it still had a significant
Contribution to make
First as a glider tug
And then as a resupply aircraft
During the allied invasion
Of Europe in 1944-1945
THE AVRO ANSON
The Avro Anson
Was a British twin-engine
Multi-role aircraft
Used by the RAF
Before, during, and after
The Second World War
It was originally the Avro 652
And was designed as an airliner
But was quickly redeveloped.
For a marine reconnaissance role
Though was soon rendered obsolete
As an operational entity
It was saved from the scrap heap
And became a multi-engine
Air crew trainer
And remained in production
Until 1952
THE AVRO SHACKLETON
The Avro Shackleton
Was a long-range British
Maritime patrol aircraft
Which came into service
With the RAF in 1951
It was a distant cousin
Of the legendary Lancaster
Which evolved first
Into the Lincoln
And then into the Shackleton
Its speciality was
Anti-submarine warfare
Then airborne early warning
And search and rescue
It was finally retired in 1990
THE AVRO LANCASTRIAN
The Avro 691 Lancastrian
Was a mail transport
And passenger aircraft
Used by Canada and Britain
In the 1940s and 1950s
The Lancastrian was basically
A modified Lancaster bomber
And delivered people and mail
As efficiently as death
THE AVRO MANCHESTER
The Avro 679 Manchester
Was a British heavy bomber
Of the Second World War
But it was an operational failure
Due to its underpowered
And unreliable twin-engines
However it lead directly
To the successful four-engined
Avro Lancaster, which became
The most successful
British bomber of the war
THE BRISTOL BEAUFIGHTER
The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter,
Affectionately known as the Beau,
Was a British long-range fighter
A successful reworking
Into a heavy fighter
Of the Beaufort torpedo bomber design
Beaufighter is a portmanteau
Of "Beaufort" and "fighter"
But unlike the Beaufort,
The Beaufighter had a long career
And served in almost all theatres
Of the Second World War,
Firstly as a night fighter,
Then as a fighter bomber,
Eventually even replacing
The Beaufort as a torpedo bomber
THE BRISTOL BEAUFORT
The Bristol Beaufort
Was a British twin-engine
Torpedo bomber
Which saw service
With RAF Coastal Command
And then the Fleet Air Arm
Of Royal Navy
They were versatile and not
Used exclusively as torpedo bombers,
They were also utilized with great effect
As conventional bombers and mine-layers
However despite distinguishing themselves
In the Mediterranean
And in the defence of Malta
Their day in the sun
Was over all too soon
They were relegated to a trainer
Until the war ended
THE AVRO YORK
The Avro York
Was a British transport plane
And was yet another Avro aircraft
Derived from the legendary
Lancaster heavy bomber,
Which was used in military
And civilian roles
Between 1943 and 1964
THE BRISTOL BLENHEIM
The Bristol Blenheim
Was a Second World War
British light bomber
It had an all-metal stressed-skin
Retractable landing gear
Powered gun turret
And variable pitch propellers
State of the art at the time
And cutting edge for the RAF
But in truth it was no match
For the German Messerschmitt Bf 109
So its time as a front line
Combat aircraft were short lived
THE SHORT EMPIRE
The Short Empire
Was a medium range
Four engine monoplane flying boat
Carrying passengers and mail
Between Britain and the British colonies
THE SHORT SUNDERLAND FLYING BOAT
The Short S.25 Sunderland
Was a British flying boat
And Royal Air Force patrol bomber
In the Battle of the Atlantic
Hunting German U-boats
But it was capable of more
Humanitarian missions
And took part in the Berlin airlift
THE SHORT SANDRINGHAM
The Short S.25 Sandringham
Was a medium range
British civilian flying boat
Converted from Shorts Sunderland
And replaced the Short Empire
Carrying passengers and mail
Between Britain and the British colonies
THE LOCKHEED LIGHTNING
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning
Was a World War II
American fighter aircraft
With distinctive twin booms
And one central nacelle,
Housing the cockpit
The P38 was nicknamed
The "fork-tailed devil"
By Luftwaffe Pilots
It was the very definition
Of versatility in fact it had it all
And was in the thick of it
From Pearl Harbour
To Victory over Japan Day
THE AVRO VULCAN
The Avro Vulcan
Was an RAF
Delta Wing strategic bomber
And was the backbone of the Uks
Airborne nuclear deterrent
During a long period
Of the Cold War
It carried no defensive weaponry
So had to rely on its high-speed
And high-altitude flight
To evade interception
Until the advent
Of Electronic countermeasures
And although it spent
Much of its career
Armed with nuclear weapons
The Vulcan was still capable
Of performing conventional
Bombing missions
A fact underlined
Very effectively in 1982
When it was used in
Operation Black Buck
During the Falklands War
THE ENGLISH ELECTRIC LIGHTNING
The English Electric Lightning
Was a supersonic jet fighter
From the days of the Cold War
Noted for its great speed
The only all-British Mach 2 fighter
And the first in the world
Capable of Supercruise
Renowned for its interceptor capabilities
The Lightning was the best of the best
THE WACO HADRIAN
The Waco CG-4A
Was the most widely used
Troop/cargo military glider
Of World War II
Named the Hadrian
THE LOCKHEED HERCULES
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules
Is a four-engine turboprop
Military transport aircraft
An uncomplicated work horse
Take-offs and landings
Can be made on any unprepared ground
And its uses are too numerous to mention
In fact it would be easier to list
What the Hercules can’t do
THE GENERAL AIRCRAFT HAMILCAR
The General Aircraft
GAL. 49 Hamilcar
Was a large British military glider
Produced during World War II
Commissioned at the behest
Of the then Prime Minister
Winston Churchill
In order to transport
Airborne assault troops
And heavy cargo into battle,
When completed
The Hamilcar was capable
Of transporting heavy equipment
In support of airborne troops.
The glider could transport
A single light tank
Or two Universal Carriers.
Hamilcars were only used
On three occasions,
But only in support
Of British airborne forces.
They first saw action in June 1944
Transporting anti-tank guns
Assorted armoured Vehicles
And Tetrarch light tanks
Into Normandy during Operation Tonga
They were used in a similar way
During Operation Market-Garden
And finally in March 1945
During Operation Varsity
When they landed in Germany
THE GENERAL AIRCRAFT HOTSPUR
The General Aircraft
GAL.48 Hotspur
Was a military glider
Commissioned at the behest
Of the then Prime Minister
Winston Churchill
In order to transport
Airborne assault troops into battle
The Hotspur was the result
But its tactical limitations
Meant it was only used for training
THE AIRSPEED HORSA
The Airspeed AS.51 Horsa
Was a British World War II
Troop-carrying glider
Used for air assault by British
And allied armed forces
Like other British gliders
Of the Second World War,
Gliders were named
After military figures
Whose name began with H,
So it was named after Horsa,
The legendary 5th century
Jutish Conqueror of southern Britain.
But on D-Day 1944
The Horsa showed
It was not a conqueror
But a liberator of Europe
THE HAWKER SIDDELEY HARRIER
The Hawker Siddeley Harrier
Is more popularly known
As the "Harrier Jump Jet"
And was the first operational
Vertical take-off aircraft
Its unique abilities
Made it easier to disperse
An attack squadron
Away from vulnerable sir fields
The Harrier is quite simply
The most remarkable
Aircraft ever made
THE SLINGSBY HENGIST
The Slingsby Hengist
Was a British military glider
Like other British gliders
Of the Second World War,
Gliders were named
After military figures
Whose name began with H,
So it was named after Hengist,
The legendary 5th century
Jutish Conqueror of southern Britain.
But on D-Day 1944
The Hengist showed
It was not a conqueror
But a liberator of Europe
THE DOUGLAS DAKOTA
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain
Or as the RAF preferred the Dakota
Was a military transport aircraft
A successful development
From the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner
A valuable asset to the Allies
During World War II
And like the Hercules
The Dakota’s uses
Were too numerous to mention
And it would be easier to list
What the Dakota can’t do
THE BRITISH AEROSPACE SEA HARRIER
The British Aerospace Sea Harrier
Was developed directly
From the Hawker Sidderley Harrier
And was used by the Royal Navy
Operating them from
Invincible-class aircraft carriers
Informally known as the "Shar"
The Sea Harrier
Served in the Falklands War,
Both Gulf Wars and the Balkans
Friday 19 July 2013
War
SOLDIERS OF ROME
They died beneath the eagle
On the battlefields Rome
And were blessed after death
To walk in the fields of Elysium
KUBLAI KHAN’S MONGOL HORDE
Kublai Khan’s Mongol horde
Set Sail In 1274
To conquer Japan
And add it to his empire
But the great deity Raijin
Conjured up a typhoon
And his Divine wind
Destroyed the Khan’s fleet
And saved the Japanese
But in 1281
They sailed again
The largest fleet every assembled
Four thousand ships
Carrying 140000 men
But when they were off the shore
Once again Raijin
Brought the Kamikaze
And scattered the fleet
To the four winds
And thwarted Kublai Khan
And he never tried again
THE VIKINGS
Killed in battle, bloody axe in hand
The reward of the Nordic warrior
Was for their souls to spend eternity
Residing in the great hall of Valhalla
IN HALIFAX NOVA SCOTIA 1917
Two ships collided in Halifax harbour,
The Mont Blanc and the Imo,
It was December 1917
And what the Nova Scotian’s didn’t know
Was the French ship was laden with explosives
And as it sailed the straight from the sea
It struck the Norwegian vessel
Causing it to explode cataclysmically
Many Canadians were killed
In Halifax Nova Scotia 1917
After the largest man made explosion
The world had ever seen
DON’T HATE THE HUN ACROSS THE FIELD
Don’t hate the Hun across the field
He’s not so very different to you
He doesn’t want to fight in foreign wars
He wants to be in the loving embrace
Of the sweet woman he loves
As you want to be in the arms of yours
ARE YOU WEARING A POPPY?
Are you wearing a poppy?
Wear it proudly on your lapel
Wear it with pride and respect
So everyone will be able to tell
That you recognise the sacrifice
Of those who fought and fell
WANDERING WARRIOR
Wandering warrior
Migrating hero of the good
Fights for God and king
THE RED ENSIGN
The unsung heroes sail
Under The Red Ensign
The telltale flag flown
By British merchantmen
THE RED DUSTER
The British merchantmen
Fly the “Red Duster”
And you will always see
The red ensign flutter
HMHS GLENART CASTLE
The Glenart Castle
Was steaming home
On a cold February night
In 1918
The hospital ship
Headed for safe haven
Her lights green
Clearly visible
Against the dark horizon
Red lamps lit her side rail
Her masthead light burned bright
Fishermen could see her
Red Cross light
Then a torpedo struct her
In the number the hold
In eight minutes
She was gone
With a 162 souls
They died beneath the eagle
On the battlefields Rome
And were blessed after death
To walk in the fields of Elysium
KUBLAI KHAN’S MONGOL HORDE
Kublai Khan’s Mongol horde
Set Sail In 1274
To conquer Japan
And add it to his empire
But the great deity Raijin
Conjured up a typhoon
And his Divine wind
Destroyed the Khan’s fleet
And saved the Japanese
But in 1281
They sailed again
The largest fleet every assembled
Four thousand ships
Carrying 140000 men
But when they were off the shore
Once again Raijin
Brought the Kamikaze
And scattered the fleet
To the four winds
And thwarted Kublai Khan
And he never tried again
THE VIKINGS
Killed in battle, bloody axe in hand
The reward of the Nordic warrior
Was for their souls to spend eternity
Residing in the great hall of Valhalla
IN HALIFAX NOVA SCOTIA 1917
Two ships collided in Halifax harbour,
The Mont Blanc and the Imo,
It was December 1917
And what the Nova Scotian’s didn’t know
Was the French ship was laden with explosives
And as it sailed the straight from the sea
It struck the Norwegian vessel
Causing it to explode cataclysmically
Many Canadians were killed
In Halifax Nova Scotia 1917
After the largest man made explosion
The world had ever seen
DON’T HATE THE HUN ACROSS THE FIELD
Don’t hate the Hun across the field
He’s not so very different to you
He doesn’t want to fight in foreign wars
He wants to be in the loving embrace
Of the sweet woman he loves
As you want to be in the arms of yours
ARE YOU WEARING A POPPY?
Are you wearing a poppy?
Wear it proudly on your lapel
Wear it with pride and respect
So everyone will be able to tell
That you recognise the sacrifice
Of those who fought and fell
WANDERING WARRIOR
Wandering warrior
Migrating hero of the good
Fights for God and king
THE RED ENSIGN
The unsung heroes sail
Under The Red Ensign
The telltale flag flown
By British merchantmen
THE RED DUSTER
The British merchantmen
Fly the “Red Duster”
And you will always see
The red ensign flutter
HMHS GLENART CASTLE
The Glenart Castle
Was steaming home
On a cold February night
In 1918
The hospital ship
Headed for safe haven
Her lights green
Clearly visible
Against the dark horizon
Red lamps lit her side rail
Her masthead light burned bright
Fishermen could see her
Red Cross light
Then a torpedo struct her
In the number the hold
In eight minutes
She was gone
With a 162 souls
Sunday 19 August 2012
War Tales
ALONG AN A WAR-TORN ROAD
Weary leaden footsteps
Tramp the war-torn road
Ragged with fatigue
The endless serried ranks
Of weary ragged lads
Stout of heart
March, not in retreat
But ever onward to the foe
BOMBER COMMAND
At last they are remembered
In marble and bronze
In Green Park they stand
The forgotten band of brothers
Silent yet speaking aloud
Of honours unsung
These brave men
Held in contempt
By the very politicians
Who sent them to their deaths
Shunned by Churchill
In the cold light of peace
These forgotten heroes
Of an unpopular campaign
These warriors on the wing
They didn’t question
They didn’t ask why us
They went where they were sent
And half never returned
IN LESS THAN A GENERATION
At the start of World War II
Americans crossed into Canada
To join the war
Because they thought it right
Twenty years later
Americans crossed into Canada
To avoid the war
Because they didn’t want to fight
Weary leaden footsteps
Tramp the war-torn road
Ragged with fatigue
The endless serried ranks
Of weary ragged lads
Stout of heart
March, not in retreat
But ever onward to the foe
BOMBER COMMAND
At last they are remembered
In marble and bronze
In Green Park they stand
The forgotten band of brothers
Silent yet speaking aloud
Of honours unsung
These brave men
Held in contempt
By the very politicians
Who sent them to their deaths
Shunned by Churchill
In the cold light of peace
These forgotten heroes
Of an unpopular campaign
These warriors on the wing
They didn’t question
They didn’t ask why us
They went where they were sent
And half never returned
IN LESS THAN A GENERATION
At the start of World War II
Americans crossed into Canada
To join the war
Because they thought it right
Twenty years later
Americans crossed into Canada
To avoid the war
Because they didn’t want to fight
Friday 4 May 2012
NO MANS LAND
No mans land,
A desolate place
An unforgiving place
Where stout hearts
Chill and falter
To glimpse at hell
Doom awaits us there
On that alien field
Where death falls like rain
In shrapnel shards
And bullets speak
Of whispered demise
No mans land,
A desolate place
Where men drown
In mud, blood and tears
Blood shed for country
Tears shed for kin
A desolate place
An unforgiving place
Where stout hearts
Chill and falter
To glimpse at hell
Doom awaits us there
On that alien field
Where death falls like rain
In shrapnel shards
And bullets speak
Of whispered demise
No mans land,
A desolate place
Where men drown
In mud, blood and tears
Blood shed for country
Tears shed for kin
Friday 24 February 2012
Soldiering
IT WAS THE LOWLY SOLDIER
It was the lowly soldier
Not the journalist
Who won their right
To freedom of the press
It was the lowly soldier,
Not the lofty poet,
Who won for them
Freedom of speech
It was the lowly soldier
Not the politicians
Who secure for all of us
The peace
IT’S THE SIMPLE SOLDIER
It’s the simple soldier
Who serves the flag
It’s the simple soldier
Who salutes the flag
It’s the simple soldier
Who fights beneath that flag
It’s the simple soldier
Who dies beneath that flag
And it’s the simple soldier
Carried shoulder high
In a coffin draped by the flag
WHY IS IT THAT THE FLAG?
Why is it that the flag?
Means more to those who fight for it
Than it does to the people
Who sent them to fight for it
WHY IS IT THAT THE NATIONS FLAG?
Why is it that the nations flag?
Appears to mean much more
To the soldiers who fight for it
Than the people they’re fighting for
GOD AND THE SOLDIERS
We look to God and the soldiers
Mostly during times of war
But when peace again descends
They are both forgotten like before
It was the lowly soldier
Not the journalist
Who won their right
To freedom of the press
It was the lowly soldier,
Not the lofty poet,
Who won for them
Freedom of speech
It was the lowly soldier
Not the politicians
Who secure for all of us
The peace
IT’S THE SIMPLE SOLDIER
It’s the simple soldier
Who serves the flag
It’s the simple soldier
Who salutes the flag
It’s the simple soldier
Who fights beneath that flag
It’s the simple soldier
Who dies beneath that flag
And it’s the simple soldier
Carried shoulder high
In a coffin draped by the flag
WHY IS IT THAT THE FLAG?
Why is it that the flag?
Means more to those who fight for it
Than it does to the people
Who sent them to fight for it
WHY IS IT THAT THE NATIONS FLAG?
Why is it that the nations flag?
Appears to mean much more
To the soldiers who fight for it
Than the people they’re fighting for
GOD AND THE SOLDIERS
We look to God and the soldiers
Mostly during times of war
But when peace again descends
They are both forgotten like before
Friday 11 November 2011
WAR AND REMEMBRANCE
IN THE GATHERING OF HOPEFUL HEARTS
In the gathering of hopeful hearts
The flame of peace does thrive
A flame whose embers glowed
When my granddad was still alive
The lads and pals in distant lands
To a man did purposely strive
They kept that tiny ember tended
To ensure that it would survive
And many a lad remained forever
To keep the flame of peace alive
ON REMEMBRANCE DAY
On Remembrance Day,
We honour the sacrificial dead
Those dedicated souls who.
Offered their lives in war
And were accepted
They were the loved ones,
Of their generation
They are the pride of ours
REMEMBER THEM WITH COMPASSION
Remember them with compassion
And not with jaundiced eye
Remember them with gratitude
For they went to war to die
Remember them with pride
Their honour we must not deny
Remember it’s because of them
We stand beneath a free blue sky
DAWN PATROL
You would find them
Up where the air was thin
And the cold burnt
The wood and canvas kites
Prowled the skies
Searching the clouds below
For the enemy silhouettes
And when sighted below
To attack from the sun
And deliver their chattering death
AUSCHWITZ
Auschwitz in essence
Was a processing plant
Or perhaps more accurately
A recycling plant,
Recycling an abundant commodity,
i.e. lower forms of life,
Into a revenue stream
By stripping the resaleable parts
Clothing, jewelry, hair, teeth
And burning what was left.
A cold and calculated business
Inhumanity on an industrial scale.
So the next time
You cast yesterdays must have device
Into your recyling bin
Just remember the Germans did that with people
MONUMENT
Each faceless name
In neat regimen
Of stone masons text
Is one of the fallen
Long forgotten names
Cut deep into the stone
Marking the sacrifice
Of battles Histories
The cold stone sentinel
A poignant reminder
CENOTAPH
Bow your undressed head
Before the cenotaph
A reverent monument
To warriors past
But not to glorify
There tragic loss
But to mark the moment
And count the cost
In the gathering of hopeful hearts
The flame of peace does thrive
A flame whose embers glowed
When my granddad was still alive
The lads and pals in distant lands
To a man did purposely strive
They kept that tiny ember tended
To ensure that it would survive
And many a lad remained forever
To keep the flame of peace alive
ON REMEMBRANCE DAY
On Remembrance Day,
We honour the sacrificial dead
Those dedicated souls who.
Offered their lives in war
And were accepted
They were the loved ones,
Of their generation
They are the pride of ours
REMEMBER THEM WITH COMPASSION
Remember them with compassion
And not with jaundiced eye
Remember them with gratitude
For they went to war to die
Remember them with pride
Their honour we must not deny
Remember it’s because of them
We stand beneath a free blue sky
DAWN PATROL
You would find them
Up where the air was thin
And the cold burnt
The wood and canvas kites
Prowled the skies
Searching the clouds below
For the enemy silhouettes
And when sighted below
To attack from the sun
And deliver their chattering death
AUSCHWITZ
Auschwitz in essence
Was a processing plant
Or perhaps more accurately
A recycling plant,
Recycling an abundant commodity,
i.e. lower forms of life,
Into a revenue stream
By stripping the resaleable parts
Clothing, jewelry, hair, teeth
And burning what was left.
A cold and calculated business
Inhumanity on an industrial scale.
So the next time
You cast yesterdays must have device
Into your recyling bin
Just remember the Germans did that with people
MONUMENT
Each faceless name
In neat regimen
Of stone masons text
Is one of the fallen
Long forgotten names
Cut deep into the stone
Marking the sacrifice
Of battles Histories
The cold stone sentinel
A poignant reminder
CENOTAPH
Bow your undressed head
Before the cenotaph
A reverent monument
To warriors past
But not to glorify
There tragic loss
But to mark the moment
And count the cost
Monday 8 August 2011
WAR AND REMEMBERANCE
WAR AND REMEMBERANCE
MONUMENT
Each faceless name
In neat regimen
Of stone masons text
Is one of the fallen
Long forgotten names
Cut deep into the stone
Marking the sacrifice
Of battles Histories
The cold stone sentinel
A poignant reminder
FLT LT RUPERT “TINY” COOLING 1920 - 2010
Time to scramble Tiny
Up into the blue
Up above your ceiling
To once more join your crew
Look lively there Rupert
Fly on, fly on
Up above your ceiling
Rejoin the squadron
CENOTAPH
Bow your undressed head
Before the cenotaph
A reverent monument
To warriors past
But not to glorify
There tragic loss
But to mark the moment
And count the cost
THE GOOD OLD WIMPY
Pilots loved to fly
The Vickers Wellington
From take off
To the end of the mission
And the final approach
When the trusty Wellington
Almost landed itself
When you cut ignition
It just let you down
Like a babe on a cushion
ROYAL FLYING CORPS - WINGS OVER CUFFLEY
With the RFC he flew
Over the country that he knew
Defending against the Zeppelin
Flying in the air so thin
Then in 1916 in the dark of night
He attacked an airship in flight
Amidst machine guns chattering sound
He brought the beast to ground
The first of his kind to do the deed
To attack a Zeppelin and succeed
The first Zeppelin kill in British skies
Robinson victorious after many tries
Flt Lt William Leefe Robinson VC
(14 July 1895 – 31 December 1918)
ROYAL FLYING CORPS – WINGS OVER FRANCE # 1
1917 with the RFC he flew
Leaving behind the land he knew
To fly against the superior Hun
When his squadron was undone
By Jasta 11, The Red Barons flight
Leaving the British four planes light
Wounded and captured on the floor
That was the end of Robinson’s war
Flt Lt William Leefe Robinson VC
(14 July 1895 – 31 December 1918)
FLT LT WILLIAM LEEFE ROBINSON VC
(14 JULY 1895 – 31 DECEMBER 1918)
Valiantly he fought
Against Zeppelins
And the Red Baron alike
A young man,
In the prime of life
Died an ironic death
Not taken by the bullet
Or by the bomb
But by the Spanish flu
ROYAL NAVAL AIR SERVICE - WINGS OVER GHENT
1915 in the RNAS he flew
When a Zeppelin came into view
In the skies over Ghent
So in hot pursuit he went
Taking heavy machine gun fire
Warneford quickly climbed higher
To take up position over head
Where soon the sky turned red
Where the bombs he dropped
Saw the Zeppelin stopped
Exploding in a ball of fire
Blowing Warneford up higher
Overturning the attacking plane
Stopping its engine,which wouldn’t start again
So he had to land on enemy soil
And in the darkness quickly toil
To restart the engins and get on his way
So he could fight another day
Flt Lt Reginald Alexander John Warneford VC
(15 October 1891 – 17 June 1915)
FLT LT REGINALD ALEXANDER JOHN WARNEFORD VC
(15 OCTOBER 1891 – 17 JUNE 1915)
Valiantly he fought
Against Zeppelins
And the patrols alike
A young man,
In the prime of life
Died an ironic death
Not taken by the bullet
Or by the bomb
But in a flying accident
When the wings folded
On a new kite
During a test flight
ROYAL FLYING CORPS - WINGS OVER FRANCE # 2
With the RFC he flew
Over where the ill wind blew
Defending the skies from the Hun
Flying where battle was done
One of Britain’s flying aces
Shooting them down in braces
Flying in the sky so free
His tally numbered 73
Major Edward Corringham "Mick" Mannock VC, DSO & Two Bars, MC & Bar (May 24, 1887 – July 26, 1918)
ROYAL FLYING CORPS – WINGS OVER FRANCE # 3
With the RFC he flew
Over where the ill wind blew
Defending the skies from the Hun
Flying where battle was done
One of Britain’s flying aces
Shooting them down in braces
Flying so close to heaven
His tally numbered 57
Flt Commander James Thomas Byford McCudden VC, DSO & Bar, MC & Bar, MM
(28 March 1895–9 July 1918)
MAJOR EDWARD CORRINGHAM "MICK" MANNOCK VC, DSO & TWO BARS, MC & BAR
(MAY 24, 1887 – JULY 26, 1918)
Valiantly he fought
Against Zeppelins
And the Red Baron alike
A young man,
In the prime of life
Died an ironic death
When helping a new arrival
Achieve his first kill
He broke his own golden rule
And followed the stricken foe
To see it crash
And was shot down
By ground fire
Major Edward Corringham "Mick" Mannock VC, DSO & Two Bars, MC & Bar (May 24, 1887 – July 26, 1918)
FLT COMMANDER JAMES THOMAS BYFORD MCCUDDEN VC, DSO & BAR, MC & BAR, MM
(28 MARCH 1895–9 JULY 1918)
Valiantly he fought
Again Zeppelins
And the Red Baron alike
A young man,
In the prime of life
Died an ironic death
Not taken by the bullet
Or by the bomb
But in a flying accident
When the engine failed
While flying a new plane
To his new command
MONUMENT
Each faceless name
In neat regimen
Of stone masons text
Is one of the fallen
Long forgotten names
Cut deep into the stone
Marking the sacrifice
Of battles Histories
The cold stone sentinel
A poignant reminder
FLT LT RUPERT “TINY” COOLING 1920 - 2010
Time to scramble Tiny
Up into the blue
Up above your ceiling
To once more join your crew
Look lively there Rupert
Fly on, fly on
Up above your ceiling
Rejoin the squadron
CENOTAPH
Bow your undressed head
Before the cenotaph
A reverent monument
To warriors past
But not to glorify
There tragic loss
But to mark the moment
And count the cost
THE GOOD OLD WIMPY
Pilots loved to fly
The Vickers Wellington
From take off
To the end of the mission
And the final approach
When the trusty Wellington
Almost landed itself
When you cut ignition
It just let you down
Like a babe on a cushion
ROYAL FLYING CORPS - WINGS OVER CUFFLEY
With the RFC he flew
Over the country that he knew
Defending against the Zeppelin
Flying in the air so thin
Then in 1916 in the dark of night
He attacked an airship in flight
Amidst machine guns chattering sound
He brought the beast to ground
The first of his kind to do the deed
To attack a Zeppelin and succeed
The first Zeppelin kill in British skies
Robinson victorious after many tries
Flt Lt William Leefe Robinson VC
(14 July 1895 – 31 December 1918)
ROYAL FLYING CORPS – WINGS OVER FRANCE # 1
1917 with the RFC he flew
Leaving behind the land he knew
To fly against the superior Hun
When his squadron was undone
By Jasta 11, The Red Barons flight
Leaving the British four planes light
Wounded and captured on the floor
That was the end of Robinson’s war
Flt Lt William Leefe Robinson VC
(14 July 1895 – 31 December 1918)
FLT LT WILLIAM LEEFE ROBINSON VC
(14 JULY 1895 – 31 DECEMBER 1918)
Valiantly he fought
Against Zeppelins
And the Red Baron alike
A young man,
In the prime of life
Died an ironic death
Not taken by the bullet
Or by the bomb
But by the Spanish flu
ROYAL NAVAL AIR SERVICE - WINGS OVER GHENT
1915 in the RNAS he flew
When a Zeppelin came into view
In the skies over Ghent
So in hot pursuit he went
Taking heavy machine gun fire
Warneford quickly climbed higher
To take up position over head
Where soon the sky turned red
Where the bombs he dropped
Saw the Zeppelin stopped
Exploding in a ball of fire
Blowing Warneford up higher
Overturning the attacking plane
Stopping its engine,which wouldn’t start again
So he had to land on enemy soil
And in the darkness quickly toil
To restart the engins and get on his way
So he could fight another day
Flt Lt Reginald Alexander John Warneford VC
(15 October 1891 – 17 June 1915)
FLT LT REGINALD ALEXANDER JOHN WARNEFORD VC
(15 OCTOBER 1891 – 17 JUNE 1915)
Valiantly he fought
Against Zeppelins
And the patrols alike
A young man,
In the prime of life
Died an ironic death
Not taken by the bullet
Or by the bomb
But in a flying accident
When the wings folded
On a new kite
During a test flight
ROYAL FLYING CORPS - WINGS OVER FRANCE # 2
With the RFC he flew
Over where the ill wind blew
Defending the skies from the Hun
Flying where battle was done
One of Britain’s flying aces
Shooting them down in braces
Flying in the sky so free
His tally numbered 73
Major Edward Corringham "Mick" Mannock VC, DSO & Two Bars, MC & Bar (May 24, 1887 – July 26, 1918)
ROYAL FLYING CORPS – WINGS OVER FRANCE # 3
With the RFC he flew
Over where the ill wind blew
Defending the skies from the Hun
Flying where battle was done
One of Britain’s flying aces
Shooting them down in braces
Flying so close to heaven
His tally numbered 57
Flt Commander James Thomas Byford McCudden VC, DSO & Bar, MC & Bar, MM
(28 March 1895–9 July 1918)
MAJOR EDWARD CORRINGHAM "MICK" MANNOCK VC, DSO & TWO BARS, MC & BAR
(MAY 24, 1887 – JULY 26, 1918)
Valiantly he fought
Against Zeppelins
And the Red Baron alike
A young man,
In the prime of life
Died an ironic death
When helping a new arrival
Achieve his first kill
He broke his own golden rule
And followed the stricken foe
To see it crash
And was shot down
By ground fire
Major Edward Corringham "Mick" Mannock VC, DSO & Two Bars, MC & Bar (May 24, 1887 – July 26, 1918)
FLT COMMANDER JAMES THOMAS BYFORD MCCUDDEN VC, DSO & BAR, MC & BAR, MM
(28 MARCH 1895–9 JULY 1918)
Valiantly he fought
Again Zeppelins
And the Red Baron alike
A young man,
In the prime of life
Died an ironic death
Not taken by the bullet
Or by the bomb
But in a flying accident
When the engine failed
While flying a new plane
To his new command
Friday 19 November 2010
AT THE ELEVENTH HOUR
At the eleventh hour
Silence falls
Heads bow in reverence
Reflecting remembrance
Ordinary people
Stop to show respect
For those who fell
At the eleventh hour
A small group
Of Muslim youth
Chant descent
And wave banners high
“British soldier’s burn in hell”
And this small disrespectful group
Of Muslim youth
Burn poppies in the street
Desecrating that symbol
Of solemnity
And remembrance
Burning the poppies
In symbolic disrespect
Spitting on the dead,
Urinating on their graves
Or defecating on the cenotaph
Would be a less abhorrent act
By that small ignorant group
Of Muslim youth
The poppy does not discriminate
It doesn’t just represent
The white race
The Christian faith
European culture
It represents so much more
Every race
Every faith
From every continent
At the eleventh hour
That small group
Of Muslim youth
Who burnt the poppies
Disgraced themselves
And disgraced the memory
Of every Muslim soldier
Who fell on battlefields
Across the world
Silence falls
Heads bow in reverence
Reflecting remembrance
Ordinary people
Stop to show respect
For those who fell
At the eleventh hour
A small group
Of Muslim youth
Chant descent
And wave banners high
“British soldier’s burn in hell”
And this small disrespectful group
Of Muslim youth
Burn poppies in the street
Desecrating that symbol
Of solemnity
And remembrance
Burning the poppies
In symbolic disrespect
Spitting on the dead,
Urinating on their graves
Or defecating on the cenotaph
Would be a less abhorrent act
By that small ignorant group
Of Muslim youth
The poppy does not discriminate
It doesn’t just represent
The white race
The Christian faith
European culture
It represents so much more
Every race
Every faith
From every continent
At the eleventh hour
That small group
Of Muslim youth
Who burnt the poppies
Disgraced themselves
And disgraced the memory
Of every Muslim soldier
Who fell on battlefields
Across the world
Tuesday 27 July 2010
CAN YOU IMAGINE WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE?
Can you imagine what it would be like?
To live on a housing estate
And be permanently ill at ease
Feeling your neighbours hate
Not just occasional hatred
But every day for sixty years
Each successive act of hate
Designed to optimise your fears
Can you imagine what it would be like?
To fear not just for your own life
But to be fearful for the safety
Of your children and your wife
Having to be always vigilant
Trying to anticipate their acts of spite
Surrounded by a sea of bile
For six decades without respite
Can you imagine what it would be like?
To know all your neighbours want your death
Want to eradicate you from existence
To squeeze from you your dying breath
If you can imagine this kind of life
And feel that bitter hatred daily
Then you should perhaps understand
How it feels to be an Israeli
To live on a housing estate
And be permanently ill at ease
Feeling your neighbours hate
Not just occasional hatred
But every day for sixty years
Each successive act of hate
Designed to optimise your fears
Can you imagine what it would be like?
To fear not just for your own life
But to be fearful for the safety
Of your children and your wife
Having to be always vigilant
Trying to anticipate their acts of spite
Surrounded by a sea of bile
For six decades without respite
Can you imagine what it would be like?
To know all your neighbours want your death
Want to eradicate you from existence
To squeeze from you your dying breath
If you can imagine this kind of life
And feel that bitter hatred daily
Then you should perhaps understand
How it feels to be an Israeli
SHOUT IT FROM THE ROOF TOPS
I like Germany
I like the Germans
I have friends there
I worked for a time near Frankfurt
And I visit Berlin often
It’s my favourite city
They are nice people
Friendly and welcoming
They share our hopes
And our aspirations
We are so alike
We have always been alike
Well almost always
There were dark days
When they were seduced by evil
And let themselves down
So what happened?
What infected this nation?
This nation so like ourselves
How did the madness take them?
Why did they become inhuman?
Why did they set a new benchmark?
In their inhumanity
Why did the good people not rise up?
And oppose the evil
Why did they fail to stop it
Were the jews so bad
So unworthy of pity
Too worthless to be considered
For whatever reason it happened
They let it happen
The worst of them profited by it
The best of them turned a blind eye to it
But they were all guilty
And after the war
I think they felt the guilt
But they feel no guilt now
Now they try to hide behind a lie
Pretending it wasn’t really that bad
There were just a few bad men
And they are gone now
The Americans exaggerated everything
There were isolated incidents
No more than that
Let’s speak of it no more
Lest we offend Islam
Well Islam should be offended
As it was the Turks of the Ottoman empire
Who taught their German allies
The meaning of Holocaust
When they annihilated the Armenians
I say lets speak of it
Let’s never stop speaking of it
And if offence is caused, then so be it
If it prevents its like
From ever happening again
I like the Germans
I have friends there
I worked for a time near Frankfurt
And I visit Berlin often
It’s my favourite city
They are nice people
Friendly and welcoming
They share our hopes
And our aspirations
We are so alike
We have always been alike
Well almost always
There were dark days
When they were seduced by evil
And let themselves down
So what happened?
What infected this nation?
This nation so like ourselves
How did the madness take them?
Why did they become inhuman?
Why did they set a new benchmark?
In their inhumanity
Why did the good people not rise up?
And oppose the evil
Why did they fail to stop it
Were the jews so bad
So unworthy of pity
Too worthless to be considered
For whatever reason it happened
They let it happen
The worst of them profited by it
The best of them turned a blind eye to it
But they were all guilty
And after the war
I think they felt the guilt
But they feel no guilt now
Now they try to hide behind a lie
Pretending it wasn’t really that bad
There were just a few bad men
And they are gone now
The Americans exaggerated everything
There were isolated incidents
No more than that
Let’s speak of it no more
Lest we offend Islam
Well Islam should be offended
As it was the Turks of the Ottoman empire
Who taught their German allies
The meaning of Holocaust
When they annihilated the Armenians
I say lets speak of it
Let’s never stop speaking of it
And if offence is caused, then so be it
If it prevents its like
From ever happening again
Wednesday 28 April 2010
WAR AND WARRIORS
GRANDDADS WAR
In South Africa during the Boer War
Granddad got the key of the door
In France during World War 1
He lay wounded when the day was done
He could have met a very bloody end
But for the bravery of his friend
So he lived to fight another day instead
And died an old man in his own bed
THE SOLDIER’S LAST MUSTER
When the sun is in the west
You will safely go to rest
At the setting of the sun
With your soldiers duties done
You will feel your God is nigh
As you ascend up to the sky
And in earths fading light
Where tears diminish sight
Where loved ones question why
A new star will grace the sky
Gleaming bright in the firmament
Proudly amongst the regiment
To mark the passing of a soldier son
Who died not seeing victory won
Now the time that moves us most
The plaintive lament of the last post
For those falling fighting foes
Heads bow as the bugle blows
BEFORE THE KAISER CAME
Before the Kaiser came
Swallows fed on the wing
Above green meadows
Butterflies danced on the breeze
And birdsong filled the copses
Then the Kaiser came
And no longer did birds sing
Mud filled the meadows
Gunfire echoed on the breeze
And rats fed on the corpses
FLANDERS ENDURED
A wondrous pastoral scene
Green fields and meadows
Woodland and hedgerows
Unchanged for centuries
A beautiful place, a safe place
Then came war’s unkind caress
Which swept away the green
Repainted the pastoral scene
In shades of brown
And turned everything to mud
Tree trunks devoid of branches
Stood like rows of rotted teeth
In the mouth of hell
The fetid stench of detritus
Filled the air
All this did Flanders endure
The blood, the mud, the tears
For four long years
Now another kinder hand
Has touched the land
And colour has returned
From the paint box of peace
SERRIED ROWS OF CROSSES
The landscape changed
From peace to bloody war
A hellish muddy landscape
Those men had to endure
And when war was ended
The living had moved on
The dead remained on parade
To forever guard the Somme
The landscape changed
From bloody war to peace
A sombre mark of the passing
Of those who fell before the cease
Serried ranks of white crosses
Marking those who stayed
To be forever remembered
These fallen comrades on parade
FIGHTING TALK
“You’re fighting for a just cause”
That is the justification
“You’ll make the world a safer place”
“You’ll protect your nation”
These are the politician’s words
Spoken with passion and pride
Spoken away from the line of fire
Spoken from where warmongers hide
Men of empty rhetoric
These politicians never see danger
Safe on their leather seats
They never hear shots fired in anger
PROUD HERITAGE
Like many Englishmen
When our history is revealed
My forebears shed their blood
Men who never thought to yield
On the battlefields of England
And on many a foreign field
In South Africa during the Boer War
Granddad got the key of the door
In France during World War 1
He lay wounded when the day was done
He could have met a very bloody end
But for the bravery of his friend
So he lived to fight another day instead
And died an old man in his own bed
THE SOLDIER’S LAST MUSTER
When the sun is in the west
You will safely go to rest
At the setting of the sun
With your soldiers duties done
You will feel your God is nigh
As you ascend up to the sky
And in earths fading light
Where tears diminish sight
Where loved ones question why
A new star will grace the sky
Gleaming bright in the firmament
Proudly amongst the regiment
To mark the passing of a soldier son
Who died not seeing victory won
Now the time that moves us most
The plaintive lament of the last post
For those falling fighting foes
Heads bow as the bugle blows
BEFORE THE KAISER CAME
Before the Kaiser came
Swallows fed on the wing
Above green meadows
Butterflies danced on the breeze
And birdsong filled the copses
Then the Kaiser came
And no longer did birds sing
Mud filled the meadows
Gunfire echoed on the breeze
And rats fed on the corpses
FLANDERS ENDURED
A wondrous pastoral scene
Green fields and meadows
Woodland and hedgerows
Unchanged for centuries
A beautiful place, a safe place
Then came war’s unkind caress
Which swept away the green
Repainted the pastoral scene
In shades of brown
And turned everything to mud
Tree trunks devoid of branches
Stood like rows of rotted teeth
In the mouth of hell
The fetid stench of detritus
Filled the air
All this did Flanders endure
The blood, the mud, the tears
For four long years
Now another kinder hand
Has touched the land
And colour has returned
From the paint box of peace
SERRIED ROWS OF CROSSES
The landscape changed
From peace to bloody war
A hellish muddy landscape
Those men had to endure
And when war was ended
The living had moved on
The dead remained on parade
To forever guard the Somme
The landscape changed
From bloody war to peace
A sombre mark of the passing
Of those who fell before the cease
Serried ranks of white crosses
Marking those who stayed
To be forever remembered
These fallen comrades on parade
FIGHTING TALK
“You’re fighting for a just cause”
That is the justification
“You’ll make the world a safer place”
“You’ll protect your nation”
These are the politician’s words
Spoken with passion and pride
Spoken away from the line of fire
Spoken from where warmongers hide
Men of empty rhetoric
These politicians never see danger
Safe on their leather seats
They never hear shots fired in anger
PROUD HERITAGE
Like many Englishmen
When our history is revealed
My forebears shed their blood
Men who never thought to yield
On the battlefields of England
And on many a foreign field
Wednesday 7 October 2009
HOLOCAUST
Since the cooling of the Nazi’s oven fires
And the fading glow of the funeral pyres
The world has had to endure the mutterings
Of those who deny the holocausts sufferings
The inane ramblings of conspiracy theorists
The bigoted bile of Islamic fundamentalists
The holocaust now stricken from the syllabus
We must not speak of it lest we cause a fuss
We must appease the liberal sentiments
For God forbid we might cause offence
But the holocaust happened, SHOUT it aloud
Shout it in the face of the apathetic crowd
For if we do not condemn the holocaust deniers
Somewhere, one day they will relight the fires
And the fading glow of the funeral pyres
The world has had to endure the mutterings
Of those who deny the holocausts sufferings
The inane ramblings of conspiracy theorists
The bigoted bile of Islamic fundamentalists
The holocaust now stricken from the syllabus
We must not speak of it lest we cause a fuss
We must appease the liberal sentiments
For God forbid we might cause offence
But the holocaust happened, SHOUT it aloud
Shout it in the face of the apathetic crowd
For if we do not condemn the holocaust deniers
Somewhere, one day they will relight the fires
MILITARY MIX
THE TREATY
The eleventh hour
The T’s were crossed
And the I’s were dotted
The eleventh day
Books were balanced
Of the butchers tally
The eleventh month
Seeds were sown
For the Second World War
By the French at Versailles
SAVIORS
When soldiers stand neath flags unfurled
Before going to war to do the biz
Be sure before they’re sent to save the world
They re happy with the world the way it is
SHIP RAGE
The silence of a foggy night in the fall
Was shattered suddenly by a radio call
“Unknown vessel divert your course please
And steer to the north by fifteen degrees
Recommend you make this correction
That we might avoid a head on collision”
The reply came “Divert YOUR course please
And steer to the south by fifteen degrees
Recommend you make this correction
That we might avoid a head on collision”
“This is the Captain of the USS Codfish
I say again, divert YOUR course forthwith”
The Reply came back “No, I say again
You must divert you course you cant remain”
This is the USS Codfish not a garbage scow
We’re a large warship divert your course now!“
I don’t care whether you are large or small”
“This is a lighthouse” Said the reply “your call”
BANG YOUR DEAD
A nuclear war, can they say
Ruin your whole bloody day
For in any atomic hostility
All men are cremated equally
HERE ENDETH THE FIRST LESSON
I think war is probably God's way
Of teaching us all a lesson I’d say
But it won’t be a lesson in theology
Its more likely a to be in geography
THE MILITARY WAY
The problem with taking the easy way out is that the enemy has already mined it
Having someone take a shot at you, and miss is the most satisfying feeling
Every retreat is a tactical withdrawal
Make sure you are not conspicuous in the combat zone it draws fire
Incoming fire has the right of way
Learn never to volunteer for anything
If your advance is going well, you are walking into an ambush
The only time suppressive fire works is when it is used on abandoned positions
Accurate incoming enemy fire is only surpassed by incoming friendly fire
Remember friendly fire ain't
You know the quartermaster has only two sizes, too large and too small
When you can be seen by your sergeant you, can be seen by the enemy
Any time you are in advance of your own positions, the artillery will fall short
You know that no battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy
The eleventh hour
The T’s were crossed
And the I’s were dotted
The eleventh day
Books were balanced
Of the butchers tally
The eleventh month
Seeds were sown
For the Second World War
By the French at Versailles
SAVIORS
When soldiers stand neath flags unfurled
Before going to war to do the biz
Be sure before they’re sent to save the world
They re happy with the world the way it is
SHIP RAGE
The silence of a foggy night in the fall
Was shattered suddenly by a radio call
“Unknown vessel divert your course please
And steer to the north by fifteen degrees
Recommend you make this correction
That we might avoid a head on collision”
The reply came “Divert YOUR course please
And steer to the south by fifteen degrees
Recommend you make this correction
That we might avoid a head on collision”
“This is the Captain of the USS Codfish
I say again, divert YOUR course forthwith”
The Reply came back “No, I say again
You must divert you course you cant remain”
This is the USS Codfish not a garbage scow
We’re a large warship divert your course now!“
I don’t care whether you are large or small”
“This is a lighthouse” Said the reply “your call”
BANG YOUR DEAD
A nuclear war, can they say
Ruin your whole bloody day
For in any atomic hostility
All men are cremated equally
HERE ENDETH THE FIRST LESSON
I think war is probably God's way
Of teaching us all a lesson I’d say
But it won’t be a lesson in theology
Its more likely a to be in geography
THE MILITARY WAY
The problem with taking the easy way out is that the enemy has already mined it
Having someone take a shot at you, and miss is the most satisfying feeling
Every retreat is a tactical withdrawal
Make sure you are not conspicuous in the combat zone it draws fire
Incoming fire has the right of way
Learn never to volunteer for anything
If your advance is going well, you are walking into an ambush
The only time suppressive fire works is when it is used on abandoned positions
Accurate incoming enemy fire is only surpassed by incoming friendly fire
Remember friendly fire ain't
You know the quartermaster has only two sizes, too large and too small
When you can be seen by your sergeant you, can be seen by the enemy
Any time you are in advance of your own positions, the artillery will fall short
You know that no battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy
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