HEROINES OF THE SPECIAL OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE – ÉLIANE SOPHIE PLEWMAN MBE

 

She was French born

But served as an agent for the SOE

In March 1944 “Gaby”

Was arrested by the Gestapo

Along with other members of her group

And was brutally interrogated

Before being sent to Karlsruhe in Germany,

With several other captured SOE agents

But was ultimately 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

She was posthumously awarded an MBE

(later withdrawn due to the policy on posthumous awards)

A Kings Commendation for Brave Conduct

And a French Croix de Guerre with bronze star

She is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial

As one of the SOE agents who died for the liberation of France,

Her name is also recorded on the Brookwood Memorial

In Surrey as one of 3,500

“To whom war denied a known and honoured grave”

And on the Valençay SOE Memorial “Roll of Honour”

In the French town of Valençay.

 

WAR BY GEORGE

 

David Lloyd George when in power

Got it wrong whence came the hour

He took the decision behind closed doors

And led us into the war to end all wars

HEROINES OF THE SPECIAL OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE – VERA LEIGH

 

She was raised outside Paris

But was English born

And served as an agent for the SOE

In October 1943 “Simone”

Was arrested by the Gestapo

Along with other members of her group

Then transported to Fresnes Prison

And interrogated and brutalized repeatedly

Before being sent to Karlsruhe in Germany,

With several other captured SOE agents

But was ultimately taken to

The Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp in France

Where on the 6th July 1944,

Along with three other agents

She was taken to the crematorium

After being beaten senseless

They were burned alive in the crematorium.

As far as the British were concerned

She was only missing

And she was mentioned in despatches

She was posthumously awarded

A Kings Commendation for Brave Conduct

And is commemorated on the Tempsford Memorial

In the Bedfordshire village of Tempsford

Her name is also recorded on the Brookwood Memorial

In Surrey as one of 3,500

“To whom war denied a known and honoured grave”

And on the Valençay SOE Memorial “Roll of Honour”

In the French town of Valençay.

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

YPRES

 

Since that day

In that fateful campaign

When you stepped willingly

Upon that sodden Flanders field

And were gathered in

During that bloody harvest

Your future was no more

 

Since that day

In that fateful campaign

When you stepped out and fell

Upon that sodden Flanders field

And lay with silent comrades

During that bloody harvest

Your dreams were no more

 

Since that day

In that fateful campaign

When you stood and were counted

Upon that sodden Flanders field

And lay in the company of hero’s

During that bloody harvest

Your hopes were no more

 

Since that day

In that fateful campaign

When you were called to god

From that sodden Flanders field

With hordes of silent comrades

During that bloody harvest

You could love no more

 

Since that day

In that fateful campaign

Others lived to fight another day

From that sodden Flanders field

And when the cost was tallied

After that bloody harvest

The world was changed forever

 

Since the day the peace was one

Others ventured out in the world

And thrived in a world forever changed

A world you helped to change

You could not reap the rewards

You could never again walk in the sun

Or Feel a cooling breeze upon your face

You gave your life for others futures

You fell to fulfill others dreams

Your sacrifice secured others hopes

Since you fell others have loved

And been loved in return as you could not

When you fell upon that sodden Flanders field

You sowed the seed of freedom

When the fragile seedling bore fruit

It changed the world forever

THE RUGGED ISLE

 

The channel glistened

With silver strands

Beneath the early summer sun

Its waves broke gently white

Below the green topped cliffs of chalk

The sky of azure blue

Was clear and appeared limitless

But on the distant horizon

Storm clouds gathered

Though these clouds bore no rain

And would not bring a summer squall

Storm and tempest were imminent

The sky became filled with sinister formations

Like foreboding flocks

Of migrating duck or geese

But these were not of nature’s sending

This malevolent swarm

Scarring the clear June sky

These were of man’s conception

Heading for England’s shores

To cross its wondrous tapestry

Spread casually across the land

Like a vast quilted patchwork

And when upon this landscape

Easy on the eye

Did the bombs of evil fall

Shattering the peace

Of our rugged isle

Splitting the earth

And breaking bodies

Its spirit did not break

Its people stood firm

Defiant in Satan's face

Withstanding hells fire

And brimstone smoke

And spat in Hitler’s eye

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

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

THE BATTLE OF MARAIS DES CYGNES

 

St Crispin’s day has been

A bloody day in history

Famous for being a day 

When battles were fought

High in the cost of life

Among these, in 1864

The Battle of Marais des Cygnes

In the American Civil War

Fought between Union

And Confederate forces

In Linn County, Kansas

During the Missouri Raid

By the Confederate Army

Of Missouri, led by

Major General Sterling Price

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

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

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

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)

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

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

MILITARY LAW # 3

 

Never let a senior officer

Stand next to you

Because even snipers

Can make mistakes too

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

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 let’s speak of it

Let’s never stop speaking of it

And if offence is caused, then so be it

If it prevents it’s like

From ever happening again

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

THE DAY DAD WENT TO BELSEN

 

The tank stopped abruptly

And we sat open mouthed

At what we beheld

Our brains could not assimilate

What our eyes were seeing

Great mounds of …. What?

It can’t be that.

All the horrors of war

We had witnessed, experienced

Since D-day

Did not prepare us

For what Belsen held in store

A place devoid of God

A place where even birdsong was banished

We dismounted and approached on foot

As each step brought us closer

Our worst fears were realized

We saw that the mounds were indeed bodies

Or something likened to bodies

Then I saw an androgynous figure

Stood at the fence

A dirty little bag of bones

Wrapped in dirty rags

Bony fingers clutching the wire

Like a bird’s feet gripping a twig

I reasoned it was a girl

As the rags might well have been a dress

“We are English” I said

“Don’t be afraid”

Her fleshless face was beyond gaunt,

Her shaved head little more than a skull

Her huge eyes were so black and deep

I could see into her soul

A weak smile played round her mouth

And tears welled up in her huge eyes

I would not have believed it possible

For her desiccated form

To have held enough moisture for tears

But they were there

And they ran down the grubby cheeks

Of the little bag of bones

And dripped onto her ragged dress

We ran to the gates

And forced them open

Then we stepped into the jaws of hell

More skeletal figure appeared

From amidst the piles of rotting corpses

Bemused and disbelieving

They hugged us, and thanked us

Some cried, some laughed

We gave them water

And fed them our rations

Not realizing we were finishing

What the Germans had started

The food was too rich

For their weak emaciated bodies

What we didn’t realize

Was we were killing them with kindness

The girls name was Elise

She was the same age as me

But she died the next day

Her face with the huge tear-filled eyes

Haunted my dreams

All of the days of my life

Penetrating my soul

And breaking my heart

My only consolation

Was that she at least knew kindness

Once more before she died

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 your course you can’t 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”

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 

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)

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

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 BATTLE OF OSAGE

 

St Crispin’s day has been

A bloody day in history

Famous for being a day 

When battles were fought

High in the cost of life

Among these, in 1864

The Battle of Osage

In the American Civil War

Fought between Union

And Confederate forces

In Linn County, Kansas

During the Missouri Raid

By the Confederate Army

Of Missouri, led by

Major General Sterling Price

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 

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

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

SOLDIERS OF ROME

 

They died beneath the eagle

On the battlefields of Rome

And were blessed after death

To walk in the fields of Elysium

RUPERT THE DANGEROUS

 

The most dangerous thing

For some poor infantry sap

And the most likely thing

To cause a grave mishap

The most dangerous thing

Is some chinless officer chap

Most dangerous of all

In a war zone with a map

MILITARY LAW # 3

 

Never let a senior officer

Stand next to you

Because even snipers

Can make mistakes too

UNDERNEATH THE SPREADING CHESTNUT TREE

 

Two old, retired generals

In the autumn of their years

One was a French Hussar

The other of the Grenadiers

 

One spoke of conquering Spain

The other one of India

One of conquering the Hun

The Frenchman of Canada

 

The two men argued for hours

People thought them bonkers

But it was quite innocent

They were just playing conquers