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
Wednesday, 27 October 2021
REMEMBER THEM WITH COMPASSION
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
THE TREATY
The eleventh hour
The T’s were crossed
And the I’s were dotted
The eleventh day
Books were balanced
Of the butcher’s tally
The eleventh month
Seeds were sown
For the Second World
War
By the French at
Versailles
REMEMBRANCE FOR UNCLE JOHN - John Holt 1887-1916
“Your country needs you”
We heard Kitchener say
to us
We took the Kings
shilling
Without any fuss
Lads and Pals all
marched
Crowds cheering
jubilantly
Then crossed the
English Channel
To halt the advancing
enemy
The distant we gain in
battle
Against the loss of a
comrade
Is measured in inches
at best
As we play out Hague’s
Charade
We came as proud young
men
To halt the invaders
advance
Only to live and die
In the mud of western
France
In the cloying mud of
France
Once rich and fertile
soil
No longer appears like
earth
And now is as slippery
as oil
The mud colours
everything
Even we try and fail
to stay clean
Mud has consumed the
landscape
And hides the dead
unseen
Subtle hints of
another time
Some old Tree stumps
remain
A jagged piece of wall
sometimes
Will it ever be normal
again?
Trenches have become
home
Trench foot and rats
our companion’s
Shellfire is our music
hall
Mortars and rifles our
musicians
We escape the daily
horror
But only within our
own minds
Where we explore
familiar places
Far beyond the wars
confines
The enemy are much
like us
Their thoughts take
them away
To a peaceful quiet
land
On a peaceful quiet
day
I sit in my muddy
trench
My eyes closed to all
but my wife
My sweet and beloved
Tilly
The most important
part of my life
Many fallen comrades
lie
Where they fell upon
the field
They saw no sense to
fight
But still they refused
to yield
After three long years
In the vile and muddy
hell
I climbed out of my
trench
And with my comrades
fell
Tuesday, 26 October 2021
ON THE BLOODY FIELD OF BATTLE
Bright burnished copper shields
Shined bright as gold
in the midday sun
Spear points glinted
in the sun
Like a myriad of
dancing fireflies
Silver lights blinked
from polished
Buckles and
embellishments
The clink of metal on
metal
The snort of impatient
horses
The barking of
impatient sergeants
Leather creaked and
strained
On soldier and beast
All the sights brought
back to mind
Vivid remembrances
And the sounds spoke a
familiar tongue
To the battle hardened
Anticipation dried the
mouth
Almost as much as the
dust
Banners fluttered
lightly in the breeze
Some standing as tall
as trees
And carrion eaters
waited unseen
For the coming banquet
Then the battle
commenced
With an ensuing
cacophony
Many died quickly,
painlessly
Not even seeing the
fatal blow
Equally many died
slowly
In agony from their
wounds
Others lay on the
bloody field
For hours and survived
Only to fight and die
another day
The victors write the
history
Of the bloody day’s
events
The truth also lies
dying
On the bloody field of
battle
Monday, 25 October 2021
ON THE BATTLE GROUND
Soldiers stand in contemplation
Young faces etched in
concentration
NCO’s keep them
holding steady
A mounted officer
comes prancing
Upon his steed
nervously dancing
Then comes the order
to be ready
Nervously awaiting
engagement
Standing firm for the
regiment
Then artillery is
exchanged
Just stand fast and
hold the line
Just do that lads and
all is fine
Then the bugles tune
is changed
The air fills with
acrid smoke
And men must stand and
choke
After the muskets
flash
Across the open ground
The heavy horse’s
pound
And then the sabres
clash
The lancers Bodies
tumble
As the legs of horses
crumple
And lie on the
battleground
Wounded cut and
bleeding
Their Precious life
receding
The lucky die without
a sound
Remember the fallen
brothers
Dying for you and
others
Remember the forgotten
On foreign fields they
lay
Buried deep beneath
the clay
Remember the forgotten
Remember the forgotten
Beneath the earth and
rotten
They’re heroes one and
all
So tell the valiant
story
Let us remember them
in glory
For those who stand
and fall
Friday, 22 October 2021
THE FAVERSHAM SAINTS
A Christian Legend tells
That Crispin and
Crispinian
The Roman Princes,
Saints and shoemakers,
Lived for a short time
During the 3rd century
In the Kent town of Faversham
The association is
recalled
By a plaque on the
Swan,
In Market Street
THE BATTLE OF BALACLAVA
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 1854
Was the Battle of
Balaclava
Or more specifically
The Charge of the
Light Brigade
A disastrous tactical
blunder
By ill commanded
British forces
Against the Russian
Artillery
In the Crimean War
THE BANASTRE REBELLION
A bloody day in history
Famous for being a day
When battles were fought
High in the cost of life
Among these, in 1315
A century before
Agincourt,
Was the Banastre
Rebellion
Against the Earl of
Lancaster
When disaffected
Knights
Adam Banastre, Henry
de Lea
And William Bradshaw,
Led an attack on
Liverpool Castle
Tuesday, 5 October 2021
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 FIRST BATTLE OF SPRINGFIELD
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 1861
The first Battle of
Springfield
Was an early battle
Of the American Civil
War
Between Union and
Confederate forces
In Springfield,
Missouri
Monday, 4 October 2021
THE BATTLE OF TRADING POST
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 Trading
Post
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
Sunday, 3 October 2021
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
Friday, 1 October 2021
THE SECOND BATTLE OF EL ALAMEIN
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 1942
The Second Battle of
El Alamein,
The Eighth Army
offensive, led by
Lieutenant-General Montgomery
Ending in an Allied
victory
Which proved to be
The beginning of the
end
Of the Western Desert
Campaign.
Eliminating the Axis
threat
To Egypt, the Suez
Canal
And the Middle Eastern
And the Persian oil
fields
THE BATTLE OF HENDERSON FIELD
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 1942
The Battle of
Henderson Field
In the Pacific theatre
Of World War Two
In and around Guadalcanal
In the Solomon Islands.
A land, sea, and air
battle
Of the Pacific
campaign
Between the forces
Of Japan and the
United States
THE BATTLE OF SHANGANI
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 1893
The Battle of Shangani
In the First Matabele War
When a British column
Was attacked by a large force
Of Matabele warriors.
The British repulsed them
With heavy loss of life
To the Matabele force.
The battle is best noted
For being the first battle
In which the Maxim gun
Was used to great effect
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