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