He survived mustard gas in battle,
He was pepper sprayed
by a policeman
And the result of
those traumatic events
He was rendered a
seasoned veteran
Wednesday, 28 June 2023
HE SURVIVED MUSTARD GAS IN BATTLE
HE MADE SUCH A HANDSOME OFFICER
She was so proud of him
When she saw him in
his uniform
He made such a
handsome officer
Like everyone she was
caught up
In the patriotic
fervour
She wasn’t concerned
about the war
“It’ll be over by
Christmas” everyone said
He would soon be home
again
So she revelled in the
beauty
Of her gallant hero
And she waved him off
to war
She was so in love
With her officer beau
and that moment lived long
In her memory
It was her last memory
of him
For the war wasn’t
over by Christmas
And he wasn’t home
again
Saturday, 20 May 2023
YOU SPEND YOUR LIFE AVOIDING CONFLICT
“You spend your life avoiding conflict”
My new therapist has
just said
I suppose he has a
point, because visiting
War zones fills me
with dread
Thursday, 4 May 2023
VETERAN PAYMENTS
During intense hostilities
All service men and
women
Pay with their lives
ultimately
Some will pay all at
once
But most make payments
Over their entire
lifetime
THEY MUST CROSS THE BARREN EARTH
They must cross the barren earth
Where once wheat and
barley grew
A land where nothing
lives in the mud
And an eerie silence hugs
the land
Until the chattering
of machine gun fire
Breaks the quietness
of the morning
And hails of bullets
cut like a scythe
Until like wheat and
barley they fall
Friday, 14 April 2023
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(later withdrawn due to the policy on posthumous awards)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.
HEROINES OF THE SPECIAL OPERATIONS EXECUTIVE – ANDRÉE RAYMONDE BORREL
She was English born
And served as an agent
for the SOE
In June 1943 “Monique”
Was arrested by the
Gestapo
Along with other
members of her group
And transported for interrogation to
84 Avenue Foch, their
HQ in Paris
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 a French Croix de
Guerre with bronze star
A French Chevalier de
la Légion d'honneur
And the Médaille de la
Résistance
And is commemorated on the Tempsford
Memorial
In the Bedfordshire
village of Tempsford
And at
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.
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