This is a beautiful poem. It speaks of God, whatever name you give him/her, lifting all the dead soldiers from their cold or hot and bloodied graves all over the world and in all times past and future and even present. He takes them to Heaven ..whatever name you have for heaven. It is a comfort to us all, for the violent deaths and hurried burials that soldiers on the battle theatres of war received. It troubles us all and so we have these poems to salve our consciences and please our tender souls .
We all have Remembrance Days but this is a way of saying they got a greater remembrance. I shall say no more you have all heard my feelings on War .
Today is the nearest Sunday to Remembrance Day here in the UK . Because of Covid 19 the Veterans will not be Marching. Also we will not forgetting all those men and women injured and killed in more recent conflicts.
I thought I would remember the women for WW1 and WW2 who took over all the jobs that the men who had been sent off to war left empty here in what was known then as Great Britain.
Not only did the women do these , sometimes very dangerous jobs but they looked after the families and homes. Now I do not wish in any way to detract from the huge sacrifice of all the men who fought for our countries during the two wars .
Remember the women left back home.
They made the ammunition for Tommy
Dangerous work,they died too it was not funny.
Women became officers of the law
Something never heard of before.
Nurses, drivers even pilots for planes
Remember them we will never know their names
Someone had to give the farmers a hand
Remember the men were at war in a foreign land.
The members of the ” fairer sex ”
Drove the buses, trains and lorries
Kept all essential job going , however complex
They also fed the family and kept the Home Fires Burning
During the wars ww1 and ww2 women filled in the gaps that the men who had been sent off to war left. It is not always remembered that they worked in the factorys drove buses trains and flew planes and probably sailed ships. They became members of the forces, nurses at home and on the war front too. They were also seconded into the police these jobs were almost unheard of for women before the first world war. They also had to do hard farm labour on the farms to help keep the food supplies going.
Women worked in shipyards, built planes and also made ammunition, hard and dangerous work.
It was not just the fact that the bombs , shells or landmines could explode if mishandled but the TNT was dangerous to the women’s health.
” Munitions workers whose job was filling shells were prone to suffer from TNT poisoning. TNT stood for Trinitrotoluene – an explosive which turned the skin yellow of those who regularly came into contact with it. The munitions workers who were affected by this were commonly known as ‘canaries’ due to their bright yellow appearance. Although the visible effects usually wore off, some women died from working with TNT, if they were exposed to it for a prolonged period. As Ethel Dean, who worked at Woolwich Arsenal, recalled, ‘Everything that that powder touches goes yellow. All the girls’ faces were yellow, all round their mouths. They had their own canteen, in which everything was yellow that they touched… Everything they touched went yellow – chairs, tables, everything.’ (IWM SR 9439) More imformation here
Women did so many jobs that before the first world war, those of the middle and higher class would never even contemplated. Many died of injury and of disease due to chemicals, asbestos used in badly ventilated buildings.
Is he the stuff of fairy tales this handsome young soldier by the name of Wales.
Photo credits BBC
He is off to prove he is a common man to join the ranks and fight for his grandma queen in Afghanistan .
He’s climbed mount Everest with veteran amputees, he gave his best.To highlight their plight for you and me they are not treated too well you see.
After fighting for their country and their queen, disabled they are left without jobs though to work they were keen. For many who return life can be lean and mean.
He has his faults that is true and he has done things I would not want to know my son might do! He likes and drink and maybe a smoke and pretty girls he does not need to coax.
But what ever his faults I do not care, he really is just an honest brave lad with ginger hair. I am so grateful that he should go out to fight in a far off land with strange names like Helmand and Bastion. I would not want my sons to go, neither does his nan or dad, I know.
photo credits google images
So thank you Harry this is a good thing you do, going off to war when you know you do not have to do. I don’t know if this war is wrong or right that is something we could argue on all night. I have one thing more to say. Harry, may God protect you both night and day
Is he the stuff of fairy tales this handsome young soldier by the name of Wales.
He was a quiet man, he was a helpful caring man. Handsome in his youth a dashing man,a fighter for rights. A union man, a fighting for the under dog man, a “I’ll do it if I can man” .
He met my Mum, a wooing man, a handsome flashing eyed Irishman. A black haired almost wild man, a stand up for what I am man. A good man to trust your life to and my Mum did, he was an out in the open man what see is what you get man nothing hid.
He worked hard he was a family man. A sturdy, bring home the wages man, a giver, comforter a lover man. A home maker man some one to carry the can man, a there until the end man.
He was a stern man, when you had done wrong, though he was a quick to praise man , happy to teach you a lessen in a song man. A teacher man,sometimes a preacher man an always there when it counted man.
He was a father of the bride man, and he handed all his daughters away, he was the man who supported his sons when they became the married men. He was a support man, and adviser man the lover of lilies of the valley man. He was reunited with my Mum man when they saw us all gone. He was a plain man to the end man, not a flourish and bouquet, blackmagic man,an honest to the end man.
He was a deaf man, but he heard what was important man! At the end, a blind man, in stature a tiny man in truth a giant man. A truly missed man , a wish you where here man. He is a gone but not a forgotten man.
