Young Fellow My Lad - For Rememberance Day

"Where are you going, Young Fellow My Lad,
On this glittering morn of May?"
"I'm going to join the Colours, Dad;
They're looking for men, they say."
"But you're only a boy, Young Fellow My Lad;
You aren't obliged to go."
"I'm seventeen and a quarter, Dad,
And ever so strong, you know."

* * * * *

"So you're off to France, Young Fellow My Lad,
And you're looking so fit and bright."
"I'm terribly sorry to leave you, Dad,
But I feel that I'm doing right."
"God bless you and keep you, Young Fellow My Lad,
You're all of my life, you know."
"Don't worry. I'll soon be back, dead Dad,
And I'm awfully proud to go."

* * * * *

"Why don't you write, Young Fellow My Lad?
I watch for the post each day;
And I miss you so, and I'm awfully sad,
And it's months since you went away.
And I've had the fire in the parlour lit,
And I'm keeping it burning bright
Till my boy comes home; and here I sit
Into the quiet night."

* * * * *

"What is the matter, Young Fellow My Lad?
No letter again to-day?
Why did the postman look so sad,
And sigh as he turned away?
I hear them tell that we've gained new ground,
But a terrible price we've paid:
God grant, my boy, that you're safe and sound;
But oh, I'm afraid, so afraid."

* * * * *

"...They've told me the truth, Young Fellow My Lad:
You'll never come home again:
(Oh God! The dreams and the prayers that I've had,
And the hopes I've nursed in vain!)
For you passed in the night, Young Fellow My Lad,
And you proved in the cruel test
Of the screaming shell and the battle Hell
That my boy was one of the best."

"So you'll live, you'll live, Young Fellow My Lad,
In the gleam of the evening star,
In the wood-note wild and the laugh of the child,
In all sweet things that are.
And you'll never die, my wonderful boy,
While life is noble and true;
For all our beauty and hope and joy,
We will owe to lads... like you."

--Robert William Service

In honour of all those who have fought and died to protect our rights and freedoms, and continue to do so.

What a shame that it took such a dreadful event to produce poetry of such beauty and love.

But that's humanity isn't it..? Bringing out the best in individuals when the mass is doing its worst.

Here's another one (acknowledge songwriter Pete Seeger), which I once played and sung at a peace rally. It carries perhaps the most poignant line of all:

When will they ever learn..?



Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the flowers gone?
Girls have picked them every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

Where have all the young girls gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the young girls gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the young girls gone?
Taken husbands every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

Where have all the young men gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the young men gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the young men gone?
Gone for soldiers every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

Where have all the soldiers gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the soldiers gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the soldiers gone?
Gone to graveyards every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

Where have all the graveyards gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Covered with flowers every one
When will we ever learn?
When will we ever learn?

Major John McCrae, May 1915

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

When you send a lad away
To a foreign hot land
To fight in a war he doesn’t understand
When he comes back
He brings more than just a tan

He’s probably not ok
He’s probably not all right
He’s probably in a dark place
Whether it’s day or night

Governments and Media
With their pack of lies
Will never tell the truth
But try to convince you otherwise

It feels like my eyes
Have been stretched wide open
Now and then
I have trouble coping

Images of memories
Imprinted on my mind
The boy they knew before
Is what they’ll never find

- Alex Cockers

The news is spread far and wide
Another comrade has sadly died
A sunset vigil upon the sand
As a soldier leaves this foreign land

We stand alone, and yet as one
In the fading light of a setting sun
We’ve all gathered to say goodbye
To our fallen comrade who’s set to fly

The eulogy’s read about their life
Sometimes with words from pals or wife
We all know when the CO’s done
What kind of soldier they’d become

The padre then calls us all to pray
The bugler has Last Post to play
The cannon roars and belches flame
We will recall, with pride, their name

A minute’s silence stood in place
As tears roll down the hardest face
Deafening silence fills the air
With each of us in personal prayer

Reveille sounds and the parade is done
The hero remembered, forgotten by none
They leave to start the journey back
In a coffin draped in the Union Jack

- Andy McFarlane

There is a point at which commemoration - which is appropriate in its time and worthy in nature - turns into loathsome self justification.

For a middle class student, from here or a foreign state,
to call a working class soldier scum, makes me more than irate.
Your own rights of freedom are paid by us scum,
who stand up against evil, in front of hells guns.

Oh, really..? Come on, for goodness sake. The second line could have been written by a recalcitrant nine year old who's been told off by his teacher.

Self-Justifying "You Owe Me" polemic. Jeeeeez.



The first three entries in this thread were genuine attempts by the author of the work to understand and rationalise the horror, sadness and futility of war. They are introspective and challenge the reasons for going to war at all.

The final three are much more recent writings, and barely justify the term "poetry" at all. They are little more than propaganda, attempting to justify war and aggrandise the participants...... Elevate them to some perverse God-like status.

Propaganda dressed up as poetry.

The writers?

Alex Cockers: A former Royal Marines commando.

Jim Clarke: A trooper in the Household Cavalry.

Andy McFarlane: An army sergeant.


All of these were involved in Afghanistan and must have been pretty bored at some point. The temptation for navel gazing must have been overwhelming and ok, they can be given a certain kudos for attempting to rationalise their own situation.

But they.... and the umpteen dozen others who all had a bash at writing 'stuff' which now litters the War Poetry Website (it was dead easy to find, Shade) drifted from the path of true introspection into mawkish sentiment and self-promotion.

Involved - knowingly - in a conspicuously illegal enterprise and possibly, in some cases, having succumbed to committing criminal acts on innocent civilians which then weighed heavily on their conscience, some attempted to make it all seem noble, necessary and right while others simply tried to deflect attention away from the horror of the war by attempting to evoke sympathy for themselves.

It isn't noble. It isn't even poetry. It's propaganda.

And only the gullible swallow it.

"The writers?

Alex Cockers: A former Royal Marines commando.

Jim Clarke: A trooper in the Household Cavalry.

Andy McFarlane: An army sergeant."

Yes, blokes who actually served in Afghanistan and whose knowledge of the conflict comes from first hand experience and not from lazy, blinded, left wing propaganda sites.

"The first three entries in this thread were genuine attempts by the author of the work to understand and rationalise the horror, sadness and futility of war. They are introspective and challenge the reasons for going to war at all.

The final three are much more recent writings, and barely justify the term "poetry" at all. They are little more than propaganda, attempting to justify war and aggrandise the participants...... Elevate them to some perverse God-like status."

So the all knowing Jen signs off on poetry that is not inconsistent with her views whilst attacking anything that doesnt conform to the narrative she wishes to endlessly espouse. Wow, what a shock.

"But they.... and the umpteen dozen others who all had a bash at writing 'stuff' which now litters the War Poetry Website (it was dead easy to find, Shade) drifted from the path of true introspection into mawkish sentiment and self-promotion."

You only ever see what you want to see.

"Involved - knowingly - in a conspicuously illegal enterprise"

Really. So military involvement in Afghanistan was/is illegal? The west should have just sat back and allowed Al-Qaeda to continue to recruit, train, equip and finance terrorists? Al-Qaeda should have been left alone to plan and launch their attacks on the west, in Africa and Asia?

"in some cases, having succumbed to committing criminal acts on innocent civilians which then weighed heavily on their conscience, some attempted to make it all seem noble, necessary and right while others simply tried to deflect attention away from the horror of the war by attempting to evoke sympathy for themselves."

Nearly a quarter of a million British troops have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. How many of them (who operated in an incredibly stressful environment that you could not even begin to imagine) have been found guilty of committing criminal acts? How many?

You are pathetic. This thread was created to "honour of all those who have fought and died to protect our rights and freedoms, and continue to do so." And yet once again you cant help but hijack it with your predictable anti military rants.

My view is that poetry is a method of expressing how one is feeling about something...in this case... war.

No-one here (as far as I can see) has asked for an evaluation of the 'quality' or whether they are justified in what they are feeling.

Yeah, for some people, being in a combat zone, they feel the need to justify why they are there. Whether the war is justified or not.. those on the front line might need to justify them being there - find a purpose for being there.

To me, that doesn't make it propoganda.

Scott Peck was commissioned to write a report on the failings of Vietnam War.. including why there was so much issue with the returned soldiers.

The big knobs tore it up.... because his findings found that they had been at fault.
Soldiers were fighting a war which they could not justify... told to do things that went against their grain... and returned home rejected by army and community.

War sucks. But sometimes it is forced on us... sometimes it is justified, as a last resort.... and we need to remember the lives lost.

Remember not to glorify war... but to think twice about starting one... and thank those who gave their lives for us.. whether they wanted to or not.

We don't have a quarter of a million troops. Haven't had since the end of WWII. We only had around 150'00 at the height of the Cold War when the armed forces were on permanent 48 hour notice for hostilities.

I don't know where you get your figures from, but 250'000 sure as heck aint on the plot.


And as expected, you turn your bile to personal abuse. Just because I don't slavishly follow your point of view and express my own.

Yes, I have an opinion. Yes, I express it. That's my crime isn't it..?

You see, Shade, we have this funny thing here. It's called The Law. It makes specific rules which all are required to follow without exception.

One peculiar little aspect of it is that if a group of people take part in a criminal enterprise knowingly and of their own free will, all are guilty of the crime. It doesn't matter which one of the group pulls the trigger which commits the murder, all those involved who take part, aid and abet and conspire to cover up the event are equally guilty.

We've become accustomed to reading of cases where (and this is a phrase that has passed into common parlance here) "Regimental Amnesia" occurs. That is, when an incident occurs, nobody saw anything. Nobody knows anything. Nobody can remember anything.

That makes everybody guilty.

But of course, the lickspittle toadies who support such activity won't recognise that. They prefer to talk of "mates" and "comradeship" as if it is a noble thing to collude in crime and murder.

Whether it is the war itself as an enterprise, or the multitude of single events which have been alleged (and the British government are no longer pursuing because one corrupt lawyer gave them the get out of jail card they leapt upon and exploited to the max), each individual did not act alone.

He was covered for by his "mates"... his "comrades" who are all as guilty as him, by association and as a result of their conspiracy.


Now, I fully expect more of your personal abuse as a response to this. It won't surprise me. It's all you have in the absence of any other defence.

To Just Passing I say that I agree your comments in principle about those who truly attempt to rationalise their situation, but those individuals are not the poorly educated, bottom end of the social scale citizens that swelled the ranks in 1914 and marched off to war full of misplaced patriotism and with the image of Kitchener's pointing finger forefront in their minds. There was no Geneva Convention in 1914. The war poets of Flanders and Ypres didn't seek publicity on a massive scale. Most of what they wrote was for their own peace of mind, but gained prominence later.

The modern soldier has grown up in a liberal society with a comprehensive state education and with the experience of the history of the 20th century in his mind.

He knows what he is doing when he goes to joins the military. His reasons and motivations for joining the army are not the same. And he also knows the laws and rules he is expected to follow and yet chooses to ignore.

He knows the Nuremburg Defence is not valid. He can't claim to be "following orders" when he knows the orders he is given may be conspicuously unlawful. And yet he obeys them just the same.

And then attempts to justify it all with cod-poetry which is given prominence on social media and by the mass of it becomes an attempt at justification and absolution.

Shade will resort to his usual bullying tactics.

He probably learned them in the army.

"We don't have a quarter of a million troops. Haven't had since the end of WWII. We only had around 150'00 at the height of the Cold War when the armed forces were on permanent 48 hour notice for hostilities.

I don't know where you get your figures from, but 250'000 sure as heck aint on the plot."

Unreal. I never said the UK ever had a quarter of a million troops, I said that nearly a quarter of a million troops have served in Iraq and/or Afghanistan at some point since 2001.