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An Ode to Men of the LST & Landing Craft Association
DECADES AND MORE
Is it really over 60 years ago since we doffed our civvies and donned our suits of navy blue
With bum fluff still on our chins…. where whiskers later grew
Is it really over 60 years since a mother’s tearful kiss at the homestead door?
As she bade farewell to her son,,,,her child …her baby
as he went off to fight the war
Is it over 60 years since we first heard that resonant calling?
banging and shouting and bawling
WAKEY WAKEY WAKEY……RISE AND SHINE…
…THE MORNINGS FINE…IT’S POURING DOWN WITH RAIN
C’MON C’MON YOU IDLE LITTLE BOYS…
I’M YOUR MOTHER NOW
ON SOCKS …COMB YOUR LOCKS…..
I WANT YOU ON PARADE IN FIVE MINUTES
SO LET’S BE HAVING YA …..CHOP…….CHOP……LEFT RIGHT….L R L R LR ……LERRRFT WHEEL …L R LR …RIGHT WHEEL L R LR LR…….
ABOOOOUGHT………….TURN ……..HALT
Was all that bawling and shouting really necessary to fight a war If we didn’t appreciate it then we can acknowledge it now, for it formed that first binding ……that ties us altogether today
It is also 60 years or more ago since to us, when a wall became a bulkhead …a floor became the deck,…the stairs became a hatchway…. and the lavatory became the heads
We were taught how to tie a reef knot, .. clove hitch and bowline on the bight
Laundering was then called dhobeying to keep us clean and bright
Signalmen hoisted pennants, burgees and many a coloured flag
And stokes …the smudge faced grease monkey,…. turned old cotton waste, …into….. his ..own…. oily rag
Then came the landings at Sicely, Anzio and Salerno
Normandy Walcheron and Burma in the Far East
Which brought forth.. such harrowing scenes ..before our eyes to feast,
Our young faced shipmates and pongoes and oppoes
Cut down and blasted to pieces long before their time
Leaving us aghast, ..and seeking ….without finding …no reason ...or no rhyme
And as we pulled off the beaches leaving them on the sand at the edge of the sea
We could not help but wonder
Why them ………..not me
The war was over so we came back home again to civvie street
To go our separate ways, ..our girl friends there to meet …..and kiss at a familiar door
To marry and have children, ….perhaps 1 2 3 or even more
Forty years drifted by …,a silent memory and giggle would be caught….. as we thought of those dear shipmates with whom we’d once lived and fought……
..but there was still no one to chat with…still no one to talk…..
Until that is in 87…… along came our friend….BILL CHALK
Bill was the one who started it all off ….around Pompey in the south
He then went on to radio 2, with Judith Chalmers, that really spread the news about
In turn all these dormant and forgotten mateloes pricked up their ears with doubt
Was someone really talking about US ..forgotten for so long……yes…you could hear them shout
Hear yea ..Hear yea …all men of Landing Ships ,,,,,,,and Landing Craft
And did they really want to join
You bet they did …….don’t be so bloody daft
So here we are together again,… just meeting once a month
Some with a brand new heart … …some with brand new knees and hips …and some a touch of cramp
To chat awhile ..to spin a yarn and definitely to swing the lamp
Our hair is no longer fair …ginger …nor .brown nor black
but grey or silver white ,,,,,or even bald
But these are just the normal things when one is growing old
We’re all in our late seventies now ,and some even eighty odd
And of course sadly, ,, we’ve lost some more mates on the way, and lay them beneath the sod
But we’ll never forget them,…. no not one of them , …..
be they resting both near or far
Until all the rest of us, ….yes….every single one of us
Take our turn …and …...CROSS THE BAR
Reg Dean
President West Midland Region
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