Poem called Heroes written by a 1956 Vindi Boy by the name of David Partridge who emigrated to Australia and recently retired as Captain on the Sydney Harbour Pilot Boats:
HEROES
by David Partridge, Botany Bay, Australia.
Don't speak to me of heroes until you've heard the tale Of Britain's merchant seamen who sailed through storm and gale To keep those lifelines open in our hour of need When a tyrant cast a shadow across our Island breed Captains, greasers, cabin boys mates and engineers Heard the call to duty cast aside their fears They stoked those hungry boilers and stood behind the wheel While cooks and stewards manned the guns on coffins made of steel They moved in icy convoys from Scapa to Murmansk And crossed the western ocean, never seeking thanks. They sailed the South Atlantic where raiders lay in wait And kept the food lines open from Malta to the Cape. Tracked by silent Uboats which hunted from below, Shelled by mighty cannons and fighter's flying low, They clung to burning lifeboats when the sea had turned to flame And watched their ship mates disappear to everlasting fame. I speak not of a handful but 3O,OOO plus, Some whose names we'll never know in whom we placed our trust. They never knew the honour of medals on their chests Or marching bands and victory and glory and the rest. The ocean is their resting place, their tombstone is the wind, The seabird's cry their last goodbye to family and friend. Freighters, troopships, liners and tankers by the score, Fishing boats and coasters, 2,OOO ships and more They flew the Red Duster as they sank beneath the waves And took those countless heroes to lonely ocean graves. Their legacy is freedom to those who hold it dear To walk with clear horizons and never hide in fear So when you speak of heroes remember those at sea From Britain's Merchant Navy who died to keep us free.
