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Post Info TOPIC: "Crossing the Bar"


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"Crossing the Bar"
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Sunset and evening star, 
 And one clear call for me! 
And may there be no moaning of the bar, 
 When I put out to sea, 
 
But such a tide as moving seems asleep, 
  Too full for sound and foam, 
When that which drew from out the boundless deep 
  Turns again home. 
 
 Twilight and evening bell, 
 And after that the dark! 
And may there be no sadness of farewell, 
  When I embark; 
 
 For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place 
 The flood may bear me far, 
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
 When I have crost the bar,
 
Alfred Lord Tennyson

 



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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.



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Very well written verse and in keeping just gone through some of my Oz and NZ picsHPIM1321.JPG



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Cool Colin, Vernon, British Columbia, Canada.



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HPIM1320.JPG



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Cool Colin, Vernon, British Columbia, Canada.

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