D DAY POEMS

COMBINED OPERATIONS
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1) Exclusive guided Commando Battlefield Tour of Northern Tunisia in 2011. 2) Four 1942 pre-production designs of the Combined Ops Badge printed in colour on A4 Buckram cloth sheets. Both in aid of the Combined Operations Memorial Fund.

An autonomous 'not for profit' website. 150 WebPages, 2000 photos & around 250,000 annual visits.

~ POETRY ~

D-Day Landings

by

Tony Chapman, archivist/historian for the LST and Landing Craft Association (Royal Navy).

Keep Moving Keep moving lads ... keep moving Don't huddle on this beach Don't make yourselves a target For those guns up there to reach Keep moving lads ... keep moving There's the seawall ... over there Keep moving lads ... keep moving Don't falter ... or despair Don't look ... at comrades falling Around you ... everywhere Keep moving lads ... keep moving We can take this ... on the chin Keep moving ... and keep praying Before those guns ... they zero in.
		A Quiet Place It's quiet here ... so quiet Standing on this hill But if I stand here too much longer My eyes with tears will fill Looking down ... I'm there again On that beach ... just down below Far different ... to that morning That I remember so That beach ... it was a hell on earth Where no man ... should ever go I remember I was down there I should know Don't cry now ... dear old soldier That was many years ago
		The Coxswain There are forty of us waiting In this little LCA We sailors ... and these soldiers We're taking in today They came aboard our mother ship Now several days ago They're growing very pale As the strain begins to show They're only boys ... the most of them Eighteen to twenty three For some of them ... tomorrow Is a day ... they'll never see I can't promise we'll all make it lads But I'll do my best ... you'll see I'll remember you ... you young soldiers This day ... in Normandy God bless you lads ... and keep you safe We'll meet again ... one day This is it then lads ... keep your heads down AWAY ALL BOATS ... AWAY.
Any moment now The noise ... it will begin As bombarding ships and rocket ships Send their salvos whistling in Any moment now These landing craft will move Making for the beaches Defenders ... to remove Any moment now There will be many a silent prayer As these craft attain the beaches So close now ... see them there Any moment now Men and craft ... they will be hit It is then ... we'll be required To show we have true grit Any moment now I will be watching comrades fall Be ready Lord ... above the noise Listen ... for my call I do not know if I will cope Please ... stand by me ... show me how I'm going to need you ... more than ever Any moment now.
		I stand here now I stand here now Amongst ... brave men With whom ... I've stood before The last time ... when we landed On June 6th of '44 Back then ... we were all young men Eighteen or little more Their lives ... cut short ... that morning On this distant ... windswept shore I stand here now ... and wonder What would they ... have become Had they survived ... that morning Their lives ... allowed full run One thing ... I know ... for certain Of which ... there is ... no doubt These brave young men My pals ... from then Would be ... old White haired ... with wrinkled brow Just like me ... As I stand here ... now.

The Commando Memorial
by
Archie MacLellan

The sun shone down upon the snow
Atop Aonach and the Ben,
As in the shadows there trained below
A finest group of fighting men,
None braver lived is to be said
Honour flowed throughout their veins,
Freedom bred, Lord Lovat led
Their lives to stop dictators' gains.

They gave it their all for the nation they served
Their courage maintained foreign parts,
A Memorial stands proud down in Spean
Let us all build one more in our hearts.

With command for to land on the shore at Sword Beach
On the Sixth Day of June Forty Four,
A place in our history was now within reach
The Piper to take them ashore,
Though danger around him, The Piper gave stand
He stuck to his task without care,
His march unrepentant, as if claiming the land
As ‘Road To The Isles’ filled the air.
Battle ferocious, the enemy strong
Sweat mixed with sand mixed with mud,
Young men unrelenting though battle was long
The water still flows with their blood.

They gave it their all for the nation they served
Their courage maintained foreign parts,
A Memorial stands proud down in Spean
Let us all build one more in our hearts.

Perished did men still young in their years
The land of our birth lost Her Sons,
But liveth they on in Remembrance tears
Liveth on how they silenced the guns,
Lest we forget the Sacrifice
In our Bloody Wars were made,
That Sacrifice that takes us here
Can never be repaid.

They gave it their all for the nation they served
Their courage maintained foreign parts,
A Memorial stands proud down in Spean
Let us all build one more in our hearts.

2003 [Photo of the Commando Memorial courtesy of Stephen Eblet]



Legasee Film Archive. As part of an exciting social history project, the film company Legasee is looking for veterans from any conflict who would like to have their stories filmed for posterity. This footage will be used to launch a unique online archive of interviews for use by schools, colleges and members of the public. Films are now available on line.	Click here
A WW2 Prayer for Combined Operations to our Roll of Honour page.	Click here
You can now Search for Books direct from our Books page. Don't have the name of a book? Just type in a keyword to get a list of possibilities... and if you want to purchase you can do so on line.	Click here
Commando Veterans' Association - for those who wore the green beret for any time from 1940 to the present day. Associate membership also available.	Click here