On the 29th day of battle Lieutenant
T.H. Watson explains to a lady friend,
That rather than a battle, they are
Almost taking part in a campaign.
The 2nd Worcestershire Regiment
Began their part on 13 September
And remained in the front line,
For a total of eight days, then moved
Away to rest – they found shelter
Out on a farm until they were shelled.
Lieutenant Watson described,
How he then lived as a nomad.
Staying in one village during the day
To spend the night in another village,
Until finally they returned to the front.
The Guards Brigade, with the artillery
And his Worcestershire Regiment,
Captured eight guns – who had lost
Some 500 men within the woods –
One enemy gun suddenly stopped
Firing - later they found that a shell,
Had ripped off the gunners head.
The following day rained heavy
As heavy – they found a barn
Half full of straw, open on all sides,
In which they buried themselves.
Lieutenant Watson on waking
The next morning found a heavy
Quarter master-sergeant,
Pinned on him, so he could not
Move - still soaked on waking,
The rain was then joined by wind.
Remaining there until the evening,
They moved to the German positions
Encountering a patrol where three
Men Were hit – they found the field
Covered with Germans, dead, dying
And wounded – they came to a trench
Where 30 Germans stood, their rifles
On the parapet, but all were dead.
by Jamie Mann.
Anon.,1914. Battle Stories – Standing Upright, but Dead. The Daily
Telegraph, [online] 30 Oct. p.3. Col.6. Available at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11186087/Daily-Telegraph-October-30-1914.html
[Accessed: 30 October 2014].
Mann, J., 2014. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal
communication, 30 October 2014).
#WW1 #WW1centenary #GreatWar #WW1poem #GreatWar #ww1centenary
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