Forums Forums Wirral History : Chasing the Past Wirral History WW1

The green fields of France. [youtube]ntt3wy-L8Ok[/youtube]

This song was written by a guy called Eric Bogle.
Here are the lyrics.

Well, how do you do, Private William McBride,
Do you mind if I sit down here by your graveside?
And rest for awhile in the warm summer sun,
I've been walking all day, and I'm nearly done.
And I see by your gravestone you were only 19
When you joined the glorious fallen in 1916,
Well, I hope you died quick and I hope you died clean
Or, Willie McBride, was it slow and obscene?

Did they Beat the drum slowly, did the play the pipes lowly?
Did the rifles fir o'er you as they lowered you down?
Did the bugles sound The Last Post in chorus?
Did the pipes play the Flowers of the Forest?

And did you leave a wife or a sweetheart behind
In some loyal heart is your memory enshrined?
And, though you died back in 1916,
To that loyal heart are you forever 19?
Or are you a stranger without even a name,
Forever enshrined behind some glass pane,
In an old photograph, torn and tattered and stained,
And fading to yellow in a brown leather frame?

The sun's shining down on these green fields of France;
The warm wind blows gently, and the red poppies dance.
The trenches have vanished long under the plow;
No gas and no barbed wire, no guns firing now.
But here in this graveyard that's still No Man's Land
The countless white crosses in mute witness stand
To man's blind indifference to his fellow man.
And a whole generation who were butchered and damned.

And I can't help but wonder, no Willie McBride,
Do all those who lie here know why they died?
Did you really believe them when they told you "The Cause?"
Did you really believe that this war would end wars?
Well the suffering, the sorrow, the glory, the shame
The killing, the dying, it was all done in vain,
For Willie McBride, it all happened again,
And again, and again, and again, and again.

Dedicated to the SOLDIERS who lied about thier age to fight for thier country,and layed thier life on the line,knowing the enevitable.GOD BLESS THEM.Lest they forgotten never forgot always remembered.

At the first battle of the Somme 4,000 men were killed or wounded in the first hour, you would have thought the penny would have dropped with someone.( By the end of the day 60,000 lay dead or wounded )How futile it all was.

I am planning on going on a battlefield tour with Ducko in the new year,the Somme is top of the list.We are going to try and get 2 battlefields in.If anyone is interested in joining us then they are more than welcome.

Im going the Somme in March, lookin forward to it. Also check out the poem called Sgt McKenzie. It was used as theme music on We were soldiers but it was written about a man called Sergeant McKenzie in WW1.

As teh Germans assaulted teh trenches the english withdrew but Sgt McKenzie stayed trying to defend his friend who had been wounded next to him. He fought off as many Germans as he could until evetually being overcome and bayonetted several time.

Sad Stuff but a great tune. Down load it off e mule.

Thanks for the info on that Doc,I will downlaod that.

Your going the Somme,maybe you could give me some advice on hotels/travel plans and stuff.Anything would be appreciated.

the somme is one place iv always wanted to go and see i had to do a history project about the somme and missed the school trip due to a broken leg was well gutted oneday i will get to go there

Ive not been myself but planning on going in the new year with Ducko.It would be great to stand in a place where possibly 1 of my relatives stood almost a century ago.

be amazin to go dude take lots of pics and let us know how much it was or as much info on hotels and travelin there etc etc

Ive asked for the same of the Doc,advice on travelling and hotels and stuff.Deffo going and I will get LOADS of pics and will post them as I`m sure the Doc will do the same.

goood stuff guys

Why don`t you join us Scott.More than welcome.

i dunno wot im doin yet dave mate but thaks for the offer anyways i will keep that in mind wen you and ducko actually goin ??